The span of three seconds found Azure having a close and personal conversation with his shoes. Specifically, he groaned with a voice much higher than he'd prefer to his sneakers. Taking a few moments as a statue on the busy sidewalk, he shifted his after-school heavy backpack as he stood up. Argent, he thought. This has her signature written all over it. He started walking towards the old bakeshop Argent had said was the meeting place.

It wasn't until he was two blocks away that he noticed the piece of paper in his hand. Hastily unfolding it, he found what looked to be a collection of kindergarteners' alphabets.

After a few moments of study he could read what it said, "Azure, if you want answers, go to the park. I'm waiting." Sighing, he shifted his backpack and threw the paper aside. Running a hand through his light-blue hair, he started for the park.

Argent was the reason he wasn't going home to do the homework for his entire class. Or rather, most of it, as Argent now had her own group of slackers. He cringed as he remembered the first time they met, a week ago in gym class.

As usual, Azure was ignoring Mrs. Caesarea's weekly speech about sportsmanship. Inwardly he was laughing. The Founding Fathers' School for Adolescents was geared towards winning. In everything. Football, baseball, basketball, and even dodge ball were areas to compete and conquer. Trophies were the décor of choice in two rooms and four hallways.

Sportsmanship at this school was like playing the right note in a fifth-grade band concert.

Instead, he was mentally picking who was at their best or worst for dodge ball today. His pale gray eyes searched over his normal team, most of them guys on the bowling team (he had found through trial and error that they normally had the best aim) and those on the track team (who were the best at dodging).

Mrs. Caesarea hadn't said anything about what they were doing. Azure just knew, as he always knew there was going to be a pop quiz three periods ahead. Peter had quickly caught on, and relied on him to give heads-ups. Well, everyone had to have a minion, and Peter was his. Unlike his blue hair and eyebrows (he said he dyed them constantly), neither Peter nor he could explain this 'knack'. Thankfully, none of the teachers had realized. They just thought the two were actually studying.

Azure was just nudging Peter to wake up when one of the doors opened with protest. Azure didn't turn his head until his mind was bombarded by thoughts.

Azure looked up, as did the rest of the class at seeing Azure's interest. Through the doors walked the palest living human on the planet. She had platinum hair, not the white-platinum of hair colors, but a silver-platinum that Peter later would swear looked like the real precious metal. It was her eyes, though, that Azure would remember. They were of such deep cobalt that he felt he was looking at a masterpiece of glasswork. She stepped nervously forward as Mrs. Caesarea motioned to her. p

This time the class, Azure included, listened to Mrs. Caesarea as she introduced the new girl as,

"Argent. I trust you all will be at least a little kind to her for the next few days." Someone laughed, and that broke the tension Argent's arrival had put on the class. Mrs. Caesarea clapped her hands and asked for Azure and the other team captain. Azure won the coin toss-no one had any doubts-and started picking his team. Soon it was a choice between Benicia and Argent. Benicia was an average player, plodding on at the same level. Argent, however, was an unknown variable to the carefully balanced equations of dodge ball teams.

Unfortunately, (in Azure's mind) it was the other captain's turn. As Azure had most of the good players, Peter excluded, Benicia was chosen. Azure waved Argent over as the team huddled around. Everyone was looking at Azure. Everyone, that is, except Argent. Instead, she was looking over each person in the team. Azure mentally shrugged and opened his mouth to tell the strategy.

However, Argent was the one who spoke.

"Alright, listen up guys! Here's what you have to do if you want to win. Don't stare at me like that; you're just wasting time. When I tell you to go somewhere, go there! Always check by your feet for spare ammo, and stay where I put you. You, Beef!" She pointed at the star quarterback of the school. "You go right in front of the mats."

Here Beef opened his mouth to protest. She cut him off. "Hey! Did I say to question my stratagem? No! I said to go. Go! Hey Speedy!" Argent picked out the track captain. He looked around.

"Yes, I mean you. You're going to be in front of Beef and this kind girl here. Yes, go on kid, the three of you." The three of them jogged to where she had put them. Peter raised his hand timidly, like a child asking a strict teacher for bathroom privileges.

"Uh, Argent?" Argent was looking over a sophomore girl.

She pointed to a spot on the court, speaking to the girl. "You go there. Yes, Peter?" Argent turned towards Peter. "I know that Azure normally takes care of this. He has that look. Over there, opposite of that nice girl I just placed, please." Seeing no one else to direct, she looked at Azure. His face had fallen past his shoes.

"Yeah, I know where to go." Argent shrugged and took her place.