Pulling up to Apollo High, one would think that every student in the parking lot was the President's child and that they were on a trip to a museum.

  The school's building was daunting in size at about three stories in height. The dome on top of the school itself just made it appear to be larger. Like the majority of buildings within Elysium, the walls were a serene shade of white. Large glass panels reflected the sunlight away. Even just from the parking lot, Theodora was already feeling small.

  Perhaps that simply came with the territory. Apollo High School was Elysium's sole intermediate education establishment. And it was given every single resource needed to be not just the top high school in New York, but also within the entire world.

  The security measures being taken would be the first true indication to her that this school was certainly living up to its reputation. Most school would maybe have some armed security of some kind or another...but over here, it was quite obvious that the students of Apollo High were considered treasures worth protecting. How many high schools tended to have patrols that weren't just armed, but packing the kind of hardware that wouldn't be out of place in a warzone. A grown man carrying an assault rifle while checking for school I.D. would be more than enough to have her pretty much stiffened up and holding her backpack to her chest as if it'd be a shield.

  Had it not been for Mr. Meraki being able to speak to these guards the same way he could talk to a bar patron, she probably would have faked a migraine to stay home.

  Once they found a parking lot and settled into the space, Theodora would let out a breath the moment the engine turned off. It was all starting to become real that she was about to start her first day of high school. The first steps to become a doctor. The first step to doing something with her life to make a positive change.

  And you can bet she was terrified.

  A few deep breaths would be taken as Meraki would hold a hand out to her. Theodora would take a hold of it with both hands and with closed eyes. Her own blemish free fingers gently holding onto a hand covered with numerous callouses. She often did wonder where those came from...she could imagine that each mark told a story of a life, but Mr. Meraki would always tend to brush them off.

  Whatever sagas were told in that palm, it served as a proper grounding method for Theodora...the last silent little boost that she needed to start the day.

  She'd give Mr. Meraki a hug around his shoulders as he'd lazily pat the top of her head, promising that he'd make a really nice dinner for the three of them when the day was done, to which Miss Nadine appeared surprised that she was included in the dinner plans. Still, she'd wish the brown-haired girl good luck...and was kind enough to give her cell phone number in case Theodora needed anything.

  The next step would be the hardest, as the first leg of the journey tended to be. But the only way to go was forward.

  --

  The more that Theodora walked amongst her peers, the more that she felt like generations had skipped by her and she was a centennial who had managed to finally pass middle school.

  A sea of white shirts, golden skirts and ties surrounded her as she continued forward, though it seemed like the optics craze had certainly spread pretty far. Multicolored hair as far as the eye could see ranging from blues to reds to greens...pinks and purples and some pure white. Colors of eyes ranging from pink to neon green...some had pupils of two different colors...not just within each eye, but within each pupil.

  With her own brown hair and hazel eyes, Theodora couldn't help but feel like she was the circus animal. Thankfully her low-key personality seemed to not attract much attention, though she could hear a couple of people whispering the moment she passed by, which she'd attempt to not listen in too much.

  For the most part, she'd attempt to be civil. People who walked by and made eye contact with her would get a kind smile and a nod, along with a little hello. Some of the students were nice enough to return the gesture, others would sorta just brush it off and keep going. She'd try not to worry too much about it since they were a lot more social than the people on the streets. Unfortunately for Theodora, she had no idea how to even start a conversation. Middle school felt like it was a century ago...and even back then it was hard to know how to approach people.

  A part of her wondered whether she should even try. These weren't just ordinary kids. These were children of celebrities, politicians, CEOs and the like. Some were considered talented enough that they deserved to be trained at the best school in the entire country. It wouldn't have shocked her if some of them didn't just have chips on their shoulders, but entire bags of Doritos. And meanwhile, Theodora was walking around like her chips had gotten soggy.

  Theodora would take a calm breath as she'd reach her locker. She'd greet it by softly pressing her hand to it. "I...guess you're my first friend." She'd lightly joke with a voice barely above a whisper. "I'll call you...Mr. Locker." It had been around longer than she had...so by default he was her senior. "When I get back from class...I'll have a bunch of food I can feed you..." She was already wondering what kind of books he'd like, but she could imagine Mr. Locker as a connoisseur of science textbooks and English papers...

  Maybe it was a bit of a stretch to befriend a locker, but it was a little grounding method for her...

  "Don't see too many Nat's around here..." A new girl's voice would have Theodora almost leap into Mr. Locker and become his first meal of the school year as she'd suddenly turn around and almost let out a mouse-like peep before glancing down and seeing who had approached her. The very first thing that caught her attention were eyes of solid green, eyelashes sharp enough to cut steel, and pupils that shined like stars.

  Probably because the pupils were actually shaped like them as well.

  "Ooooooh...you're like...totally Nat'd aren't you?" This girl didn't seem to understand space much because she was already pretty close to Theodora's face. She'd have her wrists to her hips as she'd lean in, a pair of cotton candy pink pigtails would bounce up from the excitement of the moment. "Mhm...I can tell right away you've got eyes that haven't been op'd..." Which meant that she was looking right into Theodora's eyes and that'd get the girl blushing up a storm and trying to avoid eye contact. She hadn't been here for five minutes and was already one hand slap to a wall away from Kabedon.

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  Thankfully the girl would back off, tapping her finger to her chin and squinting her eyes. "Interesting, interesting...are you simply self-conscious, or are you so convinced of your beauty that you truly believe you can survive without the miracle of cos-optics? Please share your wisdom with me."

  "What?" Did she already run into a therapist?

  "Oh, don't mind me! Just thinking out loud!" The girl would back up and finally give Theodora some space to actually breath. She'd place both of her hands behind her back and turn her nose up, eyes closed as she twirled to turn her back to Theodora as well. "As someone in the cos-optics business, it does stun me to witness girls your age who don't have a single fiber on your whole body." She'd giggle and press her finger to her chin once more. "I can't help but see a potential customer who hasn't quite experienced the joys brought about by them...

  At that point, she'd turn around once more, putting a hand to her hip. "Maybe I can convince you to try them out?" A flick of her hair would suddenly turn those pink locks into a violet array, widening Theodora's eyes as she remained stunned. "No one knows how to make a girl look beautiful the way I can."

  Barely a minute into this conversation and Theodora genuinely had no idea what to say. She would admit that the girl before her was certainly brimming with confidence, especially in the way she carried herself. Her posture, poise, attitude was so strong that it felt like a tidal wave of glitter was about to drown poor Theodora...heck, even her uniform seemed to sparkle even though they were wearing the exact same kind. Maybe it was the lower tie, the choker around her neck (was that even legal?), and the fact that her skirt seemed an inch lower than her own (was THAT legal!?), but she felt completely overpowered and was maybe even tempted to say yes...

  "I-I'm good!" Theodora would shake her head. "I-I don't need any!" Feeling flushed, she'd press her fingertips together and keep her eyes to the floor. "N-Not because I don't think you're convincing...I just...r-really don't want anything like that...I-I don't hate it! I-It's just...not...my...thing..."

  Ah crap, she just met someone, and she was already saying that her job wasn't to her taste.

  Instead of getting told off, however, the girl would put one hand over her mouth and a second on her stomach, commencing with a hearty laugh as she would go to wipe a tear from her eye. "Okay...you're definitely not ego driven." Was that a compliment? Theodora would tilt her head in a bit of confusion as the girl would place both hands to her hips. "Well...you know what? I can respect that...you do you girl."

  "Um...thank you...girl."

  "Ah right, I haven't given my name." Another flick of her hair and it's turn a bright crimson color. "Roberta Schueller. You may feel free to call me the future queen of cos-optics..." And another flick to turn a darker shade of blue. "Though if that's a mouthful, you can call me whatever floats your boat."

  Upon hearing that, Theodora's eyes would widen, and she could almost feel herself feeling lighter than air. She could call her...anything? Usually that kind of privilege came whenever two people became friends...so maybe...she'd achieved that goal!? Less than ten minutes into the school year and she had her first human friend!?

  She was close to bursting into tears.

  With a new round of enthusiasm, she'd reach down and take Roberta by the hand with two of her own, an action that'd actually catch the beauty queen by shock this time. "Th-Then I'll call you Rob!"

  One could almost hear crickets chirping from the sheer silence from Roberta, as well as the squint she was so generously donating.

  Theodora would also find herself terrified as she'd let that hand go and lift both up as if she had been arrested. "O-Or I'll just use Roberta until I can think of something else."

  "Pffft..." Roberta would place a hand to her hip. "Okay...gotta ask...what basement have you been stuck in this whole time?" A nervous laugh from Theodora would be counteracted by another hair flick, turning it back to that shade of pink. "Or...you know what, I think I'll ask again once our friendship level's been given an upgrade. Right now, you're looking a little lost, aren't you?"

  "Huh? But I know where I'm going..."

  "I meant more socially..."

  Theodora had no response other than to feel called out. Sadly, Roberta's assessment was 100% accurate.

  With a chuckle, Roberta would pat Theodora on the shoulder. "Look, don't worry about it. How about this..." She'd pull a cell phone out of her pocket, one with a pastel pink case with stickers ranging from rainbows to candy brands to names of bands that she'd gotten cursory looks towards. "We still have some time before orientation...so how about I give you a little tour of the school?"

  That would actually surprise Theodora a little bit. "Are you coming back for another year?" She didn't think that the girl was older than her...maybe that was a bit of a biased assumption on her part. If she knew there was an age gap, then she would have at least shown a lot more respect and she certainly wouldn't have grabbed her hand like that.

  Wait...speaking of her seniors...what if Mr. Locker previously belonged to Roberta!? Maybe that's why she came this way in the first place! To say hello to an old friend! Now Theodora felt like a home-wrecker on top of a thief.

  "I-I'll take care of your locker I promise!"

  "Girl chill, I'm a freshman. I just know what the school looks like because my brother goes here."

  Oh...

  A cold sweat would break out from Theodora as her skin must have suddenly gotten its own cos-optic by suddenly turning pure white. "I jumped to very extreme conclusions there..."

  Roberta would laugh again, almost snorting as she put her hand to her hip again. "Are you joining the comedy club? I'll drop by your first stand-up so long as you pay for my ticket." With that mooching out of the way, Roberta would take a step to the side, inviting Theodora forward. "Well, let's be on our way now! I'll give you the run down on what to watch out for. It might be my first time here, but regardless of its sterling reputation, Apollo High is still a high school...so the social hierarchy is likely going to be the same as any other that you see on television. I'll have you an expert before noon..."

  Theodora would give a genuine smile as she'd nod. "Thank you so much, Roberta...I'll be ready as soon as I set my locker combination!"

  "Girl, take all the time you need!" Roberta would make a peace sign and a wink, chuckling as she'd place her hand behind her back, before tilting her head a little as well. "Though, are you gonna tell me your name? If I keep calling you girl all day, I'm probably going to be accused of being a slave driver."

  "O-Oh right! Sorry!" Theodora would feel her entire being light up. It felt like almost every nerve in her body had evaporated into thin air and all she could feel was this overwhelming sense of happiness. She wondered if she'd ever make a friend her first year...and now she'd gotten to meet a really interesting one! Someone bright and sparkly who loved to talk...she genuinely couldn't think of a better first friend to meet. "I'm Theodora Paré. It's nice to meet you!" And she'd turn right around and get to work on setting up that combination...

  What she didn't see, however, was the look of surprise on Roberta's face as that last name reached her ears, feeling herself blink a few times as she'd place a hand over her mouth...the charming sparkle replaced by a narrow, thoughtful expression as she'd glance towards the side...a soft whisper under her breath...

  "That Paré?"

  The moment that Theodora turned around and speak "I'm ready!" Roberta would shift back to her bubbly persona, hands behind her back and a large grin right on her face.

  "Alright! Let's not waste a single second!" And she certainly wouldn't. Just her luck...she found herself a very, very interesting girl...