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Atticus sourly kept the ice on his swollen eye, glaring heatedly at the stranger sitting across from him. The stranger likewise kept an ice pack on his cheek, giving Atticus the same glare.

�Damn sorry son of a bitch�.� Atticus muttered to him.

�Crazy mother with a height complex�.� The stranger muttered back. Klingon gave a tired sigh from beside the stranger. The two sophomores had been at it for the past five minutes, quietly muttering curses at each other while the nurse attended to the black clothed Taipan in the separate room.

The nurse�s office was small, filled with a lot of chairs and a small desk. Sunlight poured through the window on the threesome. All of them looked worse for wear, with torn clothing and bruises galore.

Atticus was too mad to congratulate Klingon. The teenager had taken out the Taipan almost too easily, giving the senior a broken nose and a few bruised ribs.

�Both of you stop it.� The nurse gushed as she returned, giving Atticus and the stranger a warning glare. Sitting at her desk, she took out several papers and began to fill them out.

�I�ll have your parents called in. All of you will go see the principal once I deem that the swelling is under control.� The nurse, Ms. Secur, was from the North, like Sadie. She lacked the lack of grammar as well as the accent that most of the inhabitants of Jacksonville were so infamous for.

Atticus sat back in his chair, �So what�s yer name?� He seethed at the stranger. Hard brown eyes glared back at him.

���.Corrs.� He said shortly. Atticus gave a loud snort.

�Coors?! Like the beer?!�

�No, you dumb dip shit!�

�Settle down!� The nurse glared at the two, holding up a hand, �Seriously, both of you are too old for this. And my ears are too pure to hear your language.� Klingon gave a little chuckle as he shook his head.

�Eh, I�m surprised yer used to it, Mz Secur.�

�It�s Ms., Mr. Klingtock.� She sighed, refusing to use Klingon�s nick name. Atticus ignored the conversation between the two, focusing on Corrs. A sly grin began to creep upon his face while his fellow sophomore gave him a distrusting look.

After a few seconds, apparently curiosity got the better of Corrs, �What?� Atticus whistled a bit, closing his eyes. Humming a few lines, the fingers that were free from the burden of holding the ice pack drummed against his thigh. Heh heh heh�� The sly grin turned into his usual coy smirk as Atticus opened his eyes. Leaning forward toward the now weary Corrs, Atticus softly crooned.

Black and blue, lookit that face Your fat ugly hair, such a disgrace Why the hell are you even alive? When everything you say reeks of lies?

Atticus� soft song, which he imagined having an eerie feel to it, caused Corrs� body to twitch violently, spitting a low, �What the hell did you just sing?� Atticus only winked to him, continuing his little improv.

Ah, Corrs, close your eyes Let those little demons inside Spread to those plump lips For a demonic kiss

�You want another beating!?� Corrs lunched at Atticus, but Klingon quickly wrapped an arm around the enraged sophomore, shoving him back into his seat.

�Calm down, man. It�s how Atticus plays.� Klingon spoke calmly, giving Atticus a glare, �You stop that now, y�hear? Else you�ll be gettin� more �n jes detention.�

�Listen to your friend, Mr. Montgomery.� Ms. Secur spoke up. The brunette only shook his head, sitting back as he rested his head against the wall, singing slightly louder now as Corrs struggled against the junior�s grip to stand.

Do you eat babies for kicks? Drink virgin blood in bliss? Darling Corrs, I need a mace Cut up your body, and bury it anyplace.

�Mr. Montgomery!� Ms. Secur yelled threateningly, �If you continue, I will write this down as discrimination against a student!� Atticus waved a hand to her, giving her his cheeky smile.

�Aw, Mz. S, dun worry �bout it.� He said smoothly, �I jes hate �im �bout as much as I hate that other lowlife, that Taipan.� He lifted his chin in the direction of the sleeping senior. A far away sounding �go kiss your mother� was heard as the nurse held the bridge of her nose in annoyance. Klingon was trying his best not to buckle and end up laughing, releasing Corrs to do his ungodly business on Atticus.

The teenager looked over to his �enemy� with a snarky grin. Corrs� face was contorted into rage, his hands in fists. He no longer fought Klingon�s grip, instead sitting in his seat while shaking.

Atticus only whistled a few more bars of the impromptu song, �Think I�ll call it Beer, �cause that�s yer name.�

�I swear to you, if you don�t stop your damn mouth, then I�ll stop it for you.� Corrs� tone of voice meant that he was seriously livid; Atticus knew this all too well as he winked back at his dark skinned friend.

�Ya�ll gonna stop it fer me? An� jes how ya�ll plannin� t�do that? We�re in here, with Ms. Secur, �bout to git in a WHOLE lotta shit with our parents. I think that ya�ll ain�t got nothin� t�do.� The Southerner laughed gleefully while Corrs did something that Atticus least expected- smiled.

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Sadie sighed as she opened the door to her home. She had heard about Atticus and his fight with the new student. Who apparently was Jamaican.

�Talk about odd.� She thought to herself, dropping her bag in front of the closet in the foyer, �Moving all the way from Jamaica to live here�..� Kicking off her shoes, Sadie�s cold blue eyes surveyed her living room. It was empty, but faint noises coming from the kitchen said otherwise. Walking past the couch, she entered the well lit food making room.

Both of her eyebrows arched very high as she saw who was sitting with her father at the kitchen table.

�Oh, welcome home honey.� Mr. Mittoch smiled brightly. Sadie only nodded to her father, waiting for an introduction. It took the slightly oblivious man a moment before he realized with a start why his daughter was looking at him and his visitor.

�Aha! Honey, this is Mr. Wells Songi. He just transferred to here from Jamaica.� The darker toned man reached out a hand to Sadie with a friendly smile. The girl wondered if his son shared the same pretty brown eyes and short, almost spiked, hair.

Extending her own hand to shake his, Sadie bluntly stated, �Your son got into a fight with my friend today. It was an even match, rumors said.� Both men looked startled at the �greeting� Sadie had given them.

�Eh heh, my son did? My apologies, he can be a bit unruly at times.� The man laughed nervously. Sadie gave him a clipped smile.

�My friend shares the same trait.� She turned and opened the refrigerator to get herself something to drink. Picking out a bottle of water, the teenager exited the kitchen and left the two men to their conversation.

Going up the stairs towards her bedroom, the girl reflected about the �situation�- Atticus and Songi�s son had gotten into a rather rough bout, this was bound to be bad news considering her father�s tendency to have her be friends with his co-worker�s children. Sadie could remember how calloused each �friendship� felt. Growing slightly angry about her father and his assumptions, the girl entered her room.

It was a normal room, with a normal day bed opposite of the door. A desk sat next to it, holding a few books and her computer. On the wall to her right were her dressers, holding her clothing. A closet stood next to them, with the doors ripped off. Sadie had hung them on the left wall, after decorating and painting them to her liking.

Like any typical teenager, her walls were covered with posters. Some from movies, others from bands, and a few very old posters all brought a darker color to the white walled and carpeted room. An original Star Wars with the original title of Revenge of the Jedi hung next to an old poster of The Dark Crystal. Sitting in her plush chair in front of the computer, Sadie pushed the mouse a bit.

The screen came to life from its dormant state. Taking a sip from her water, she relaxed, sitting back in her chair as she moved her mouse to view a few web pages. Most of them belonged to band sites, usually forums. None of them had updated, much to Sadie�s annoyance. Sighing again, the girl tilted back her head, staring at her ceiling.

�I wonder what Melbourne�s been up to�.� She thought with a frown, �What could he have meant, that he was mad at himself?� Argh, sometimes the teenager loathed her silent friend for his mysterious mind power. Atticus had said it- Melbourne�s mind was more trickier than the math problems their teacher gave them.

Smirking at the thought of Atticus and his horrible grammar, Sadie picked up the phone from the desk, dialing Melbourne�s number. Mel would love to hear about the fight, she thought devilishly.

Atticus, of course, would hate to know that Melbourne found out about it from Sadie.

After a few rings, Sadie sighed, giving up. She knew why he wasn�t answering. Number one reason was usually taking a nap. Standing up, the girl crossed her room and picked up a notebook from the floor. As she opened it, her eyes skimmed the poems that were written inside- all from Randy Clellen.

�Oh. That�s right. He gave me something.� Setting the notebook down on her day bed, she grabbed her water bottle and left the room, taking her time as she walked down the stairs. Her father and his friend were still in the kitchen as she passed them. They were talking about their jobs in the city and how Songi was supposed to adapt to the possible hostilities.

�He shouldn�t have moved here in the first place�.� Sadie thought to herself as she kneeled in front of her bag. As open minded as the school community was getting, she knew that the rest of the community (namely those older than 23) would be very stubborn.

Opening the pocket that contained the present from Randy, the auburn head took a closer gander at it. It was a small black box, about square size. Her eyes widened a bit as a sudden assumption entered her mind; a ring.

Narrowing her eyes almost immediately, Sadie was imagining the horrible death scene of Randy if he had been so presumptuous to give her a ring when she was a sophomore in high school. Only idiots got married this early, which was more than half of the town.

Opening it slowly, her eyes widened again at what was inside. It wasn�t a ring. Nor was it a necklace, earrings, any kind of jewelry. It was a small stone, and a piece of paper in it. Taking out the stone, the teenager stared at the thick black lines that encircled the graphite textured piece of rock. It wasn�t in a perfect shape; as a matter of fact, the girl was certain that her admirer had gotten it from the woods that surrounded the town.

Keeping the rock in her palm, she opened the note and read Randy�s words.

Sadie, I know your a girl who doesn�t like presents. I know your a girl who doesn�t like money or like things bought as a token of ownership. So I share this rock with you cuz its from one piece. I have the other. Come to my house at 7 tonite? Randy

Rolling her eyes at the grammar, Sadie found herself smiling. It was so sickeningly romantic. The second piece of a rock that was broken from one. Looking at it, her smile grew as she gave a soft chuckle, shaking her head.

�Randy, you�re so stupid.� She thought, standing up. Tucking both the note and the rock into her pocket, she looked up at the clock. It was only 3:30. She had plenty of time to do her homework before going over to Randy�s.

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To say that Ms. Montgomery and Mrs. Songi were equally mad would be far from the truth. Atticus� mom was slightly irked, but didn�t think much of their fight while Mrs. Songi was livid. Sitting beside each other in the principal�s office while their respected sons stood behind them, both had the strange premonition that they would decidedly not get along.

Coughing, the principal smiled blithely to them, �I�m sure both of ya�ll have heard the story from each of your sons and the nurse. �Course, appropriate action will be taken. However,� He paused rubbing his neck, �Due to the�.�

�Yes, we know how unusual it is.� Mrs. Songi spoke up with a clipped tone, �We are the first blacks who�ve moved in here, and having a fight break out on his first day is probably not the best thing to have happened.�

�Or it could�ve be.� Atticus bit his lip to keep from laughing as his mother spoke up. �What else is more normal than two boys fightin�? I mean, my boy don�t pick fights jes �cause of their skin- he picks �em �cause he dun like th�other too much.�

Mrs. Songi slowly turned her head to give the skinny woman a glare, �So you suggest that two boys fightin� in a school that is mostly racist without an explanation is just what they need to welcome my son here?�

The principal opened his mouth to retaliate, but Atticus� mother spoke first. �I said th�explanation; my boy don�t like your boy.� Ms. Montgomery gave the Jamaican a beaming smile while Atticus covered his mouth, snorting. Even Corrs gave a snort of laughter while his mother�s hands began to shake slightly.

�That is ludicrous! Even at schools in Jamaica, fightin� was still fighting. And up here, where we are surely to be discriminated against, you dare tell me that it�s somethin� to be happy about!?�

�Why not? It�s a good way t�show th�other students that your boy ain�t diff�rent from ev�ryone else.�

�You obviously have forgotten what it�s like to be in high school. No doubt that these students will send rumors ev�ry which way, talkin� that those two were fighting because of racism!�

As the two argued back and forth, Ms. Montgomery with her cheerfully angry demeanor and Mrs. Songi with her outrage, the three males in the room decided wisely to keep their mouths shut. But while the old principal was left alone, Atticus and Corrs were able to keep each other company.

�So yer mom�s pretty cool.� Atticus whispered to him, �Fer once, she can blatantly say somethin� that others tip toe �round.�

Corrs rolled his eyes, �Whatever.�

�C�mon, yer s�pposed t�compliment my mom now.� The Southerner grinned to the Jamaican. Corrs sighed, placing a hand to his temple.

�I don�t gotta do anythin� just because you did.� He looked over at Atticus, who was now frowning.

Leaning towards Corrs, Atticus hissed, �Y�know, I was jes tryin� t�be friendly-like. I dun know what it�s like t�be a newcomer to a school, �specially in yer situation, but I wanted t�help.�

Corrs glared over at Atticus as he hissed back, �An� if I needed a hick�s help, I�d have asked for it.� Both teenagers� hands were in fists while their mothers' voices were a bit louder now than before.

The principal stared at the two arguments before him. And judging by all four and their tempers, he knew that it would be physical pretty soon. While he knew that Atticus would probably get his butt kicked like so many times before, he doubted if Mrs. Songi would win against Ms. Montgomery. After all, he had personally seen the woman fight.

�S�cuse me.� He smiled to them, coughing. Four furious faces turned to him as his smiled turned nervous, �If I may please bring a compromise?� Silence reigned until the mothers gave a small �what� to him.

Rubbing his neck again, the principal continued, �Perhaps if an agreement can be made. Both boys�ll be punished accordingly, and, so as no confusion�ll be made, I will personally make an announcement to the entire school population of the reason for the fight.�

Ms. Montgomery arched an eyebrow to the principal, �What? Yer actually gonna do that, Mick?� The principal gave her a small meaningful look while Atticus blinked, all anger suddenly vanishing from his face.

�Th�hell!? She called him by his first name.� Atticus felt his fists release their fury. Corrs stared at the Southerner�s sudden change of emotions with a suspicious looking face.

Mrs. Songi spoke, much of her anger being withheld, �That sounds agreeable to me, Mr. Hannock.� Looking over to the frail woman beside her, she narrowed her eyes to her.

�Fine with me, Mick.� Ms. Montgomery enunciated the principal�s name, now glaring openly at him. While the principal smiled nervously to them and began to speak, Atticus� mind was elsewhere.

His mother was looking at his principal intently, and Atticus knew that glare. It was her standard �don�t tell me what I can�t do/say/whatever glare�. And she had that glare on the principal�. No, on Mick. Atticus knew his face must have looked pale, because his next thought was something he did NOT want to face.

�Is� Is Mom datin��. My principal?!� Looking over the man he now considered �hostile�, Atticus didn�t like what he saw. The principal was at least in his mid-30s, but still had most of his light brown hair. He also had green eyes. Ugh, green eyes. Slapping his palm to his forehead, Atticus actually gave a groan that attracted the two Jamaican�s gaze.

�Green eyes�. She�s always been a sucker fer those.�

�Now then, Mrs. Songi, Mr. Songi. I hope that ya�ll�ll enjoy your stay in Jacksonville.� The principal smiled to them while the woman nodded.

�Of course. And I�ll make sure Corrs writes you what had happened as soon as he gets home.� Standing, her brown eyes glared to her son as she turned to exit, �Good day.�

�Good day.� The principal said back with nervous pleasantry. As the two exited, Atticus went to sit down next to his mother.

He hardly got to the seat that was only a mere two feet from him when his mother spoke up, �Honey go on home. I got somethin� t�talk to Mick �bout.� Atticus clenched his teeth, glaring at the principal who now refused to make eye contact with him.

But his anger wasn�t just on his principal. Atticus glared down at his mom, �Fine.� He said, not bothering to hide his agitation as he exited the room. Sticking his fists in his pockets, Atticus angrily left the main office of the school and entered the empty halls.

Looking to the left, he saw the figures of Corrs and his mother pushing open the doors to freedom. Kicking the wall next to him, Atticus began to walk down that way as well.

�Damnit.� He cursed, running a hand through his hair. He was furious again. His mother was dating and she hadn�t even told him! Dating his principal. His damn principal. Punching a wall as he walked past it, Atticus fleetingly thought of his book bag.

�Screw it.� He thought as he shoved the doors roughly. At this moment, the teenager knew only one place to go; Melbourne�s. Even though he loathed going into that house with the intoxicating, overwhelming stench of alcohol, he loved Mel�s cats. Atticus felt comfort with them, just like his friend. Hell, it was probably a habit he had picked off of his light blonde haired friend.

Kicking at the sidewalk as he began to cross the street, Atticus roughly blew air out of his lungs.

�Damnit.� He cursed again, �Fuckin� DAMNIT!� His rage forced him to kick at a nearby tree, a few of the dying leaves falling in around him.

�Why is Mom datin� �gain?! She�ll only get her heart ripped out an� shredded, jes like last time!� Atticus punched the tree as he began to run towards Melbourne�s house, which was near the edge of town. It was the closest to the woods that surrounded the small community, the reason why Melbourne�s backyard was so full of junk; because it was endless.

Reaching the house in a record-breaking 7 minutes, Atticus banged his fist on the door. Giving a feral growl, the teenager punched the heavy oak door angrily just as it opened.

Watching as Melbourne was forced back a few steps, Atticus immediately regretted it. The last thing he wanted to do was to get into an argument. Just as Mel�s face scrunched up into a frown, Atticus barked out an apology.

�Sorry, jes that�. Augh!� Grabbing his hair, Atticus glared at his friend, �Mom�s dating! She�s fuckin� datin� our principal!� When Melbourne didn�t reply, Atticus screamed, �She�s datin� our fuckin� principal, Melbourne!� About to punch the door again, his lithe friend caught his wrist.

�Hey, hey, calm down.� Mel�s smooth voice cut into Atticus as he breathed heavily.

�I-I need t�punch somethin� Mel, �cause,� A flutter of laughter followed his words, �I�m gonna fuckin� kill somethin�.� Melbourne smiled slightly.

�Well, I have a long list�. C�mon, there�s some stuff in the back you can set your mits on.� Grateful, Atticus gave his friend a smile. Taking a few steps into the house, he suddenly grabbed Melbourne, wrapping his arms fiercely around the small form. He felt Melbourne tighten in his hold, but Atticus quickly subdued his fears. The phone rang, but Melbourne didn't make a move to go answer it. Eventually, the caller gave up.

�I won�t hurt ya, Mel�. Jes�. Heh, man. Y�know, I thank God ev�ryday fer you too.� Releasing his friend, Atticus gave Melbourne a shaky smile. His mother dating unsettled him like nothing ever had before. He didn�t want to see her in pain. He knew that she was fragile; No matter how tough her fists were, she was a pure angel underneath the blood tainted skin.

Atticus couldn�t stand that thought. He had seen his mother, back when he was five, when his bastard of a father had left them. She cried, constantly, had even experimented with alcohol. Melbourne�s father was a grim reminder of what his mother could become.

Likewise, Mel was a constant stab at Atticus; Would he turn out to be like his friend if his mother became alcoholic? The brunette knew that his train of thoughts were selfish, hell, they were probably downright evil. But, as much as he tried to hide it, he was scared. He didn�t want to cover up for his mother�s mistakes. Every time she messed up, would he be like Melbourne and just take it all with a sad smile?

Staring at his friend, Atticus� smile grew a bit wan. He didn�t want to think of that now. All he wanted to do was take out his rage on a couple of non-living objects. Even though right now what he really wanted to pound was both Corrs� smug face and the principal�s disgusting one.

�C�mon, let�s go beat up some metal.� Melbourne said after a few moments of comfortable silence, as though picking up on Atticus� feelings. Atticus gratefully agreed.

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