Sidekick

First Days Are Always Fun

**Author's Note** I promise I won't do many of these, but I just wanted to say thanks for reading! This chapter is dedicated to emberblazeofwindclan because she goes to my school and is a really good writer (and emberblaze, if I get bored of the story line I have planned out, I'll throw in a few dragons for you)(speaking of which, this story will get a bit more sci-fi/fantasy-like later, just bear with me until I get to the action). Any comments would be greatly appreciated, especially with constructive criticism, because this is my first story that I've posted (besides Criminal, but that's old and really short). Thanks again!**

The first day of school was always dreaded, but this day seemed to be worse than the previous first days experienced in my 15 years of existence. The skies were gray and cloudy, but the temperature was unseasonably warm - further proof of the strangeness of Michigan weather. I pulled open a metal door, heading into Woodland High School for my sophomore year. I looked down at my schedule and took note of my new locker's location and its combination. After carefully placing my worn out plaid backpack into my locker (hoping to keep it at least a bit organized this year), I took out a binder that I would be using for my first class, English.

A shrill bell rang, warning students like me not to be tardy. Double-checking my schedule, I sighed as I realized that the English classroom was in West Hall, the opposite side of the school. I ran carefully, trying not to get in trouble on the first day back from Summer vacation, and slipped into the first seat I saw in the classroom, and with only seconds to spare. The teacher, a woman who looked to be in her early 20s made her way from behind the teacher's desk to the front of the room. She cleared her throat, getting the attention of the multiple students already engrossed in conversation.

"Welcome to English 10." She said, picking a pencil from a small basket on her desk. "I'll start with attendance." I listened as she called out names of the students I had gone to school with for years. She said one that I didn't recognize, but I was already too tired to care. "Aden Hallisey?" She asked, reminding me that I needed to stay awake at least until attendance was over.

"Here." I answered, barely loud enough. She smiled at me and continued on down the list. When she was done, she turned towards the whiteboard and grabbed a blue marker. She proceeded to write her name on the board, and turned around.

"I am Miss Kunz. People somehow misspell it every year, so this year I decided to make sure everyone knows how to spell my last name. If you don't have it memorized by the end of class, I will be disappointed and you will probably end the year with an F." Miss Kunz smiled to let us know she was joking, then went on to explain the syllabus. Her description was very in depth, and as I knew we were going to learn it all later, I zoned out. I was snapped out of my daydream by the words "You can pick your own partner, and then write a short essay about their likes, dislikes, family, and anything else interesting about them. You have these last few minutes of class, all of tomorrow, and I expect them on my desk first thing on Friday." The kids groaned and met their friends. None of my friends were in this class, so I guess I would be working alone, or maybe the teacher had another project I could do instead.

"Aden, you and Will can work together." I had forgotten about the kid whose name I didn't recognize, but apparently he hadn't found a partner either. I stood up, grabbed my stuff, and headed towards the desk in front of his. Casually stepping over an outstretched leg meant to trip me, I dropped by stuff on the desk and sat down facing the only other kid without a partner, who was Japanese.

"I'm Aden. I take it you're Will." I offered my hand and he shook it, nodding. "So, first things first. How old are you?" I asked, taking out a notebook so I could write down anything important.

"I'm sixteen, and my birthday is August twenty fourth." He repeated the question to me, then copied me, removing a notebook from a binder.

"I'm only fifteen, but my birthday is November 18. Are you new here? I don't think I've seen you around." I was pretty sure I would have remembered seeing him, because he was around six feet tall and had black spiky hair that only added to his height.