• Tori Makura threw her backpack over her shoulder and pulled up her hood, carefully covering the triangular cat ears on the top of her head. Her blue eyes dartet back and forth, scanning the almost perfectly clean room to see if she had missed anything. Seeing nothing, she ran outside and hopped in the car, her mother waiting in the drivers seat, her little cousin Becca in her car seat in the back.
    "You in?" Tori's mother asked.
    With a nod, Tori buckled her seatbelt and they sped away.

    After arriving at the high school, Tori's mother checked in and finished discussing a few things at the office while Tori waited outside with Becca.
    A short time later her mom came out.
    "Tori, remember these things: NEVER take your hood off, NEVER tell anyone about yourself, and NEVER talk too much with anyone. Hopefully that will save you the embarrasment of being teased." Her mother told her.
    Tori tugged on her hood. "What if they ask why I always wear this hood?"
    Her mother waved a peice of paper in her face. "I put you down as a child allergic to the cold."
    "Heh... Ahh, bye mom! Bye Becca!" Tori yelled as she ran into the school just as the bell for class started to ring.

    Tori, a freshman, had been allowed to go to school because all her life she had been homeschooled. According to the Principal and Secretary, If she had wanted she could have been a Sophmore, but Tori had decided it was best to stick with her own age group. Since it was the first day of school and people came from so many different middle and elementary schools, she wasn't considered a new kid. Following a hand out flyer she had been given, along with all the other freshmen, she quickly found her homeroom. Her homeroom teacher, Mrs.Chaloway, was also the Home Ec. teacher.
    As she went to leave for her first class, a large boy bumped her into the wall, knocking her books down, along with her hood. Tori quickly pulled up her hood, hoping nobody had seen her cat-ears.
    "Hey, are you alright?" A male voice asked her.
    "I'm fine," Tori answered, blushing and trying to hide her face.
    "Here." The boy held out his hand and helped her up. He picked up her books and offered to take them to her next class for her.
    "Um, sure, thanks.." Tori replied.
    The boy smiled at her. "I'm Max. I used to be homeschooled until last year."
    "I'm Tori Makura. I was homescooled until this year. Do you, uh, know any of these people?"
    Max began pointing out people. "That ones John. He's the one who bumped you. Over there is Kaylah, Marie, and another girl I don't know. The one who sits next to you in homeroom is Tom. Chanler was by the front desk, and to his left was..."

    Once they finally got to Tori's class, Max handed her back her books. "See you at lunch?" He asked. Tori smiled. "Sure. I'd love to sit next to you. See you!"
    After that they split, each going to their seperate classes.

    That day at lunch, Tori waited at a table for Max. She wondered whether or not her mother and father would approve of her having a human friend. Who cares what they think? They trusted me enough to let me go to a highschool, they can trust me with a human friend. Besides, if he is a real friend, he would never tell anyone about our secret, if he happened to find out, right? Tori wondered.

    While she was waiting, Tom, her partner in homeroom, sat beside her.
    "Hey, whats up?" He asked.
    Tori looked at him shyly. "Umm, if you don't mind, I'm kind-of saving that seat for someone..."
    Tom stood up, smiling. "Its okay! Maybe I can sit with you tomorrow? Bye!"
    Tori managed a small smile and waved slightly.

    "Hey, I see you saved me a seat," Max said, sitting down next to her.
    They talked about school and home, stuff you would talk about normally when you meet someone new. They found out that they had three classes together: English, Science, and Home Ec. They also found out that they lived relatively close to each other.

    That night when Tori got home, she didn't say anything about Max. She told her parents that public school was fun but confusing at the same time. After that she went to her room and started on some small homework.

    The next day at lunch Tom sat next to Tori again. Not wanting to be rude, she politely let him. Some of Tom's friends, Danny, Carla, Josh, and Vincent also sat with them. Tori didn't notice Max sitting at the end of the table that day.

    Two days after that Max got to the table before Tom and sat with Tori. She liked when Max sat next to her better than Tom, because Tom always brought his friends over. Tori especially didn't like Carla in particular.

    One night when Tori got off the bus, she noticed that her parents weren't home. Forgetting where the spare key was, she spread her homework out on the lawn and began to do it, when she heard a voice.

    "Hey! Tori!" Max shouted, running over from across the street.
    "Hey! Why are you here?" Tori asked.
    "My parents are looking at the house for sale across the street. We might get it, our house is to small for my family."
    Tori smiled. "That would be so cool, we would be neighbors!"

    They started talking and walking across the street. Max ran ahead to show Tori his sister. Tori was walking across, not looking, when suddenly a huge truck came barreling up the road. Tori turned around, but it was too late.