Announcements

[Ethan Merced]

The rest of the day had been fairly quiet and Kevin hadn’t tried anything. Luckily they didn’t even have classes together this year. The only thing awkward about the day was when any of the three people from this morning had been in his classes. It was easy to pretend as if they did not exist when it was just one-on-one. It was nearly impossible when he had all three in the same room for 45 minutes. He would wait until they sat down before he chose a seat the total opposite of them. They were good people with good intentions, but they went about it all wrong. If they wanted to be nice to someone, let it be someone who wouldn’t get them killed by the athletic department.

Gym had been the worst class of the day since Ethan couldn’t do anything. The doctor back home specifically told him not to put much pressure on his body. The coach had Ethan for the past three years so it wasn’t too bad. The weak teenager was able to do some activity that differed from the rest of the class. He felt more like an outcast than in any of his classes, but it was okay. He was used to being the freak since he got to New Harmony. Back home, in California, no one cared what he could and could not do. It was easy to find other freaks like him. Though, he really didn’t need to befriend anyone. It was as if the people back home knew who his family was. He wouldn’t say ‘fear’ was the right word, but it was pretty close. There was just something about his siblings which made the bullies stay clear. Sometimes he wished he had his older sisters here.
Jesse reminded him a lot of his siblings and instantly regretted feeling angry with him this morning. The guy was good and was just trying to help. Ethan couldn’t put his finger on it, but he felt the same way with his siblings too. Like it was a natural instinct to stay the hell away from them. There was something dangerous about them all. The idea was silly and the boy quickly discarded the thought as he made his way to the fields.

The blonde girl from this morning had been on his mind all day. He had a hard time concentrating on what the teachers were saying. Ethan almost got sent to the office once for spacing out. He blushed, now, at the image of her in his head. He couldn’t for the life of him remember her name. It really bothered him and he seriously wanted to ask her what it was. However, the thought of him going up and even talking to her made him queasy.

Before he had time to respond, Ethan found himself face first on the ground. He rolled over on his stomach to find that he had tripped over a rock in the grass. Great, just great. He hadn’t reached the fields yet, so none of the jocks had seen him. Which was good because they already had enough material to use against him for the next few years of high school.

Finally he reached the fields and noticed that the entire athletic department was all in one area. Why did he feel like the sacrificial lamb going to the alter for the annual slaughter? How did he get talked into committing suicide again? Oh yeah, stupid group of freaks who decided to stand up for him this morning. In a way, he hoped they went by what they said…he needed back up.

Kevin must have saw him, because suddenly all eyes were on him. Ethan no longer wore his Element hoody or baggy pants. He sported his gym clothes which consisted of a white t-shirt and yellow shorts. The field was split between the soccer team tryouts, the football team tryouts, and around them were the track team tryouts. The teenager decided to go with soccer. Football was too violent for him and Ethan proved he couldn’t run fast…so track was out of the question. He had played soccer in his old school, but was never really good at it. He thought he’d give it a shot this year. There was a 2% chance he might make the team. The rest of that was going towards the fact that he was indeed going to die today.

Ethan sat his back pack on the first bleacher and walked onto the field. He sighed and tried to think of something to say or do. When nothing came to mind, the boy just stood their uncomfortably awaiting the miracle he prayed he would get.

[Madison Price]

The day had done nothing but annoy Madison really. She had classes with the few people that she knew and sort of liked already which was cool, but she really began to realize just how far behind she was in comparison to what everyone else in her grade had learned in the past few years. She was struggling a bit and she did not like that feeling at all. She knew that she would though so it wasn't really that big of a surprise for her. It just frustrated her a little and she did not like that at all.

She had chosen a seat in the back of the room for every class, hoping to get by without having to answer too many questions until she felt like she was caught up at least a little bit. She was finally coming to terms with the fact that she would be needing a tutor, which was the reason she had been keeping an eye on Ethan whenever they had a class together. She had a feeling that he was somewhat intelligent since it wasn't like he allowed his brain to get distracted with sports like so many of the other people in the school. Besides, she had talked to him already even if it was just for a few minutes so she wouldn't feel like as big of an idiot asking him for help as she might have from someone that she hadn't talked to at all.

By the end of the day, Madison had decided that he would probably be her best bet for a tutor though she had not had a chance to actually bring the subject up with him at all considering the fact that he had not been in her last class, which was when she had made the decision to do it. She knew that she would see him later though since she had agreed to go watch the tryouts even though she really could care less about sports or school spirit. There were a few people that had decided to go out for some sports so that Ethan wouldn't be alone and as the day had progressed, she had somehow been convinced to sit in the bleachers and support them.

She made her way out to the bleachers and climbed so them until she had a seat in the last row. She simply did not want to be close enough to the idiots that were going out for the teams. She wondered for a minute if Andie would be able to sneak back to watch these tryouts with her since that would at least mean that she wouldn't have to suffer through this alone.

[Nicole Wyndham]

The day had been rather perfect so far really, well that is as long as Cole ignored the mess that Kevin had made before school even started. Her idiot boyfriend had allowed himself to be made a fool by some stupid outcasts in front of everyone that had still been waiting outside. She hadn't even seen the whole thing since she had gotten annoyed with Kevin and his friends and had simply convinced her group to move inside at that point. It wasn't hard really since they pretty much followed her wherever she went.

Her classes were boring of course and she had spent most of the time texting her friends instead of taking notes or really even paying attention at all. She had gotten yelled at by a few teachers but none of them had even threatened to send her to the office or anything like that. She was surrounded by friends the entire day since they usually planned out their schedules together. That was the main reason it was not that odd to see almost all of the cheerleaders in the same classes. It just made the school day that much more enjoyable to be surrounded by her friends.

Cole had yet to make a decision on the new girl that she had met earlier that day though. She seemed like someone that she might get along with but it was just hard to tell at this point. She would simply have to spend more time with her before that decision would be made. No matter what she decided, her group would agree with her because that is what they did. She wondered if perhaps Phoebe would show up for the cheerleading tryouts, though for some reason she didn't really see that happening.

She was currently standing off to the side of the bleachers with the rest of the squad, stretching a bit as she eyed the people that were hoping to fill the last spot on their squad that had opened because someone had moved during the summer. She had changed into a white tank top and black cotton shorts that definitely showed off her legs. She had even pulled her short, choppy, blonde hair back into a ponytail so that it wouldn't bother her during the tryouts. She really did not expect any of the people standing there, but one of them would make the team regardless at this point.

[Travis Brody]

Travis was pretty much out of it the whole day of school. It wasn't really his thing, or maybe it was he had to much on his mind. Those stupid jocks just pissed him off. How could people be so cruel? It was beyond him, then again all he really had to do was take a look at his sister, she was becoming one of them. Oh, though, Travis knew he was going to have to put up with what was coming when he finally made his way home. Hopefully, one of Phoebe's new friends decided to take her home so he didn't have to drive her home in his truck.

Walking toward the field and the try-outs Travis sighed. He was slightly worried about Ethan and how he would do. Travis prayed that he would do okay and make it on a team. But that wasn't really his problem. He would have to let the kid do whatever he wanted to do. Shrugging it off he seen some of the people from earlier in the bleachers. Madison was at the top watching. He looked around a little bit more until his gaze fell upon Ethan.

Making his way to Ethan he sat down near him but didn't say anything. He was pretty sure there was no way he could help Ethan feel any better so it seemed staying quiet was enough for that point in time. After all, Travis didn't want to somehow end making Ethan nervous or anything.

[Ethan Merced]

The boy’s locker room didn’t seem so bad now. Sure, his butt hurt after the major wedgy he got being hung on the towel hooks. At least he was able to go home alive at the end of the day. He could easily hide the fact that he wasn’t popular from his family members. They would see this trip to New Harmony as a failure and he would have to return to California. Here he could pretend to be with the in-crowd and not see the concerned look in his father’s eyes. Ethan could consider himself slightly more lucky here than back home. His sisters weren’t going to school with him and didn’t have to go out of their way to save his life. Seriously, even his baby sisters defended him against the bullies at school. How unfair was that?!

They still had about ten minutes before tryouts began. The jocks moved into their circle in the middle of the field while the ‘newbies’ stood awkwardly close to the bleachers. He could back out. There was time left and he could live with being picked on until graduation. The human boy was just about to step away when he caught movement in the bleachers. His mold-green eyes focused on a particular blonde as she sat down at the top of the seats.

Great. Ethan definitely could not run away now. He would look like a total scardy cat in front of Madison. Oh yes, he remembered her from this morning. Her eyes and wild blonde curls were hard to forget. On top of that he did accidentally grope her. His hands had practically memorized that part of the morning and so did something else he rather not think about.

He realized he was staring up at her smiling like a total idiot when a whistle sounded. Ethan blushed all colors of red before he whipped around to face the jocks a few feet away. As he looked around he also caught sight of another familiar face which wasn’t too far from him. Ethan cringed at the thought of this morning. The two boys had stood up for him and even the scrawny little brat who reminded him so much of his cousin. That reminded him, where were the other two?

The ‘newbies’ were divided into teams and Ethan noticed he was on the..oh…what was his name? Trevor? Maybe. Wait, no. Travis. He was on Travis’ team. The fact didn’t ease his nerves at all and he went to stand by the tall boy. He kept his eyes almost towards the ground and whispered, “Look, dude, sorry about this morning. I didn’t mean to get you mixed up in all this. Kevin and his goons are my problem.”

[Andie Hanson]

Okay, so maybe Andie shouldn’t try to be a normal, nice, girl. Apparently, that got her in more trouble than being born. She had actually liked her science teacher this year and saw that the older woman was having pains in her hands when she would write on the board. After lunch, Andie secretly grew a piece of monkshood and handed it to the teacher. She hoped that she could explain that it was meant as a peace offering and that she had finally found a teacher she respected.

Well how the heck was she supposed to know that her science teacher would take a monkshood as a death threat? Wasn’t it illegal to share information about former students to other teachers? What was that crap about equal rights and second chances? A new beginning?

The girl was just fed up. She didn’t care anymore about trying to fit in. First day of school sucked and she had to roam around the back parts of town until school let out. Andie was suspended from school for the rest of the day. She couldn’t go home because she had to look out for Madison. Serafina would also be asleep and she didn’t want to go home to disturb her mother. Reese had disappeared from some time and Andie was worried her protector would never come back.

The witch-child spent the remaining of the day on the outskirts of New Harmony, in the forest where she was safe and could be among her plants. She liked it better than being stuck in some old classroom with all her peers learning about useless information. Who needed an education anyway? Well not her. All she needed to know was how to control her powers and advance her studies in potion-making.

When she heard the final school bell, Andie walked towards the school grounds and waited on the side walk across from the buildings. Andie had waited for nearly twenty minutes and started to get worried about where Madison might be. The staff wasn’t too concerned about her going on campus when they were leaving so she wandered around the hallways for some time. She overheard a few cheerleaders talking about try outs today and remembered something about the events of this morning.

No…

Andie shook her head in disbelief at the very thought of Madison going to the try outs. What would she be doing there, going for cheerleader? Ew, no. That idea scared and sickened the twelve year old even more. However, there was no other reason to go…

The witch-child made her way down to the fields and as she got closer, she spotted a mob of blonde girls on the bleachers.

“Well I’ll be…” She whispered to herself before walking over and taking a seat at the top of the bleachers. Andie watched Madison’s gaze and her own green eyes to the field. She blushed slightly at the sight of Travis.

Although, she wondered if Madison was crushing on Travis too. Andie’s sight went back and forth and a frown formed on her delicate features. She would have to see how this all turned out. Two girls, living in the same house, going after the same guy…it never worked out and Andie would have to dispose of her body.

[Madison Price]

As she scanned the crowd that was beginning to form for the try-outs, Madison became aware of the fact that there was one person that was missing. Jesse had pretty much pestered her all day until she had finally agreed to come watch these stupid try-outs and support him and of course Ethan since they had gotten him into this mess and the stupid vampire hadn't even bothered to show up yet. If she had to sit there the whole time while he was off doing god knows what, he was definitely going to be made to regret it the next time she saw him. Like she really cared who made the stupid teams. Ok, so granted she was kind of curious to see if Ethan could even pull it off since he hadn't exactly come off as the most athletic of people.

She continued scanning the crowd, hoping that perhaps Jesse had managed to sneak in when she wasn't looking, though of course that wasn't the case. "Fucking vampire," she muttered under her breath. Yes, he was definitely going to get it if he made her sit through this and not even show. She then glanced around the crowd to see if there was anyone else from earlier. Her eyes happened to land on Ethan right as he turned a billion shades of red and looked away.

Had he been looking at her? No, he couldn't have possibly been doing that since no one ever looked at her and most certainly not in a way that would make them blush like that. There had to be another reason that she just hadn't seen. Though, she did remember him blushing about as badly when they first met because of him... oh god... is that what he was thinking about? That would definitely explain the shades of red that he had turned but that couldn't possibly be it either. So what if his hands had accidentally landed on her boobs earlier, that didn't mean that he was still thinking about that now. She was simply being paranoid since she wasn't use to catching people staring at her.

She didn't have too much time to dwell on that thought though since Andie had managed to sneak back after all. She couldn't help but notice how the younger girl's eyes darted back and forth between her and well either Travis or Ethan and she was almost certain that it wasn't Ethan. "I had wondered if you would show up to support Travis," she said with a hint of a smile. She thought it was cute that Andie seemed to like the guy but she couldn't figure out why she kept looking between the two of them. Unless... oh god she couldn't possibly think that Madison liked him. She had barely spoken more than a handful of words to him.

"I sort of felt like I should come watch since I'm part of the reason Ethan is in this mess in the first place. Besides, Jesse pestered me until I agreed to come watch. Of course he hasn't even bothered to show up yet," she grumbled, hoping that Andie would understand that she had not gone there for Travis. She didn't know how to say it any other way really without actually calling the young witch out on her crush.

[Non Playable Character]

Kevin and his boys walked out of the locker room and out to the fields. Coach Russell had trained them all summer just for this day. Fall try outs for football and soccer. As captain of both teams, Kevin had to assign his two best players and put them in charge of the work outs. He would be standing in the middle with a clip board marking off the names of the losers who would probably end up in the hospital.

The boys had waited all day for this and Kevin couldn’t up but get excited about the idea of tramping all over Ethan Merced himself. It was going to be quite the eventful day. As they made their way onto the field, he spotted the freak and smiled. The kid was going down today in front of every popular student there. He would be the laughing stock even after graduation.

Kevin and his friends stood in the middle of the newbies and he looked around at each of them. He could already tell which ones would be the first to go. The captain would have to keep it simple to start out, just so Ethan could make it to the real try outs. The vision of dog piling on the pathetic excuse for a human being brought an overwhelming swell in his chest.

His eyes went to the boy in mind now. He gave Ethan a wink and then turned his attention to everyone else.

“Alright, losers. Before we start the real try outs, I want to prune out all the weaklings. There is no need in wasting our time if you can’t do basic work outs. Group yourself in teams of fives.”

Kevin whispered back and forth between his players. A few of them joked about some of the guys on the field. After Ethan was finished, they would need more targets throughout the year. The jocks were picking individual boys out who they would personally torture.
Once every had assembled into a groups, Kevin gave them each numbers. There were only four groups so this shouldn’t take long. He allowed Ethan’s group to be the last to go. The captain announced that the first team would line up on the track field. They would be tested on speed endurance. Those who could hold a high velocity of six seconds would pass. The task sounded simple enough, but some people were just not made to run.

Kevin laughed at the idiots who tripped over their own two feet or those who looked like they were about to drop. He almost ended it after the first two teams because he was positive that Ethan wouldn’t make it. However, he did have to be fair…the loser better deliver.

As the last team stepped up to the tracks, the captain jogged over to the cheerleading team. He smiled and winked at some of the girls. There was nothing better than drooling fan girls for him. If he wasn’t so in love with Cole, he’d probably go her best friends. The thought amused him for a moment before the thought of Ethan came back.

“Cole, why don’t the most sexiest blonde in the whole town judge this last team. You know a thing or two about endurance, don’tchya babe?” Kevin laughed and winked at her. “Come on, give the boys some inspiration”

[Travis Brody]

Travis sat watching the jocks who were already a part of the teams or at least they all looked like they would be. Travis had always hated the jocks. They just loved picking on those weaker then them and he couldn't wait to show them that not all "losers", in their opinion at least, really were losers and that they to could be jocks as well and be a part of a team.

Travis had been stuck between soccer and football. Both dealt with balls though he wasn't big on throwing balls and chasing guys, he was more keen on chasing a ball which was why he was sitting on the bench waiting for the soccer tryouts. He had played soccer when he was little but hadn't really played much since then. He had been moving around from home to home that he didn't want to get to comfortable in one place, but now, it seemed like he would be able to stay here in New Harmony and he already had made friends.

Looking around once more at those sitting in the bleachers his eyes fell upon the little girl he had spoke to earlier in the morning. She was sitting next to Madison and it seemed they were having a conversation about something but he just shrugged and waved to the girls then turned back to respond to Ethan who had spoke.

Travis shrugged what he had said off with a friendly smile. "Don't worry about it, really. I may not be here long anyway so I'll take whats coming," he said as he looked around at the field, "You going to be alright through the tryouts?" he asked quietly.

The jock from earlier was now facing them and Travis felt anger well up from earlier. If only he was strong enough to hurt him. But the truth was he wasn't so he would just have to show the jocks, all of them, up on the field. Who could be better then him chasing a ball around? It was what he lived for, it was the puppy deep inside of him. He suddenly felt an urge to get up and start chasing the ball, but he didn't want to seem like he was showing off so he kept his butt glued to the bleachers.

Then the guy spoke and told them to pair into teams and Travis immediatly jumped to Ethan's side. "We're in this together man," he said as he waited for their team to go.