Since I missed the feeling of posting new chappies and anticipating the comments, I'll upload early. Hahaha.. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.
This time, the a couple of the gang will be introduced. ;)

Dedicated to kitkat7 because she waited for this ever since I mentioned Realize in A and D. :)

HAPPY READING!!! ^_^
_________________________________________

Early next morning, Maxine woke up in a daze. She was still not used to waking up in an elegant room that was big enough for two people.

She got out of bed and went directly to the kitchen. Walking pass the living room, she saw Todd sitting at the couch, staring at her. She haven't brushed her teeth, her hair, and she was still wearing her pajamas. Todd was already dressed for school.

"Oh! Sweetie, Todd brought your uniforms. They're in your room. Maybe you haven't noticed," informed Natalie, who just entered the living room.

Maxine widened her eyes. "You've got to be kidding me," she mumbled. Instead of leaving, she managed to complain. "It's only half past six in the morning!"

"It takes thirty minutes by car to get to Sky. And half past seven in the morning, the bell rings and it's the start of homeroom," explained Todd, trying to stop himself from smiling.

"Is that so? Well . . ." Maxine broke off and ran to her bedroom.

She took a very quick shower, then brushed her teeth and her hair. She dressed quickly, faintly noticing what her uniform looked like. She was wearing a red plaid patterned skirt that was a couple of inches above the knee, a tie that was also the same style and fabric as the skirt, while a polo shirt that was beneath the gray coat. After fifteen minutes, she was ready to go.

Now that Maxine's eyes were washed to see things clearly, she noticed how Todd could look so princely. He was wearing the same red plaid patterned tie. Though, his pants were plain black.

"Let's go, then," declared Todd, standing up.

They left the building. Maxine gasped quietly when she saw what they were riding to get to Sky.

It was a limousine.

Well, there were girls who also used this type of vehicle at her former school. But she never once experienced it. She wondered, though.

It looked like it was an everyday life for Todd to use this car, because his expression looked bored as it parked in front of them.

"Thanks, Joe," Todd told Joe when he opened the door for us.

When Maxine climbed in, the chauffeur introduced himself from his seat as 'Joseph the Chauffeur.' She felt weird that she had to address him using that nickname so she decided to call him just 'JC.'

The ride to Sky was quiet. Maxine couldn't bring herself to speak. Unlike yesterday, she felt the aura around Todd change. It was as if Todd wasn't as approachable as he was yesterday. If truth be told, he really wasn't that as approachable neither, but at least he was looking at her unlike now.

She sneaked a look at Todd. His eyes were somewhat cold as he stared out the window. What was wrong with him?

Almost half an hour had passed. Maxine was still unable to talk; she just stared outside the window, absolutely bored. Then, she realized that they entered such huge gates that bore the name of the school:

Sky International Academy

"Sky is the limit."

An Elite High School

"Oh, my golly," she whispered, awe-struck.

She remembered watching historical films because of the gates that might have been made many, many decades, or even centuries, ago. This excited her so much she couldn't help but grin widely. The phrase below the name of the school was probably the school motto.

Awesome, she thought.

Whether they were referring to the school or the sky itself, she didn't know. She even noticed the words "Elite High School." Wow. This was going to take some getting used to.

It had a tree-lined avenue. And, not far now, Maxine could see what seemed like a manor rather than a school. There was a fountain, with the marble statue of a boy and a beautiful girl at the very front of the school entrance. They were wearing the same uniform that Todd and Maxine were wearing, only the girl was wearing a longer skirt.

"Here we are," announced Joseph the Chauffeur as the car stopped beside the fountain.

Todd immediately got out of the car before Maxine could do anything.

"Is he really like that?" Maxine asked Joseph the Chauffeur curiously.

He laughed. "You'll need to be specific, Miss."

She searched for the right word. Then, she said, "Cold."

"Oh, Miss Maxine," he said, shaking his head. "You haven't seen nothing yet."

With that, she picked up her small LV bag pack, which was given to her by Natalie. She mumbled her goodbye to Joseph the Chauffeur and followed Todd outside. She was slightly surprised to see Todd waiting for her. She hesitantly walked toward him.

"Don't worry," he started, "Mom requested to Headmaster Sky to put you in the same homeroom as mine. You don't need to go to the reception area and let them know you're a new student. Just go directly to your classes." He paused and put his right hand in his left jacket pocket. He then pulled out a paper. "Here,"— he handed it to Maxine, she took it —"is a map of the school so you won't be lost. And this"— he gave her a paper that had her list of subjects —"is your class schedule. Okay?"

After the last word, he left her. He didn't even wait for her to answer.

She stared at him in surprise and in confusion. She managed to recover herself quickly, though.

"Wait!" she called to him. He didn't seem to have heard her as he joined a group of boys. "That – That's it? Ugh. That guy. Who does he think he is?" she snapped.

She let it go after a few moments, and just settled herself memorizing her schedule while walking.

After she read and memorized her schedule, she felt even more excited. There were subjects here, which normal schools didn't have. Like Good Manners Division. And then every day, there would be an hour for the Groups, Teams, and Clubs? And what was more, having the whole Friday just for Physical Education? It was so unusual. There were even houses. Sort of like JK Rowling's Harry Potter, which was even cooler!

How big was this school? Seriously. She was really going to have fun in Sky. She just knew it. And then there was another letter from the Headmaster Sky himself!

Sky International Academy
Headmaster's letter

Dear Miss Ferguson,

Welcome to Sky International Academy. I very much hope you take pleasure in your stay here. At Sky, you are permitted to do whatever your heart's desire, as long as it is not brutal and vile.

For here at Sky, we do not stop students from having excitement. We teach our students to learn from their mistakes.

So pick a hobby, and do your best! And always remember that the "Sky is the limit!"

Scipio Jon Montarini Sky
Headmaster Sky

Maxine stared at the letter and read it twice. They didn't stop students from having excitement? What kind of discipline did they have? Not that she was complaining.

She decided to enter the school, slightly forgetting the fact that she was mad at Todd for leaving her alone like that and for obviously letting her feel that she was nothing but a bother to him.

She observed that, not most but, all of the students were wearing expensive jewelry, using modern gadgets, and looking like they were Runway models. While looking around, she spotted someone using a cell phone that wasn't out in stores yet – she read a few days ago from a magazine that the cell phone would cost a fortune.

I'm always surrounded by rich people, Maxine thought, forgetting that she also came from a wealthy family.

She looked at the map Todd gave her and walked while holding the map. She wasn't taking her eyes off the map when — BUMP! — She crashed into someone.

Maxine, being clumsy as she was, fell to the ground.

"Are you all right?" asked the girl who she bumped into.

Maxine looked up to see who asked. And it was a very pretty girl. She had long curly light brown hair with the eyes of purple. She was wearing a simple, red ribbon at one side of her hair.

Maxine stood up and answered, "Yes. Thank you for your concern."

The pretty girl grinned.

"You're welcome," said the girl. "I'm Kimberly Nickerson. You can just call me 'Kim', though."

"I'm Maxine Ferguson. But they used to call me 'Max' at my former school."

"Oh, you're a new student? I knew it."

"How did you know?" asked Maxine curiously.

"The map and Headmaster Sky's letter," answered Kim, pointing at the map and letter that Maxine was holding.

Maxine looked at it.

"Right. Well, I'm sort of lost." Maxine smiled sheepishly. Sh was kind of hoping that Kim could help her. But she got the feeling that students in Sky were a bit snobbish.

"Want me to help you?" offered Kim.

"Will you?" asked Maxine.

"Why not?" shrugged Kim. "Let's go. In what year are you?"

They began to walk side by side.

"I'm a junior," said Maxine casually. She observed that everyone that passed them by greeted Kim, so she tried to be casual about the fact that she was with a popular girl.

Kim's eyes slightly widened as she grinned.

"Wonderful! I'm a junior, too," she declared excitedly. "Which class?"

"3-B," answered Maxine, glancing at her schedule.

Kim pouted for a moment. "Oh, well. At least we have some classes together." She sighed, looking over at Maxine's schedule.

"Is Headmaster Sky always — um — tolerable?" inquired Maxine, thinking about her letter as they walked.

"You can say that," considered Kim, nodding. "He doesn't like his students to be unhappy. So you can always have fun and do what you want at Sky. Didn't you see the Sky Motto?"

"'Sky is the limit,'" recited Maxine.

"Exactly! So basically, it's like you're on vacation rather than in school, which makes it so fun here," giggled Kim. "Come on, you're going to be late. Actually, we're going to be late. It's almost homeroom."

They proceeded to the east side of the school. They climbed up the wide spaced stairs until they reached the third floor. The journey to the 3-B homeroom classroom was a long one. But the company of Kim made it enjoyable. Finally, Kim waved goodbye.

Maxine knocked on the door to her homeroom and slowly opened it. Miss Avery, a young homeroom teacher with glasses, approached her.

"You must be Maxine?" Miss Avery asked, smiling expectantly.

Maxine nodded.

"Come on in, then."

Maxine walked inside as she was being introduced by Miss Avery to the class. She caught a sight of Todd sitting at the back corner of the room. Their eyes met. It might be her imagination but she thought he looked at her with cold eyes. But then he suddenly looked away so she couldn't be sure.

Miss Avery placed her two rows from where Todd was.

Time flew fast. Maxine didn't go to breakfast when it was break time. Instead, she searched the location of her next class so that she wouldn't be late. Although, when lunch time came, she couldn't ignore her grumbling stomach anymore. Once again, she took out her map and looked for the way to the cafeteria.

There was one word to describe the Sky Cafeteria: Extraordinary. It was clean, neat, and elegant. You'd think at first glance that it was a restaurant. But there was a sign outside the room that says 'Sky Cafeteria'.

Maxine wasn't used to all of this. They were well-off in New Jersey. But this . . . this kind of luxurious life was very new to her. She was suddenly reminded of how the people in Gossip Girl lived. Blair Waldorf buying a ten-thousand-dollar handbag. Would Maxine end up that way, too? Having no regard for money?

She shivered at the thought.

Walking inside, she felt a little uneasy. Nobody noticed her presence so she felt a little okay. Looking around, she saw that some students were being served by waiters while others prefer self-serving by the food table at the other side of the room.

Because she liked feeling independent, she went to the food table and was delighted to see almost all kinds of international foods. Some of them caught her eye.

There was a delicious-looking Chicken in brown soup which was labeled 'Adobo and Rice from the Philippines.' There was also a familiar-looking pink fish that was labeled 'Sushi from Japan.' And of course the usual spaghetti with meatballs labeled 'Italian Spaghetti from Italy.' She didn't continue to look at the other labels because honestly, there were just too many of them. So she simply got herself a big sliced pizza, and a soda to match it up.

After getting her food, she turned around to look for an empty table. But someone suddenly tapped her from behind, making her jump a little. She looked over her shoulder and saw Kim.

"Hello!" greeted Kim, beaming. "Do you want to sit with me?"

Maxine, caught off guard, managed to nod. She followed Kim to an empty table near the huge window that overlooked the Quadrangle. As soon as they took a seat, Kim seemed preoccupied. She kept craning her neck as though she was looking for someone in the room.

Maxine noticed this and asked, "Are you waiting for someone?"

And sure enough, before Kim could answer, a group of boys entered the Cafeteria. Maxine couldn't help but notice how extremely cool-looking boys they were. They looked as though they were models. You know, there was a difference between looking like an actor and looking like a model. A model had more features and looked as if they were molded perfectly to advertise. But actors were just either pretty boys or manly hunks. But these guys . . . they were models, all right.

Maxine felt like everything around her was just a dream. What, was this school made from Heaven? Seriously, though. She couldn't find one bad thing about the school. Even the students were . . . heavenly-like.

She rapidly shook her head, pushing away those thoughts. That was when she saw two of the boys went to the food table, while the other two walked straight to the table where she and Kim sat. Oh, she failed to comprehend a while ago that one of them was Todd. Of course.

"Good morning!"

The other guy nodded to Kim as he sat down. However, Todd still stood there as he looked curiously at Maxine – which made her extremely uncomfortable.

"This is Maxine," announced Kim. "She's a new friend."

Todd now looked at Kim as if she said something horrible.

"Hi! I'm Brian Wright," said the other guy brightly.

Maxine turned her attention to him. He had a cleaned-cut dark hair with bluish green eyes. He was as tall as Todd, and had broad shoulders. It might just be her imagination but she felt a strong sense of charisma coming out from him.

"Nice to meet –" started Maxine, but her voice was drowned in Todd's voice.

"She's your friend?" Todd asked Kim, with a raised eyebrow.

His voice wasn't really loud. But it had that tone that made Maxine felt unwanted. And that made her blood boil. She couldn't understand why Todd treated her this way. She couldn't remember doing anything wrong to him. So what was his problem?

"Yes, she is," replied Kim simply.

"Why?" asked Todd, with a raised eyebrow.

"What is your problem with me?" snapped Maxine, getting to her feet. She couldn't take it anymore. What was he trying to imply?

Other students started to watch what was happening over their table. Maxine didn't feel the least bit embarrassed about anything. This was Todd's fault.

"I don't have a problem with you," he clarified coolly. He didn't even bother to look at Maxine as he talked to her. "You're the problem itself."

Maxine was taken aback. How dare he? she thought.

"And what did I ever do to you?" she demanded.

"Because you came here, Mom started to . . ." he trailed off, shaking his head.

She understood now. "I didn't make Aunt Janice force you to do things you didn't like to do, you know."

"Just leave this table," said Todd in a bored voice.

"And why should her?" asked Kim suddenly.

"Why shouldn't her?"

Maxine got angry. And when she was angry, she turned crazy. Well, slightly.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't know you own this table. You probably have your names on it," she said sarcastically. She searched the table for written names, and then she straightened up and added, "Oh, wait!"— She looked at Todd —"It seems you don't have your names here. Wrong table."

Todd stared at her for a moment before smirking.

"I didn't say anything about owning this table," he said in a calm but cold voice. "I am merely telling you to leave."

Maxine opened her mouth to say something but Brian beat her to it.

"Hey, Todd. Karl and Peter are calling us. Let's go."

Then, he pulled Todd away.

Maxine caught Kim mouth a "Thank you" to Brian, but she said nothing. The students who were watching the show stared after Todd and Brian as they left.

Maxine snorted. Of course they were popular, as well. But Todd's behavior certainly didn't caught up with his looks. Shame he had an attitude like that. She almost had a crush on him, if only he wasn't such a jerk.

When the boys were out of sight, Kim looked at Maxine weirdly. When Maxine felt self-conscious, she returned Kim's look.

"What?"

"You know Janice?" asked Kim in wonder.

"Yes. Aunt Janice — I mean, she and my Mom are long time friends. And when we moved here, they were kind of reunited," answered Maxine, as she sliced her pizza and bit it.

"Ah . . . I see," mumbled Kim, nodding in understanding. "But still, that was really brave to do for a new girl."

Maxine swallowed before answering. "What was brave to do?"

"Speaking to Todd like that. After all," Kim paused to snort, "he is Todd Samuels. He can make anyone shut up if he wanted to. You see, he's pretty intimidating at times. But you'll know if he's dangerously angry when you could hear from his voice that he's calm yet raging inside. If ever that happens, that's your cue to leave him alone. Fortunately, it happens very, very rarely."

This made Maxine curious as she took a sip from her coke.

"I wonder what his reputation at Sky is," she wondered aloud.

"Well," considered Kim thoughtfully. "He's the cleverest and wittiest in our year – probably in the whole school, if you ask me. He don't have any interest in girls."

Maxine widened her eyes in shock. "You mean he's gay?"

Kim rapidly shook her head. "No, no," she assured Maxine. "He just doesn't date anyone, as far as we know. And . . . What else? Well, he's good at everything he does. He also doesn't talk to girls that much – except for me. But that's because we're childhood friends. Why, may I ask, are you so interested in Todd's reputation?" added Kim suddenly, wearing a grin on her face.

Maxine blinked. "I – I was just curious. What about you? And Brian?" she asked, hoping to change the subject. Thankfully, Kim seemed to take the bait.

"Brian and I are the best of friends. Like he and Todd," she explained. Then, she scrunched up her face in a graceful way. "Though, that doesn't mean that Todd and I are very close. Oh, and before anyone else could tell you, Brian and I used to date in freshmen year," she added quietly. "But that's very much history."

Maxine felt that Kim didn't want to talk about it anymore, so she didn't press more on that subject.

As soon as they finished eating, they headed straight to class. It was a good thing that Kim and Maxine were in the same Creative Writing Class that afternoon. Maxine wouldn't have to feel uncomfortable not knowing anybody.

"Hey, Ross. Are you coming to the club meeting later?"

Maxine overheard the person in front of her address his friend. His statement made her think of the activities they had at Sky. She turned to Kim.

"Do you have a choir, here at Sky?" she whispered to Kim, who was sitting beside her.

"Of course," nodded Kim. "Unfortunately, it's a total waste. If I were you, I wouldn't be interested in choir."

Maxine was disappointed to hear about that. She was really looking forward to do the thing she loved most doing.

But then, Kim continued, "You could try out for the school band. It's not necessarily a band, with students wearing matching uniforms and marching around the track field. No. It's more of a . . . rock band, if I may say so myself. And they happen to need a female vocalist."

Maxine was really interested. She never tried out for a band before. This experience would be good to her. She liked trying out new things. In fact, she liked adventure.

"That sounds fun," she told Kim.

"Yes, it is," agreed Kim. "The audition is held tomorrow, three o'clock in the afternoon at the Sky Studio."

"Thank you!"

Maxine was so excited. She was also thankful that she met a friend like Kim. She always had an intuition if someone wasn't being very real to her. And she had the feeling that she would like Kim from the moment they bumped into each other. Maybe she was right.

At the back of her mind, she wondered if she would make new friends again tomorrow at the audition. She sure hoped so.

Later that day, when Maxine and Todd got in the limo, silence instantly filled it. She refused to look at Todd. She wasn't usually claustrophobic. But being with him in the same care made her feel as though she was suffocating. She had never met someone as rude as him.

"How was your first day at Sky, Miss Maxine?" asked Joseph the Chauffeur.

"It was wonderful," replied Maxine, smiling, "despite the fact that someone ruined it."

She expected Joseph the Chauffeu to answer, but it was Todd who asked in disbelief, "Are you trying to start an argument with me?"

She snorted. "Why don't you ask yourself, seeing as you're able to answer any question better than anyone else." That slipped out before she could take it back.

"That's quite true," he smirked.

He was just so unbearably arrogant!

And that just made Maxine even angrier than before. She decided that it was better for her to keep her mouth shut, because she might say something out of line.

Silence fell over them once again. Eventually, they arrived at the Crystal Life Condominium. Still not speaking, they entered the elevator. It was as if they didn't know each other.

Out of the blue, Todd turned to Maxine.

"Fine," he shrugged. "You asked for it. The war begins," he added darkly.

She stared at him dubiously. "You do know you really sound childish by saying that, don't you?"

He only smirked.

When it was their floor, she quickly stepped outside the elevator. She suddenly thought to add a statement, and so she turned her head towards Todd while walking.

"Don't you even dare think —"

But whatever Todd wasn't allowed to think, he didn't find out. Maxine tripped on the carpet and landed butt-on to the floor. She raged in anger that she didn't even look at where she was going.

"Ow!" she cried, hastily getting on her feet before Todd could see her.

Too late. She wasn't fast enough to stand up. Todd already saw her. He burst into chortles as soon as he got out of the elevator.

"Man, that is called stupidity," he stated. Tears were actually coming out from his eyes from his silent laughter. He didn't stop chuckling until he got inside his home.

Maxine covered her face with her hands.

Why do I have to be humiliated in front of the person I despised? she thought.

Yes, she already despised him. With that kind of personality, she was astonished that he was still popular at Sky. Of course it was only because of his looks. Ugh.

But in all honesty, instead of anger filling Maxine, she was embarrassed. She finally opened the door to their Condominium and told Natalie what happened that day.

_________________________________________

Tadah!! So what do you guys think of Todd now? *evil laugh* He sure has a sharp tongue. Don't you think so?

Oh, I forgot to mention that this story has music in it. You'll get to find out why next chapter. ;)

Upload: April 7 or 8

Please Comment and Vote -- if you like!! ^_^