Usagi Tsukino strolled sleepily down the school corridor at lunch.
     “Wow... lunch time,” Usagi yawned, I wonder where all my friends are...”
     Usagi looked out the sunlit window and sighed. Suddenly she saw many students
standing there, “I wonder...” she muttered, finally realizing that the halls were empty.
     “Usagi!”
     “Naru?” Usagi turned to see Naru staring at her, apparently surprised, “What is
it?” Usagi asked.
     “You mean you don’t know!?” Naru started walking towards the door that led
outside.
     “Know what?” Usagi asked again.
     Naru glared at her.
     “Why am I always, always the last one to hear any hot gossip around here?” Usagi
whined dreadfully.
     “Oh, Usagi,” Naru giggled and broke into a jog through the door.
     “Hey! Wait for me!” Usagi desperately chased after her.
     They made it outside and fought their way through the crowd to get to the center
when Usagi got nailed in the head with a lunch bag.
     “Oww-ow-ow!!” Usagi started to cry.
     “Oh! I’m sorry, Usagi,” Makoto looked down at her.
     “What took you so long?” Ami made her presence known.
     “Hi, guys... someone neglected to tell me the daily gossip today,” Usagi replied, ” So what’s goin’ on?”
     “New students!” Ami said.
     “Why are they so popular?” Usagi attempted to ask in the growing noise of the
crowd.
     “Really, Usagi,” Makoto interrupted,” All new students must be properly surveyed
by the student body... apparently the students are especially fond of the new people.”
     “Do you know their names?” Usagi stood on her tiptoes to try to see above the
people in front  of her.
     “I dunno,” Makoto said.
     “Hey!” Ami began, “There’s Naru!”
     “Usagi! Makoto! Ami!” Naru shouted as she returned from the middle of the mob,
    “You’ve just gotta meet them! They’re awfully popular for new students!”
     “What are their names?” Usagi insisted as Naru came toward them.
     “Um...Avery, Ayla and Ben...I think,” Naru said.
     “Are they American or something?” Ami asked.
     Naru shrugged her shoulders. The crowd was slowly thinning as the lunch hour
resumed.
     “I’m surprised you didn’t have detention this lunch hour!” Makoto commended
Usagi.
     “Well...” Usagi mumbled.

     “Wow!”
     “Who knew we’d be so popular at our new school!?”
     “Ah...it’s nothing special.”
     “Ben! How can you say that, after all, you are such a loser!”
     “Speak for yourself!”
     “What’s that supposed to mean?”

     “Sounds like you and Rei, Usagi!” Makoto giggled.
     “Not funny, Mako-chan,” Usagi looked over her shoulder and saw that the
horrendous crowd of students was gone.
     Sitting on a park bench was a young girl with long black hair like Rei’s, only the
girl’s hair was parted at the bangs like Usagi’s. Beside her sat a shorter girl with
medium-lengthed brown hair in a half ponytail. Infront of them stood a blond guy.
 Naru grabbed Usagi’s sleeve and beckoned the others to come.
     “Hi, Naru,” the brown-haired girl said.
     “Hi, I’d like you to meet my friends! Avery, Ayla, Ben, this is Usagi Tsukino, Ami
    Mizuno, and Makoto Kino,” Naru gestured to each accordingly.
     “Pleased to meet you,” Ami said.
     “Welcome to our school,” Makoto said.
    “Hey!” The black-haired girl stood up, looking directly at Usagi, “Has anyone ever
told you how much you look like Sailor Moon?”
     “Uh...” Usagi struggled for an answer.
     “Yeah...Usagi likes Sailor Moon, but her hero is still Sailor V,” Naru came to the
rescue, not knowing the whole truth!
    “Oh...” Usagi said, “You’re in my class, aren’t you?”
     “Yes, that’s right!” The girl said, just before turning to retrieve her lunch bag from
the bench.
    “Um, Avery?” The brown-haired girl said quietly.
     She turned to face her.
     “Where are you going?”
    “To put my lunch away... I’ll see you in class then, Usagi?”
     “Sure...” Usagi watched Avery leave.
     Then Avery stopped and turned around again, “Uh...by any chance would any of
you know where locker 128 is? I always get lost at new schools.”
    “I’ll help you,” Ami offered and they made their way towards the main building.
     “Hey. Where’d that guy go?” Makoto suddenly said.
     “Ben?” Ayla looked around but he was gone, “Typical.”
     “Don’t tell me he looked like your old boyfriend!” Usagi intruded.
     “Well no. I didn’t get a good enough look at him to judge that,” Makoto said.
     (Usagi gets sweat drop)
     “Sorry to leave you all alone, Ayla,” Naru put her hand on Usagi’s shoulder, “I
suppose we’d better go now.”
     “Okay...but thanks for introducing your friends to us. Too bad Ben took off, he
needs a girlfriend!” Ayla winked at Makoto, who made an awkward face.
     So Naru, Usagi, and Makoto left Ayla to finish her lunch.

    As soon as lunch hour seemed to have begun, it ended and the students hesitantly
headed for their next class. Avery managed to steal a seat beside Usagi and Naru.
     “Is it okay if I sit here?” Avery asked as she sat down.
     “Go right ahead,” Naru smiled.
     “Yeah, better than having Umino sit there talking about the Internet,” Usagi said.
     Miss Haruna came into the classroom with a black briefcase and proceeded
towards her podium at the front of the class. She set the briefcase on the floor and turned
her attention to the class.
     “Hello children. I hope you’re being nice to our new students!” She said, forcing
herself to smile.

     The skies were dark after school and there was a slight trace of rain in the air.
Naru had a dentist appointment, so Usagi was walking home by herself.
 She sighed and peeked inside her lunch bag as her stomach growled viciously,
    “Need food,” she grumbled.
     “Food?”
     Usagi opened her eyes and saw a chocolate bar staring into her face, “Huh?” Usagi
said while she focused her eyes to see Avery behind the chocolate.
    “You’re giving this to me?” Usagi reached for the chocolate bar.
     “Sure! It’s yours!” Avery let go of it and it instantly appeared in Usagi’s drooling
mouth (after a short moment to unwrap it).
    “Are you always this hungry?” Avery asked.
     “Usually,” Usagi managed to say without spitting chocolate all over the place.
     “Meow?” A black cat with a golden crescent moon on her forehead rubbed against
Usagi’s leg.
    “Oh! Hi, Luna!” Usagi said, picking Luna up with one hand and her bag and
chocolate bar in the other.
    “Aw! She’s so cute!” Avery briefly pet Luna.
     She purred, then jumped out of Usagi’s arms and onto the ground again.
     “Do you live around here, Avery?” Usagi started walking with Luna at her heels.
    “I live in an old house just a few blocks from here.”
     “Yeah? Me too! Uh...where are you from anyway? My friends want to know.”
    “Actually, I’m not supposed to tell anyone...”
     “Really! Why not?”
    “Well, it’s a place no one’s really heard of...”
     “Yeah? Where’s that?” Usagi urged.
     “Oh, okay...I come from Soria.”
     “Y’know, you’re right! I’ve never heard of it!”
     “Mrreow??” Luna meowed.
    “Don’t worry, Luna! I’m not an evil monster!” Avery announced.
     Usagi started to laugh. They talked a while longer, and before they knew it, they
had arrived at Avery’s home.
     “Well, this is it,” Avery said while she opened an intricately designed gate and
walked into the front yard.
    “Wow! It’s lovely!” Usagi stared at the house in awe.
     It was a rather large house with rock walls and metal gates which were delicately
tainted by creeping vines. The inner garden had some cherry trees in full blossom. Beneath
the trees were several scattered varieties of colorful flora, and a stone path led to the front
door. The house itself was two stories, also with vines growing at it’s base. The windows
were curtained with white lace and it seemed almost like a dream. Usagi had never seen
this house before! And she lived only one block away from here.
     “Thank you, Usagi. Maybe I’ll see you tomorrow, no school right?” Avery said as
she opened the front door of the house.
    “Yup! I’ll probably be at the Crown Video Center. If you like video games, you
should drop by for a visit!” Usagi waved and turned around, heading for home and
beckoning homework.
     “Bye!”