Chapter Two

Shaina looked at the intimidating school before her. She had learned long ago that one of the worst parts about switching homes constantly was always having to go to a new school. She hated being the new student.

She walked timidly up the stairs and into the school. Even though she had already been living with the Peterson's for a week, she was just now going to school for the first time. Mrs. Peterson wanted to give her time to "settle in" before introducing her to her new school.

She was abruptly brought out of her inner musings when a rough hand shoved her away, causing her to stumble and fall onto the rough concrete stairs.

"Don't just stand there staring like an idiot!" The voice that accompanied the hand was snide as the person pushed past her into the school.

Great, she thought, the kids here aren't any nicer than they were in the last school.

Shaina pushed the sour thought to the back of her mind and concentrated on getting up from the ground. Once she had collected her fallen bag, she hurried inside to avoid a repeat performance.

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After somehow managing to decode the schedule she'd been handed and then walking past her classroom twice, Shaina walked into her first class: Math. She hated math more than anything and she wasn't looking forward to having it first every day.

"Miss Raye! Am I boring you?" Shaina quickly raised her head from where she had been staring off into the distance to look at the teacher, Mr. Evans.

"No sir. I'm sorry sir," she managed quietly, trying to ignore the feeling of her classmate's eyes staring at her and the sound of giggling as they laughed at her expense.

Mr. Evans glared at her a moment longer before, shaking his head, "I know you're new, but I expect you to pay attention in my class."

"I-I will sir," Shaina stuttered out. She felt her face burning hotter as he finally turned back to the board to continue explaining the current lesson. Unfortunately, it was something she had never learned before and she could already feel her eyes glazing over again.

Luckily, the class ended before Mr. Evans had a chance to reprimand her again. She eagerly hurried out of the room in the direction she hoped her next class was in. She had Creative Writing next and was actually excited for it.

Shaina managed to find the classroom somewhat easily and quickly found a seat towards the back. She had always loved to write stories and poetry, but she had never had an opportunity to actually take a Creative Writing class before. English classes sometimes addressed the more creative side to writing, but often they focused more on essays and confusing novels written by dead people. She was looking forward to taking a class that totally focused on her favorite part of English classes.

"Ah! You must be the new student!" Shaina looked up to see a twittery looking blonde woman in front of her. She was obviously older, yet she still somehow exhibited a younger air. When she moved towards her, this was even more obvious. She was the first person Shaina had ever seen who actually flitted across the room. "I'm Mrs. Bell. It's nice to meet you."

Shaina just nodded her head dumbly as Mrs. Bell shook her hand eagerly with much exuberance. "Y-yeah. Nice to meet you."

"You're a bit behind, but don't worry! We'll get you caught up in a jiffy! We're currently working on creative non-fiction. I'm sure you'll do just fine!" the energetic teacher switched topics quickly without taking any breaths. Shaina could barely keep up with the conversation. "Good luck dear!" And as quickly as she came, Mrs. Bell was gone, leaving Shaina staring wide eyed behind her.

"Bit crazy isn't she?" Shaina jumped at the soft voice and looked quickly behind her. The first thing she noticed was how pretty the girl was. (1) Her long red hair was wavy to perfection and her green eyes sparkled with humor. "Mrs. Bell is always like that. But she's a great teacher so it's okay."

"Really? Well that's good," Shaina didn't really know what to say to that comment.

The girl laughed before sticking out her hand, "I'm Tori. And according to Mrs. Bell, you must be the new student."

"Y-yeah. That would be me," She smiled nervously before taking her hand, "I'm Shaina. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise," She smiled again, "I don't know if you could understand Mrs. Bell when she said that you would need to meet with somebody to catch up. I only understood because after two years with her, I speak Bell-speak pretty fluently. Anyway, I'm volunteering for the job."

"Really? Would you do that for me?" Shaina never had very good luck when it came to making friends. She had moved around so much that she had pretty much given up on them. But this girl was already offering to help her out after only knowing her for a few minutes. She was awed and kind of touched.

"Yeah of course!" Tori grinned, "I was the new student not too long ago and I remember how it feels."

"Thank you then. This is really nice of you."

"No problem!"

After that, the rest of Shaina's classes went by quickly. She didn't even care about having to go to art (her second worst subject) because she was so happy. Not only had Creative Writing class been amazing, she might have already made her first friend. Maybe this foster home wouldn't be so bad.

(1) Shaina is totally straight. She's just the kind of person who admires other people's beauty.

A/N: Second chapter up already! And on my birthday too! This chapter is of course totally different from the first version (since I didn't mention much of her life with the Peterson's in the previous one). And unfortunately, Josh wasn't in it either. But don't worry, he will be returning next chapter! Along with (hopefully!) more interesting stuff. I do apologize if this chap was a bit boring. It was mostly just filler to introduce some new characters and her new school life.