Junior Force: Legacy
Chapter 0: Newbie

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[7:45 AM]

 Life was complicated enough as is, without being the new guy in school.

 Having spent the majority of your high school career at one location makes a person accustomed to seeing certain things day in and day out, only to have that all change suddenly. For example, Ryan had been used to being greeted by the drab blue lockers and dull, ivory brick walls that made up the hallways of the old school; seeing red lockers on white walls made things look a bit brighter, but was a subtle reminder to Ryan that he was no longer on familiar territory. Strange students walked through the halls and conversed as they gathered books from their lockers, preparing for the day’s activities. A few even turned in Ryan’s direction as he made his way to his own locker, smiling and making comments to their friends about the ‘new guy’. Central High School was a pretty large school, but apparently word still got around.

 Ryan didn’t stand out by any stretch of the imagination. The scruffy-haired youth didn’t care enough to. He looked pretty average as far as high school standards went; he wore a pair of baggy blue jeans and a simple white-pocketed tee shirt, and what he could pull of his brown hair was back in a modest ponytail. A few stray strands of hair grew on his chin, more out of laziness then any concentrated effort to grow a goatee. He slid his book bag off of his shoulder as he came to his locker, slipping it inside and grabbing one of his binders. No textbooks just yet; he’d get those all today. Closing his locker, he removed a letter from his binder, one that he had gotten shortly after he had transferred. It seemed a bit cheesy, true, but it was a testament that no detail slipped by in this school.

Welcome to Central High School, Ryan!

 [His named had actually been typed in. Nice touch, he thought.]

 We’re glad to have you as a student at our wonderful high school. These years before college are crucial in the formulation of one’s own ideals and personal goals, and we feel that Central High School will help you in your pursuit. As a National School of Excellence, we take pride in our educational traditions; in addition, Central High is home of a national recognized Army JROTC program, one of the best football teams in the state, the current reigning Quiz Bowl champions…

 [Having heard all of this before, and not wanting to revisit it, Ryan opted to skip ahead a few lines.]

In order to help you get acquainted to life at Central High, you’ve been assigned a mentor. Should you have any questions, feel free to ask!

Nathan Jackson
Meet in front of the library at 8:00AM!

Again, we welcome you to Central High School. Go Patriots!

-- The Central High School Welcoming Committee

Ryan took a quick glance at his watch. 7:54AM. “Why not?” he figured with a shrug, heading upstairs to the library.

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 Maybe it was a pattern or a state mandate, but as he made his way up the stairwell, Ryan couldn’t help but notice the similarities between the layout of Central and of his old school. Without fail, the lower classmen- in particular the subbies- all had lockers located near the main office. Ryan, being a Junior and all, learned that his locker was located just a small jump away from the Senior hallway. The administration must have figured that the lower classmen probably felt safer having some sort of authority figures nearby. If Central was anything like Chamblee used to be, then Ryan could more than understand.

 “Hey kid, you Ryan?”

 The voice came from the side as he glanced down the underclass hallway, startling Ryan somewhat. He quickly turned around and found himself staring at a slender dark-skinned young man a bit taller than himself, and sporting a fairly wild afro. He wore pants that looked to be several sizes too big, and a button-down shirt sporting Jubei from Ninja Scroll. A big grin stretched across his face as he held out his hand.

 “Nathan?” Ryan asked, extending his own hand. The young man took his hand and shook/slapped it an impossible amount of times, which Ryan had to struggle to keep up with.

 “Call me Nate, man. Only my momma can call me Nathan,” he added with a smirk.

 Ryan nodded slowly. “Nice shirt, by the way. Where’d you get it?”

 Nate looked down for a moment, smiling. “Downtown, kid. You can’t get this at the mall. I hear you’re into anime and stuff, right?”

 Ryan blinked. “Yeah, but how did you…?”

 There was a quick laugh from Nate. “Do you remember that little profile you filled out before you transferred here? Right before the Committee sent you that?” he added, plucking the letter in Ryan’s hands for emphasis.

 “Vaguely.”

 “Well Ryan, it’s like this… basically, The Welcoming Committee keeps files from various students in the school, listing likes, dislikes, that sort of thing. That way, whenever a new student comes in, they can match him up with someone with similar interests. It’s pretty handy… obsessive, yes, but handy nonetheless.”

 The bell suddenly rang, which indicated that first period was beginning in five minutes. Nate did a quick check of his watch to confirm, nodding. “Well listen Ryan, we’ve got to get to class… you’ve got third period gym, right?”

 Ryan nodded. “But how did you…” A quick smile from Nate was all the response that he needed. “Right. Yeah, third period.”

 “I do too, so I’ll catch you then. Try not to get into any trouble before then, kid.” The two shared another complex hand shaking/slapping ritual before Nate proceeded down the hallway, leaving Ryan on standing on top of the stairs. There seemed to be some pretty decent people in this school, he thought. Maybe Central High wasn’t so bad after all.