The girls from Manhattan went to Tibby’s directly after school. Therefore, they were surprised when a boy appeared before them suddenly and opened the door, bowing before them dramatically. A few of the girls laughed at this and thanked him as they entered the diner.

He smiled widely in return, but didn’t utter a word in greeting. He had a shaggy, curly mop of golden hair, atop which he wore a dark gray, plaid newsie hat. His shirt was a washed out gray color, a black vest worn over it. His black knickers were patched and he wore a pair of scuffed black boots.

"Who’s that," Bookworm whispered over to David, who had decided to join the group that day. Since his father’s injury hadn’t completely healed yet, David’s father had decided that David and Les would attend the school as well. Sarah stayed at home to help out. The boys didn’t complain, seeing as how otherwise, they’d be stuck at home or selling papers by themselves.

"His name is Noah," David explained, "Most people call him Golden though."

"How do you know," Nova asked him, "He hasn’t spoken a word to anybody."

"He can’t talk that well," he told them, then pointed to the pad of paper and a small stub of a pencil that Golden was holding, "He communicates with that mostly."

They watched as the last of the girls walked in. Golden followed closely after them, closing the door on the boys behind them. The girls had to laugh at the slightly angry looks on the boys’ faces.

"I haven’t seen them here before," Ducati suddenly motioned to four girls at a nearby booth. They all turned to look at them.

"They’re from Queens," Aqua told her, "Needle is a friend of mine from over there."

"Well, let’s welcome them," Sparks suggested, jumping up excitedly and heading over to their table. The four girls looked up as she approached, "Hi, welcome to Manhattan!"

"Hey," Shooter greeted her. Glinda nodded slightly in greeting.

"Can I join you," Sparks asked. Shooter moved over immediately, while the other girls looked somewhat uneasily at the hyper girl.

"What’s your sign," Zodiac asked suddenly, all discomfort leaving immediately.

"(1)Uh…wheat," Sparks shrugged, looking slightly confused.

"No, what’s your astrological sign," Zodiac asked again.

"Oh, I don’t know," Sparks replied happily, "What’s that?"

"Nevermind," Zodiac muttered, "At least I know what to expect." Sparks didn’t seem to really care and started talking excitedly to Shooter.

"I know my Chinese Zodiac," Aqua spoke up, appearing by the table, "I’m the rabbit. I also know I’m an Aries. I don’t really care that much about it though."

"You don’t care," Zodiac asked in surprise, "What if it said that something were to happen to you?"

"I just take life as it comes," Aqua shrugged, "I don’t want the stars to decide it for me."

"Who’s that," Needle suddenly asked in an awed voice. All the girls turned to see who she was talking about. A guy they didn’t recognize was entering the diner, walking in like he owned the place. He was tall at about 6 feet and had shaggy, golden brown hair. He had tan skin and crystal blue eyes. If you looked closely enough, two scars were visible. One in his eyebrow and another reaching from wrist to elbow. He was skinny, but looked strong.

"I’ve never seen him before," Shooter replied.

"That’s Jinx," Jack said, appearing behind them, "I met him in P. E. class."

"This is one of those days where I wonder why they separate the guys and girls in that class," Aqua muttered. Everyone that heard turned to look at her. She looked slightly embarrassed, "Sorry, did I say that out loud?" They nodded, a few with smiles on their faces.

"Yeah, but I have to agree with you," Sunshine said.

Notes:

(1)Ok, this is from a Monkees video I watched once. Mike says it when they ask him. I thought it was funny.

Shout-Outs:

SmartassLeprechaun – I got your character right! Yeah, it makes me feel good to know that I’m getting her down right. She actually kinda reminds me of myself if I voiced all my thoughts out loud. I love all your characters, so that might be part of it. I’m graduating early because I got extra credits for being in musical. Each show you’re in earns you a ½ credit. I am not that smart however, but theatre really does count.

Koodles4you – I’ve never read the book before, so I wouldn’t know. I’m glad that I can make you feel special. I like your character, I don’t know why you don’t get chosen. I hope this is soon enough for you.

ShortAtntionSpaz – Yeah, you should use him more often. I always like a challenge and he’s a very interesting character. I’m really glad that you like my writing. That’s something every author wants to hear. Thank you!

Moonlights Sundance – Hope what I’m going to write is to your satisfaction. I hope you have fun on your trip and I look forward to your next review.

Sparks Kelly – I certainly don’t like school. It’s going be especially hard this year, because since I’m a senior. I’ll look like an even better idiot if I mess up. Oh well, nobody’s perfect…especially not me. I rock?!?! Yeah! Thank you!

Shooter O’Brien – Ok, he’s yours! A little overprotective, aren’t we? ; ) LOL, if you knew ‘Frank the Tank’, you’d be confused too. The name certainly doesn’t fit, even if he is pretty cool…and weird.

TheAngryPrincess13 – Glad you liked the chapter. Here’s your update!

Newsiesfreak2519 – Yeah, there are a lot of people to introduce. Well, soon I’ll be done with that and I can get on with everything else in the story.

Racetrack’s Dealer – Yes, most of the freshmen are pricks. But in my school, every year, they’ve been getting shorter. It’s weird, when I was a freshmen, I was considered short, but compared to them, I’m pretty tall. I’ll be sure to keep those two guys in mind for you and see which will work better.

Buttons14 – Oh, that’s cool! Reminds me of when I found out that I have the same name as a character in ‘Princess Diaries 2’, even though according to me, they spelled it wrong. I think it’s so cool, when someone has the same name as a friend of yours, in movies or stories.

Chapter 13