The two student’s records were impeccable…they were both top students, active in extracurricular activities, never in trouble. There was nothing out of the ordinary on their records….but still…

“This is highly unusual.” Mrs. Jamieson commented. “I know that in my experience, students never just walk into my office, hand me their records, and tell me that they want to enroll in school.”

“I’m sorry.” The boy, Matthew, responded. “It’s just that this move came up very suddenly. Our dad was given an immediate transfer, so there was no time for our records to be mailed, so our old high school just handed them over.”

“We don’t want to be any trouble.” The girl, Alyssa, replied. “We just wanted to get started here as soon as possible. The longer we wait before getting going in school, the longer before we can start to feel like we fit in here.”

Mrs. Jamieson smiled. “Yes, I suppose I can understand that. It’s a natural adolescent desire to feel like you belong somewhere. It’s going to take me a few minutes to arrange schedules for you two. Why don’t you sit outside and wait. I’ll call you in when I’m ready.”

“Of course.” Matthew responded.

“Thank you so much Mrs. Jamieson!” Alyssa gushed warmly.

Mrs. Jamieson smiled back. “Welcome to West Roswell High.”

The two teens slipped out into the hallway and slunk down on the bench outside the counselor’s office.

Matthew let out the breath that he was holding and sighed in relief. “Well that went well.” He muttered softly.

“Everything is going to be fine, Matt. They’re here, somewhere…at this school! And today we’re finally going to be face to face with them.”

“Are you ready to meet them, Alyssa?” Matt asked his sister softly.

Alyssa slowly met her brother’s eyes, surprised by the question. All of this time, they had slowly been working towards one goal, that was finally going to be fulfilled today, putting all of their time and energy into it, and never once had Matthew asked her this question.

“I don’t know.” She honestly replied. “I haven’t really thought about it until now.”

Alyssa fell silent for a moment, letting the question fill her mind. A queasy feeling entered her stomach. “I’m so nervous, Matt. What if they don’t let us in…give us a chance?”

“They will.” Matt comforted her. “I know they will…it might take some time, but eventually they’ll let us in.”

“I really, really hope so.”

A bell rang out from somewhere within the school, and suddenly the hallway was filled with students rushing from class to class. Alyssa and Matt fell silent, as they studied the people swarming through the hallways, who were to be their peers from now on.

A couple slowly walked through the hallway, the only two people who didn’t seem to be in a rush at the moment. They stopped across the hallway from the new students, causing Matt’s attention to zone in on them.

His eyes locked on the site before him. “Lis…look.” He whispered, before realizing that she had already seen them too. Both of them took in every movement between the couple in amazement, the way they talked to each other as if they were the only two people in the world, the way their hands clutched to each other’s, as if clinging to their only lifeline, and particularly the raw, burning love pouring openly from both their eyes. Suddenly, the boy pulled the girl into a tight, protective hug, kissing her softly on her forehead, before pulling away. She headed into a nearby classroom, while the boy turned in the opposite direction, down the hallway.

“That was them, wasn’t it?” Matt asked his sister in awe.

Alyssa nodded in agreement. “Did you see the way they looked at each other?”

“And the way they couldn’t stop touching each other.” Matt added in eagerly. “They’re so in love…”

“It’s just the way things are supposed to be.” Alyssa sighed happily.

“Alyssa? Matthew? You can come back in now!” Mrs. Jamieson called from inside the office, breaking the moment for the twins. They met each other’s eyes one last time, sharing a determined smile, before heading back into the counselor’s office.

Max pulled Liz to off to the side when they reached the door to her second period British Literature Class.

“Hey, I have a few things I have to do, so I probably won’t see you again until lunch.”

“Where are you going?” Liz asked him curiously.

Max grinned mischievously in response. “It’s a surprise…I’ll tell you about it at lunch.”

Liz laughed with him for a moment, before looking up into his eyes, a serious expression penetrating her gaze.

“I’m going to miss you.” She sighed in frustration. “God, when did I become such a baby? I can survive a few hours without seeing you.”

Max gently took her hand, squeezing it tightly in his own. “Hey, you’re not a baby…don’t think things like that. Trust me…I know exactly how you feel…”

“You do, don’t you?” Liz murmured softly.

“Yeah…I’m going to miss you this morning too…I’ll be thinking about you constantly, actually. I really wish it was possible for us to be together constantly…but it isn’t…not yet. We have plenty of time for that later though…our whole lives…well, our whole second lives.” Max chuckled softly. He pulled her into a quick, tight hug, kissing her softly on the forehead. “Get to class…I’ll see you at lunch. I love you.”

“I love you too…bye.”

“Bye.”

Max waited until Liz was safe within her classroom, before turning and heading towards the exit doors, a nervous twitch entering his stomach as he thought ahead to his upcoming talk with the Parkers.

“Okay, do you have any questions about your schedules?” Mrs. Jamieson asked the two new students

“Nope.” They both shook their heads.

“Okay, then what I’m going to do is assign a student guide to you two, to show you around school, help you find your respective classes, and just help you get acquainted to school here. Let me see…” Mrs. Jamieson fumbled around in one of her desk drawers, before flopping another folder in front of her and opening it. “Yes…here’s the list of volunteers….”

Alyssa shot her brother a insistent look, before turning to focus her mind on a stack of papers on the edge of the counselor’s desk. She gave the papers a slight tap with her mind, and immediately they went toppling over, hitting the floor.

“Oh good lord!” Mrs. Jamieson cried out in frustration, before leaning over to clean up the mess.

“Oh my gosh!” Alyssa feigned surprise. “Let me help you with that.”

While Alyssa kept Mrs. Jamieson distracted on the floor, Matt quickly swiped his hand over the student volunteer list, changing the top name to “Liz Parker”.

“Thank you for your help, Alyssa.” The counselor smiled sincerely at the girl, before returning her gaze to the list on her desk. “Okay…it looks like Liz Parker is going to be your student guide. As soon as I can get her in here, you can be on your way.”