Prologue

Meet Kris Stevenson, she's sixteen years old, has brunette flyway hair, wears glasses that cover up bland brown eyes, and dresses for comfort, not for style. She shops at all the wrong places, and can't keep track of gossip to save her life.

In short, Kris Stevenson is a nerd. She stays home all day and works on her homework, hoping to pass the Algebra 2 test on Thursday.

James Patten is your standard smart aleck school boy. He's blonde, skinny and muscular. He has bright green eyes. Girls pay a little bit too much attention to him, and he's got a wisecrack for everything. He knows exactly where to go, and when to suspect foul play.

Yes, James is someone Kris admires, not as a popular classmate, not as a member of the opposite sex, but as someone with a decent sense of humor.

Kris is usually pretty good about keeping her admiration from public view. She's also usually pretty good about staying invisible and out of the spotlight.

Why don't we introduce you to Kris' situation, not by describing it; as that would inevitably bore you. Let's introduce you to her classmates, and how she goes about her day.

Let's introduce you to Kris' circumstances by letting you view them as a bystander would, as I would.

My name is Akira, and I am Kris Stevenson's closest thing to a friend, I also know James quite well. I am the innocent bystander in all this, well… not quite so innocent, I'm not human.

I am a cat.