CHAPTER 1

As the moon shone bright over the sleeping town of Burgess, very few were awake to enjoy its brief appearance. A figure was sitting in a tree in the backyard of one of the more secluded houses in the area. While most people would be rugged up inside by the fire at this time of night, this boy was barefoot with nothing but pants and a hoodie on. He glanced up at the moon when the light struck his face, illuminating his pale skin and hair underneath the hood. A call from inside the house warned him of the fact his uncle had noticed his absence and it would only be a matter of time before his round face appeared in the window, telling him to come down before he fell and broke his neck.

"Jack, get out of the tree, its freezing out there and I need to close the window or we'll get frostbite tonight!" his uncle called through the window.

Climbing back into his bedroom window, Jack looked around at the boxes cumulating on his desk and floor. He would unpack tomorrow. At the moment he had more urgent matters to deal with. The thing every person his age feared.

High School

Now, most teenagers get used to the routine of their school and so each day ends up blending in with the next, but when it's a few weeks into term and someone else enters the throng, things tend to get awkward, and that was what he was worried about the most. You see, Jack had only just moved to Burgess and he was never the social type, so making friends would not be easy.

"Just be yourself and respect the teachers and you'll be fine" his uncle had told him when he voiced his thoughts. "Most kids your age are still trying to fit in too you know! It's only two weeks into the semester, you'll be fine".

Jack was never really dreading going to the new school, it was merely the fact that the change of schools meant he would have to put effort in again to find his niche and effort, especially socially, was not his strong point.

It wasn't like he was strange or anything, he simply kept to himself. At his old school, he kept himself company, occasionally pranking the kids, or pestering the teachers. But overall, not too many people would ever strike up a conversation with him.

After changing, he decided there was no point in moping around and dreading the inevitable, Jack decided he was going to just let what happens happen and not worry about what he can't control.

Tooth woke up with a start. She checked her clock.

6:45 AM

Damn, she thought, school today.

It wasn't that she hated school, she actually enjoyed the social side of it, but those early mornings she could definitely do without.

While getting ready, she decided to make sure her friends were up as well, texting them a good morning message just to annoy them. Less than five minutes later, she got three reply's all in varying states of mind. The first to reply was a lovely 'good morning to you too!' from her quietest friend Sandy, then a few minutes later, her phone buzzed again showing the message 'I don't know what you mean by 'good'' from the very blunt but friendly North. As she locked her phone she anticipated the most entertaining reply of all, and not thirty seconds later, her phone buzzed again, then again, and again over ten times. Wondering what the bombardment of messages was for, she read them and realised the last friend had sent the entire sentence, one word at a time, so it read 'what' the' 'heck?' 'what's' 'wrong' 'with' 'you?' 'it's' 'bloody' 'Monday!'. Bunnymund was the easiest, and by far most entertaining to get riled up.

Satisfied that her friends were awake she continued getting ready, making sure to rug up from the bitter winds.

When she heard a honk out the front she grabbed her bag and ran out to meet North who was waiting in his car, with sandy in the back. She greeted each with a smile as they headed off to the school.

"You know I'm fast asleep when you text me in the morning don't you Tooth?" North asked

"I know! I just like making sure that if I have to suffer a six forty-five wake up call, so do you!' Tooth said with a grin.

"I get up at seven anyway, so it's no big deal" Sandy said from the back.

"But I don't need to get up till seven thirty, it's no fair! I need sleep!" North grumbled all the time on not getting enough sleep despite the fact he always stayed up till all hours of the morning tinkering in his shed. Tooth and Sandy shared a look, both thinking this and ignored him until they were at school.

North was a very large and intimidating person to be around, if you didn't know him well that is. He had short dark hair and his large stature and gruff Russian voice hid the kind and caring teddy bear that was Nicholas North.

Sanderson Manson was one of the quietest people you were ever going to meet, his meek nature coupled his very loud friends often caused the short, blonde boy to be overlooked, and others would often wonder why they were even friends with him as they didn't think he really added anything to the group, but what they didn't know was that he was the only one, besides Tooth, who could really calm Aster down when he was riled up.

Getting out of the car, the three walked over to the table and chairs to wait for their fourth, and most likely, grumpy member.

"Oi! Watch where ya goin' next time!" a shout alerted them to Bunny's arrival. They turned to see him glaring after a boy who had apparently run into him.

Aster Bunnymund was a true-blue Aussie with a very short temper. While was widely known for his temper, he was also a very patient person towards children. He quite often would be caught playing with his younger cousin Sophie, or teaching rugby to her brother Jamie.

When Bunny got closer, Tooth noticed he looked exhausted. There were dark circles under his eyes and his temper seemed a lot shorter today.

"Hey Bunny! You look really tired today, were you up all night doing your assignment?" Tooth asked him.

"Yeah, you know me, I'm a professional procrastinator!"

"Did you get it done?" Tooth asked

"Most of it, I've just got to finish the conclusion then I'm done" he pulled out a piece of paper with very scratchy handwriting and added, "I hate bloody essays…"

They kept on talking until the bell went for homeroom and they dispersed, each for their own class.

In the classroom, everyone was chatting, everyone attempting to catch up with one another and see how the other's weekend was. The teacher, Miss Tia, entered and began marking the roll, when she finished, she cleared her throat.

"OK everyone, the principle has asked me to remind you all that there are a few new students and that we are to make them feel welcome. Some of them are already here but there are a few more coming in the next few weeks." She then sat down and the class began their own conversations again until the bell rung.