Chapter One:
GREEN EYED CAT
Eve woke up. Not to her alarm clock, not to her mom shaking her awake, but to sunlight kissing her face and the clock flashing 8:42. She had been supposed to be on the bus seven minutes ago. Fully awake, if still a bit groggy, Eve threw on a randomly chosen outfit consisting of frog socks, yellow jeans, and an orange tee. With no time for breakfast, she pulled out her favorite pair of green boots from the shoe closet and slipped them on. Slinging her large, overstuffed green froggy backpack onto her shoulder, Eve kicked the front door open and sprinted as fast as she could, trying to get to the distant yellow speck that was the bus. Eventually, she arrived, panting like a fat Chihuahua, at the open doors of the bus that would take her to Farren Lake middle school. The bus driver would have already taken off by now, but it was common knowledge that Eve Greene was always late. She took all three steps in one leap, flashed a quick smile at the patient bus driver, and then trudged her way to the very back of the bus. Devvy, Eve's best and only friend, was waiting there, her backpack occupying the seat where Eve always sat. Devvy moved her backpack under her seat, and Eve gratefully collapsed next to her.
"You're finally here, cat-eyes!" Yelled Devvy over the talk of her noisy classmates. "You were ten minutes late this time. I almost thought you were sick!"
"I slept through my alarm clock again, and my mom forgot to wake me up." Eve said, leaning down to tie her shoe laces.
"You got to get a new clock!" Devvy groaned. "I know you love your old frog one, but get one that actually wakes you up!"
"Not many stores have frog clocks." Eve replied. "Soon you will feel the same way. Frog obsessions are very contagious."
They chatted about the annual field trip to the lake, which was tomorrow (To Farren Lake- their schools' namesake) and Eves' latest frog, Toad, until the bus arrived at the gates of the school. They were the last out, the one disadvantage to sitting at the very back of the bus. The bell for first period rang at nine o'clock sharp, and the bus had arrived exactly one minute before that.
"No time for lockers!" Devvy cringed, glancing distastefully at her bloated checkered backpack, which could have been filled with heavy rocks. Very heavy rocks.
Devvy had History first period, and Eve had Language, so with a quick wave they parted ways.
Language was a new subject for the seventh graders of Farren Lake Middle School, and today was the day it began. Usually, Eve had Band, in which she did a sad excuse of playing the flute, but students were allowed to switch to language during the second semester. Eve had gotten the polished silver flute for her thirteenth birthday, which had been in April, and now she really wished shed gotten a camera instead, because the one she had sucked completely.
Room ten A was not to far from where the bus had dropped them off, so it wasn't too hard to find. Stepping through the door, which was decorated with letters, (how creative?) Eve tried to slip into the closest empty seat unnoticed, and failed. Thirty pairs of eyes, including the teachers', were immediately on her.
Eve smiled meekly. "Uhh... good morning..."she glanced at the empty white board for any signs of the teachers' name. "Umm..."
She felt something poke at her back. "She's wearing a name-tag." Whispered the kid behind her.
Eve searched for a nametag, and sure enough, there it was.
"Mrs. Barux...?" She said, more of a question then a greeting.
She smiled, her eyes hard and cold like metal as she aimed them at Eve. "It seems you're late, Ms.Greene." She said with a slight accent, stating the obvious. "And there is no talking in my class, Mr. Blake."
