Samantha Reath - September 1, 2025
Blue Creek High School, New York

Samantha sighed and pressed her lips together. The lunchroom had gotten so loud, it was hard for her to focus on her book. In a hurry, she finished off the last paragraph of the page and sat back to sigh in discomfort. Her main character was in a tight spot. All her friends had left, leaving her to solve the mystery on her own.

"How's it going?" Sam's self-proclaimed best friend, Tera, collapsed into the seat beside her, causing her to jump. Her blonde hair bounced as she fell into the chair.

"Mystery is a hard genre to write." Samantha groaned, hiding her story in her lunchbox. Tera pretended to understand how she felt.

"Ah yeah. It's complicated. Why won't you ever let me read your story?" She pressed.

"I don't feel comfortable with anyone reading it yet."

Sam chose her words carefully. Tera looked like she was going to say something else, but the school bell interrupted her.

"Well, gotta go. See you after school!" Tera jumped to her feet and fled to her classroom.

Sam shot a glance at the trash her friend had left behind and with a sigh added it to her pile. She dumped it into the garbage on her way to the double doors and considered adding her most recent chapter to the bin. Something about it didn't feel right. With reluctance, she pushed the idea out of her head and followed the crowd to her class.

High school was such a bore. She'd much rather sit in silence and brainstorm some more story plots. As she found the way to her seat, she felt a pair of eyes staring at her. She shifted uncomfortably and pretended she hadn't felt them. It was probably no one she knew, she didn't have many friends. After all, she was the school nerd. In a way.

Sam was nothing special. Brown hair, grey eyes, and she liked to write. The entire school knew that. Her choice of clothing was nothing special, and the basic bracelet that donned her wrist wasn't impressive. Again she felt the shivering sensation of being stared at, as she searched for the source. She locked eyes with a boy she didn't recognize. His eyes widened when she caught him staring, so he turned to his desk to stare at the wood instead.

Get a grip, Sam. He was probably just... I don't know... looking at the brand on your sweater. She scolded herself, calmly looking up as the teacher stood to start the class.

"Welcome back, everyone. Today we will be learning unit 2.4: How to Graph Absolute Values. Everyone's favorite." She shot a look at Sam and winked. She knew how much Sam hated math... let alone algebra 2. Algebra itself wasn't too hard, it was just the second half that hated Sam as much as she hated it. She let out an audible sigh and sat back, preparing for a lecture she was sure to fall asleep in.
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Nick West - September 1, 2025
Dexter High, New York

Nick shot a seductive grin towards his girlfriend, Beth. She blew a kiss back to him and winked.

"Nick, would you mind telling everyone the answer?" He snapped out of his trance and shot the teacher a smile that he hoped gave him some leeway.

"Well..." He stalled for a minute. "Obviously..." He gestured, at a loss. He tried to ignore his girlfriend's giggles as his face twisted into a look of confusion. The writings on the board looked unfamiliar.

"Beth? How about you?" The teacher turned to the girl. Now it was Nick's turn to smile. She blinked, staring at the board just as he had. "I..." She stuttered.

"You two... see me after class." The teacher, (Nick had never taken the time to learn her name), scolded. He nodded obediently as she chose another victim. Beth shot him a frown as he stuck his tongue out towards her.
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Class ended quicker then Nick had anticipated, leaving him and Beth sitting in their respective chairs in a suddenly empty room.

"Can we leave?" Nick tried. The teacher was bent over several papers... probably grading. She didn't look up when he asked, but he could tell she had heard him.

"Miss Hart," Beth let out a sigh so loud, it sounded purely intentional. "I have cheer practice."

"I haven't forgotten." Only then did Miss Hart look up, smacking her pen against her desk as she peered at them. "You two realize why you're here." It sounded so much like a question that Nick chose to answer it.

"Not entirely." The teacher shot him a frown.

"You two can't seem to stop looking or flirting with each other. Don't get me wrong, love can be a good thing, but come on. You guys are in high school! Once you get out you can hang out as much as you want. Please try to contain it." She sighed.

"We'll try, Miss Hart." Nick assured her, shooting a glance at Beth.

"Thank you. You are dismissed." She waved them away, returning to her papers. They scrambled to their feet and hurried out the door. As soon as they were out of the teacher's sight, Nick leaned in to kiss her.

"Nick." Beth warned.

"Oh, right." He smiled sheepishly, leaning further to kiss her cheek. "See you after cheer?"

"Sure. Your place?" She smiled.

"You know it." He gave her a hug before she sprinted off. As he stared after her, he felt a smile playing on his lips. She was such a lovely girl.
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Street Canmore- September, 1, 2025
Blue Creek High School, New York

Street couldn't help but stare at the girl. What was her name? He shook the cobwebs out of his head as he tried to think. S... Sea... Sam! Samantha. He shot another glance at her as if she could hear his thoughts. He longed to ask her out, but he couldn't find the courage. She was too... independent. She had never dated anyone before, let alone liked anyone. He continuously found himself lost in her eyes whenever she looked at him, but it didn't seem to quench his thirst. He needed more than just a glance... he needed-no-desired to reach out and touch her hair. Before he could slap it to the side, his hand began hovering towards her. Just as he got close enough, the bell rang, startling him into drawing his hand back with a jolt. He morphed his movements into a nervous scratching of his neck as if he hadn't been reaching out at all. His eyes followed her as she hurriedly stuffed her bags and headed for the door. He scrambled his things together and followed her. Today, he convinced himself. Not tomorrow, or later, but today he was forcing himself to make a move. If she said yes, this would be his first love life. His stomach fluttered at the thought. Sam paused by her locker to throw some stuff inside before leaving out the metal double doors. Street tried to act natural as he followed her, keeping a comfortable distance as if he too was leaving out the doors for any ordinary reason. As he pushed the doors open, he rehearsed his lines. He'd start with,

"hey. Your Samantha, right?" Then she'd say,

"yes. How did you know?" And he would say,

"I just saw you around and heard your name. Are you-" And that's where he got lost. What was he supposed to say that wouldn't make him sound like a stalker? He scratched his neck nervously again as he chose to go to the left. As he rounded the school's corner, he heard voices. He froze, resting against the brick wall as he listened.

"Samantha." A voice Street didn't recognize spoke.

"Greg." Sam's voice made Street's heart jump.

"What did I tell you about cutting through my corner?"

"Well, if I remember correctly, you mentioned something about getting my butt kicked. But I highly doubt that." She replied with an air of confidence. Street heard the crunch of gravel as Greg took a few steps towards her.

"You doubt that, huh?"

"I can take you on. That is, if your not scared." Samantha dumped her book bag against the wall. She glanced up and noticed Street, who froze. She gently shook her head and rolled up her sleeves.

"You should be the one that's scared." Greg chuckled. Street heard Sam take a shaky breath as there was more crunching. Street dared a peek around the corner and found himself grow hot with anger. It wasn't only Greg that stood in her way, there was now three other boys that were much taller then Greg.

"Come on, then." Sam replied defiantly.

"Wait." Street felt his feet move before he could stop them. He stepped into view of the four boys and shrugged his backpack off his shoulders. "Need a little help, Sam?" He asked, shooting a glance at one of their biceps.

"Not in the slightest." She hissed, But Greg only looked amused.

"Got your boyfriend to help, I see. Well, fine by me. Get her, boys." Greg waved a hand, signaling for the other three to advance.

"Know any self defense?" Sam asked Street.

"A little." He admitted, not wanting to brag. He didn't want to make her feel bad that he could fight better than her. After all, he was a black belt.

"A little is enough. I'm a black belt." She shot him a grin as she held up her fists. Never mind.

"Works for me." He grinned, feeling some confidence coming back. The first boy advanced towards Street first, a strangely goofy grin on his face. Street took a step back and shot a spinning roundhouse to his face. Instantly the smile was gone and replaced with one of pure anger as he reeled back. Sam had the disadvantage of being taken on by two, but she didn't seem bothered. She flung a snap kick to one of their groins, and as he buckled, she directed a second kick to the other guy's stomach. Both collapsed in pain while Street added his opponent to the ground. Greg didn't seem worried as he stepped over them, his eyes boring holes into Sam's.

"My turn." He hissed. He threw a kick towards her face, but she blocked it with her hand. She grabbed his ankle and twisted, pulling him to the ground. Clearly he knew his own fair share of martial arts as he leaped to his feet and held up loose fists.

"This is more of a challenge." She whispered, a spark lighting in her eye. They exchanged punches and kicks while Street watched over the others to ensure they didn't get up. He heard a cry of pain and jerked his head up, half expecting Sam to be lying on the ground, hurt, but instead of seeing her lying still, he saw Greg buckled over, holding protective hands over his soft spot. She shot Street a grin as she retrieved her book bag.

"You know a little self-defense?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. Well... I thought you didn't know any, so I didn't want you to feel bad if I fought better than you." He found himself admitting. She laughed.

"Well, thanks for that. That was sweet." She smiled. "Well, I've got to get home." She adjusted her shoulder strap and turned towards the road.

"Can-Can I walk you home? Because..." He shot her a humorous glance, "clearly you need an escort."