MORNING

Sasha had just gotten to Thurberry High. She was sitting patiently in the office, uncomfortably in one of the chairs provided. The secretary, Mrs Davis, was trying to find her file amongst the 15 new students that had transfered had gotten this year. Sasha imagined this school must be pretty popular if that many kids [or that many kid's parents] want to attend here. Of course, Sasha couldn't deny it, the school was very high-quality. Mrs Davis almost immediately located Sasha's file.

'Ah, yes. Do you prefer Miss Daytonna, or simply Sasha?' she asked, looking up over her crescent glasses at Sasha. Her eyes were kind, but strained with what seemed loss of sleep.

'Just Sasha is fine.' She replied softly, in her unusually deep voice for a girl. Sasha was a real tomboy. She had long, silky armpit-length hair. It was part red, part chestnut, part blond hair. And Sasha never wore her hair in a ponytail when she wasn't forced to during soccer games. When blended in her unique combination, it looked like there could never be a match in the world.

Sasha squirmed anxiously. Her chair was light golden-brown polished wood, with a navy blue cushion on the seat and armrests. She wanted to draw as little attention as possible from anyone, and Mrs Davis was taking her sweet time drawing up Sasha's schedule from her flatscreen computer.

A short while later, Mrs Davis' voice struck the eerie but oddly pleasant silence, saying, 'Here we are, Sasha. I'm printing out your schedule now, as well as your locker number, locations of all your classes, and any supplies you hadn't brought already that you'll be needing for all of our extra-curricular activities we have here at Thurberry High. You could buy them in the School Store, and since you're a sophmore, and not a freshman, you get special discounts. Or, you could write your parents or guardians at home, asking to send them to you by package.' When Mrs Davis finished, she retrieved Sasha's information in a small stack of papers from a compact printer in the corner of her desk and handed them all to Sasha over her countertop.

'Uh... thanks.' Sasha stated, unsure of which was the schedule, so she could get to her first class without being late. She quickly drew a pen from her shoulderbag, and hurriedly scrawled on the third paper in the pile, 'schedule.' At the bottom of the same sheet, was her locker number, and which floor it was on. Sasha scribbled 'locker' next to 'schedule.' She folded that sheet, put it on the cushioned seat, and looked at the other three papers. Two of them, the first and second, were a map of both floors. She quickly grabbed a stapler from on Mrs Davis' desk, and connected the two. Then like the first page, she wrote what the papers were at the top. 'Map- school' was all she needed to be reminded that if [when] she got lost, she could simply refer to that. And, finally, the last sheet of words was about the supplies that she would need that she didn't already have. They were organized by price, the cheapest thing at the top, and at the bottom, the total cost of everything. Wow. Sasha marveled. Considering the school's reputation, their store is cheap. Thank goodness. Even though my parents are rich, they only gave me a little bit for my four years at this place.

'Uh, Mrs Davis? Can I get another copy of my English report due 4th period that I told you about? I lost it again.' Spoke an unfamiliar and slightly deeper voice. But, as of right now, everything was unfamiliar to Sasha. She looked around to the window opened to the front hallway from the secretary's desk, and saw a boy of about her age. He was leaning casually on the counter, and smiling friendly. He had on a dark blue shortsleeve fox t-shirt, and under that, a black Underarmor shirt. On his right wrist was a white wristband, hanging loosely. From the quick glance at him, Sasha observed that he had dusty, light brown short hair, and she figured he played football, because he was tall, and muscular. He hadn't noticed her yet. That was good. Sasha decided it was best if she sunk into the chair and stayed there until he left.

'Yes, Chris. Hold on just a moment.' replied Mrs Davis sweetly, quickly clicking and typing a little on her computer. After maybe 15 seconds, she turned around to her printer and waited as two sheets full of writing slowly progressed out. When they were done, Mrs Davis handed them to Chris cheerfully, the smile on her face never faltering a bit.

'Thanks a ton. I owe you.' Chris smiled as well, his white teeth gleaming just a little bit.

'Chris, if I had a penny for every time you've said that, I could pay for a lunch.' Laughed Mrs Davis. Geez, the people here sure seem like good people. Oh, crap! He saw me! Come on, Sasha! Shrink into the chair, please don't let him see you, please don't, please...

'Hey! What have we here? Another transfer, maybe? Does she have some classes with me?' Said Chris confidentially, walking through the door to the office, and coming to sit in another one of the uncomfortable chairs. 'Might I ask what your name is?' Chris asked. His voice was soft and almost velvety. Sasha could feel the blood rushing to her cheeks, faster than a waterfall could rush to the bottom of a cliff.

'Sasha... my name's Sasha.' she managed to squeak out of her lips.

'Sasha...' Chris repeated, noticing her cheeks flushing and smiling. 'Wow, that's a beautiful name. It suits you.' If it was possible, Sasha's face became an even deeper shade of red.

'How about I walk you to class, huh? I can show you around. Introduce you to some people.'

'Uh.. well, I, uh... I, I'm kind of shy..' stammered Sasha. She couldn't think straight. Was this what happened to all the girls Chris talked to like that?

'Don't worry, I'm positive my friends will welcome you instantly.' Chris reassured into her ear. 'Now, come on. We wouldn't want to be late on your first day here for the next four years.'

'No, I guess not.' Sasha said quietly, as Chris lead her out the door.

'Bye Mrs Davis!' He called over his shoulder.

***
LUNCH

'Chris, I can get my own lunch, you know. I'm not a wuss!' Sasha exclaimed, stealing her tray back from Chris' left hand.

'Well, you never know. Under all that hard-headed self-defiance, you could be as soft as a stick of butter in August.' Sasha laughed at the funny remark. Sasha was starting to be more open around Chris. She made her way to the cashier, a caesar salad with dressing, buttered dinner roll, glass of grapefruit juice, and a small bowl of clam chowder all on her tray. It was very contrasting to Chris' plate, heaping with pepperoni and sausage pizza, ripe orange juice, a silently steaming bowl of tomato soup, and a brownie.

'That will be $12.5o, Miss Daytonna.' grouched the cashier lady. Sasha pulled out a $2o dollar bill from the back pocket of her light blue basketball shorts, got the change back, and went to find a place to sit, hoping that she could sit at an empty table outside.

Chris was suddenly right beside Sasha, talking about how great his friends were, and how they would immediately trust her, and we went on and on. Chris steered Sasha outside to a little spot of sunlight, shining directly on three tables all pushed together. Sitting at the tables, were at least 1o kids, all talking to one another, eating their lunch, and having a grand time. The talking quieted when Chris came into view, Sasha tailing a little behind him.

'Guys, this is Sasha. She's new today, an' I met her in the office. She looked kinda lost, so, you know... I took her under my wing.' Sasha had already set her plate on the table cautiously, and Chris took her into a headlock.

'Hey!!' she whined. 'Chris, stop! Chris!' Chris released her, and she blushed as she stood straight. The crowd of Chris' friends were laughing, but maybe they weren't laughing at her, but about what Chris did.

'Sasha, let me introduce you to everyone.' Chris stated when he was sure she was comfortable again. 'These, are Jenna, Melina, KC, and Amber.' Chris started, pointing to three girls in a huddle, all giggling and clutching their cellphones. Jenna was petite, with white-blond hair, tons of jingling bracelets on each wrist, and she was wearing a cut-off hoodie that showed off her belly button. It was white, dotted with hearts of all sizes and shades of pink. Below that, she was wearing a pleated miniskirt, with white leggings. On her feet were baby blue flats, accenting a bow on the top of each. Melina and Amber were replicas of Jenna, but KC was wearing a black v-neck shirt, that showed tons of tanned skin and a sliver of her lime green bra, with skin-tight jeans, and black flats on her feet. 'Only once, have I ever seen any of those four girls without their cellphone, but no one believes me, and they deny it.' Continued Chris. 'The guys over here, are Jacob, Derek, Lucas, Skye, and Dillon. All ofthem except for Lucas are in football, including me. We have practice tonight, and a game tomorrow after school, in case you were wondering.' Chris smiled down at Sasha. But she wasn't looking at him. Sasha was trying to hide it, but she couldn't stop thinking about, and staring at Lucas. He had hair a little lighter than Chris, and Sasha could tell why he wasn't in football. He was small for his age, skinny, but he still looked strong. I wonder if he plays any sports. What if he plays soccer, like me? Then I could see him more often without everyone else being around! ~ Snap out of it, Sasha. He probably doesn't play soccer in the first place. Chris noticed where Sasha's gaze was directed, and he hinted to Lucas that she was staring at him.

'Uh... Sasha?' piped up a voice better than Chris, just a little lower than her own, and she looked around, startled. The speaker was Lucas. He was trying to change the subject from Chris. 'Which are you?'

'Huh?' Sasha was completely at a loss of comprehension. Had he asked her a question, and she was spacing out? Or was this just randomly out-of-the-blue?

'Are you a cellphone addict, or a jock?' Lucas restated the question. One of the girls smacked Lucas upside the head, but lightly. Now Sasha understood what he was talking about.

'Um..... I don't exactly know yet. I don't have a cellphone, so that's out of the picture, but I only play two sports, and one of them is just for kicks and giggles. I don't really know if soccer would be counted as a sport people would call me a jock for.'

'Hey! We got another soccer player! Shouted someone else, Sasha thought it was Derek. He was the average build for someone who played football, but he didn't look like her type. He just kinda, turned her off. It might be because he looked like a stereotype flirt.

Sasha looked around, surprised. 'Who else plays soccer?' she asked, eager.

'I'll tell ya, but you gotta go with me to dinner tonight.' He smiled a toothy grin. Yep, he's a big flirt. Ew. Sasha thought simply.

'Aw, lay off, Derek. I'm the one who plays soccer, Sasha.' Lucas smacked Derek like the girl had smacked him, and Sasha had to stifle a laugh. 'Hey, Sasha. How experienced are you in soccer?' questioned Lucas innocently.

'Uh... I've played for 9 years.'

'Sweet, this is my tenth year playing.' Lucas smiled from across the table. There was something in his smile that was irresistible. Sasha's lips turned upward.

Derek spoke again. 'Lucas! Since you're both pretty experienced, I bet she'll be on your team!'

Lucas didn't answer right away, but Sasha's ears spike up real fast. 'The teams are co-ed?' Sasha practically squeaked. That would be even better than just practice! She would play in the same games with Lucas! Oh, boy. Sasha was going to like it here.
***
End of part one. I'll be writing part two real soon. Keep reading, it get s super interesting!