We barely beat the bell to class.  Chann and I swapped an amused glance at the way Sasuke was puffing.

“He’s slender but not in shape,” Chann signed with a muted chuckle.  “He must not play any sports.  Still looks put together, though, except for his hair.”

I glanced back at him and barely smothered a laugh.  His blonde hair had fallen completely out of its careful hairstyle and there was a dusting of pink on his cheeks from the quick sprint to the classroom.  There was something endearing about his messy hair and his futile attempts to fix it.

“Don’t worry about your hair, mate; you look fine.  Come sit with us!”

Sasuke accepted and sat down beside me with a slight huff of relief.  I felt a wave of sympathy for him.  He must feel so awkward and lost, all on his own in a foreign high school where so many people had ignored him when he asked for help.  Chann clearly felt the same, for he reached over and gave Sasuke a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

“Hows about I give you my number?  That way you can text me whenever you need help.”

“That would be great.  Thank you.”

Sasuke handed Chann his phone and I exhaled in surprise.  He had the latest model, which was selling at a thousand dollars.  How could he afford something like that?  Chann quirked an eyebrow at it but didn’t comment.

“And…  done.  I sent myself a text, so you’ve now got my digits.  I’ll be sure to send you the photos I have of the school map, so you can navigate a bit better.”

The morning announcements came on just as Chann finished speaking.

“Please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance…”

Chann and I stood with the rest of the class and instinctively held hands.  Neither of us said it, or even mouthed along.  The morning announcer called the moment of silence.  As the rest of the class pulled out their phones and flopped back into their seats, Chann’s hand trembled in mine as we remembered his older brother, Jake.  His lopsided grin, so like Chann’s, flooded my mind.  His shady drafting all those years ago…  I still didn’t understand how the government could take him from us when we needed him so badly.  He could be dead.  I’d take this moment to remember him and all the other soldiers who died or went missing in the line of duty.

When class ended, Chann grinned at Sasuke in amusement.

“American government screwing you up?” he teased.

“I did not realize it was so complex…”

“That’s America for you.  Well, we’d better hurry on to our next class, or we’ll be late.  You’ll be okay on your own?” Chann checked.

“Yes.  The map is very helpful, and the room number is on my schedule.  I will be okay.”

“Grand!  See you later.”

I tried to conceal my nerves as I set off for my next class, sharply aware that Mirai and Chann were heading in the opposite direction.  I ducked and swerved around the crowds of students, feeling like I was in the middle of rush-hour traffic.  There were so many students and they were hardly moving, too absorbed in their phones to take more than an inching step and they were consistently blocked off by other phone-focused snobs.  I didn’t want to shove anyone, but I was going to be late if I couldn’t pick up the pace!

“Hey, new kid!  Come walk with me.”

My heart thumped.  I recognized that voice.  A tall boy with cropped platinum hair and sharp hazel eyes came to stand at my side, and I fought my revulsion as he stuck out his hand.

“Richard White, Jr., captain of the football team.  You can call me Richie.  Where you headed?”

“Room 306.”

“I can take you there.  What’s your name?”

“Sasuke.”

“Cool, cool.  Hey, I saw you hanging around the fag and his bodyguard – I gotta tell ya, that’s the wrong crowd to run with.  You’re too good for them.  I’d break away while you can, before they contaminate you.”

“They were helping me,” I retorted, talking slowly and running my English twice over through my mind to make sure I was getting it right, “and they are my friends.”

They are my friends, aren’t they?  They were the only people who offered to help me, and Chann and I exchanged numbers.  Surely that makes us friends?

“You can have better friends.  It’s natural to get attached to the first people you meet but, trust me, they’re bad news.”

“What is bad about them?”

“Oh, come on.  The skinny one is gay and Jewish and he’s a fucking immigrant, and he’s got that Brit with him all the time, who’d be an okay guy if he wasn’t so attached to that Jew.  They do nothing but cause trouble for admin and waste valuable resources.  Brit Boy’s also on the soccer team and he screws every game by bringing his little boyfriend along.  He does it just to piss us off!  They ruin everything good about this school and this town.”

“They have names.”  My voice was fierce, so much so that even I was shocked by it.  “Chann and Mirai.  Use them.”

Richie’s lip curled.  “They’re nothing more than animals.  They don’t get names.”

“Well, they do, and I use them.”

“Look, blondie, you could have a great time here, or you can face the fag’s fate.  Make your choice.”

I merely glared at him.  That was answer enough.  Richie smacked the back of my head and stalked ahead of me, leaving me struck speechless.  I felt a slow burn of fury in my chest.  This was the guy who’d jumped Mirai in the bathroom and chased him across the school, the one who apparently gave him no end of trouble.  Chann spat his name out like it was poison and Mirai seemed genuinely scared of him.  He hadn’t stopped insulting them the entire time we’d talked.  How shallow and cruel did Richie think I was?

My ears were still hot with anger when I stalked into my classroom.  I grit my teeth as I saw Richie in the back, his tongue halfway down the throat of a black-haired girl and his hand up her short skirt.  He shot me a satisfied glare as he grabbed the girl’s butt, almost as if he were taunting me with her.  Did he honestly think there was some kind of victory in what he was doing?

I took my seat and winced as a spitball hit my cheek.  What were they, prepubescent middle schoolers in the 90s?  Who threw spitballs anymore?  I thought it was only a movie cliché these days.  A ball of wadded paper bounced off the back of my head and then another spitball smacked into almost the same spot.