Chapter 12 - The Torture Called Jogging

Lost smiled and stretched as she stood in the breakfast line-up in the cafeteria the next morning. Today's breakfast special was eggs and toast.

"How was your sleep?" Swirl asked, moving up in the line with Lost.

"It was good, how about you?" Lost asked.

"Good!" Swirl replied before turning to the lunch lady behind the counter. "Two pieces of toast is fine!"

After the girls got their breakfast, Swirl glanced around, as if looking for someone.

"Aha!" Swirl said just as Lost was about to ask who she was looking for. "Come, I have someone I want you to meet."

Lost followed curiously through the cafeteria past a couple of tables. She noticed Aparri, Bepper, Wisteriamoon, and Julian were all sitting at the same table, laughing and joking as if they were the best of friends.

'Course all the 'famous' people are chums.

"Lost, meet Kraft!" Swirl suddenly announced as they reached a table where Kraft sat, eating.

"Oh! I've already met Kraft before," Lost chuckled, sliding into a seat next to Kraft.

"Mhm," Kraft said, her mouth full of eggs.

"Really?" Swirl smiled at Lost. "You are just everywhere, aren't you?"

Lost smirked and took a large bite of toast. "Now you know my secret!"

"These eggs are just the best! They don't taste like those eggs from the stores. Those ones are just plain rubbish," Kraft declared.

"Of course you like these eggs, silly!" Swirl laughed, shoving Kraft playfully.

"Uh, why?" Lost said, feeling out of the loop.

"Kraft absolutely loves chickens," Swirl said.

"I see," Lost said though she still felt a little confused.

After a while, the bell rung loudly, letting everyone know that class was going to start soon. Lost stood up and looked around. Most of the other students were done eating as well. Chairs got shoved and calls were yelled as kids pushed their way to the door.

"Come, Swirl." Lost said, gesturing to the door. "Homeroom will start soon."

"Bye Kraft!" Swirl said, giving Kraft a hug before she stood up. "See you later!"

"Bye guys!" Kraft called as Lost and Swirl went with the flow of students and out into the hallway.

* * *

Lost wandered into her science classroom just after the final bell had rung. Almost all the seats were taken and everyone looked up at her. As Lost blushed, she glanced up at Mr. Cosmo and noticed he was smiling kindly down at her.

"Sorry that I was late," Lost apologized.

"It's ok, Lostfairy," Mr. Cosmo replied and smiled a big, bright smile, his eyes squinting.

Lost blushed even harder, trying not to notice that Mr. Cosmo was actually quite handsome. As she hurried to her desk next to Penguin, Mr. Cosmo began his lecture on a certain type of fungus that is nicknamed "zombie fungus" that infects ants.

"So, this type of fungus, scientifically named Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, actually attaches itself to the carpenter ants and it eventually breaks into the ant's exoskeleton. Then the yeast stage of the fungus spreads over the ant's body and actually manipulates the ant!" Mr. Cosmo exclaimed, gesturing with his hands.

Penguin suddenly raised his hand. 

"Yes, Penguin?" Mr. Cosmo asked.

"What does the fungus make the ant do?" Penguin said, sounding curious.

"Good question!" Mr. Cosmo said. "The fungus makes the ant climb onto a stem of a plant. Then, it makes the ant stick to a leaf vein. After that, the ant can not move from that spot because the fungus destroyed some of the connections in the ant's muscles. This tight grip to the leaf vein is known as the death grip and is very important in the fungus's lifecycle."

"What happens after?" Penguin said.

"Well, things start looking worse for the ant. The fungus kills the ant and then continues to grow in the ant's soft tissues. When the fungus is ready to reproduce, well, things get disturbing. The fungus's fruiting bodies grow from the ant's head and rupture, releasing spores."

This is one interesting science class...

* * *

Lost panted as she ran another lap around the gym. She loved running but now she was getting a bit tired.

"Hey, Lost!" Naffy said cheerfully as she jogged up next to Lost.

"Hi there," Lost said, smiling. "What's up?"

"Nothing much. How are you enjoying Jamaasian High?" Naffy asked, glancing over at Lost.

"It's a nice school! It's got a great community and I love my dorm room girls," Lost said. "I've met a lot of nice people!"

"That is so good!" Naffy replied.

TWEET!

"Stop with the CHIT-CHAT and start FOCUSING ON RUNNING!" Coach Gilbert yelled from across the gym.

"Ugh, how long is he going to make us run?" Naffy whispered.

"No clue," Lost said, trying to shrug as she ran. "I'm so not used to gym since I didn't have it when I was homeschooled."

"Ah, it must be a tough switch, huh?" Naffy said.

"I sure miss my home and old life but I love making new friends so I'll be fine," Lost smiled.

Lost looked up and saw Swirl with another girl running just up ahead.

"Swirl!" Lost called, hoping her friend would slow down and run with her and Naffy.

Swirl looked behind her and a big grin went across her face. She turned toward the girl with her and said something. They both slowed down so Lost and Naffy could catch up.

"Hey, guys!" Swirl said, panting. "Meet Violet! She's in a couple of my other classes too!"

"Hi there, Violet!" Lost and Naffy said.

"Hello!" Violet replied. "I am so done with running. Is Coach Gilbert trying to torture us?!"

"I hope not!" Lost replied with a laugh.

Just as Lost was about to open her mouth and say something, the loud bell was rung overhead.

"Alright! Gym is now OVER!" Coach Gilbert shouted.

"Well, let's go get changed out of these gross gym clothes," Lost joked as they started walking over to the change rooms.

Chapter 7 - The Amazing Meatballs

A girl came marching into the dorm. She had brown hair with long bangs. She wore a brown longbow on her back and an orange and blue scarf around her neck. She had a bright smile on her face as she stared at Lost and Swirl.

"Hi there! I'm Graciepopstar!" Gracie said.

"Hey, I'm Lost and this is Swirl," Lost replied. "I'm guessing your our dorm mate?

"Yup," Gracie said, looking around at the room.

"Is that your suitcase?" Swirl asked, pointing at the bag near the bed by the window.

"No, that's not mine. It must be our other room mate," Gracie said.

So, Gracie isn't the mystery roomie.

"Well," Gracie said as she moved her duffel bag to a bed, "I overheard one of the teachers talking to some kids and they said art starts tomorrow. They wanted us to get settled in."

"Oh, I was wondering about that," Swirl said.

Lost nodded, even though she had totally forgotten about art. She watched Gracie start unpacking her duffel bag and neatly refold her clothes.

Suddenly, a loud crackle came from overhead. There was sounds of static before a voice started speaking from the speaker in the top corner of the room.

"Hello again, students! I hope your all getting settled in your dorms and getting to know each other. I can already tell that this year will be a year to remember," Headmaster Clark said, cheerfully. "Just so you all know, some parents have come with all your belongings. I suggest that whoever doesn't have any luggage should make your way down to the lobby. You will meet your parents there. Thank you and as we say in Jamaasian High, jam on!"

The speakers went silent. Lost could hear a couple of doors closing and the pounding of running feet.

"I should go get my stuff," Lost said, pulling herself to her feet. She made her way to the door, quietly shutting it behind her. She went down the stairs to the main lobby. The bird statue glowed mystically.

Lost slipped and slid over to the doors. Marble floor sure was slippery!

Lost peered through the glass doors, noticing how spotless they were. Whoever cleaned the school certainly deserved a pay raise!

Seeing her mom, Lost pushed the door open and took a deep breath. The air smelled cleaner here than it did back at home.

Mom walked up the front steps with a smile on her face and holding a brown suitcase. She put it down and pulled Lost into a hug.

"How are you? How's the school? Do you like your dorm?" Mom asked.

"I'm fine, school's great, and I love my dorm. It's so weird though, there's like, famous people here!" Lost exclaimed.

"Hmm, interesting," Mom replied. "Well, I probably should let you go. It's most likely going to be supper soon."

Lost nodded and picked up her suitcase. "Thanks for bringing this, Mom."

"Anytime!" Mom smiled. "Bye, sweetie!"

Lost waved before turning back around and walking inside. She hurriedly made her way back up to her dorm room.

As she reached her dorm room door, it opened and Swirl and Gracie marched out.

"Where are you guys going?" Lost asked, confused.

"Oh, while you were out getting your stuff, the supper bell rang. It's time to go down to the cafeteria," Swirl replied.

"Go ahead and put your stuff in the room. We'll wait for you," Gracie added.

Lost nodded and quickly put her suitcase down on the carpet beside her bed. She'd have to unpack later.

The three girls made their way down the stairs. Lost could hear the clatter of dishes and smelt the aroma of food as they walked up to the cafeteria door. Lost quickly grabbed the handle and held it open for Swirl and Gracie.

"You guys wanna sit at the same table, right?" Gracie asked.

Lost nodded. The idea of trying to find another spot with a group of people she didn't know didn't sound like the ideal plan.

The girls walked up to the end of the line, waiting for their turn. Lost peered past the line to see what was being served.

"Oh yum!" Swirl exclaimed. "Meatballs and spaghetti!"

Lost moved up in the line and grabbed a yellow tray. The serving lady raised a giant spoonful of spaghetti and plopped it down on a plate. Lost cringed at the huge amount.

After getting meatballs and water, Lost made her way to the table where Swirl and Gracie sat at. Just as she sat down, a girl pulled up a chair next to Gracie.

"Ja!" Gracie yelled. "How've you been?"

"Hi Gracie! I haven't seen you since this morning!" Ja said. She wore one silver glove and a red-brown jacket. It had a bow and arrow design on the front.

"So, guess what? I was really hoping to be in a dorm with you and it turns out, I'm in the same room as Sarah! Fancy that, huh?" Ja continued.

"Really? That's such a coincidence!" Gracie said.

"Ja is Sarah's sister, by the way, Lost," Gracie explained, turning towards Lost.

"Which dorm are you in? Maybe it's close to mine!" Ja said excitedly.

"Um, I think it's room number twenty-six. Right, guys?" Gracie said.

"Oh neat! Mine's room thirty! We're just a little ways away from each other." Ja replied.

Lost speared a meatball with her fork and chewed it thoughtfully. So many people already knew each other it seemed. Maybe they had all gone to the same schools before.

All of a sudden, a loud noise came from the far side of the room. Lost looked up and saw a small stage with a microphone. Headmaster Clark tapped it gently and waited for everyone to notice him. Slowly, the room got quiet. The students looked at him expectantly.

"Well, weren't those meatballs great?" Headmaster Clark said. "Anyway, I just want to let everyone know that tonight, you're all free to do whatever you want. You can go to the library or hang out in the games room. But lights out is at ten. Please be at your dorm then. Have a great evening!"

As he walked off the stage, the chatter began again. Lost looked around and noticed Wisteriamoon over near Julian. They sure seemed awfully close.

"Well!" Swirl said, banging the table with her hand. "What's the plan for tonight?"

"Hey, Gracie? Can you come with me and go to the games room? I told Sarah I'd meet her there." Ja said.

Gracie nodded. "I can go. If that's okay with you two." She looked at Swirl and Lost.

"Go ahead! Have fun," Swirl replied.

"So. What's the plan now?" Swirl said, turning her head to look at Lost.

"I don't know. We only have a few hours. Want to go hang out at the library?" Lost suggested.

"Sure! Let's go!" Swirl said.

The two girls walked through the cafeteria. Lost listened to random bits of chatter as she passed by tables.

She suddenly noticed that she was going past a table where Aparri and Bepper were seated at. She noticed Aparri put his arm around Bepper in a friendly sort of way. Maybe they were related to each other? They both did have the same dark brown hair.

Before she knew it, Lost found herself in the library.

It had huge bookshelves in every direction. Dark green tables were set up so students could study. The walls and floor were dark brown wood. The shelves were mahogany and full of books in all shapes and sizes. Lost couldn't tell how big the room was, shelves blocked her view. The air seemed to have an ancient feel to it. Lost couldn't put her finger on what made it feel like that.

Lost took a deep breath. She loved the smell of libraries. All those books in their shelves just waiting to get picked up! All those adventures ready to be read. Yes, Lost sure did love a good library.

* * *

Lost looked up at the giant clock high up on the wall. It was almost lights out.

"We should go," Lost said, closing and putting the book she was reading back onto the shelf.

Swirl nodded and the girls walked out of the library, up the stairs and down the halls to their dorm. Lost was so tired, she could have slept right then and there!

As Swirl pushed the door open, Lost saw a girl with black hair sitting on a bed.

Aha! Our mystery roomie!

"Oh hi there!" Swirl said brightly.

The girl looked up at us and smiled. "Hi."

"I'm Swirlshine. This here is Lostfairy. Gracie is our other roomie. She's not here yet," Swirl continued.

"I'm Fangwolf. But my nickname is Fang," Fang said, brushing a wave of dark hair behind an ear. Fang had red streaks in her hair that worked really well with the black. She had a mini black and white top hat perched on her head. A matching black necklace and bracelet with white studs were on her neck and wrist. A dark red jacket finished the look.

"Hello!" Gracie said, bounding into the room. She walked over to Fang and stuck out her hand. "I'm Gracie!"

Fang smiled and shook Gracie's hand. "I'm Fang."

Lost walked over to her bed and flopped down on it. She was exhausted from the long day.

"Well, we should all go to bed," Swirl suggested. "It'll be another long day tomorrow."

Gracie and Fang nodded and started getting ready for bed. Lost groaned softly, stood up again, and took out her toothbrush.

After she had brushed her teeth and changed into pajamas, Lost snuggled into her warm covers. She watched Swirl brush her brown hair, Fang hop into a bed, and Gracie put on hand lotion.

"Ready for lights out?" Swirl asked. She ran over and flipped off the light. Lost heard her bed rustle as she leaped into it.

"Goodnight guys!" Gracie said in the darkness.

There was a chorus of goodnights and then the room went silent.

Lost stared at the ceiling and sighed happily. She pulled her blanket close around her.

Today, she had survived Jamaasian High. The question now was, could she survive the next day as well?

Chapter 5 - Bumping into Other Students

Lost moved her way down the halls, looking for people she knew. Lost pushed through the crowds of students, all trying to make their way to their classrooms. The bell hadn't rung yet but it would soon.

As Lost glanced down to at the marble flooring, she heard a shout. Lost quickly looked up to see a girl with white blond hair with pink streaks running down the hall.

"Hey, move it! Coming through! Outta my way!" the girl yelled.

Kids moved aside as she ran past them. Lost jumped to the side as the girl barreled along.

"Move for me, Princessbg! Please, clear the way!" Princessbg said.

Lost shook her head and kept walking as the girl went around the corner.

The bell rang a few seconds before Lost made it to the math classroom. Lost went inside and sat at a desk, waiting for more kids to come.

As the last herd of kids came in, an old man shuffled to the front desk. The man had wild white hair with weird goggles perched on his head. He wore a brown vest with emerald buttons. An odd key hung out of his pants pocket.

"Greetings, young students. Welcome to math class. I am your teacher, Mr. Graham," the man said before clearing his throat.

"You should see a book on your table. That is your math book. Read it cover to cover. Once, twice, thrice times if you need to," Mr. Graham said.

Lost glanced around the room and saw some kids already looking bored. One had their head on their desk and Lost could hear soft snores coming from their direction.

"Open your book," Mr. Graham said. "Oh look, our first math equation. Let's see what it is, shall we?"

* * *

The bell rung. Kids sat bolt up right, awake and ready to leave math.

"Alright, you may leave now," Mr. Graham said.

Lost scrambled out of her seat and marched into the hallway. She had memorized where she needed to go next, English.

As she walked down the halls, she looked up at the big wooden clock hanging in the hall and all of a sudden, she bumped into someone.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Lost said as she looked down at the girl she had walked into.

"It's ok. Not much harm done," she said as she rubbed her head.

"I'm Lostfairy," Lost said, sticking out her hand.

"I'm AJKraft. Or Kraft for short," Kraft shook Lost's hand. She had brown hair and was wearing a cute grey party hat. She sported a black jacket and a black pearl bracelet.

"Well, I hope to see you around," Lost said.

"Yeah, me too. See ya!" Kraft said as she continued down the hall.

Lost wandered her way to her English classroom and went inside where she found a group of girls surrounding a girl who had a magenta hat.

"Bepper, I just love your hat!" one of the girls cried.

Who in the world is Bepper?

The girl, named Bepper, smiled and pushed up her glasses. She wore a backpack that looked like white dragon wings and had a magenta tie around her neck. She adjusted her black clunky bracelets on her wrists.

I'm guessing she's ANOTHER well known person...

Lost sat down and let her eyes wonder around the room. She noticed how there were little trinkets scattered around in various places and shelves. She even noticed a fancy looking staff with a purple gem on top.

"Hey there! Are you excited for English to start? I am."

Lost looked up to see who had spoken to her and saw a girl smiling at her in the desk beside Lost. She wore a little blue top hat that looked like it was made out of candy. She also wore a turquoise knit sweater that was almost Christmas-y but it still worked for her. She had a bright sparkle in her eyes that made you feel happy too.

"Yeah, I guess I kinda am. I'm new here so everything is exciting," Lost replied. "I'm Lostfairy."

"Oh welcome here! I'm Awesomepanda. Nice to meet you!" Awesomepanda said.

Lost thought for a minute before saying, "Are you by any chance related to a Doomypanda?"

"Nope. Why?" Awesomepanda asked.

"Just curious," Lost said.

Awesomepanda started sorting things in her backpack. Lost looked out the window, waiting for class to start.

Hearing the door shut, Lost looked to see who had closed it. It was Ms. Liza from homeroom.

"Good afternoon! As you might know, I am Ms. Liza. I teach both homeroom and English," Ms. Liza said as she walked to the front of the room.

"Let's start this year of English with a fun writing exercise! I'm thinking it should be some report of some sorts. Any ideas? Feel free to shout them out!" Ms. Liza said.

"A report about summer vacation!"

"A pollution report!"

"A report about something we feel like needs changing in Jamaasian High!"

"Aha! I hear an intriguing idea! Let's make this report about something you feel needs changing in Jamaasian High. It'll be very interesting to hear everyone's thought on change in this school," Ms. Liza beamed. "I'll let you start working these reports for all of this class. The reports will be due in two days."

"Oh, and I just thought of something. How about after I read all the reports in two days, I'll pick the winning report and get the author of it to read it in front of the whole class. And it will get shown to Headmaster Clark. Sounds good?" Ms. Liza said.

Lost started wondering. What does need change?

I've hardly been here, how am I supposed to know things that need change?

She looked around the room to see if others were getting stuck like she was. Almost every kid was bent over their page, writing.

Lost turned back to her desk and tapped her chin with her pencil. Her fingers slipped and the pencil clattered to the floor. A couple kids looked up and snickered.

Lost blushed and bent down to pick it up. As she straightened up, she noticed Ms. Liza smiling kindly at her. She quickly looked back down at her paper and started thinking again.

Hmm, maybe... A better system of getting lockers and dorms? I STILL don't have my locker and I can't carry these heavy books all the time.

With that, she started writing.