DAY 1! 2988 words and just made it in the door.

Really in all of that she walked into the school and is just about ready to fill out the enrollment papers. I am worried how this is going to go. I have no idea where I am heading!!!!! If you read this more power to you.

She looked at the light green building in front of her and frowned wondering just what was in store for her in this new school. It certainly was a fancy building. She could tell from the car that there would be no broken windows or grafted lockers in this school. It most decidedly wasn’t anything like the one they had left. However that was not to surprising given how much had changed for them with this move. It was nice to be out of that crammed apartment, but it was strange not to be sharing a room, or dealing with leaky sinks and half working stoves. Even odder was the fact that there was a yard, miles of it. Such a change from the city, but it was good, for all it was odd. At least Dad was able to get a better job after my seizure caused him to lose the one that he had. Nice that something good came from it. This one pays more, housing included and there really is a yard for him to keep up, not the few pitiful bushes he was to tend in that joke of a park. Still I am so out of my element here. Why couldn’t I have at least gone to a school that didn’t scream money from the parking lot?

She took a breath and slowly opened the door. “This is going to be interesting. I am going to need that cane after all Dad. I didn’t think about it having stairs. I hope they will understand I am likely going to be late to classes for a bit.”

Her father smiled at her. “Don’t worry Sam it will be fine. You’ll see you won’t be the only one feeling lost. This school has students in it from all over the town for all it looks like it is every bit as fancy as Mr. Lizard’s house. The school knows you haven’t been out of the hospital long and are still having difficulties moving. They said that it wouldn’t be a problem.”

Samantha stood up and shook her head a bight as she took the blue cane out. “I still think Will could have found something other than Persian blue to paint this with. At least I don’t have to worry about it getting lost. I am sure the school will be fine, though I am a bit worried about my classes.” She started moving to the door doing her best not to look scared, trying to convince him in hopes she could fool herself. “They put me in the advanced ones. Well for all but the two hours of Mythical studies, what ever that is. I mean even the Government regulation is advanced. I didn’t know there was an advanced class for that. Did they miss the fact that I wasn’t in school the last half of the year?”

He shook his head and fought not to go help her, it would only upset her more. For all it was clear it was hurting her to walk over the gravel. She never was the best at walking on rocks and it was worse when her legs were troubling her, but trying to help would just embarrass her at least after today he could let her out at the sidewalk so she didn’t have to cross the lot. “They likely also know you had finished the course work before your Adsons woke up again. Trust me that missed time didn’t hurt you any and you know it. All the students in this school have the server types of Adsons so they know what it takes to keep you involved in the classes instead of sitting there twiddling your thumbs. That is why you are in this school. It is not out of fear or to separate you, but the disease changed how your brain works so you need a different environment than Will does to get the most out of it.”

Samantha smiled at her Dad. “Practicing for when Grandma and Granddad start talking to you again and learn I am in different school then my twin? They are the ones that are going to be worried about it. I know he loves that art school Mr. Robbles helped get him in but I would go nuts there. The bit I visited it yesterday was too much. We hardly saw each other at East anyway, all it really change is that I won’t get called his little sis all the time. Instead they are likely going to have me confused with Sam. I am going to have to remember that I am Samantha or I will be answering for him.” She laughed a bit. Still wondering if he could have been in Field’s and that was why she was giving the wrong medicine so much. “Say how odd was it when you got the letter anyway? I wonder if we are related some way. Robbles isn’t that common of name.”

He said. “I know you imps well enough to know it is troubling both of you more then you will say, but yes for them as well. I fear it will be near as bad as the fact I moved here in the first place. It was a bit strange to see the offer signed Stewart Robbles, I still wonder if the shared name helped me get the job. Not that I am going to complaining if it did. I asked Dad if any of the family had ever settled around Hexton and he said he thought there was an uncle out west. Then demanded to know why and what I was doing looking at anything in Hixeton, the west was all so uncivilized. Said I had better not even consider taking you kids out to the wilds. When I told him of the offer he hung up and so there it was left.” He shook his head a bit. “I never did see why they were so scared of the West. I know they are likely to be upset for a bit, but they will come around. Maybe we can even talk them into a visit if you all keep put those pictures online for them.”

Samantha nodded. “They will get over it just like they did with the rice. I don’t know that they will ever come out to the wild west but they will talk to us before long. Some of those were for me so I could see what I was in for. However I had to add my own to what the others had posted. I truly don’t see why they find this uncivilized but are fine with Aunt Evlin being in Jamaca where they don’t have cell phones and only five cars in the entire town. Heck her house phone only works two days out of the week and internet less then that. Yet we are the ones that moved to the uncivilized place.” I hated it but I had to stop and rest a bit. At least I had made it to the sidewalk. I was improving, but it was slower then I wished. I could walk around the house and the bit of yard right by it, which was better then when I got here. Still it was madding being limited to the space of two blocks when I had ran five miles the morning I had ended back in the hospital. The doctors said I would be back to running a mile by the end of the year, but right now it was a fight to just walk. I missed running, heck I missed being able to move without fearing my leg was going to give out. Right now old lady Heather could beat me in a foot race and the most she ever walked was three feet. Saying walking was for the barbarians. “Can’t you see Grecten celebrating now? She would have no issues beating me this year. Can you help me to that bench? I need to sit a bit.” Dad had his arm around me before I finished and helped me to the bench. “I should be able to go on in a bit. I didn’t think that it was rough enough to bother my leg that much.” I had to flush a bit. It was embarrassing not to be able to walk a few feet.

Dad smiled, but there was some worry in it. At least she had admitted she needed to rest, if only it didn’t upset her so. “You are doing fine. The doctors are amazed at just how fast you are coming up. They truly didn’t expect you to even be standing when you left the hospital, yet you were walking across the room. Liked scared them to death. You are doing fine. I know it is hard on you, but you will be back to running sooner than you think. Heck I bet you will be talking one of the stable hands into letting you help exercise the horses by the end of the month.”

Samantha laughed. “It might take a bit longer. After all I have to be able to convince him that I do know what a horse is first. After all I can bet he is going to find it hard to believe that an inter-city kid has ever seen one, little own that I know how to ride. It’s not like I am going to be able to saddle it on my own just yet. It will be nice to be able to ride again. That was the only thing I really missed about Grant. It was bad there, that city is fifthly I mean there was no way I was safe to shop even, but I did like the track and being let on the horses, scaring Uncle able was just a bonus. I had no idea that he didn’t go around the horse, he worked there after all.” I stood up and took a carful step then nodded. “I think I can make it in now, my leg has stopped shaking.”

He shook his head. “There is no rush, no one is going to care if you are sitting out here.” If only there was some way to convince her she didn’t need to be so embarrassed about being week yet. She pushes a bit too hard, hides to much. “He was just so sure you would hate being there, but it was safer there then at the park and there was no way you could stay home. He never dreamed you would go to the stables, just thought you would be with your cousins in the stands doing your homework. He was a bit less upset once the jockeys convinced him that you weren’t in the way and they didn’t mind. Though he did apologized to me for the riding lessons, just knowing I would be upset he let you around those beasts. I still wonder why he ever took that job. I am not surprised he didn’t last but am shocked that he is still in that city, though he did move to a better area. Still it is not a good place, but he says he likes the life it has. Still insists that if you leave the gangs alone they will leave you alone. As long as you don’t go to them you don’t need to fear them, for all he was the one that said you kids weren’t safe in the apartment alone.”

We entered the school and Samantha shook her head a bit at the shining halls. It was a big change from the dim ones she was used to. There was no graffiti in sight, and not gang signs tell which door was off limits. “I didn’t know that animals were scary. I thought it looked like fun and it was boring just sitting there. Joe hadn’t taken me to the library like he said he would and so I had nothing to do. I truly didn’t understand why it was such a big deal. Now I did know why Joe didn’t like it when the banger waved at me, I knew enough to stay away from them even at five, but I didn’t see anything to be scared of in the stables. The government posters back then just said it was greedy to keep pets not that they could be dangerous, and the people there weren’t scary like the ones on the street.” He laughed even as a few others in the hall shook their heads a bit. She looked at the poster on the wall and shook her head. It was just the magic is a myth poster but it at least did have the graffiti. “That is better then the skulls and nooses that would cover the ones at East, but how did they get the Chancellor’s eyes to spin?” I was glad to see a chair and basically fell into it. “Sorry bit that was almost too far. This leg is madding. Where is the office we need to get to?”

One of the others looked at the poster and shook his head then took it down. “Good thing they sent us a lot of these I do try and keep the ones out here free of graffiti, but give up on the ones on in the school. I was hoping that would keep it out of the entryway. My office is right down that hall, but I can bring the papers to you just as easy.” Realizing when the girl flushed that it was the wrong thing to say. Clearly she would need to be watched, as she would be trying to come back to fast. Upset of having limits on her, at least she wasn’t as likely to be upset when she was asked to cut back on the medicines as some new students did. It was hard for those new to the area to believe they could do better off the drugs then on them having heard the opposite all their young lives.  The posters oddly were helping as it was making the laws seem more like jokes then the truth so many of his generation had held them to be. “I am pleased to say that skulls, nooses or death threats do not appear on them here. I have to wonder how your old school let them go.”

Samantha managed a small smiles, and looked at her father but as he made no move to answer she did, knowing this was one of his hints. “It wasn’t meant as a death threat to the Chancellor, sir. It was just gang tags. There were four gangs that had territory within East High. The tags told you whose tertiary you were in as well as served as way to declare war. The skulls were registered enforces, the others weren’t but they weren’t stopped. It is so odd not to see any tags. I think that is going to be harder to get used to then seeing real grass and trees. It is quit a change out here. Sorry for falling into the chair but my legs are not as strong as I tend to think they are.”

He smiled and hoped he wasn’t scaring her. Now that he realized who she was. Come from out east she had to be a lost. There was a lot of difference here from there cities and fences. Now that bit about dangerous animals made a lot more sense. Folks out east were scared of nature. “I assure you that you don’t need to worry about gang wars here. The chairs are in the halls for just that reason, you won’t be the only person who has to use them. That was a much more controlled fall then Mike’s there.”

The boy next to her shrugged. “I can’t help it if the walk grew over the summer. At least I almost made it on the chair. Really he had to help me off the floor, so see you did better then me. I’m Max Petters, and sadly it is not to strange to find me sitting on the floor.”

Samantha flushed a bit, she wasn’t much of a talker, preferring books over people, but it wasn’t like Max was here to deal with them. “I did forget that didn’t I? I am Samantha Robbles, I am not generally on floors, and if I am will need help getting up. Luckily my leg starts shaking before it gives out so I have warning. Which puzzled my doctors, they said it shouldn’t do that. But then they didn’t expect me to be walking so I guess that was the least puzzling to them.” She laughed and so did the others.

Her father nodded at her, glad she had been able to talk. This would be good for her, as much as she hated it. “I am Grant Robbles, we were coming in to get her set up with the classes, and find out what failed to get to here. I hope this isn’t a bad time, when I called I was told to just come by when I had time. Half her records tend to get lost each time she changes schools and as the others had some missing I can bet she does.”

The man said. “Well according to the records I have from the school Samantha has only attended the seventh grade, nothing before or since. However the hospital also sent records so from them we were able to fill in a lot, and her test scores came in just fine as well. Oh and I am Mr. White, the principal here at White Wands, no relation to the founder just an odd coincidence of names.” That got a few more chuckles. “I am sure it won’t take long to fill in the rest.”