The moving truck jerked as it switched out of reverse and swung out of the parking lot, no doubt on a call to catch any last minute move-ins for tardier students.

Max watched it fade into the distance as it rounded a bend past the tall strand of pines. An orange glaze was cast out over the bay, and the faint crisp breeze jostled the yellowing leaves of the surrounding aspen. The change of scenery from the usual city-scape had already proven to be quite pleasant so far.

Fall was definitely her favorite season. The ever-changing amber hues and soft lighting from the receding summer was always bound to gift some amazing shots. Not to mention she could finally wear some cozy knits again and not be a balmy, sweaty mess. She inhaled the chill air deeply, donning a wide care-free grin on her face.

Fuck yeah, sweater weather.

Students and families milled about in the parking lot like worker ants, hustling to get settled in and ready for the upcoming school year. She watched as a group of old friends reunited, bumping fists, hugging, laughing and jesting at one another. Her chest ached for the sense of belonging that was being displayed. It was a gamble coming here for her senior year, but the opportunity was too promising for her to pass up. Blackwell Academy was well known for it's prestigious senior programs, especially in photography. She could vividly remember the disbelief and tears of joy that occurred upon receiving her acceptance with a full scholarship.

She took out her signature polaroid camera from her messenger bag and snapped a quick photo of a back-turned student. He waved as his parents took off in to the receding daylight, in what she assumed was the good ol' family van.

That's so cute, I wish we could've had a van like that and done some fun family roadtrips while growing up..

Her smile broadened, and she allowed herself a few more moments to admire the scene a bit longer. There was a charming quality to the energy and restrained quiet excitement that was around the campus on the big move-in day.

I can't believe I'm going to be living on my own this year.

"Um, Hello? Generally people use the path for walking, not gawking."

Max fumbled with her camera and turned, quickly giving the fresh polaroid an instinctual shake before putting it in the dark recesses of her bag. She looked up and swallowed, the sharply feminine voice having instilled a sense of fear in her. The girl was a good few inches taller than her, and had an extremely unimpressed scowl pulled tight across her face.

"S-Sorry," She glanced at the men with boxes and dollies just past the girl, movers, she supposed, "I didn't mean to block the way. I was just uh.."

Helloooo Max, come on, words..

"Trying to snap a photo of me? I don't blame you," She quipped, winking and grinning down at Max smugly, "Get in line behind everyone else. But first, get out of the way or I'll get these beefheads to run you over."

Max simply blinked for a moment, unsure of what to even respond to. She found herself stunned at the girl's brazen confidence and assertion.

"Yeah o-of course.. Just let me, uh."

She put her camera back in her bag and knelt down, hastily gathering the last few boxes that the moving truck she hired had deposited for her. The brunette stood warily, as the boxes were tiered unevenly. But before she could stop it from happening, the top one spilled over between the two of them.

The taller blonde snorted, unable to refrain from laughter at Max's clumsy and awkward display, "Polaroids? What kind of hipster crap is that? Do you know what year it is?"

Max blushed furiously. Of course she was going to be a total klutz and publicly embarrass herself before her first day of classes even started. So much for her grand entrance as the new, mysterious, cool and collected artsy kid.

So long, Max 2.0. Welcome back to loserdom.

She put her other boxes back down and started gathering up the pool of photos from the pavement, quickly forgetting and not bothering to offer the other student a response in defense.

/

Victoria stared in disbelief at the display before her. She couldn't being to fathom how flustered this girl was. Starting from the stuttering and ending with the classic nerdy dropped books scenario, albeit in photo form. But her disapproving scowl softened as she watched the brunette hide her face behind her shaggy hair as she set about cleaning up her mess.

"Mike? Todd?"

Her slate-green eyes shot them a piercing look, "Go ahead to my room. You should hopefully know where it is by now, if you're not all just brawn."

They kept their mouths shut and nodded, brushing off her dig only because they knew her parents were paying a pretty penny. They didn't dare offend her by retorting. She didn't look like someone they'd ever desire to get in to a verbal spat with anyhow.

She sighed, chewing on the bottom of her lip before making the decision to kneel down and start collecting the photos that had fluttered out around her, pausing a moment to, as much as she hated to admit it, admire a few of the shots. For polaroids they were pretty impressive. No further editing could be done in such a format, and each captured moment had it's own charm even if they weren't technically perfect. They all shared a loopy mess of writing on the back of dates and names, memos jotted here and there.

The poised blonde thrust the handful of photos at the other girls face, "Here, miss 'Maxine'," she rang out in a sharp mocking tone.

"It's just Max." Her voice was laced with defeat, and the look on her face was sunken inwardly in thought as she took the photos and stuffed them carelessly back in the box.

Such a great, warm welcome to Blackwell Academy. You better get used to it.

The brunette kept her gaze to the concrete as she played with the folds of the cardboard flaps, probably waiting for Victoria to leave so she could sulk and trudge back to her room in shame.

She sucked on her teeth, feeling a slight twinge of regret at her behavior. She hated that she allowed herself to feel bad. Guilt never served any purpose but was still commonplace for her, and yet her habits never changed.

Maybe I'm secretly a bit of a masochist.

She let the thought roll over and plucked the box out of Max's hands and rose, nodding her head down the path.

"We're headed the same way anyway." She offered lamely.

Max just stared at her uneasily for a moment before standing up with the other boxes, shifting her hole-ridden sneakers against the faded pavement sheepishly.

"Thanks."

The corners of Victoria's lips turned down slightly, "Don't mention it," she huffed, before stalking past Max towards the dorms, "Seriously."

/

Max held back, watching as the other girl took off before trailing after her.

Well I guess she's moved on from making fun of me to taking pity on me.

The taller girl was, to say in the least, gorgeous. Without a doubt she was a part of the popular crowd around here. She had a neatly cropped pixie cut that accentuated her pointed jawline and long delicate neck. A gold linked necklace adorned it, with a jeweled key pendant bobbing back and forth as she moved. She was wearing a highly tailored black floral print blouse and yellow skirt, with a pair of sharp looking heels that were far beyond Max's fashion comprehension. They probably cost more than her entire wardrobe.

She suddenly felt severely underdressed and even more awkward in her faded pink hoodie, t-shirt, sneakers and jeans combo.

Yup, definitely not making any big progress on being Max 2.0.

"What room number are you?"

Max snapped her head up, so lost in thought that she hadn't even registered they were already in the girls dormitories, "Uh, 219, to the left."

It was a wonder that she could do that, and it always ended up getting her in trouble. They'd even gone up a flight of stairs. It was as if for brief lapses of time, she simply ceased to exist in space.

As they ascended the stairwell and made their way around the corner, Victoria clicked her tongue in declaration.

"Well hey neighbor. Looks like you're right across from me."

"Oh," Max said dumbly, instantly regretting it as the taller girl shot her a look.

She quickly busied herself with struggling open her door and proceeded to pile her boxes on top of her desk, seeing as the rest of her belongings already inhabited her bed. She let out a heavy sigh; glad to finally be in her own space. The brunette turned, remembering her company. Victoria leaned lazily in the doorway holding her last box. It was if she was trying to look as disinterested as possible, casting her eyes to the blank walls rather than any of Max's belongings, as if they were the most telling thing there.

She approached her meekly, "Um, thanks again," She delicately lifted the box from Victoria's hands and placed it on the floor beside her bed, immediately taking out an old photo and contemplating an appropriate placement for it in her room. She supposed her guest would leave after that, but was instead greeted again with her voice.

"Some of those are actually pretty good," Victoria suddenly blurted.

Max glanced over at her, taken aback by the half-compliment.

The taller girl looked away and frowned, "You must be in the photography program too then. So I guess you'll be competing against me for the year. Good luck with that."

Max quirked a brow, "Since when is photography a competition?"

"Oh hah," Her face immediately soured, "Don't give me some hipster bullshit about it being all about the art. The best man wins, and the rest bum for change outside of Starbucks." She turned to leave, "Anyway. Thanks for the evening entertainment."

"Wait, I'm not trying to offend you, I just… ugh,"

Stupid. Why do I even speak?

Victoria hesitantly paused just outside the doorway, shooting an impatient look over her shoulder.

"I didn't catch your name. If we're classmates we might as well get to know each other, right?"

The blonde laughed exasperatedly, as if Max had just performed some kind of obscene comedy routine for her. She found the reaction rather puzzling to be frank.

"Victoria Chase. That's all you need to know about me," She raised her chest, resting her weight to one side as she planted her hands on her hips, "We're classmates, not friends, Maxine." She left promptly after that, closing the door behind her and leaving Max alone to her thoughts.

She could hear the click of Victoria's door as it shut across from hers. Not even ten feet separated them from each other. She was going to be stuck across from the resident ice queen for the rest of the year. Great.

Still, it was nice that she even helped me out after the fact. And she complimented my photos. Someone with taste like hers, that has to mean something at least.

Max set about trying to clear a spot on her bed before ultimately giving up and flopping down on top of a heap clothes. She slid off the shoulder strap of her messenger bag and took out the photo she snapped earlier. The student was a dark shadow silhouetted against the dying sunlight blanketing the bay area, and the chrome of the departing van glinted brilliantly in response to the farewell. She slid it back in her bag, hoping she could show it off to some other student who hadn't already brushed her off like Victoria seemed to have.

Well, so much for trying to be popular this year.

AN: Hey guys n' gals, this is my first fic in.. first two chapters were written well before the continuing ones as a sort of demo that I originally posted on . I promise the quality gets a lot better after these two. Hope you enjoy.

Cheers!