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motley little group didn’t fit into any of the categories Luke had mentioned.

"Nah, we’re still the newbies, those are the misfits. Don’t know how I forgot." Luke turned Kira toward the tables outside where three boys and a girl were lounging—all pale despite their position in the sun. "They sort of keep to themselves."

"Why?"

"Don’t know. I don’t really know anything about them actually."

Luke sounded as though he was holding something back, but Kira had only known him for three hours and didn't want to accuse him of lying, especially after all he had done. She looked outside for a moment longer, and even through the glass, she could tell there was something different about them. It was more than the distinction between a jock and a drama nerd—it was something almost tangible. But whatever it was, she wasn’t going to harp on it now. She had friends to make.

"So, where are you guys all from?" Kira asked while sliding into one of the open chairs circling the table.

Dave just pointed to his hat. Kira guessed he was the silent type.

"He means Dallas," Emma supplied. "I am too. We never knew each other before moving here, isn’t that funny. I mean, he went to my rival school, so not that surprising, but still, it’s pretty crazy."

"Fate?" Kira said, knowing it was the confirmation Emma searched for and guessing Dave would keep silent.

"Yup, that’s what I like to believe." They smiled at each other.

The silence from Dave was something she would get used to, Kira decided, hoping she would eventually become friends with both of them. Especially Emma. She liked her perfectly styled hair, manicured nails, and carefully applied makeup. That sort of knowledge would definitely come in handy in the future, maybe before her next date.

"Well, I’m a northerner all the way," Miles interjected. "Or I was until my parents moved down here. I lived in Boston and will hopefully be back in Cambridge in no time."

Kira smiled because Miles definitely looked like the Harvard type, with the pile of books next to his lunch. But she felt a little edge to him too.

"And now, my turn." Luke adopted his theatrical voice again. "I, dear lady, am from the far reaches of, drum roll please…" He supplied his own when the only response was rolled eyes. "Florida, the sunshine state with glorious beaches, Walt Disney World, and a small town in the middle of nowhere called Sonnyville where I was born and raised."

"Wait, you’re from a small town?" Kira sputtered, almost spitting out her drink.

"I get that a lot, but why, I don’t understand."

"I don’t mean any offense, it’s just that your personality is so…" Kira moved her hands in a wide circle searching for the appropriate word.

"Charming?" Luke supplied.

"I think she means big," Miles chipped in, and Luke sat down with a nod of defeat. But Kira just assumed it was more playing around, so she quickly agreed with Miles and smiled.

"You know, I just love your hair." Emma grabbed at Kira’s curly mess. "Do you dye it?"

"Nope, unfortunately it’s just what I was born with." Kira self-consciously put a hand to her head. She had always felt weird about her hair. It was a curly mess of bright red and almost white blonde strands that mixed to create a sort of strawberry blonde with a punch.

"Well, I’m jealous. I wish I had such natural volume, and guys go crazy for a red head."

"Enough guys already go crazy for you," Dave finally spoke up, pulling Emma tighter into the crook of his arm.

Ah, the jealous type, Kira thought.

Luke took a strand of her hair and wrapped the natural curl around his pointer finger. He stared at it intently, almost as if he were in a trance, and Kira stared at him, stuck.

"Luke, creepy much?" Emma chimed in. Luke dropped the curl immediately, and he and Kira both turned toward Emma. "Whoa, Luke, Kira has your psycho eyes."

"Really? Look at me," Miles asked with a curious expression. "Whoa," was all he said when they looked over.

"Let me see." Luke gently held Kira’s chin so she looked into his eyes.

The moment their gazes touched, she realized why his eyes were so comforting before—she had never seen anyone with irises quite like hers. They were barely green on the outer rim, but that hue was quickly overtaken by a yellow tint with red and orange specks that almost looked like fire. Most people were weirded out by it, but she liked that she wouldn’t be alone in that, at least for the next year.

"I didn’t think they’d look the same," Luke murmured softly. Kira paused at the words Luke clearly had not meant to say out loud.

"Well, obviously you wouldn’t think a complete stranger has the same eyes as you,” Emma said, and Kira silently thanked her for commenting. She was still trying to figure out what he was talking about. “What’s up with you today, Luke? You’re acting all mysterious."

There was a momentary pause. Luke opened his mouth, seemingly unsure of how to answer, but then the lunch bell rang. They all stood up, conversation forgotten. Kira had English with Luke, so he grabbed her arm and started pulling her through the all too confusing hallways she feared she would never figure out. After a few minutes, they arrived at the far side of the building and slid into their seats. More students began trickling in as the bell rang again, but no teacher showed up.

"Mr. Bell is notorious for being late to class," Luke leaned over and whispered to Kira.

"Oh, really? How is he still—"

"Lukey," the girl that Luke had labeled as a misfit plopped down on top of his desk. She had waist-length, stick-straight black hair, and her eyes were impossibly blue, almost like ice. "Hitting on the new girl already? Tsk tsk, you should let her get to know everyone before she’s forced to settle on you."

"Diana," Luke said tersely. "I thought you graduated."

She laughed, and her eyes flashed almost white as she stared at Luke. "No, no. I’m quite content to stay in high school forever. And I had to wait for my boys."

At their mention, the three boys who had been with Diana outside now walked into the classroom. Instantly Kira felt on edge, as though there was something else going on here that she was not privy to but was somehow part of. The look on Luke’s face was strained. Something was happening between him and the others that no one else in the classroom but Kira could feel. She heard laughter and saw students hugging friends they hadn’t seen in a while, but in the back of the classroom, there remained only the tension of a rubber band about to snap.

"Jerome, Tristan, John," Luke said each name with a stiff nod. They circled around him.

Kira lost interest in the strained conversation and instead studied the newcomers. Jerome had black skin that miraculously seemed pale and the same steel blue eyes. He was built like a football player, like a running back who was speedy yet surprisingly strong. John had sandy blond hair, shaved close to his head, with a thin and streamlined build.

Finally, she looked at the guy Luke had called Tristan. He seemed different to her somehow, with jet-black hair that hung over his eyes a little and barely visible dimples that played on his cheeks. His eyes were also an icy blue, but they seemed deeper to her, like steep ravines she could fall into. He stayed out of the conversation, she noticed, as if lost in his own thoughts—ones that seemed more troublesome than the cutting remarks being doled out by his friends. He had a rebel without a cause look that made him perilous for a girl’s heart.

Suddenly, he turned to Kira. His eyes brightened a shade when they landed on hers, staring. And Kira, who was never one to back down, returned his look with interest.

"Who are you?" he asked in a barely audible voice filled with surprise, one just loud enough to attract the attention of his friends and Luke. Kira melted at the sound. He was dangerous she knew, but something about him made her feel safe and afraid at the same time.

"Kira," was all she could respond with. They both looked at each other, trying to unlock the other’s secrets.

His friends came to circle her now, and she instantly felt cornered. Fear sparked in her heart, a quick flash of lightning. She didn’t quite understand the nerves, but she also couldn’t shake them.

"Well, what have we here?" Diana leaned in to really look at her, and Kira thought she read shock on the girl’s face despite the confidence in her voice. Tristan laid a hand on Diana’s arm, almost like a warning.

"Diana, back off," Luke said and tried to come to Kira’s rescue, but it was Mr. Bell who saved her by running into the classroom very late and very out of breath.

"All right, simmer down people, I just lost track of time in the teacher’s lounge. Welcome to Advanced English, I expect everyone’s full attention for the entire first half of the year, and then after winter break, those of you who are college bound can do some slacking."

A general cheer went up around the room. Even Kira, who didn’t really know how to slack off, let out a smile. She had already decided to take a gap year to work and hopefully travel, but a little slacking wouldn’t be too awful.

"We’re starting the year off with Shakespeare,” Mr. Bell continued and the cheer changed to a groan. "Come on now, I’ll show you that Shakespeare can be cool, starting with acting lessons. For the next few weeks, we are going to perform scenes from the plays we read, starting with the age-old classic Romeo and Juliet. Next week we’re going to practice acting out emotions, so everyone please put those game faces on."

The rest of class passed rather quickly as Kira decided she liked Mr. Bell more and more. He was a young teacher who treated them like friends rather than students. Unlike her teachers in New York, she could tell Mr. Bell truly loved teaching, and it wasn’t just a job.

"Hey Luke," she asked when class ended and the students all dispersed. "What was that at the beginning of class? I thought you said you barely knew anything about those guys."

"I don’t, Kira. I don’t know anything but a mutual disgust. Can we just leave it at that?"

She nodded okay but it wasn’t sincere. Something had to have caused that much hatred. At first, Kira thought maybe Diana and Luke used to date, but it seemed less like jealousy and more like something else, something intense that she couldn’t quite put her finger on.

The rest of the day passed uneventfully, and Kira didn’t see Luke again. After finishing her last class, she retreated to her car, totally spent.

On her way home, Kira stopped at the supermarket to pick up ingredients for her latest recipe, the one she had thought up during calculus instead of going over differential equations. All she had ever wanted to do was be a chef. And while other students her age were applying to college, she was practicing her knife and cooking skills whenever she got the opportunity, resulting in lots of good food for her family and lots of experience for future entrance examinations to culinary schools. During her gap year, Kira would hopefully be perfecting her skills in a real restaurant kitchen, but for now, she just practiced on her own. Tonight Kira was feeling homey, so she bought fresh tomatoes, spices, and flour to make some good old-fashioned spaghetti.

When she arrived home, the house was empty. Her father, she remembered, had job interviews all day with banks in Charleston’s city center. She assumed her mother was with her baby sister at the pool, since she was still too young for kindergarten.

As Kira dug her fingers into the tomatoes she had just sliced, she thought about her family. When Kira was born, her parents had been twenty-three, which seemed just old enough to have a child. And when her sister was born, they had been thirty-six, which seemed just young enough. Even now, Kira never really grasped who the mistake was—her or her sister. She remembered about five years ago when she got the news. She had just begun boarding school and was thirteen, a rather inopportune age to realize your parents were still sexually active enough to have a child. Those scars were erased as soon as Kira held her little sister in her arms and looked into her bright green eyes, ones that lacked the yellow center but