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Chapter One. Beggining

"Sam! Sam! Oh, for goodness sake! Samuel Temple you get your lazy backside out of bed now before I do something tragic!"

Sam rolled over. He didn't want to get up. He had been dreading this day since he had been told it was coming. This was the day Sam Temple went back to high school. It was strange to think he would be going to high school, after all that had happened. He would probably be the only male at his school who was living alone, with friends. He would possibly be the only one to have survived the FAYZ. He would be different. 

Before the FAYZ, Sam had never liked to stand out. Even during the time he spend inside the giant anomaly, he resented sticking out. But he had to. Now, back in a sane, reasonable world, he wanted to blend in again. Which was impossible.

"Ugh!" He sighed. "Five more minutes. Please!" 

"No!" Astrid, his girlfriend and room mate commanded. He loved her, truly, more than any other sixteen year old loved their girlfriend. They had been through everything together, but she still could be annoying in the morning, especially when he didn't want to get up. And today, of all days he didn't want to get up. 

"Please?" He begged, knowing it wouldn't work. 

"No Sam. I've let you lie in for as long as possible. Get up now, or we will be late for school." 

Unwillingly, Sam got up. By the time he had pulled back the sheets and gotten out of bed, Astrid had already flounced off to the next room. Probably getting breakfast. Or waking Diana. She was just like Sam in the morning. Maybe slightly more grouchy. 

Diana was the other girl living with him and Astrid. During the FAYZ, Sam would have never though he would end up sharing a house (or flat) with Diana. She was never with Sam, not until the last moment. She had always sided with Caine, his twin, even though the results were somewhat nasty. Like giving birth to the gaiaphage.

As Sam got dressed in a simple outfit, jeans and a t-shirt, he could here Diana screaming at Astrid pretty loudly. 

"For God's sake Astrid. Get the hell out of my room. It's seven am!" 

Sam chucked, although he was slightly worried. He didn't want the neighbours to come complaining again. They did that a lot, Diana often shouted and created havoc if woken in the early hours of the morning. And to Diana, anything before ten was early. 

He did feel sorry for Astrid though. It must be hard, being the alarm clock for two people who hated leaving their beds in the morning. 

Breakfast was the usual affair, Sam, with a bowl of cereal, Astrid, being all healthy and nutritious with a bowl of fruit and low fat Greek yoghurt. No honey. And Diana, sipping black coffee and, on somedays, grabbing an Oreo or custard cream. Not today though. 

And, just like usual, no food was left. All three had learnt not to waste food. 

During breakfast, Astrid had begun living up to her name again. 

"So, Diana, since you did not tell me what you wanted to study when I enrolled you, I put you down for the same classes as Sam. Neither of you have any AP classes, unlike myself."

"Astrid," Sam asked her. "You did enrol us together, didn't you?" . He didn't want to go back to high school, but, if Astrid wasn't there, it would become ten times worse. 

"Yes," she replied. "So hopefully we will be in the same home room. However, I do know the school home rooms are set on ability, so... You might be in with Quinn though." 

Great, Sam though, but didn't say aloud. "So, Quinn is coming to this school too. Anyone else?"

"Not that I know of, although I have a feeling John might be attending the middle school attached."