If I'd known what the assembly would be like, I probably would have just gone to the principal's office. There had to be over 300 students packed into this single room, all pushing against each other to find a seat on the long row of benches; 90% of the benches had plenty of space behind them where anyone could get into your blind spot and the noise from all the other students would completely mask their presence. I couldn't believe that these people could just comfortably walk through such a dangerous room without any anxiety; I was completely terrified. "First time in a crowd?" "No, that's why I'm uneasy." The last time I was in a group of this size, we were occupying a small town on the outskirts of civilization. Half of us died while capturing it, and I'd already taken a bullet to the side. After the ransom letter was sent to the local government we spent three months dealing with insurgents and disgruntled locals, not that they didn't have legitimate complaints but it didn't create the most calming of environments when I had to constantly worry if the kid sitting on the ground across the street was going to pull out an ak-47. To top it all off, the mission ended with us having to flee when the local government decided to send missiles at us rather than pay the ransom and we were forced to abandon the plan altogether. When we started we had an army about the size of the one in this auditorium; that just made us a bigger target. That was when the army was on my side. The fact that I didn't know anyone in this room only intensified my fear. "You'll get used to it," said Junior, "All freshmen do; after awhile you'll be miserably trudging through the hallways with the best of them." He's right, if I can survive a siege then I can survive whatever this place has to throw at me *page_break Next "Me and the boys have a place up there," he said, pointing to an out of the way place at the top of one of the bleachers and tucked in a corner. It definitely has a view of the room, but the nearest escape route would require me fighting through a hundred students or dropping off the side, which looks to be about a 15ft drop; easily survivable, but will draw a lot of attention to me and thus make me an easy target the entire time. Not to mention... "Are these the same 'boys' from the alley?" "They know better now," he said, *if (junior_beach_rom =20) "Nobody's going to mess with you after you almost broke one of their hands." Maybe, but time and bravado can often make people forget what's in their best interest. I know I could take them if I had to, but I prefer to avoid conflict if it's at all possible, and that could mean avoiding them entirely. *if (junior_beach_rom =10) "Nobody's going to mess with you as long as I tell them not to." Intentional or not, there is a threat there. 'Stay on my good side or the protection is revoked.' Not that I necessarily rely in his protection, I've been relying on myself all my life, with varying degrees of success. I'd rather avoid him believing I rely on his protection, however; in my experience, people who believe that power rests in their hands are the most likely to make demands, and things could get unpleasant should I be forced to refuse unreasonable demands. *choice #The risk is too great. I'll sit alone for now "I think it would be better if I went on my own from here," I say while scanning for the best place to sit that would offer me easy exit in case of emergency and excellent view of the entire area, as well as my back directly to a wall to avoid ambushes. So far such areas have been almost impossible to find, but that place by the window seems promising... "Is this about Kyle? I know what he said, but he wasn't going to actually do anything..." "I'm certain" "Ok," Junior says with a clear look of disappointment, "I hope you change your mind later. They're not so bad once you get to know them..." He's still trying to convince me even as I'm walking away. *page_break Next *goto_scene 1-4aloneassembly-1 #I can handle the risk, and there are more potential rewards to staying with a group *set juniorrelationship "Friendly" No risk, no reward. "Very well, we should go before the path becomes more obscured." I say while looking at the mass of students that are rapidly taking up space in the walkway. I initially receive odd looks from Junior's allies while making my approach, either due to my femininity or my status as an outsider or some mixture of the two. It does not last once they notice Junior walking with me, however; whether they agree with him or not it appears that none of them are willing to question their boss. Some things are the same wherever you go. They partake in a greeting ritual with the casual efficiency of something they have done several times in the past, and introduces me with the same level of familiarity. Though they are dressed more in accordance with the standard social dress code, their general facial and body structures are the same as those that I encountered in the alley, albeit with less hostility. After the social rituals have been completed they offer me a seat; the seat they offer me has people on all sides, including behind me, and with a five-step distance from the edge of the bleacher. Sitting there would be asking for something to go wrong. "I would prefer that one," I say while gesturing to a seat with a much superior placement. It is in the corner of the bleacher, back to a wall and with only a short guard rail between me and the edge; after a 15ft drop I would have a clear run to the exit. Not ideal, but the best spot I can see given the circumstances. The only potential issue is the person currently occupying that seat; there's an uncomfortable cough from certain members of the group as I don't go along with the social ritual, but while I don't like to make waves, conformity should never come at the sacrifice of security. *page_break Next "Uhm...Marco?" "Yeah, sure. Whatever." The one sitting in the better seat, who apparently went by the name of Marco, stood in a resigned motion and moved to the side, allowing me to sit down. From here I begin familiarizing myself with the surroundings, committing to memory significant objects in the room. "So, none of the other freshmen have mentioned knowing you from the middle school, which means I'm guessing you moved in from somewhere," Junior took the empty seat in front of me and looked back, "I can tell just by the look in your eye that you're definitely not local, so where are you from?" He probably didn't want to know the actual answer to that, but luckily me and Daniel discussed something like this beforehand, "New York." According to Daniel, all types of people came from New York so there wasn't such a thing as an average New Yorker to work my personality around so I would be free to act however felt natural, within reason. Even people that were actually from New York wouldn't be able to tell I wasn't based on my behavior. *page_break Next "Huh, somehow I knew you were going to say that." "You did?" I was actually stunned for a moment. It would have been less shocking if he were able to guess my actual origin. I've never had a lie be so convincing that people believed it before I even told them. "Yeah, that or Chicago. You seem like the type who would be from one of those." Daniel, we need to have a serious talk about whether there is or is not an average New Yorker. Luckily, before he started expecting New York trivia, a man came up to the podium in the center of the room. Introducing himself as Principal Gardner, he began explaining the function of a school to a room where, presumably everyone other than me had been going to school for their entire lives and even I had been briefed before arriving here so the odds of there being a single person in the entire room that did not already know everything he was saying was less than 1%. *page_break Next "He does this every year," said Junior with a laugh, "Same speech, every year. Next he's going to start listing the rule book." Principal Gardner coughed a moment, "Now, in the interest of maintaining an organized learning environment, there are certain procedures to be followed. Firstly, while we encourage extracurricular activities, all students must be off campus by 6:00 PM. Secondly..." Principal Gardner continued on like this, wasting approximately 20 minutes of time that could have been used reading or training or something else productive. I couldn't help but feel a bit cheated by the school. After he had finished informing us about the regulations regarding cell phone use and how many times one is allowed to be late to class, we were finally told to leave in an orderly fashion and collect our schedules along the way; after which every student proceeded to leave with no coordination or structure and only about half of them bothered to pick up their schedules. *page_break Next "Over already?" Halfway through Junior had shut his eyes and taken a nap, a huge tactical failure on his part and he was lucky to still be alive, "I guess we should at least show up for the first day. I like to meet the kids in each class before deciding whether or not I'll keep going to those ones." "I was unaware classes were optional." He grinned and I wondered if I had unintentionally made another social blunder, "Only if you know the way out. We should meet up later, I'll show you." Potential escape routes without being spotted? I may have to accept that offer... *page_break First hour... *goto_scene 1-4first-1 1st hour: Family and Consumer Science 2nd hour: Personal Finance 3rd hour: Algebra 4th hour: Art 5th hour: Language Arts Lunch 6th hour: Psychology/Sociology 7th hour: History I look at the paper carefully, memorizing its contents; supposedly, this would be my schedule for the rest of the year. It didn't seem all that different from the duty roster they would place in the mess hall. After stuffing the paper into my pocket, I take a look at the door in front of me and cautiously step inside.