Title: First Sight

Series: A First Time for Everything

Author: LLE

Email: saturnchild@hotmail.com

Disclaimer: Still not mine. Jeez, how many times do we need to say that anyway?

Rating: G, if that much.

Timeline: Kennedy High, Freshman year.

Archiving: Those who have my permission, go right ahead, Anyone else please ask first.

Pairing: None as of yet, but I think you guys can guess where this one's heading.

Author's Notes: I thought it was too bad that we didn't really get that much info about the first year at Kennedy, so I'm trying to remedy that. Please forgive me for any mistakes I might have made, chronological and otherwise. This is my fic, so what I say, goes. ::grins impishly::

Oh, and guys shouldn't take offense to the following lines. The start of this little fic might seem like I have something against men, but I swear I don't. LOL

It was another beautiful morning in California. As was the custom for Santa Monica, the sun shone brightly from a clear, cerulean sky, and the air was filled with the twitter of small birds.

One male blackbird was sitting in the top of a well-grown oak, sending out morning greetings to his neighbors. With chirps and whistles, he reminded them that this was the last peaceful morning they would have for some time to come, as today was the start of the new year in the building below them. The one the humans had, for unknown reasons, named "Kennedy High School".

Just as he was about to give that irritating sparrow who lived two trees down a piece of his mind, the peace and quiet was disturbed by the sound of cars pulling up to the school gates. Slightly miffed at being interrupted in one of his better comebacks, he shot an irritated glance at the many human young as they began filing out of their parents' cars and towards the building. One student in particular caught his attention, and he stared at her for a while, trying to remember where he had seen the girl before.

It took him a while to remember, he was a birdbrain after all, but he eventually caught on. He had seen her when he and his previous mate had taken their own young out for a small trip before they left the nest. They had rested in the garden of a house about a mile from the school, not because he was tired, of course, but the young ones still weren't too used to flying. At least that's what he told his friends.

In the garden of that house, a small family of humans had been sitting in the grass, apparently having lunch on the ground. He had tried to wrap his mind around that one for some time, but trying to figure out why they would expose themselves to the fatal claws of a cat always gave him a headache. His mate had been much better than him at that sort of thing anyway.

Ah, his mate. The color of the human girl's hair reminded him of her. A deep, rich brown, so dark it was almost raven. She had been the most beautiful thing he had seen since the last time he'd fallen in love, about two days before he had met her. Unfortunately, she had met her demise a short while ago. He had found two of her feathers on the ground below their tree, and deduced that a cat had gotten too close.

He knew that the mate of the strongest male in these trees looked very much like her, but he decided that it couldn't possibly be her. Which woman in her right mind would choose bragging muscle, good looks and charisma over his keen intelligence? None, he assured himself as he fluffed his feathers boisterously, keeping an eye on the human girl.

He remembered that the older female human had called the girl "Samantha", while the male one had used the names "Sam" or "Sammy" to get the girl's attention. That had been another cause for a headache on his part, but he eventually figured out that the girl just had three names. Granted, the name "Samantha Sam Sammy" was a strange one, but he thought it befitted the nature of humans very well. They always had to be so complex. Why three names, when one nickname was just as good?

He remembered the loving name his mate had given him. It still made him smile to think about it, and he liked how his friends and neighbors had picked it up in her remembrance. All he heard when he went on his flights was "Hey, Idiot! What's up?", "Morning, Idiot." Or "Watch out for that tree, you Idiot!" Oh yes, he smirked to himself and fluffed his feathers some more; you know that you're respected when your favorite nickname is used so frequently.

He threw one last look at the human girl. She was standing in the middle of the courtyard, looking just a little lost. He didn't really have time to worry about that though. His neighbor had just left to find food, and maybe this time the female wouldn't peck him on the head. He had long ago convinced himself that she was simply playing hard to get, and decided that the more recent pecks had been a lot gentler than the first ones.

Of course, none of that was true, but if there was one thing he could do well, it was denial.

*~*~*~*

Samantha McPherson shook her head as she walked across the courtyard. A fond smile graced her full, ruby lips as she recalled the numerous suggestions her mother, Jane, had made when she had dropped her off a few minutes earlier. She had finally had to remind the woman that she was 15, not four, and that this was High School, not Kindergarten.

She briefly wondered if she would act the same way when it was time for her to send her own children to school. With a smirk, she concluded that she would probably act the exact same way, maybe even worse.

Pulling away from her internal debate, Sam brought herself to a stop and gazed speculatively at the building that loomed a little way ahead of her. Kennedy High was one of the larger High Schools in the Santa Monica area, and she was feeling a bit apprehensive about the fact that there would be hardly any familiar faces to help her through the first days here. Most of her friends from Victoria Junior High lived several miles away from Kennedy, and had therefore chosen to attend Santa Monica High, which was placed closer to the centre of town. Kennedy High lay close to the edge of the brunette's hometown, in a more sedate area than was offered by other High Schools.

Sam shook her head and told herself to suck up her nervousness. At least her childhood friend Harrison would be there, and if she got her desired position as a writer for the school newspaper she would meet some more people that way.

Fixing a confident smirk on her face, Sam pulled her head up high and made her way through the throng of students as she headed for her future.

*~*~*~*

"Thanks for the lift, Daddy." Brooke McQueen leaned over and kissed her father on the cheek

"Anytime, Honey." Mike replied, smiling as he watched his young daughter get out of the car. "Have a nice day."

"You too, Daddy." Brooke smiled and waved at her father, peeking in the open window after she closed the door. "See you later."

"Bye, Sweetie." Mike returned the wave as he pulled away from the curb, leaving his 15-year old daughter standing on the sidewalk in reflective silence.

A light breeze ruffled Brooke's long, blonde hair as she turned around, clear hazel eyes gazing pensively at her new school. The blonde hoped that she could continue cheerleading at Kennedy. She knew that her experience as head-cheerleader at Kendall Junior High would help her in the upcoming try-outs the next week, and adding to that the fact that she, along with her best friend Nicole, had been training through the whole summer, she figured they both stood a good chance of making the team. Still, you never knew who came from other schools or how good they were.

Brooke smiled and hoisted her book bag onto her shoulder, letting her legs carry her towards her new domain.

*~*~*~*

Having received her locker number and code for the year, Sam walked down the halls in search of her locker. A smile came to her face as she noticed a tall, gangly-looking boy standing by a locker very close to her own.

"Hey, Harrison." She greeted her old friend, slightly surprised that no response came.

Sam took a step closer to get a look at her friend's face, not an easy task to accomplish since Harrison basically had his entire head inside his locker. However, she soon spotted his beloved headphones. If the thumping beat she could easily hear from a good 4 feet away was any indication, Sam was hardly surprised that Harrison had not heard her greeting. With that amount of sound keeping his ears occupied, the boy wouldn't have noticed if a 747 landed right behind him.

Feeling playful, the girl reached out and quick yanked the headphones free of Harrison's head, grinning as the boy spun around with a completely adorable dumbfounded expression on his face.

"Sammy!" Harrison exclaimed, his face splitting into a wide grin as he hugged his best friend tightly. "Didn't see you there."

"Or hear me." Sam grinned and patted the walkman attached to the side of his jeans. "Although I could probably hear that music as well as you."

"Eyah." He admitted with an embarrassed grin. "You know I like to play my favorites at full volume."

Sam shook her head and took a few steps to the right, opening her locker and looking inside to make sure it was clean. Satisfied that this year wouldn't be a replay of her first at Victoria where her assigned locker had been filthy beyond any means she had thought possible, she shut the locker once more and turned back to face her friend.

"So, Mr. Music." She asked. "Got your schedule yet?"

*~*~*~*

"Sure do." Nicole held up a sheet of white paper with her entire school week neatly printed on it, along with a list of her teachers.

"Let me see, maybe we've got some classes together." Brooke reached out and quickly snagged the paper from the shorter blonde, earning herself a playful scowl in the process.

"I already checked for that, thank you." Nicole smirked, leaning back against the wall as she watched her friend look over the information displayed on the white sheet with absolute concentration.

"English and Bio Lab for this year." Brooke sighed and handed the paper back to Nicole. "Well, that's not too bad. Maybe there'll be more next year."

"Maybe." Nicole agreed. "I think we should focus more on the near future instead of the distant one right now though. You know that the try-outs are next Tuesday, right?"

"Sure." Brooke grinned. "I can't wait. I'm nervous as hell," she laughed, "but I can't wait."

"Same here." Nicole gave her taller friend a wry smile. "Up for some more training then?"

"Always." Brooke nodded as the two of them started down the hall. "But I don't have any time today. How about we do it tomorrow after school? We could probably use the field outside since none of the sports have really started yet."

"Sounds good to me." Nicole shrugged. "Did you see the name of the Bio teacher by the way?"

"Yeah." Brooke's brow furrowed slightly as she tried to remember. "Roberta something-or-other, right?"

"Roberta Glass." Nicole shook her head. "Sounds like a rail-thin, little old woman to me."

"I guess we'll find out bright and early tomorrow morning." Brooke grinned and linked her arm with Nicole's as the two turned a corner and disappeared from the sight of the crowd.

*~*~*~*

"I can't believe they're having us start with Bio Lab tomorrow morning!" Sam practically whined after looking at her schedule. "I hate Bio!"

"Well." Harrison scratched his head, smirking slightly at the display his friend gave. "Maybe you'll like it now. Who knows, this Ms. Glass could be such a good teacher that you actually become interested."

"Right." Sam scoffed. "Like that's ever going to happen."

"Hey, look on the bright side." Harrison smiled and threw one arm casually over the girl's shoulders. "At least we'll get to sit together."

*~*~*~*

"See you in a week, Dad." Sam hugged her father tightly as she, Harrison and Joe stood next to the car outside Kennedy High the following morning. "And thanks for the ride."

"No problem, Sammy." Joe McPherson smiled and kissed his daughter on the cheek before he got back inside the car. "Good luck with the newspaper next week. You'll do great, Honey." He added, referring to Sam's upcoming appraisal by the editor of Kennedy's newspaper. He'd love to be able to be there himself, but his job demanded that he take a trip to Washington and write an article about one of the new bill proposals.

"Thanks." Sam smiled and bent down to kiss her father's cheek through the open window. "Have a safe trip."

"Yeah, take care, Mr. McPherson." Harrison smiled and shook hands with the man. "And thank you for giving me a lift today."

"Sure, Harrison." Joe smiled. "You two stay out of trouble now, you hear?" He grinned broadly.

"Yes, sir." The two teenagers replied with matching grins, waving as the car pulled away from the curb.

"Well." Sam sighed resignedly as the car disappeared from sight. "I guess it's Bio time."

*~*~*~*

Nicole wrinkled her nose in obvious distaste as she and Brooke entered the classroom. Her main complaint was the color of the walls, which could only be described as a very unattractive shade of puke-green.

"Jeez." The shorter blonde mumbled as the two of them took their seats at a free table. "It's not like we need any reminders of how many pupils have probably barfed in this class."

"First of all; Eww!" Brooke groaned and held two fingers on front of her mouth to show exactly how she felt about that particular statement. "Second; Thank you so much for that lovely visual. Remind me never to eat breakfast before Bio again."

Nicole grinned at her friend. "Sorry, Hon."

"'S alright." Brooke shrugged. "Still was pretty gross though, Nic."

"Bio IS gross, Brookie." Nicole smirked and shook her head at the look on the taller blonde's face. "Might as well get used to it."

Brooke was about to form a reply when the door was opened and two more pupils walked into the room. A tall boy had his arm slung around the shoulder of a slightly shorter girl, and both were laughing freely at what Brooke assumed to be a private joke.

Nicole quickly assessed the monetary background of the new arrivals. Judging from the brands of clothes they were wearing, she was convinced that neither the girl nor the boy came from any serious money. They were obviously middle-class, thus making them unworthy of her attention. Having reached her conclusion, she turned her attention to the notebook lying open on the table in front of her, making a few quick notes about some moves she thought she and Brooke should work on at their little training session the same afternoon.

Brooke, in the meantime, was having a hard time keeping her eyes off the girl. There was something in the way the brunette carried herself that she just had to get a few more looks at. She walked with the confident, poised gait of a model, but it was obvious to the blonde that this was natural for the girl, rather than an acquired skill.

"Good morning, my little half-wits." An obviously annoyed voice suddenly boomed. Brooke tore her eyes away from the couple sitting at the table next to her own, realizing that she had been so busy studying the raven-haired girl that she hadn't even noticed the remaining students file into the classroom, let alone their teacher arriving.

And some teacher that was. The blonde felt her eyes saucer as the large woman stood in front of the desk, her hands in her pockets and a very bored look fixed on her face.

"Is that a he, she or an indefinable?" Nicole whispered. Brooke took a closer look at the teacher, and decided that she really didn't have a clue.

"You!" `It' snapped abruptly, glaring at Nicole. "Last name?"

"Excuse me?"

"Last name, you prissy little wannabe!" The creature roared. "Maybe I should send you to the school nurse for a hearing aid?"

"Julian, sir." Nicole grumbled, stressing the `sir' to show her dislike of being bullied.

"Better." The teacher responded, turning to Brooke and looking pointedly at her.

"Er…McQueen, sir."

"And how about the two lovebirds over there?" Ms. Glass turned her eyes upon the two dark-haired children who had entered earlier.

The girl looked highly amused at this reference as she mouthed the word "Lovebirds?" to the boy.

"I asked you a question, young lady!" Glass boomed. "I strongly recommend that you answer it!"

"McPherson." Came the reply in a velvety soft voice, accompanied by a faint smirk and the slightest shake of the head as soon as the teacher turned her eyes to the boy.

"J-John... sir." The boy stuttered, obviously more uncomfortable by the intense look the teacher bestowed on him than the girl had been.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen." Glass clapped her hands and looked over the class with a taunting smile on her face. "As sorry as I am to disturb your sorry little clique, and believe me when I say than I'm not sorry at all..."

For some reason, none of the students had problem believing that sentiment.

"From this day forward, seating arrangements are a fixed part of this class. You will be sorted alphabetically by your last name. John, McQueen, switch!"

Harrison and Brooke both jumped from their seats and quickly obeyed the order. Neither of them wanted to be on this person's bad side.

"Hi." Brooke whispered as she slid into the empty seat next to the brunette girl.

"Hi." The girl smiled at the blonde. "Think Glass got out on the wrong side of the casket this morning?"

"Sounds like a likely prospect." Brooke returned the smile and discreetly stuck out her hand. "I'm Brooke, by the way."

"I'm Sam." The brunette grasped the hand and shook it firmly, still smiling.

"Introductions can be made later, ladies." Glass broke in. "That what recess is for."

And thus, another year began at Kennedy High School.