Alex and Akira entered and bowed to the teacher at the front of the room. A grin crawled across Alex's face as he let out a quick breathy laugh. His eyes were locked on Syrus, who was staring out the window. He let out a cocky sigh and took his seat. Jem and Mini eyed Alex dubiously. "How is he in our class?"

The usual first day introductions went without any problems. The rest of the class was spent reviewing the rules and syllabus. The bell rang releasing them for the first break. The majority of the class got up and walked out to meet and talk with friends from other classes. Arlin leaped out of his seat and ran to Syrus.

"I can't believe we're in the same class!" he squirmed excitedly. "This is grea-"

"Calm down, Arlin!" Syrus interrupted. "It's not a big deal." the tone of his voice was cold.

"Y-yeah." Arlin lowered his head and went back to his seat. Syrus stood up and silently walked out. Alex followed close behind. Jem and Mini ran to the door to eavesdrop. Once they were both out of the room Alex called out.

"Ahoy, Syrus!"

"What!?" Syrus swung around and snapped.

"I'm surprised they let you back." Alex jeered. Syrus rolled his eyes without a word. "I'll let you off easy today since it’s your first day back." Alex grinned. "But if I catch you breaking dress code again, don't expect me to be so generous." His expression turned serious. Syrus closed the top button of his jacket hiding the shirt he had underneath. The twins shared an astonished look. Alex smirked and walked back into the room. The twins hid behind the open door out of Alex’s line of sight. Syrus leered at him and scoffed.

"Asshole!"

From around the corner Anya, Skai and Kid overheard his remarks.

"Comments like those are best kept to yourself, Kanamura." Skai said quietly as he adjusted his glasses, while the 3 were walking passed him on their way into the room. Syrus looked up. When his eyes met Kid they grew wide.

"You're!" He gasped. Anya quickly turned to Syrus then looked at Skai with concern as they entered the room. Skai scowled at the twins, who were crouching at his feet. They let out a giddy laugh. Students filed back into the room as the break came to an end. They quickly jumped into the crowd to keep from being noticed. For the rest of the day Syrus would intently watch over the 3 of them. The bell rang as their next teacher entered the room. All the students stood, bowed, then returned to their seats. When the teacher got to the desk he looked at the class.

"Hello Kanamura!" he greeted. Syrus looked over.

"Oh, Hamasaki sensei." he said in a familiar tone.

"Looks like you're stuck with us for another year!" Hamasaki chuckled. Alex and a few others laughed quietly to themselves.

"Mmm, yeah." Syrus answered then looked back at Kid who was staring off into space. After that exchange the teacher went over the Syllabus for the class, which lasted to the end. The bell rang dismissing everyone for their second break. Again most of the class walked out. Kid jumped up.

"Uuah, this day is going by so slooooow!" he whined.

"It's not that bad." Anya assured. "It's just the first day, things will be better after today."

"But it's so boring!"

"It's school, what did you expect?" Skai casually jumped in and adjusted his glasses. Kid pouted and Mini laughed. Alex and Akira walked out of the room. Syrus put his head down to take a quick nap. The next class was more of the same. Overview of the class. Jem watched as Alex examined Syrus as he intently watched over Anya, Skai and Kid. The bell was followed by exasperated sighs from the class. The Kouki twins jumped up from their seats to stretch.

"One more class-"

"Till lunch!" they completed each other’s sentence.

"My aren't we excited." Skai adjusted his glasses and remarked in a serious tone.

"Ah, cut them some slack, Noriko!" Carmen smirked. "Anyone would work up an appetite being that fanatical."

"Than-HEY!" they shouted once they realized it was an insult. A young boy with black emo hair covering one of his sapphire blue eyes (Tori Arata), looked over at the commotions in somewhat of a daze.

"Food!" he uttered in a lustful voice. Aren looked over and smiled as he held back laughter. Sal looked at Aren with intrigue. Just as quickly as Kato sensei left, Kurosawa sensei arrived. He was quite young for a teacher. He sat in the chair at the desk up front, kicked back and rested his feet on the edge of the desk.

"Yo!" he waved at the class, most of which could not believe that such a laid-back character was their teacher. "Oi, Syrus kun you're back!" he peeked at Syrus with one eye open. The class gasped. Arlin quickly turned to his friend who seemed mildly annoyed yet amused at the same time.

"Did he just?!" he couldn't believe what he heard.

"Yeah, Kurosawa's cool. I don't mind." Syrus shrugged. Alex stared back with a delighted expression.

"Lord knows he had enough time to get to know Sensei."

"Oh that's not very nice Captain kun." Kurosawa smiled at Alex's dejected reaction. The twins and a few others laughed. Before anyone else could speak the bell started the next class. His class syllabus was structured, and his policies were strict.

"I thought you said he was cool, Kanamura?!" The usually quiet Kelly leered as class was about to end.

"Yeah, as a person." Syrus looked away flustered as he rolled his eyes. "Never said the class was easy, you just assumed." at his response Carmen let out a sharp laugh. Kelly was offended.

"Excuse you-" As she spoke the bell tolled dismissing them for lunch.

"Woo!" the Kouki twins lept up and dashed out the door while the bell was still sounding. Kid and Anya laughed as Skai adjusted his glasses and let out an exasperated sigh. They and the rest of class followed, leaving behind Arlin, Syrus and Alex. The twins lingered among the crowd to cover them, staying to spy on Alex.

"This isn't so bad is it?" Arlin asked cautiously.

"Bad, no. Troublesome, yes!" Syrus's voice was bitter.

"I...uh, it will get better!" Arlin tried to assure then laughed nervously. After he finished packing his bag, Syrus stood up and left. Arlin followed after him disheartenedly. Alex slowly stood after he left.

"Heh heh heh, perfect!" his eyes glistened in excitement.

“What was that about?” Jem whispered into Mini’s ear.

“Should we tell them?” Mini asked. Their conversation was cut short when Alex started to leave the room. They dashed off and hid in an empty hallway then took a roundabout way to get to the dining hall to avoid being seen. They caught up to Anya, Skai and Kid. They faked getting lost to avoid Skai chastising them for being late. A fairly tall boy with long midnight hair and hazel eyes (Kaz Yuli) suavely approached the table where Carmen and company sat. Mini poked at Skai, much to his displeasure, and pointed at the altercation to come.

"Frost!" he called. His voice was severe. "Why do you insist on consorting with such fools?" at this Sal stood threateningly and Aren bared his teeth as his eyes blazed with rage. Carmen grabbed at his collar and pulled him back. From an empty table some distance away, Syrus watch the exchange. Jem looked away to locate Alex among the mass of students. From the door where Alex stood, a severe girl with dark hair and red eyes (Zeka Arata) swiftly walked passed to the tall boy.

"Oi, Yuli!" she called in a sharp voice. He turned. "Cut the crap! We were told to keep a low profile." She grabbed him by the arm and pulled him in close. "Picking fights with this riffraff is not the greatest idea you've had."

"What did you call me?" Sal lunged forward. "You can suck it, Arata!" One of the group grabbed his waist and pulled him back.

"Your kind isn't welcome here, Scram!" Aren barked at the pair. Near the wall a blond boy (Ed Sevan) looked on and sighed.

"If this is how they're going to act on the first day, we're doomed!" Ed buried his face in his hand. Zeka and Kaz reluctantly backed off. She smacked the back of his head and shoots him an angry look of disapproval. Fighting laughter, Alex made his way into the room straight towards Arlin and Syrus.

"It must suck seeing that all your friends have abandoned you for someone else!" he taunted as he pointed at Kelly, the new girl. Right as Syrus was about to speak, Arlin stands up with ire.

"What about me?" he inquired. "What does that make me, vermin?"

"You'd think so with the way he treats you!" Alex snarled. Arlin retreated back to his seat and proceeded to finish eating in silence.

"None of this has anything to do with you Alex!" Syrus cautioned.

"Oh? but it does!" he beamed in response. "He is my FRIEND after all!" His words hung in the air as he walked off. Mini gasped and Jem looked to Skai with an apprehensive look. He adjusted his glasses and shrugged while Anya observed Syrus's actions. The tension left between the pair sitting in somber silence was only broken by the bell. Arlin left the dining hall before Syrus, still upset over the things Alex said.

"Skai?" Anya quietly called. He looked at her with a doubtful look.

"Maybe we should-" Kid started to propose.

"No!" Skai yelled. "That has absolutely NOTHING to do with you or any of us! We have enough to worry about without them..." His voice faded to a whisper as he spoke. Jem looked to Skai slightly bewildered then turned to Syrus who was swearing under his breath. She motioned at Mini, who shrugged.

As the next class began, the teacher Yamaguchi sensei arrived and scoffed under his breath.

"Who let the trash back in?" he muttered while eyeing Syrus. Alex chuckled having overheard the teacher's hushed remarks. Class went on like the rest. He gave a run down on the class. Unlike Kurosawa, his tone was cold and his temperament harsh. Syrus rubbed his arms, still infuriated by what had happened. The class breathed a sigh of relief once the bell dismissed them.