• Chapter One


    Some stories start with “once upon a time.” Others just start. This story starts like a lot of horrible teen novels, with high school. The only difference here is that there will be no “lovey dovey” drama or talk about how awesome the football game is going to be. Here, preps do NOT rule the school. Punks and goths are NOT the only ones yelled at for standing around in the hallway looking “suspicious.” Ironically, this book is about everyone that can’t stand those “oh-so-perfect” preppies. And sadly, I am one of the hated.

    Shocking, right? Well, I thought so too. My idea of a school is football and dances. Who really cares about anything else? To my unfortunate surprise, my parents decided to move from wonderful Texas to horrible Oklahoma. Really, people live there? I thought that I would die just thinking about it. My parents were being totally unfair! Tumbleweeds and cacti and funny elves would be everywhere! That is what I tried to sell to my parents. Funny, though, it didn’t seem to actually work. I wonder why… Anyways they told me to get off my cell phone (I know, to even think of saying that!) and start packing. I went to my room and started to look for a duffel bag. Purses first, shoes second, I thought to myself and I started to pack.

    Oh wait! I started this story and haven’t told you who I am. Whoops! My name is Mia Fitzgerald and I am starting my junior year at a new school. My hair was blond (the nasty natural color) until I dyed it to a chocolaty brown with dark red highlights. My best friends and I text everywhere we go. My favorite stores are Hollister and Abercrombie… but… don’t tell anyone… but my absolute favorite store is online… its called Think Geek. It has awesome office supplies and things to play with. But seriously, if anyone knew, I would be ruined for life. Anyways, I have a Juke, the newest cell phone, and an iPod touch. I work at Hollister and in my free time I try and hang out with my friends. So really, I would be considered your typical “love me because I think I’m fabulous” prep.

    Well, now that you know about me, I guess you could figure that I would fit right in with about a million high schools. I did too, until my first day. Winnestery High School looks like you typical school, big building that looks like the bricks may start falling apart any minute and lots of kids hanging around outside, some in cars, some near the huge front door. I had put on a skirt and a tank top ensemble so I figured I would be all right even if their dress code was strict. The bell rang and people filed in. I slowly walked through the main doorway and through a metal detector. I went to find my locker but I wasn’t sure where to go, so I tried to ask a passing girl.

    “Um, hello. Can you help me? See, I need to find my locker and I’m not sure where I am…” I said slowly. She turned and gave me an once-over.

    “You new? Um…. I can’t really help you. You should find an aide or something,” she sort of explained in her whining voice as she passed.

    That was odd, I thought as I turned around to find an adult. It seems that new kids are not good. I walked around for a minute then saw one of the people I like to call “Nerdy Gerdies.” I figured, what the heck, I could just ask them and they would be marveled that I would even talk to them. Conceited, I know, but that is how it usually works. Well, I started over there, but someone pulled on my arm.

    “I don’t suggest going over there,” said the hottest guy I had ever seen,” Your
    outfit screams new kid, although it is cute, you can’t dress like that and talk to
    them.”

    Confused, I asked,” What do you mean? What is with this school?”

    The boy smiled, a kind but strained smile,” It is hard to explain now, but for now, do you need a way to your classes or locker?”

    “Oh, yea I do! Can you help me? No one else has even tried to help me,” I said, trying to pout but the simple fact that I couldn’t even talk to a nerd scared me, so it turned out to me between a smirk and an “I-love-your-outfit-where’d-you-get-it-Wal-Mart?” type smile.

    “Ok, well come with me and avoid eye contact as much as possible.”

    I walked with him to a large row of pink lockers. Why is everything in this school odd? I thought silently. He led me to a locker with my name on it.

    “Say your name and it will open,” said the hot guy. “Oh, by the way, my name is Trent Youngblood. My locker is about 3 rows down, light blue row. Tell the locker if you need me and it’ll page me.” He walked away.

    I told the locker my name and it opened swiftly. It was a lot bigger on the inside than the outside. I put my big purse in there and it was sucked into a void. I stuck my head in to see where it went and suddenly my locker closed on me! I heard a nasal laugh and someone walk away. New kid joke, I thought as I rolled my eyes, how mature. Then I noticed the rather large room I was just pushed into.

    It was blue, although who ever decorated may have thought fluorescents were still going to be cool years after they went out of style. There were some chairs, also blue, and a round wooden table. There were some banners that really could use a makeover and some pictures of what I think were the principals of the school.

    “Will you sit, Mia Fitzgerald?” said an intercom.

    Um sure…. I thought. So I sat and waited for what I thought was, like, 5 minutes when a door I didn’t remember seeing opens up. The hot guy, Trent, from earlier entered through the door, this time in a suit. He smiled at me and sat across the table. A second later, a woman with a suit on also, accept this woman looked like she would rather not be here. She sat beside me and looked at me thoughtfully.

    “You are new, are you not?” she asked quietly, as if she didn’t already know the answer.

    “Yes’m. Um… I got a question… Like, why am I in my locker?” I asked, thinking it was a correct answer. (or was it question?)

    “This is a type of…. orientation for new students. We go through the basics of who’s who and what’s what. This school is a bit… different. Our mission is for everyone to get the education they deserve,” she said in an I-rehearsed-this-some-many-times-I’m-going-to-kill-someone kind of voice.

    “Wait, I think I can explain this, um, situation better,” said Trent.” In this school, we have a system that, if interrupted, can lead to people, well lets say getting hurt by various things.
    Unfortunately, you have interrupted that system. You see, here, what you would call nerds; they pretty much rule everything in the school. Everyone is scared of what might happen if something new is introduced, since the only change these people like is in chemicals. So we needed to hide you for your first class, since most of us try to skip at least one class a day. This will make it seem like you just haven’t been catalogued.”

    “Catalogued? Why would I be catalogued?” I asked, slowly starting to realize that something wasn’t quite right.

    “If your not one of them,” he explained,” then they put everything about you in this little handheld device. So, if they want to look you up to see for some reason like, this is rare though by the way, if they like you and want to try and help you join the group. Then they would look up your schedule, locker number, anything that would put them in contact with you. Another example is if they think you haven’t ‘kept your part of the bargain’, which means you do what they say, when they say it. Since you’re a rather cute girl without make-up, I don’t think you will be picked on at random.”

    I felt as though a brick was weighing down my body. How could nerds run the school? They just aren’t cool enough to even know how. I mean, really, what kind of self-respecting prep would let nerds rule a high school? Maybe middle school or elementary but not high school! Its, like, not right. Someone has got to turn this school around because this just simply cannot be happening. Wait, did he just compliment me again?

    “So, what am I to them? Fresh meat?” I asked in a slow voice.

    “Yup, pretty much. You are something new for them to experiment on. A new experience to learn from, as it were. They love newbies just for that reason alone. But, your problem will be the fact that you are most a prep with a little bit of nerd in you,” Trent said calmly.

    “What?!?!!?!?!?! I am not a nerd at all, how could I be when my best friends were the most popular kids in school and cheerleaders? I mean, come on, like, duh! I just could NOT be nerdy,” I said in an annoyed and rather exasperated tone.

    Trent smiled at me and looked like he was holding back a laugh. “Hmm due to the uniqueness of this school, we are aloud to look at past records on computers and phones. While most it screams preppy teen, some of the things you order aren’t really considered “in style”,” he said in a mocking voice.

    I was horrified. They found my accounts??? I thought that Think Geek had some type of firewall protecting it from hackers like, evidently, principals and students. What about all my other accounts like Runescape and Puzzle Pirates? This was so not cool.

    “Like, whatever. I think you guys are just making all this up as a prank on the new kid. What, did you guys get a bulletin on Myspace or in the school paper about a new kid coming? This is a very sick joke and I don’t appreciate it!” I screamed, thinking that I was going insane.

    Trent walked over and kneeled in front of me. He took my hand and looked at it. “You need to calm down. Second period is about to start and for you, and me, its time for Chemistry. So we need to be headed over there. If you still don’t believe me, then watch what happens in the hallways as we go to class.”

    I nodded, not knowing what the heck else I was supposed to do. I slowly got up and realized my bags were sitting next to the door. I picked them up and headed out the door with Trent.