Chapter 1

Tatiana had watched enough teen movies (as research, only, of course) to know that the nerds sat in the front, the cool kids sat in the back, the dreamers sat closest to the window, and the extras filled in the empty spots. Tatiana had chosen a seat exactly in the middle of the row closest to the door.

She wore a baggy black sweatsuit, a long black wig, and enormous sunglasses that hid half of her face. This meant that only the half of her face that was covered in white gauze bandages was visible, as were the bandaged fingertips that peeked out from the sleeves of her sweatshirt.

When Tatiana was mortal, high school hadn't even been invented yet. She hadn't known, at the time, to be grateful for that fact. The classroom was festering with hormones. The cacophony of concurrent conversations was a hip-high ozone of bravado overlaying an incessant buzz of anxiety.

Being around so many humans made her nervous -- not that she'd admit to anything so biologically impossible. Instead, she stared at her phone, at a series of texts, willing the letters to rearrange themselves into any order that would allow her to be anywhere else.

The teacher, chubby with curly black hair and a long bohemian skirt, entered. Her presence instantly halved the volume of noise in the room. Tatiana liked her already. The teacher's purposeful energy swept through the classroom, pushing the majority of collective angst out into the hallway. What was this magic?

The bell rang and a student skidded in, avoided eye contact with the teacher, and made his way to the only empty desk, directly in the middle of the classroom.

"My name is Ms. Bronaham," the teacher said. The classroom, a roar of bravado mere moments ago, was now so quiet that her voice nearly echoed. She placed a large binder on the desk in front of the whiteboard and flipped it open. "This is Homeroom. Some of you may also have me for History. I'm going to take attendance. If you're here, say 'here' or 'present'. If you're not here, don't say anything."

Tatiana thought that the idea of people not in the room stating their lack of attendance was funny but a series of groans and gentle boos corrected her. Ms. Bronaham,  just grinned. She looked down at her binder. "Adam Abrahams," she said.

"Present." The chubby extra sitting next to Tatiana raised his hand and then went back to staring at his phone.

Ms. Bronaham nodded and made a mark in her binder.

Tatiana took stock of her classmates as their names were called. Most of them were glued to their phones, a few were talking quietly to the person sitting next to them. They were all paying enough attention to answer when their names were called.

Fifteen students in, Tatiana caught the gaze of a student sitting in the front row. She was slim, with sleek black hair that was very long in the front and very short in the back. Her almond-shaped eyes suggested that her tan was related to her ethnicity rather than time spent in the California sunshine.

"Atairal Morales."

"Here," the girl said, raising a hand and letting it drop again, all without breaking eye contact with Tatiana.

Shit. So much for making it through the next two weeks as an extra. One of the mean girls had spotted her.

Ms. Bronaham had to say Tatiana's alias' name twice before Tatiana caught it. She raised her hand.

"Candace Richmond."

Atairal Morales finally broke eye contact in order to turn and glance at the blonde girl sitting to her left.

"Here!" chirped the blonde.

Ms. Bronaham nodded. "China Richmond."

"Here." The blonde sitting to the right of Atairal Morales didn't raise her hand or look up from her phone.

Although Atairal was sitting in the front row and was no longer facing Tatiana, Tatiana could still feel the girl's mental gaze on her.

Ms. Brosnahan finished taking roll. "Alright," she said, checking the last name off in her binder. She closed the binder and glanced at the wall clock. "We have another forty-five minutes until 1st period, so just hang out here until the bell rings. If you need help with your schedules or anything, come and see me up front."