Chapter 14 - The Game's Afoot

Lost hurried out of the bathroom just as the bell rang. Keeping her head down, she rushed through the crowds of students, all going to their next classes.

Lost knew she should have gone back to her English class but after what had happened, there was no way she was going back to face all those people who had just seen her run out of class. So, she had stayed in the girls bathroom, hiding.

Reaching the door to her Art class, Lost scurried into the room and sat down at her desk. She slouched slowly as more students came rushing in. What if one of them was in her English? If they noticed her, would they tell everyone what had happened? Will the whole school know that the new kid ran out of class, crying?

She was going to stay low. Not talk to anyone. Get through the day and then stay in her dorm. For the whole evening. Maybe the whole next day too.

I'm being dramatic. Calm down, Lost, I can do this.

Lost's mind drifted back to what had happened in the hallway.

I wish I knew why Headmaster Clark and Mr. Greely were talking about me. And probably Koolest too. Its not fair that I don't even know what we did!

"Hey!" Snowyclaw said as she sat down a few desks away from Lost.

 

Lost gave a quick smile before going lower into her seat.

It was going to be a long class.
 

***
 

"Lost? Helloooo? Lost, you alive?" Swirl asked loudly, waving a hand in front of Lost's face.

 

"Hm?" Lost blinked, trying to push away her bothering thoughts out of her head. Like how Ms. Liza had come to her earlier and talked to her about not running out of the classroom again. Lost was lucky it was just a warning.

The girls were sitting in a corner at Drama class, practicing their lines. All the students had separated into groups, getting ready for the audition which was apparently coming up soon. Ms. Tavie hadn't given a date since she thought it'd be best if it was a surprise. She claimed that it was better that way.

 

"This is the third time you've left me and gone deep into thought," Swirl replied, frowning worriedly. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm alright," Lost said.

Swirl quirked an eyebrow. "Oh, really?"

 

"Fine. No," Lost sighed. "In English, I was supposed to read my report out loud in front of the whole class. But I chickened out and ran out of class."

"Aw, I'm so sorry!" Swirl said gently. "I know public speaking can be really hard."

"But that's not all! When I ran out, I bumped into Mr. Greely and Headmaster Clark. They were some deep, secretive discussion," Lost said.

 

"Really? Did you hear what it was about?" Swirl asked.

"It sounded like it was about me," Lost whispered.

 

"What?! Why would they be talking about you?" Swirl cried. "What did they say that makes you think it was about you?"

"Well," Lost thought back. "They mentioned a sister and that... they were new? And something about a misunderstanding? That's all I got, really. It didn't make any sense."

 

"I'm sure they weren't talking about you. Maybe their talking about Headmaster Clark's new-new... cat! And the cat has a sister but it was a misunderstanding when he bought both!" Swirl declared.

Lost laughed. "That's crazy! Did you just randomly think of that?"

"Yup," Swirl admitted, grinning.

"I'm pretty sure it wasn't about a cat but good guess," Lost said, teasingly.

"Hey, a girl can try," Swirl joked. "Well, in all seriousness, maybe we should talk to our other friends and bounce off ideas about this."

"Yeah, sounds like a plan. Maybe at supper?" Lost said.

 

"Sure! We should probably keep practicing our lines otherwise we're going to get in trouble," Swirl said, holding up her many papers that were full of lines.

Lost nodded and looked down at her own sheet of papers. "Now where were we?"

***

Lost hurried over to her table, trying to keep her tray of poutine steady. She dodged a chair getting pushed out quickly by a boy and kept on going.

This is like an obstacle course.

Quickly, Lost scooted into her chair next to Swirl and Ja. Sarah and Karalee came over, balancing their trays and sat down.

"Where's Gracie and Fang?" Lost asked through a mouthful of fries and gravy.

"Mm!" Karalee swallowed. "They said they had to go study for some paper in history or something."

Swirl pounded her fist on the table, making Sarah jump. "Lost has something to tell us. Right, Lost?"

Lost slowly nodded and swallowed her fries before saying anything. "Alright, so, Swirl thinks that you guys can help with a problem... thing."

"A problem thing? What's wrong?" Ja asked.

After Lost finished explaining what she overheard Headmaster Clark and Mr. Greely talking about, all her friends looked confused.

"That's... weird," Sarah said.

"Really weird," Ja agreed.

"How do you know they were talking about you?" Karalee asked, leaning back in her chair.

Lost thought for a moment. "Well, I'm new and my sister, Koolestkat, is new too. I guess two other sisters might also be new this year but still. Doesn't it sound like it's about me? Like the way they acted around me?"

"Hm, this is very interesting," Karalee mused.

"Kind of like a mystery," Ja said.

Karalee's eyes brightened. "Yes! A mystery! A mystery that needs to get solved!"

"What are you saying?" Lost asked, although she had a good idea what Karalee was going to say next.

"I'm saying, we have a mystery to solve," Karalee announced.

Chapter 9 - The HQ Appears

Lost marched into the cafeteria and took a deep breath. Halfway done school for today!

She wandered over to the lunch line and stared into space, daydreaming. Lost moved up in line without thinking.

"Hey! Lost!" a voice broke through Lost's daydream.

Lost turned around and saw Karalee standing behind her, grinning from ear to ear.

"Oh, hey," Lost said. "What's up?"

"Nothing much. What was the last class you went to?" Karalee asked.

"History. With grumpy ol' Mr. Greely," Lost said, rolling her eyes. "We learnt about this ancient tribe of warriors that were called Phantoms. They apparently attacked the explorers, Mira and Zios." Lost then grabbed a orange lunch tray from the counter.

"Ah. Sounds interesting at least!" Karalee said as she also picked up a tray.

Lost shrugged. "It was okay."

Lost grabbed an apple and piece of pizza from the lunch counter. After some contemplating, she grabbed another piece of pizza.

Grabbing a juice box, Lost turned around to look at Karalee. "Wanna sit together?"

Karalee nodded and Lost lead the way over to an empty table near the middle of the room. Sighing, Lost plopped down on her chair and closed her eyes.

"You tired still?" Karalee teased as she bit into a gooey piece of pizza.

"I guess so! It's been busy. Go go go, you know?" Lost said, opening her eyes and sticking her straw into her juice box. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a girl walk over to their table.

"Mind if I sit here?" the girl said, standing close to the table.

"Sure!" Karalee said.

The girl smiled and sat down next across from Lost.

"I'm Karalee! And this is Lostfairy," Karalee said, gesturing to herself and to Lost.

"Cool. I'm Pinpun. Call me Pin for short," Pin said, biting into a sandwich. Pin had her hair dyed purple and styled into a Mohawk. She wore a dark purple jacket and a bunch of lilac colored bracelets. A spiked necklace was around her neck.

The girls chattered and ate their lunches. After a little while, Lost looked at the big clock on the wall.

"I should go," Lost said, standing to her feet.

"Why? The bell hasn't rung," Pin said.

"I know. I like getting to classes early though. I get better seats that way," Lost joked. "Well, bye guys!"

"Bye!" Karalee called.

Lost wandered out into the hallway and headed towards her math class. She sighed happily. The hallways were so much more peaceful when they weren't filled with yelling students. Lost enjoyed herself as she strolled along through the halls.

All of a sudden, a loud sharp yell shattered the silence. Lost picked up her pace and turned around the corner when she saw a group of kids all huddled around something. A few kids wandering the halls stopped and joined the huddle.

Curious, Lost kept on walking towards them. As she came closer, she listened to some of the yells.

"Hit him! C'mon, do it!"

"Punch him!"

Is this a fight?

Lost turned to a girl who was silently watching. She was leaning against the wall, twirling her black hair with her finger. Her dark eyes stared intently at the herd of kids.

"Hey, do you know what this is all about?" Lost asked as she stood next to the girl.

"No. I wasn't here when it started," she said before looking up.

Lost nodded and wondered what to do. As she looked around, she noticed that a younger looking boy was bolting down the hall, away from the fight. Lost cocked her head and stared down the hall.

What was that kid doing?!

 "I'm Lostfairy, by the way," Lost said.

"I'm Purple. Purplestarclub," Purple replied.

All of a sudden, Lost saw an adult walking down the hall. He seemed to walk with such authority. The boy Lost had noticed before trailed after him.

The man pushed past the huddle and grabbed each of the boys who were fighting each other. Both of them had blood on their face and a scowl on their lips.

"What do you two think you were doing?" the man demanded.

"He started it!" one of the boys yelled, pointing at the other one.

"I don't care who started it," the man said sternly. "Now tell me. What were you fighting about?"

Lost turned to Purple. "Who is that guy?"

"He's part of the security team. Us students nicknamed them the HQ. Headquarters," Purple said. "They always stop fights and stuff."

Lost turned back to the HQ who was still talking to the boys.

"If neither of you will tell me why you were fighting, I'm going to have to take you to the Headmaster," the HQ said.

The HQ then started walking back down the hall, pushing the boys with his arms.

All the kids who had watched the fight were silent until the trio went around the corner. Then they all turned to the boy Lost had seen before.

"Why'd you have to report them?" a girl yelled at the boy.

"Yeah! Now they're in trouble and it's all your fault!" another student shouted.

"Now, now! He didn't do anything wrong!" Lost said, without thinking.

Everyone stared at her. Lost shifted her feet. The bell rung and Lost sighed with relief. Finally, the crowd went their separate ways to their classrooms.

Lost rushed down the hall towards her math class, shaking her head. That was enough excitement for her.

* * *

Lost hurried into English just as the final bell rang. She quickly scooted into her seat and let out a sigh. Math had gone late because she had to ask Mr. Graham some questions about a problem she had in her math quiz.

Ms. Liza stood in front of the class room, with hands folded in front of her as she watched the students with her bright curious eyes.

"Alright!" Ms. Liza announced. The whole room's buzz of chatter instantly stopped.

 "Today, you will use this whole class time to work on your report on something that needs changing in Jamaasian High. Remember, this is your last time to work on it before it is due!" Ms. Liza said. "Now! Let your imagination run wild!"

Lost got her notebook out of her backpack and started writing her report. She stopped suddenly and quickly reread what she already had written. Was it good enough?

"Don't doubt yourself," Ms. Liza said gently, standing next to Lost's desk. "I'm sure it's wonderful."

Lost nodded and watched Ms. Liza move back to her desk.

I wonder how she knew I was doubting my report...

Lost shook her head slightly and began writing again.

* * *

The bell rang throughout the whole school. Lost quickly snapped her notebook shut, shoved it into her backpack, and stood up.

All the students in the class dashed through the door and into the halls. Lost walked slowly up to Ms. Liza's desk where her teacher was scrawling something down. Lost cleared her throat.

"Yes, Lostfairy?" Ms. Liza said, smiling.

"Um, I just wanted to thank you for helping me get past my doubt," Lost said shyly.

"Ah, you're welcome," Ms. Liza said. "Now you better run along! The last class for today should be starting soon!"

Lost nodded and ran out into the hall. The halls were not nearly empty and everyone was laughing and talking.

Pulling her backpack open, Lost reached past the books and grabbed her beat up schedule.

Lost beamed when she saw what her last class was. Art! Glorious art!

Lost dashed up the stairs, taking two at a time. She bolted down the hall and threw open the door at the end of the corridor.

Taking a deep breath, Lost stepped into the room. A couple of students glanced up at her and then went back to chatting.

"Lost! Hi!" a girl yelled from behind Lost.

Lost whirled around and saw Snowyclaw, the cheerleader who greeted her yesterday.

"How are you doing? Don't you totally love this place?" Snowy said cheerfully.

"Yeah, it's awesome," Lost smiled.

"And art is literally the best class!" Snowy said.

"Hey, I love art too!" Lost exclaimed.

"Yay! I have another friend who loves to draw as well," Snowy said, looking around the room and then peering out into the hallway. "Oh! There she is! Artymis, c'mon!"

A girl, who's name was supposedly Artymis, rushed down the hall and ran over to Lost and Snowy. She wore a white headband with little mini antlers. She also wore a light blue jacket and a blue necklace with spikes. White bracelets finished the look.

"I can't wait to start painting!" Artymis said to Snowy, ignoring Lost.

"Me too! Let's go get seats," Snowy said. They both walked over to two empty desks and sat down.

Lost followed and sat down behind them. As she put her backpack down, Lost looked around the room.

There were paint brushes everywhere. There all sorts of paints, brushes, and canvases all scattered around in the room on shelves and on tables. There were huge splotches of paint on the floors in bright colors. The air smelled like paint.

The door closed and a young woman walked into the room. She wore a pink skirt and a fancy purple shirt. The woman's hair was dyed purple and was styled in a cute pixie cut. Lost noticed a single earring in her ear that was a golden bell.

"Hello! I am your art teacher, Ms. Peck," Ms. Peck said, beaming. "In my art class, we are all allowed to be our artsy, creative self. In my art class, we are going to have the most fun time ever."

She sure is enthusiastic.

"So! Today, we are all going to get our creative juices flowing by all painting the same thing. But, in our own unique styles," Ms. Peck said, reaching down and grabbing a rose in a pretty vase. "So, let's start by painting this rose."

Ms. Peck walked around the room, handing out a couple of different sizes of paintbrushes and a palette with a variety of paints.

Lost stared at the beautiful yet complicated rose. She then stared at her paints. Lost sighed softly.

This will be fun.

Chapter 1 - There's a New Kid at Jamaasian High

BEEP BEEP BEEP!

Lostfairy woke up with a start. She sat up and smiled. Today was going to be great. She'd stay home and read all morning. Then, she'd play computer and maybe watch an episode of "The Flash" with her siblings. Oh, and go for a bike ride!

Knock knock knock!

"Could you please turn off your alarm clock?" called Dreadwisp, her brother, through the door. "It is very loud and it's getting annoying."

Oops!

Lost reached over and turned the alarm off. She stood up, stretched, and walked over to the door. Just as she was about to open it, she looked at her Disney calendar.

How could I forget?!

She rushed out into the hallway and saw her mom, baking in the kitchen.

"Mom! Uh, is today September seventh?"

Her mom looked up and smiled. "Yes, it is. Why?"

Lost groaned. How could she have forgotten that today was the first day of school? Public school. As in, not homeschool.

"You better go get changed. It's already seven-thirty." said her mom.

Lost ran back down the hall into her bedroom. She frantically opened her closet and stared at her clothes.

What should I wear? A dress? No, it's just school. Jeans and t-shirt? No way. Too plain.

Finally deciding on a gray t-shirt and red skirt, she stepped back and looked into the mirror.

I'll have to do something with that hair of mine. Lost grimaced. Her hair was curly, yet straight. It was tangled in a weird mess.

After trying to get all the tangles out, she finally called it "decent."

She walked over to the dining room table and called, "Mom, when's breakfast and what are we having?"

"Pancakes, Lostfairy! And I think the pancakes are ready now so bring your plate here," Mom replied. "Koolestkat, come! It's breakfast time!"

Koolestkat was Lost's sister. She was going to be attending the same school as Lostfairy.

The two girls sat at the table and started eating their chocolate chip pancakes, hurriedly. Lost was done first and ran to get her backpack.

Lost slung her backpack over her shoulder, already filled with her school things.

"I'm ready. Can we go now?" Lost asked as she stood by the front door.

"Yeah, Mom. I'm ready too," Koolest said.

Mom got the keys and they all stepped outside. Once they were inside the car, Lost started getting really nervous. She tried to remember all she could about her new school.

It was called Jamaasian High and it had a lot of kids attending. It was a boarding school, which would be very new for Lost. The headmaster, Clark Stacey, was pretty nice at the little tour last week that Lost went to. The school was huge and had lots of trees and flowers all around. Vines grew basically everywhere. There were fountains and ponds. It was naturey everywhere.

They had been driving for a little when they went around a turn and Lost, all of a sudden, saw it. Jamaasian High. It was bigger than she remembered. Lost gulped nervously.

They drove into the big, fancy parking lot. Mom stopped the car and looked at Lost and Koolest.

"You'll be okay?" she asked. "Try to figure out when you should bring all your clothes and things to your dorm. Phone me when you find that out."

"Yeah. Totally," Lost replied, trying to sound calm. "Sure thing."

Koolest smiled at Lost while getting out of the car. Lost also stepped out and they turned to watched her mom smile, wave, and drive away.

Turning back around, Lost stared at all the crowds of people. There were tons of kids!

"Bye, Lost! See you later," Koolest said as she walked into the herds of kids.

Lost watched her sister walk away before she started walking down the stone pathway to the giant, oak doors of the school. As she went, she heard bits of chatter coming from all around.

"Oh my gosh, we're going to the same school as Aparri!"

"I hope I see Wisteriamoon again. Last year, she was, like, totally popular and cool."

"I love all the nature around here! Totally awesome!"

Lost reached the door and had just reached out to open it when someone came in front her.

"Hey! You look new! Welcome to Jamaasian High! Hey, you wanna join the cheerleading team?" said a girl. She grinned at Lost.

"Uh, I think I'm good. I don't wanna, you know, break myself while doing something crazy," Lost said. "But thanks for the offer."

The girl laughed. "Well, okay then! By the way, I'm Snowyclaw! I'm the top cheerleader! And our school's mascot is a blue heron named Mira! Cool, right?"

"I'm Lostfairy," Lost said.

"That's a nice name! Well, see you around!" Snowyclaw waved and walked back to a group of girls.

After watching them for a few moments, Lost turned and opened the doors. She gasped when she stepped inside.

The ceiling was very high and ivy went all the way down the stone walls. Wooden lockers all in long lines were down the hall. The ground was marble and in the center of the entryway was a huge statue of a bird. It seemed to have a magical glow around it.

Lost spun around, soaking it all in, and bumped into someone.

"Dude, watch where you're going," said a boy with brown spiky-ish hair. He was wearing a bunch of different shades of red. Somehow, they all worked together.

"Sorry!" Lost blushed.

The boy looked over his shoulder and saw a huge crowd of girls running toward him.

"Aparri! Aparri! Come back!" the girls cheered.

"Oh, great. I literally can't get anywhere around here without girls following me," he said and then started fast-walking towards the lockers.

Lost shook her head. So that was the Aparri she had heard about from outside

She then started looking around for the school office. After a few minutes of walking up and down some stairs, a girl with pale skin and black hair walked up to her. Lost noticed she had a really pretty necklace on. It was a light blue gem that matched her eyes.

"You looked like you need help." said the girl, kindly.

"Heh, is it that obvious?" Lost said nervously. "I'm trying to find the school office."

"Oh! I know where that is! Come with me," said the girl.

Lost followed the girl. "I'm Lostfairy, by the way."

"I'm Doomypanda. Most people call me Doomy," the girl replied.

They walked down the hall. Doomy finally stopped at a glass door that had the words "School Office" on it.

"Here we are," she said.

"Thanks so much, Doomy! You saved me from a long time of searching," Lost said, grinning.

"Anytime!" Doomy said. "Hope I'll see you sometime in my classes, Lostfairy!"

Lost nodded and opened the door. There was a big desk in the middle of the room with a lady sitting behind it, typing on a computer. Lost walked up to the desk.

"Hi. I'm Lostfairy. I'm new here and I need my schedule, please," Lost said.

The lady smiled and gave her a paper with her school schedule.

"Welcome here. I hope you enjoy attending here, Lostfairy," she said.

Lost looked down at her schedule and quickly checked to see what her first class was.

So first I go to homeroom, which is on the first floor.

Lost moved her way through the loud crowd to her homeroom. The bell rung and people started running to their classrooms. Lost picked up her pace and found her class. She peered inside the door. Most of the desks were full already.

This is it. My first ever homeroom.

Taking a deep breath, Lost opened the door and stepped through.