There's a new girl in school today! She looks just a little lost.

Lydia would normally be the one to greet new students, but she's a bit distracted lately.

Danny will step in, since someone is asleep at the wheel.

"Hi, you seem new around here. I'm Danny Māhealani. Spelling won't be on the test, so I'll skip it, and you can just stick to 'Danny'. You are?"

"Solvei Koskin! Nice to meet you. How'd you guess?"

"People who live around here know the place. We're a very distinctive kind of town, if a little dull. Do you need help finding any of your classes?"

"I would really appreciate that, yeah. The administration neglected to supply me with a map."

"Sure. We're a fairly small school. I'll show you the cafeteria, gym, and so on, and you can give me your schedule so I can point out your classrooms along the way."

"It's a deal!"

She shows him her schedule.

Danny is very helpful! 

He stops by his next class to inform his teacher that instead of learning about the legislative branch, he'll be introducing Solvei to their school. 

The teacher waves him off, and they go.

He shows her the music room-"I'm on the flute. If you play, I'm sure you can arrange the kind of program you want, the teacher is very enthusiastic."

He shows her the gym- "If you need an exemption from anything, it's easier to go through one of the student athletes or a coach than the gym teacher, trust me."

He shows her the cafeteria- "Just like in the movies, you'll have to learn all the cliques fast and then you're golden."

He shows her all her classes, and that's pretty much everything.

"If you don't need anything else right now, I can go to my next class while you deal with the administration, or just wander. Whatever. I'll probably see you at lunch, maybe give you the social primer."

"Thanks! You've been really helpful and I appreciate it a lot!" says Solvei. "I think I'm covered for now. Enjoy your institutional education, and I'll see you at lunch."

And he goes off to "enjoy" that.

She is of course welcome to spend her time however she wants today. 

They prefer to give students a chance to run- that is, assess the school's  resources and curriculum- before they start classes.

It's very welcoming of them! She spends her morning wandering around getting familiar with the layout and politely eavesdropping on assorted classes.

Assorted classes will occur whether she is in them or not. 

There are of course other students, if she's interested in those. 

Some she might run into: the fidgety, slender boy who keeps glancing about warily, the distracted young woman with a vacant expression, the quiet boy with a camera on his desk, and the confident girl who answers her teacher's questions completely and a bit agressively. 

She is definitely interested in other students. She'll smile at any who catch her eye.

Fidgety and vacant are quite busy with being fidgety and vacant.

Confident mostly focuses on class, but waves politely at the new girl. 

Quiet doesn't wave, just smiles and gets back to his doodling. 

She can take a peek if she's sitting close enough. 

She does glance at the doodles. They're right there, and all.

He does fairly good linework for casual time-wasting. 

There is a tree with nesting birds, intermingled with an analysis of the green light on the docks, a lacrosse stick, using "Daisy" as its base, and what appears to be a swimming pool, drawn over the notes once they were written. 

He glances at her, surprised, but refocuses on his English teacher's rambling.  

Solvei smiles at the doodler again, but doesn't try to strike up a conversation since she doesn't want to distract him excessively from his institutional education.

He is educated in an institutional manner. 

Class ends, and he packs up. 

He catches up with her outside. 

"I guess the student handbook doesn't cover reading other people's stuff? It's kind of frowned upon around here."

"Oh, I apologize," she says.

"Not a big deal, I'll recover. I haven't seen you in class before, did you just transfer in?"

"Yeah, my aunt and I moved here a few days ago. Nice town. Quiet. Of course, maybe it's lulling me into a false sense of security."

"Beacon Hills likes summoning people, that's its hobby. It won't be long before lacrosse is your favorite sport and you can't imagine a world without ice-skating every weekend."

He walks at a fairly slow pace, possibly to let her keep up. Possibly to take pictures if inspiration strikes; he seems to keep a steady grip on his camera. 

"Ice skating every weekend! I could get used to that."

"It's not awful, I'm just not very coordinated for a lacrosse player."

By this point, they have reached another classroom.

"Unless you're in my next class too, this is probably where we part ways. See you at lunch?"

"You're in luck, actually. I, too, have econ at this time."

"In that case, go on in."

He holds the door for her.

She grins at him on her way into the classroom.

Matt does more notetaking and less doodling.

Matt doesn't seem inclined to talk much, though.

That's okay. Solvei can pay attention to class! Imagine!

Imagine, indeed. The material is easy to understand on this level, but the teacher's blustery style often makes things murkier than they were to start.

Class ends, the bell rings. Students shuffle out.

"If you're coincidentally in my next class, I'll eat my hat."

"You're not wearing a hat," Solvei points out. She checks her schedule. "Music?"

"Math, then lunch. It was nice meeting you. I'm Matt, just shout my name in the cafeteria and I'll appear."

"I'm Solvei. Nice to meet you. Enjoy the math."

And off she goes to music, where she explains that she left her cello at home today but will be bringing it tomorrow.

The music teacher is delighted someone has their own instrument! 

The school provides some to students who can't afford them but still have interest, but of course some freeloaders who want an easy elective...

Eventually she is reminded that yes, she has a class, so they start practicing.

There will be a concert before spring break if she wants to take part. 

Solvei thinks that sounds like fun!

Solvei is quite welcome to join in, then!

Eventually, lunch. 

There's her guide!

"Solvei! I hope your first day is going okay."

"It's been great! Thanks for showing me around."

"You can sit at our table. It's a good way to ease into the social scene, starting with the popular kids. A bit teen drama, I know."

"Oh, do tell me all about the teen drama."

"Not much to tell, yet. It's ongoing. Jackson, jock, and Lydia, socialite, were dating for years, and now they're not. His ambitions have outgrown her, and she's been a bit unstable lately. According to him. According to her, he's ungrateful for all she's done and can't get over his insecurities. The three of us have always been a staple of this school, but naturally, they decided to think with their lower brains this time."

Danny goes to retrieve food.

"Our table is over there, if you're done before I am."

She is indeed done before he is. She goes and sits over there.

There is some sort of argument. Keywords are "not getting back together" which make the girl confused and angry.

Another girl at the table has the presence of mind to introduce herself.

"Hi, I'm Allison. I don't think we've met yet."

"I'm Solvei. It's lovely to meet you."

"We try. Usually. Are you new?"

"Yeah, moved here a few days ago."

"It's a nice town, if a little smaller and quieter than I'm used to. We have a bowling alley, and an ice-skating rink. Lacrosse is the popular sport."

That earns her a glare from the ambitious and insecure jock. 

He continues trying to dump his girlfriend. 

"I have nothing against lacrosse, and I'm actively in favour of ice skating. As stereotypical as that is."

Danny looks to be about done, but first, they have a visitor!

"Hey Solvei. Jackson, mind if I sit?"

"Yeah. Who are you?"

"Jackson, he's on the team. You're captain, you should probably keep better track of the people that matter."

"Oh, quiet guy who likes his camera. Sure, you can sit. I'm about I leave anyway."

He stands up and walks off. 

His girlfriend sniffles and returns to vacant staring.

"...Well then," says Solvei. She turns her smile on Matt. "Hi! How was math?"

"Fine, not really my thing. How was music?"

Danny arrives.

"Already ran off, I see. Sorry Solvei. Oh! And Matt, at our table. Hey man, what's up?"

"Music was good! Apparently I am a shining beacon of hope in this world because I own my own cello."

"It's unusual around here. Hey Danny."

He places his camera on the table and sits. 

"Allison, you should give Solvei an outsider's take. I'm sure us Beacon Hills natives are a bit provincial compared to you two."

"Alright. Where do I start?"

"I admit I'm slightly confused about how someone could fail to recognize a member of their own personal sports team, but perhaps I'm missing a nuance."

"Jackson is kind of a self-absorbed jerk, he mostly pays attention to his friends and his 'enemies'."

Matt snorts, and doesn't contest it. 

"He can be an idiot sometimes, and he's really bad with people. Lydia and I handle that."

"Well, fair enough. All right, Allison. Tell me everything you know and I'll look favourably upon you when one day I rule the world."

"Oh, gosh, alright. You should know that the school treats lacrosse like other schools treat football, so you're kind of expected to go to games. There isn't really a good arts program here; the music teacher tries her best but the others don't care. Mr. Harris, the English teacher, has a military background and thinks high school students are too dumb and undisciplined, so be careful. The guidance counselor, Ms. Morrell is nice, but kind of scary."

"If you have any interests, this school won't help you with them. I'm taking a photography course and classics at the local community college, I can get you some materials if you're interested in something similar in any subject."

"I might just take you up on that! Thank you both. Your position in my future empire is secure."

"Democracy has its merits."

"Democracy proper is a bit out of fashion these days. Elected officials are not quite the will of the citizens personified. Not that Plato would much care, he was always a bit of a shill for monarchy. Philosopher-kings and their special souls and all that."

"I think Solvei Koskin, Philosopher Empress has a nice ring to it," she says, laughing. "All right, all right, I'll stop joking about world conquest."

"What would your policies on gay marriage be? An all-volunteer military? Gun ownership?"

"Could we skip politics and empires and talk about sports or music?"

"Gay marriage and polygamy, to give myself a maximally broad selection of imperial consorts, obviously. Sorry, Danny, I was irresistibly provoked. Music!"

"I bet. Music."

Matt is really not laughing, that would just be mean to Danny.

He's not!

"Music! I'll go first, if no one else is. I love classic rock and jazz, but really maudlin pop ballads are my weakness."

"Classic rock is a noble art but I confess to a thing for Fall Out Boy. Apart from that my taste runs mainly to medieval Thulian folk music, which is all about cheerful topics like adultery and freezing to death. Sometimes both at once!"

"I wouldn't mind being introduced to some Thulian folk music, though I probably prefer freezing to death to adultery."

"If you want a link to my 8tracks playlist, you can enjoy Fall Out Boy, Panic! and Marina. Unlike Allison, my secret shame is on the Internet for everyone to see."

"I'd be charmed," says Solvei. "And that's funny, Danny, most people have the opposite preference."

"We were talking about music. Anyway, who needs adultery when you'd have to go to the freezing tundra up north to get married anyway?"

Had anybody remembered Lydia was still sitting with them?

She stands up and leaves.

"I hear they have it in Canada too," she says innocently. "Bye, Lydia."

"I should go make sure she's alright. Nice meeting you, Solvei, Matt."

"We should probably all get going to class. Nice to meet you, Solvei. Hope you have a good day!"

"Til next we meet, Ms. Koskin."

And she's free to find her next class.

Aww. So charming.

What's she got after lunch? She has Chemistry! To Chemistry.

There's Lydia, looking ready to take notes and not vacant or distant or confused at all.

Hooray! Solvei is not much of a note-taker, but she has her learning face on.

There are safe experiments and bad puns.

Lydia rolls her eyes quite a bit, and doesn't particularly look Solvei's way.

Bad puns! Her favourite!

Time for her next class!

When she arrives, Danny is already sitting near the front.

Then she can sit near Danny for History!

She can.

Allison finds a seat near the back.

History is dry. The teacher doesn't do much to make it easier on her students.

Danny keeps things flowing by asking well-timed questions.

Well done Danny!

Danny looks a bit tired after all this engaging with the material, and its recalcitrant presenter.

Luckily, it's over.

"Hey, sorry about that. I hope your other classes today have been fine?"

"Sorry about what? Your invaluable assistance? My other classes have mostly been all right."

"That's good. Some of the teachers here miss the mark. It's not a bad school in terms of fights, or bad administration, or anything. Bullying is usually handled alright. Not great, but they're a public school. Anyway, enjoy your next class."

Allison falls into step with her when it becomes clear that they're both heading to the gym.

"Hey! That history class can get pretty boring, so I'll have to come up with some way to entertain you."

"I look forward to it," laughs Solvei.

"Hmm. I guess I can't pull out a bow in the middle of class, though it might be a good gag."

They arrive to gym. It's very exciting.

Today they're doing soccer.

"Ooh, archery. Consider me entertained," says Solvei.

Soccer! Solvei is really too short to be a good choice for team sports.

Solvei can request a medical exemption! She just needs a doctor's note and she can choose which athletic activities she'd rather do, like yoga, archery, track, maybe?

She could also, with a doctor's note, opt into first-aid training and nutrition classes.

There is still downtime to talk, and Allison keeps close to Solvei when she realizes her possible disadvantage here.

"I've always been into archery, though I was never sure why my parents nurtured the hobby. Turns out they're just kind of like that. Preparing for disaster, stockpiling weapons...my dad is kind of an arms dealer, mostly legal, and my mom works in the fashion world."

"Okay, that's a bit weird, but I'm hardly in a position to judge, my aunt makes me take all these martial arts classes despite the limited applicability of unarmed combat skills in the life of the modern teenager."

"We should start a club. Weird Combat-Obsessed Parents."

"I would love to start this club. Know anyone else who'd join?"

"Actually, no."

Definitely not the time to bring up Derek Hale. This girl is smart enough that she'll learn about werewolves any day now, so better to stall until she has the right presentation.

Hunters are dangerous but well-meaning, werewolves are dangerous but people too...

"I guess we'll think of something better. In the meantime, I have the archery club. Officially school sponsored, too."

"Ooh, officialness. Should I join that, do you think? How easy is archery for a beginner to learn?"

"It can be kind of hard to learn how to wield a bow, people usually have all the wrong intuition about how it works, but I can teach you!"

Gym class winds down.

"I'm generally in favour of learning new skills!"

"You might not want to start with the club right away. I'll tell them someone is interested, and they'll handle you based on what I tell them. I'll train you myself after school, when you have time, and on weekends. If you can get a doctor's note and I sweet talk Mr. Finstock, we can probably get permission to use gym for archery. Obviously not in the gym, but just, during the class..."

"I like this plan. This is a good plan."

"Okay. We probably shouldn't start today, and my parents can be strict, so after school won't be as good as during anyway, but maybe we can plan something later in the week. Should I call you?"

"Yeah! Here."

Phone number!

Phone number.

"I hope you enjoyed your first day in town. Have a good night! "

Students, freed from the restrictive clutch of school, go to the restrictive grasp of home.

Some of them, anyway.

Solvei goes home. Solvei tells her aunt how school was.

Solvei comes back to school the next morning, like a good eager student. Math class!

Look. There's Fidgety McWariness.

He's not looking around for his friend, who's apparently not in this class, so he notices the new girl instead.

Solvei smiles at him.

He smiles [citation needed] back.

Well all right then.

When the teacher calls another student to the board and his back is to the class, Stiles slides out of his chair, argues briefly with the person sitting next to her, and they switch seats.

"Hi. I'm guessing you're the new girl. How're you liking it here so far?"

"You guess correctly! I'm Solvei. It's been very pleasant overall. Allison's going to teach me archery, which I'm looking forward to."

"If the new girl teaches the new girl, then which of you is the new one? Something to think about."

Solvei giggles.

"Anyway, Allison's alright for a foreigner, you know how those Bay Area folk are. Super into guns and archery and stuff. What's your story?"

"I'm from Thule. I grew up watching glaciers out my bedroom window. Then my parents died in a fire and my aunt moved to Canada with me to get away from it all and we've been bouncing around the continent since then looking for the perfect place to live, which, if you ask my aunt, is apparently a restored house in the woods whose previous owners died in a fire. I love Ghys but that's downright literary."

"I kind of want to meet your aunt, but I also kind of want to read a psychiatric evaluation of her. Maybe an autobiographical one. I'm from here, roughly. My dad's the sheriff and he doesn't let me visit crime scenes, but it's a pretty sweet gig being the sheriff's son, if you ever need me to hook you up."

"I will keep you in mind if I ever need a sheriff for anything. Tragic about the crime scenes though."

"Yeah, pretty tragic. There was this body a couple months back that was found in two pieces. Her brother used to live in your house, unless there were more arsons in this town than I've heard of."

"Two pieces? Which two?"

"Not rising to the bait, new girl. I mean, I could say she fell head over heels, but that might seem disrespectful or morbid, and we really wouldn't want that."

The teacher turns, glaring at Stiles, and he sits in his seat, barely fidgeting at all.

Solvei looks innocent and apologetic.

As-Yet-Unintroduced Fidgeter keeps to himself for the rest of class, focusing on the material, or something.

Solvei probably doesn't mind.

Yes, that's fine. One must occasionally pay attention in class.

Stiles seems dubious about the concept, but math elapses otherwise uneventfully.

She probably has other classes, and Stiles doesn't accost her.

She has other classes. She goes to them. Institutional education occurs.

Eventually, education elapses with the expected exception: lunch time!

There's Stiles, sitting at a table with a friend.

They're not the only ones with a table to themselves, though.

There's also this girl, sitting alone, nervously biting her fingernails and scrunching in on herself.

And there's this guy, mostly observing passerby.

Allison has a seat for Solvei, if she still wants to sit with them.

Where would she like to sit?

Hmmm.

She tries a friendly smile on the nail-biter, first.

A smile, probably.

It's somewhere between grateful and terrified.

That looks like a place to start. She goes that way.

"Hi! I'm Solvei."

"Hi. I'm Erica. You must be new. People don't talk to me."

"Everyone I've talked to so far has guessed that I'm new, and it always seems to be for a different reason!"

"You're not like the people around here."

"Is it the accent?"

She does have a barely-detectable vaguely-foreign thing going on.

"You haven't insulted me or made fun of me yet, that's a big hint."

"Yeah, I'm not a big fan of the whole 'high school as nest of painfully status-conscious vipers' thing."

"They're not all being petty. They just think epilepsy is contagious. Stupid, maybe, not pointlessly cruel."

"Fine line. I had this weird bone disorder as a kid, I remember falling down on the playground and breaking my arm and being surrounded by laughing children for way too long before somebody noticed I was seriously hurt and ran to get an adult. Hard to tell, in the moment, which ones didn't notice and which ones didn't care."

"I guess so. I don't need their sympathy, so it doesn't matter which. It is nice to have someone to talk to, though."

"Happy to help!" she says cheerfully. "Hmm. What's your opinion of cupcakes?"

"Positive, mostly. Sweets are really only for special occasions. My dad says that I have to be more careful than other girls because of my epilepsy."

"I'm thinking of picking up the habit of bringing sweet things to school and handing them out at lunch, to spread joy and goodwill and so everyone will have another reason to like me lined up for after the novelty wears off. Maybe I should start with something smaller than cupcakes, though. They're easy but bulky. Truffles maybe? Truffles are pretty compact."

"I like truffles. As long as you're sharing with everyone, I mean, I wouldn't mind having some."

"Yeah, sharing with everyone is the plan."

Erica doesn't talk much after that, but seems to appreciate the company, and will let Solvei draw her out if she wants.

Solvei recounts adorable childhood anecdotes involving snow forts and solicits suggestions for truffle flavours.

Erica's childhood anecdote is about a quiet night while her father was away on business and her mother baked gingersnaps.

She's not sure that counts as a flavor suggestions, but seems to be using it as one anyway.

Solvei is willing to accept it, anyway.

And then lunch is over and it is time to be institutionally educated some more.

Chemistry!

Lydia is trying to take notes, but also trying to turn her head back and forth for no reason, listening for noises that aren't there.

There's a boy standing in the middle of the classroom, taking money from another student who seems to be arguing with him about it.

The teacher hasn't arrived yet, though students are filing in steadily.

Solvei unobtrusively eavesdrops on this transaction while she finds herself a seat.

Evidently, they are engaging in the locker trade, and this customer is dissatisfied with his experience.

The seller of wares insists that he be paid for his work, and that the locker's location was the selling point; any reckless skateboarders who pass by are not considered in the price.

"Some of us are actually here to learn," Lydia snaps at them, when the teacher finally arrives looking flustered and blushing, and starts setting up.

Solvei refrains from commenting. (And glances at the teacher, wondering what caused the delay.)

She might note the lipstick stains on his collar, if she wants to note that.

It's probably not her business.

Otherwise, chemistry continues.

The teacher does suggest she choose a lab partner, and lucky for her there's an unpaired student!

He sits next to her on the lab bench at the teacher's urging.

"Hi. Call me Boyd."

"Hi, Boyd! I'm Solvei."

"Sure. So we should probably make this easier for us both. We split the work whenever we can and put together what we have at the end. If it's something where the tasks aren't discrete enough, we'll work something else out."

"That sounds efficient," she says. "I'm in favour."

And they do. Boyd is quiet, but seems fairly competent at high school chemistry experiments, and the two finish fairly early due to their efficiency.

Not before Lydia, who finishes first despite her partner, who isn't allowed to touch anything.

"Ooh, second place," Solvei murmurs when Lydia finishes, with half-joking disappointment. And indeed, she and Boyd are the second group to turn in their work.

"Second place," he says, with a hint of pride.

The teacher seems surprised when he sees him turning his work in so early.

Probably because he usually does it all himself.

Class ends, and Solvei gets to enjoy history.

History is fairly enjoyable!

Allison seems to enjoy it less, but she does seem very knowledable about certain things. 

Wars, hunting, and France, which come up enough on some combination or another that she manages just fine.

Much more enjoyable is gym, with Solvei!

Gym!

"So what's the status of my incipient archery education?"

"I think I can talk Coach Finstock around, just stand there and look more agile than strong. See, you're already doing it." 

She talks to their gym teacher for a while, during which time Solvei is mostly left alone. 

Mostly alone. 

There are a couple of other people she might recognize.

Hmm. Time to solicit more truffle-related opinions? Yes, she thinks so.

She approaches Stiles. "Hi! What are your thoughts on chocolate truffles?"

"I'm not a sweet guy. Scott? Chocolate truffles?"

His friend considers the question. 

"Uh, truffles are good. Are you offering, or asking? I don't know if I can make truffles. I could probably find a recipe."

"No, this is Solvei, she's just like that. Do you take requests?"

"I am going to make chocolate truffles and bring them to school to give away because bringing joy to people's lives is my favourite hobby. I definitely take requests."

"Maybe skip peanut butter, and anything else people can be allergic to from across the cafeteria. You probably already thought of that. Uh, Danny likes raspberry, and I think everyone likes caramel."

"Thanks! I'll definitely include both of those!"

"I'm Scott. I don't think we've met yet. You're Solvei?" 

"Yep! Pleased to meet you!"

"I hope we've made a good first impression. Our town can be kind of quiet sometimes, but we're generally friendly people."

"I've been thoroughly charmed so far."

"Where did you say you were from, again?" 

"Thule. The chilly place slightly east of Canada."

"Never heard of it."

"Yes you have, you were telling me about that Thulish emperor who married his favorite soldier, when we were supposed to be reading about General Grant."

"Grand Duke, not emperor. And he wasn't really a soldier, I mean, all of the aristocrats kind of were, but we really never had jarls so it's not the best comparison. Solvei, confirm or deny gay jarl as the duke's not-so-secret lover?"

"Is this Grand Duke Valdis back in the 1600s? Yeah, he was sleeping with like half his court."

"Okay, so I have heard of it. Did you like it there?"

"Yeah, more or less. I miss the glaciers."

"Southern California is kind of low on those. Why did you move here?"

"My house kind of burned down when I was a kid, I've been moving around with my aunt ever since. She took a liking to a place near here. Which she had to restore from having burned down. It's weird and morbid."

"An interesting story, right, Scott? I couldn't have come up with better myself."

"The Hale house? I can't imagine wanting to live there. At least you're with family."

"Yeah. I love my morbid neurotic aunt," laughs Solvei.

"I still kind of want to meet your aunt. Me and Scott should stop by. He can help with the truffles, I can psychoanalyze her."

"Ooh, good plan. I'll ask her if I can have friends over."

"Stiles won't do anything to scare your aunt. He's just excited." 

"I don't think I can scare this woman. So, truffles and a visit at the creepy murder house, sounds good to me. Enjoy your doctor-approved freedom from sports."

"Thank you, I will!"

"Hey. I see you met Scott and Stiles," she says when Solvei returns to their corner of the gym.

"I'm asking people for their chocolate truffle opinions. Did I look sufficiently tiny while doing it?"

"You look sufficient for most things you do, it's a talent."

She giggles. "Thank you, I try."

"Alright, so we do have permission to do independent archery stuff if you can bring in a doctor's note saying you can't keep up with team sports and have another option."

"I think I can manage that."

"Coach is letting us do it today since I have a note and I said good things about you, but he'll want something official from you eventually. I'll show you where we'll be practicing."

And they leave the gym.

Solvei is excited.

Allison also looks excited! They make there way behind the school, where next to the lacrosse field is a copse of trees.

Allison begins their trek through them, beckoning Solvei to follow.

The woods are quite well-lit this time of day.

How nice of the woods.

Solvei keeps up with ease. Trekking through the woods: a familiar pastime.

It's not a very long trek, they are still supposed to be on school grounds.

They probably aren't, really, but Allison won't tell.

The targets are already set up.

"Neat," says Solvei. "Okay: educate me."

Allison educates her.

She demonstrates the proper way to hold a bow, making sure to give Solvei a view from a few angles.

"The first step for you will be finding a bow with the right draw length. You're shorter than most new archers, so we'll have to find something that fits."

"I had the same problem with cellos."

"This won't be too bad, then. I'll take you shopping whenever you have time, until then, this will mostly be theory, not practice." 

So she shows how she holds her bow and the right place to look when aiming, and eventually, gym class ends. 

"I'll see if I can fit bow shopping into my schedule," she says. "Shouldn't be too hard. I have not yet made friends with every single person in Beacon Hills, although I'm working on it."

"I don't know if even you can pull that off. Your friends don't all have to like each other, but I think you need basic civility."

"Watch me."

Oh, she will.

Beacon Hills tends to collect interesting people, and this one doesn't look like she'll break their recent streak. 

Students engage in various after-school activities, some sponsored and some not. 

Well, are any of these after-school activities advertised to newcomers?

Nooot really, but if she sticks around after she returns from gym she'll spot Danny. 

He has been helpful so far. 

"Hi!" she says. "What's your opinion on chocolate truffles?"

"They sound delicious. How was your second day?"

"Pretty good! My plan to befriend the entire population of Beacon Hills proceeds apace."

"That sounds like a really unnecessary challenge to give yourself your first week, but if you're into that sort of thing, sure. Have you looked into the clubs here yet?"

"I have not. Do tell!"

"Unfortunately, despite Allison's one-track mind, we don't have an archery club. We do have art, film, chess, debate, a few service organizations...fencing, woodworking, photography...tea club, uh, League of Legends...there's probably more."

"You have a tea club? That's adorable."

"I guess it is. They sample different teas, mostly. Not very interesting. Oh, we have a cooking club and an anime club, too." 

"I'll have to check some of these out. Fencing sounds like fun. Which ones are you in?"

"Amnesty International and the photography club. I use most of free time for coding and hanging out with friends, really." 

"Valid life choices."

"If you did want to sign up, I can show you who to talk to. Most clubs have already gotten going so they're not actively looking for new people, but no one will turn you away."

"Good to know."

"I can take you to the fencing club right now, or I can let you go home and relax after a grueling day of studying."

"Fencing club it is."

And here's fencing club! Danny isn't actually a member, so he sees himself out, with a quick goodbye. 

Allison is, but she hangs back while the faculty supervisor approaches Solvei.

"Hello. It's nice to see a fresh face around here. Were you here to observe us today, or wanting to join in?" 

"Hi! More with the observing, I think. I've taken fencing lessons before, but it's been a while. Wouldn't want to embarrass myself."

"We're happy to have you anyway," she says, and the fencing continues.

There is some instruction for the less experienced, but it mostly seems to be a way to unwind and keep their technique sharp. 

Allison has clearly been practicing for years. 

Clearly. That's interesting. Solvei spectates.

In between bouts, she beams at Solvei and winks. 

She trounces her next opponent. 

Her body seems more tightly controlled in its movements than most of the others, which happened when she held a bow, too.

It's the weirdly combat-obsessed parental figures, she's sure.

All in all, this fencing club looks like it might actually be a worthwhile use of her time. Who doesn't love swords, right?

Swords are so great.

And fencing ends, and Allison waves her goodbye, and Solvei can't really linger too long after that.

Time to go home. 

Yeah, that happens.

Her aunt is very charmed to hear about her day. Yes, of course she can have friends over, what a lovely idea, just as long as she gives advance notice so Ghyslaine can have the cleaning service in.

She calls Scott to report these results.

"That's great news! Do you think we'll be able to do it tomorrow?"

"Sure, sounds good!" She addresses Ghyslaine briefly in French, and comes back with: "Yeah, tomorrow works. After school, I assume?"

"Sure. Is Stiles invited, too?"

"Absolutely!"

"Should I bring supplies or are you doing that?"

"I've got it covered, don't worry."

"Stiles never wants to cook with me. This should be fun. See you tomorrow!"

"See you!"

And predictably enough, she is at school the next day.

Calculus today is no different from calculus yesterday.

It's not a very group exercise sort of class, which seems to suit Paranoid Friend just fine. 

Solvei has no objections to an individually focused learning environment. And calculus is fun!

The teacher seems to agree, and her classmates seem at least somewhat interested. 

And when she sees fit to attend her next class, there will be another familiar face.

Is that enough friends yet? 

No. But it's a very good start.

She smiles at Matt.

Today the class is finally moving on from the Great Gatsby, to the apparent relief of most of the students.

Next is Antigone, followed by the Grapes of Wrath, and they'll be closing out the year with Shakespeare. 

The class can vote on which of his plays they'll be reading. 

What fun! Solvei goes for Hamlet.

Matt casts the only vote for Troilus and Cressida. 

Erica voices her support for Macbeth.

The majority wins, and Hamlet is the play of choice. 

For now, though, Antigone. 

Antigone! 

Of course, they start with the historical context first, which bores most of the class.

Matt certainly doesn't say anything about these philistines and their pathetic failure to appreciate classics.  

His silence practically rings.

Solvei enjoys the historical context very much. And after class, she catches up with Matt and asks, "Troilus and Cressida, huh?"

"Doomed love and Greek tragedy. Have I been subtle about what I like?"

"No, I can't say that you have. I admit I haven't read that one, though. Should I? Tell me of its virtues."

"Cressida and Troilus fall in love, and when she's taken as a prisoner of war, he finds her in a tent with another man. He decides to get revenge. Meanwhile, Agammenon tries to get Achilles to fight for the Greeks, but it takes the death of Patrocles to motivate him. The play ends before the war does, when the Trojans grieve their best fighter, son of their king and queen. Best enjoyed as part of a triptych, with Hamlet and Titus Andronicus. Revenge plays were Shakespeare's favorite genre to pastiche."

"Sounds like fun."

"Hamlet will be plenty of fun, don't get me wrong, but I don't know, if you're going to be genre savvy, at least be in the right genre." 

He takes a seat near the window when they get to Econ.

Solvei sits near him. "I thought Hamlet's entire problem was that he was genre savvy for the right genre and then his author went and wrote a deconstruction on him?"

"Some people have put it that way. I think it's more complicated than that, and it really comes out if you look at his other revenge plots. In Troilus and Cressida, you have an entire war being motivated by revenge for or on their dead or adulterous lovers. And in Titus Andronicus, Shakespeare only mimics and doesn't parody or satirize the contemporary genre. It's just bloody and awful, there's not much analysis."

"Hmm, I think I see what you mean. I'll have to read those two and see for myself."

Matt attempts to focus on Econ. 

Attempt mostly succeeds. 

Solvei is very successful at focusing on Econ once she actually tries!

Well, she is kind of distracting. 

Econ ends soon enough, with no one having learned anything useful.

Off to music with her.

She is good at music. You'd have to look pretty hard to find a better cellist. The teacher will no doubt be pleased.

The teacher is impressed!
Other students are also impressed.

Combat Friend greets her at lunch. 

Good old Combat Friend.

"Hi, Allison!"

"Hey! I guess today isn't truffle-geddon?"

"Not yet. Scott volunteered to help with the truffles, so I had to delay them because my aunt requires a day's advance notice before anyone comes over."

"Oh, that makes sense. My parents can be over-protective too."

And here's their usual table. Which is empty of Lydia and Jackson.

"Yeah, there's a little of that going on. She also wants to have a cleaning service in to go over the whole house so nobody else ever catches us with a speck of visible dust."

"So how was your third day at Beacon Hills High, and when will I ever stop asking?"

"It's been great! And your concern for the quality of my Beacon hills experience is very charming."

"We just want you to have a good time during your stay."

As usual, Scott and Stiles have a table together.

Erica and Boyd sit alone, of course.

Matt has apparently chosen not to attend.

"Trust me, I will."

She'll sit with Combat Friend and Danny today.

They're happy to have her.

Danny complains about how Allison should learn web design instead of asking him to make her things.

Allison insists that archery and fencing are her main interests and anything else takes away precious time from those.

"I have to come down on the side of archery and fencing here," says Solvei. "Besides, specialization is a noble art."

Combat Friend giggles.

Hacker Friend pouts.

Lunch draws to a close, as it unfortunately must, and edification of young minds continues.

Perhaps this time she'll come out ahead in chemistry!

It seems she will.

Lydia looks a bit stressed out today.

Boyd continues to make good time.

"You do good work," he says, when they finish up before the rest of the class.

"Thanks," she says, pleased. "You too."

"It's nice to have someone to work with, instead of having to do the experiments myself."

No more chemistry.

Hacker Friend is in history, talking to Combat Friend. They saved her a seat.

She sits in it.

"Hi guys."

"Hey! Ready to learn about long-dead kings and not anything actually useful?"

"There's a surprising amount of use to be had out of long-dead kings, I think!"

"History can inform our understanding of the modern world and how it came to be. Also, a lot of long-dead monarchs have really interesting stories, especially the women."

"Exactly. You get me."

Danny harrumphs vaguely affectionately.

Vaguely.

And after a discussion on France's three estates, Allison and Solvei head outside.

"So how do you like the town so far? Not just the school, I mean. You're living in the old Hale house, right?"

"Yeah. It's a nice house, however questionable the associations. And the town's good too. Cozy."

"Cozy, claustrophobic...what do you know about local history?"

"Enlighten me."

They arrive at the same spot as yesterday.

The targets are still there, waiting patiently to be shot at. 

"The Hale house is famous for the huge extended local family that lived there for generations, until a mysterious arson. The arson was recently connected to my aunt, Kate Argent."

"I was missing the part about your aunt," she says. "The arson, I'd heard of."

"There's a bit of history between the Hales and the Argents. Maybe I'll tell you the whole story eventually. The gist is, Derek and I don't really get along much, since his uncle and my aunt decided pointless violence and revenge plots belonged anywhere other than old tragedies."

She readies her bow. If she's pretending the target is her aunt, she certainly doesn't say anything.

"Sorry to hear that. It sounds like a real mess."

"It's mostly over now," she says as an arrow hits the bullseye.

"But only mostly. You should be careful," she says, hesitantly, as though stepping carefully over an area with possible landmines.

"I'm listening," she says. "What should I be careful about?"

"Sometimes weird things happen in this town. Especially around the full moon. Maybe I'm just picking up local superstition."

Arrow, meet target.

"If you say so, I believe you," she says, with emphatic sincerity.

"I don't know what I should tell you. I don't know your aunt, and I do know my parents. Just, keep an eye out, but stay safe. Don't go looking until you're sure you're ready."

She starts talking about how to properly string a bow, if Solvei allows the change in subject.

Yes, absolutely. She is so willing to learn about archery.

Learning ensues.

Eventually, they part ways.

Fencing club does not meet every day, unfortunately for Allison.

Today, she can explore chess, photography, or League of Legends.

Let's see what's behind door number two!

There are of course many students in photography club (well, about ten), but only one that matters.

He seems to tense when he notices her.

"I can go away if you'd rather maintain your territory," she says. She manages, somehow, to not look at any pictures while also not obviously looking like she's deliberately avoiding looking at any pictures.

"No, it's fine. Some of them are just kind of...raw. Personal." 

He pulls out a few for her to look at, if she's interested. 

Solvei is delighted to look at the pictures he chooses to show her. "You're a real artist," she comments.