Brent & Mel walked quietly into the office. The first day was now over, and the two wanted to get home quickly to unload all of their school-day worries. There wasn't a secretary around, so the two waited patiently in the front office.

"This school definetly has something special going on for it," Mel smiled. "I think I'll really like it here."

"Minus the secret room and Mr. X, I can see why you'd think that. I can't believe that we have homework on the first day, though. You'd think that teachers would have enough heart to spare us at least one night," Brent sighed.

"Amen, brother." Mel then heard voices in the back rooms of the office. "I think they're back there. Let's go check."

Brent & Mel walked silently towards the back offices, which included the principal and vice principals' offices. The voices were much clearer now.

"I hate to say it, but it looks like we don't have any choice. The school's overflowing and I don't see any way around it," Mr. Kellogg, the principal, said firmly. "We have no choice."

"But think of the upset it's going to cause in the school. It'll take weeks, possibly even months, to get over it," the eight-grade vice-principal, Ms. Lovejoy, commented.

"I agree. The beginning athletic season, the classes, and the records will all have to be re-organized and possibly re-done," the seventh-grade vice-principal, Mr. VanDrake, sighed, leaning back in his chair.

Mel & Brent were confused. What, they wondered, could be so upsetting to Midway Prep. They inched closer to listen.

"We have no choice," Mr. Kellogg repeated. "The lines have been changed, that's all there is to it. This school is going to be split right down the middle."

Brent almost jumped back in horror. "This can't be possible. It's the beginning of the school year, for goodness sake!" he whispered fiercely.

"And what's worse is that we have to take in a few Midway Academy students as well," Ms. Lovejoy said.

Brent's face flushed. Mel watched as Brent walked into the office doorway. "No! You cannot split this school down the middle, and there's no way in the world this school is going to accept someone from Midway Academy!"

Jake walked down the hallway from his locker slowly. The day had taken a heavy toll on him. The usual relaxed summer groove was upset, and that didn't sit well with Jake. It was back to school, which meant lots of homework. Being in all Pre-Advanced Placement classes didn't help. He sighed heavily. Then he heard Kim laughing around the corner. His step quickened. It had been a while since he had spoken with Kim, and he was ready to now."

"Hey, Kim! I haven't seen you in a..." Jake stopped abruptly. His eyes went wide in disbelief. "Oh my God."

Trace couldn't have looked any more guilty. He was standing as close to Kim as possible without being on top of her, he had his arm around her waist, and the two were engaged in a deep conversation. He tried to come up with an excuse, but couldn't. "Jake, please..."

Jake just stared. "I can't believe this."

"Jake, just listen to me for a minute," Kim walked away from Trace and towards Jake.

Jake backed away. "Don't you come a step closer to me."

"Look, Jake, we were just talking about an important project we have coming up," Kim tried desperately to find excuses.

"How? You're not in any of his classes, except for lunch! And why in the world would he have his arm around your waist if you were talking about a project, hmmm?"

Kim & Trace were at a loss for words. Jake's eyes narrowed. "I ought to bash your face in, Trace."

Trace stepped up. "I'd like to see you try it."

Jake promptly began advancing towards Trace. Kim stepped in between the two. "Look, stop! OK, just stop! We can't settle this by fighting. We need to sit down and talk about this."

"What a classic line! No, Kim, I am not going to sit down and talk with you or this manipulative dog!"

Zach arrived at home quickly. He threw his bags and books in his room and went into the living room to check the messages. He rolled his eyes as the normal messages from his parents' friends droned on. The last message caught his attention though.

"Hey, Zach. This is Kate. I was just calling to let you know that I had a great time down at Jax's. You're a real gentlemen. I'll see you at school. Bye!" Kate's message played.

Zach's eyes lit up. "Sweet!" he exclaimed. The doorbell rang. "Dang, that woman moves fast!"

He ran to the door to answer it. He looked up for the bright smile and eyes of Kate, but instead found a small, blond-haired boy at his step.

"Hey, Zach!" Matt greeted, smiling.

Zach's face fell. "Hey, Matt. Come on in."

Matt stepped into the house. "I didn't think my breath was that bad."

Zach laughed. "No, it's not that. It's just that I got a message from a really special person."

"Ooo, do tell! Come on, Zach, I know there's some girl you've fallen for. You'd better let me know or I might unknowingly steal her out from under you."

"You'd better not..." Zach stopped when he noticed the teasing look in Matt's eyes. "Well, that'd be kind of hard because I hear that Kate Dermont has the most excellent of tastes."

"Kate Dermont! You've got to be kidding. Kate Dermont?" Matt sat down on the couch, overwhelmed with this new information.

"What's so hard to believe about that? Kate's a nice girl, and I believe that I'm a nice guy," Zach defended himself.

"Yeah, when you're not plotting revenge against your ex-girlfriend," Matt said under his breath, but Zach heard him.

"Look, I'm over that. Karen is a thing of the past. Right now, I'm going to focus on starting a new thing with Kate, and this time it'll be something really special."

Gemini walked quickly down to the nurse's office where Ariel was waiting outside. "What's going on?" Gemini nearly screamed. "What's wrong with Rusty?"

"I don't know. He just turned really cold and blue. I don't know why, but he just did. The nurse is in there with him now. Don't go in there, because she told me to stay out here and I'm sure she'd tell you the same," Ariel said frantically.

"What were you doing when he turned cold and blue?" Gemini questioned.

"We were just talking and..." Ariel's voice trailed off.

"And what?"

"Nothing," Ariel said quickly.

"What else were you doing, Ariel?!" Gemini demanded. "Maybe it'll help us figure out what happened."

"I just gave him a gift," Ariel said quietly, looking down at the floor.

Gemini stiffened. She looked at the top of Ariel's head, because Ariel's face was towards the ground. "What kind of gift, Ariel?" Ariel gave no response. "I asked you what kind of gift, Ariel!"

Ariel lifted her face up and looked Gemini squarely in the eye. "I said it was nothing, Gemini, so leave it at that. Let's just concentrate on Rusty."

"That's what I'm doing! I need to know what was going on between you two that would make him do what he did. Why don't you want to tell me, Ariel?" Gemini looked hard at Ariel, searching for answers in her eyes.

Ariel met Gemini's inquisitive gaze. "I don't know why you're so interrogative today, Gemini. Nothing that Rusty and I were doing could have made him turn blue and cold, and that's all there is to it."

A thought tugged at the back of Gemini's mind at that moment. Gemini tried to brush it away mentally, but it was still there, at the back of her mind. "You mustn't do anything that will ruin your chances with Rusty, because the minute you let your guard down, some desperate little girl will come and get her claws into him," Gemini remembered her sister had said.

"It can't be true," Gemini said quietly to herself. "It can't."

"This is a private meeting, Mr. Woodman. I would suggest that you leave now," Mr. Kellogg's statement was more of a command than a statement.

"With all do respect, sir, I can't leave until I find out what's going on here. You're thinking of taking in Midway Academy kids while cutting some of ours out? How fair is that?"

"It is none of your concern," Ms. Lovejoy said coolly. "We can handle it quite well, thank you very much."

Mel stepped in. "He was only asking what's going to affect all of the people in this school. Don't you think it would only be polite to let him know?"

"You'll know when the time comes. But until then, forget all about it. There's nothing that you need to worry about," Mr. VanDrake said.

Brent let out an exasperated breath. "Look, I only want to know..."

"Let's just go, Brent," Mel interrupted. "If they don't want to have the common courtesey to tell us what's going on, then that's their decision."

Brent looked at the administrators a little while longer before turning around and leaving with Mel. "Why can't they just tell us what's going on!"

"I don't know, Brent, but let's not worry about it right now. You have a few things to worry about with Eve, so I've heard."

"As usual, the gossip around this school is two steps behind the truth. Eve and I are doing just fine right now. In fact, I think we're better now than we've been in a long time. But still, Mel, I've got to find out what if they send you to Midway Academy, or...maybe even me."

"So I see," Matt sighed. "Are you sure you've thought this through thoroughly?"

"Yes, I'm sure! I wouldn't say it if I wasn't."

"That's true. Well then if that's the case, then go for it!"

"Go for what?" Zach was confused.

"Ask the girl out! Start a relationship with her. If you like her as much as you say you do, some really powerful sparks must be flying between the two of you."

"But, I can't just ask her now," Zach said helplessly.

"Why not? You took the girl to Jax's and she just left a message on your answering machine. If that isn't a reason to ask her out, then I don't know what is."

Zach looked at the wall for a while. "I just don't know, Matt."

"Have your brain cells vacated your mind? Ask the girl out, Zach, and ask her out now!"

Zach's posture straightened up. He stood tall as he looked at Matt. "You know, Matt, I think you're right. I'll just go for it. In fact, I'll call her right now."

Kim hurried after Jake. "Look, just calm down, Jake. Let's sort this out before making any hasty decisions."

"Hasty decisions! I find you practically on top of Trace and you think that I'm going to make hasty decisions? You must be more out of it than I thought."

"Let him go, Kim. It's obvious that he doesn't want to listen to what anybody else has to say," Trace said loudly.

"You shut up!" Jake snapped fiercely. "It's your fault that this is happening in the first place. You with your subtle innuendos and chase after Kim."

"Chase? Jake, Trace has not been chasing after me," Kim said firmly. "We've just become good friends over the summer."

"Real good friends, I can see. More like bed buddies," Jake shot at them.

Kim's eyes flashed with anger. "How dare you, Jake! How dare you ever say anything like that!"

Jake looked at Kim with half-astonished eyes. "I have every right to say that!"

"No you don't! And you know what, I'm tired of your jumping on everyone who comes near me, too! Your overprotectiveness is getting on my last nerve."

"Preach on, sister," Trace interjected. Jake glared hard at him.

"I could care less about what gets on your last nerve now because you've just torn out my trust in you and ripped it to shreds. I don't expect you to give a penny's worth about anyone, especially not me, but just imagine how that feels."

"I'm sorry, Jake. I really am. But your actions are uncalled for."

"Oh, really? Well you know what, that's just fine. You can take your trashy boyfriend over there and go somewhere else, because I'm not going to be a part of this," Jake shouted disgustedly.

"Excuse me? I don't know what you mean when you say 'this', but I don't like the way you said it. I'm sick of your oh-so-holy attitude and the way you're always blaming other people for your own problems. Maybe the reason Trace has been getting close to me is because you haven't been paying me any attention whatsoever!" Kim snapped hard.

"We can easily solve this," Jake said quietly.

"How?" Kim said back to him, toning her voice down a bit.

Jake took a deep breath. "Kim, I've taken the last that I'm going to take of the situation with Trace. I'm not going to degrade myself and stay with someone who's going to cheat on me. As of now, Trace, you can have Kim, because she and I are through!"

"Were you saying something?" Ariel inquired. She had a feeling that Gemini was catching on, but she wanted to be sure.

"Nothing important, as you would say," Gemini said, a little coldness in her usually gentle voice.

"Oh come on, Gemini, don't use that with me. There's something going on, I can tell. Please just tell me," Ariel's voice got friendlier. "We always tell each other everything."

"Yes, so I thought," Gemini promptly responded.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I just thought that best friends were supposed to share almost everything, Ariel, but I guess in some cases that's not the truth."

Gemini's unusually sharp attitude stunned Ariel, but she refused to let it show. "I'm sorry, Gemini, but I'm not following."

Gemini got up and walked around Ariel. "Well, Ariel, I guess there are some times when best friends can't tell each other some things."

Ariel smiled internally. "Of course. Some things are just too personal to talk about."

Gemini smiled. "Yes, but on the other hand, if it affects their best friend, they should definetly say something. I mean, it just wouldn't be right to keep important things from someone close to you, right?"

"I...I guess," Ariel stammered.

"You know, I forgot to tell you, but a few days ago my sister Aquarius visited."

"Oh really? How's she doing?"

"Fine. But the important part of our little visit was when she warned me about some other girl taking Rusty away from me. Ridiculous, isn't it?"

"I suppose," Ariel said quickly, a little too quickly.

"I thought so too...at the time. But now I'm beginning to see what she meant. I'm beginning to see that someone else is interested in Rusty. But I must say," Gemini began her fierce statement, her eyes beginning to flame fire, "that I never thought it would be my best friend who would stab me in the back like that!"

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