Zachary Lucas's Story

A small groan escaped Lena's lips as she rolled over in bed. It was always hard for her to get up in the morning sure, she was always the first one out of the girls up but she never felt better until she had been up for awhile. She quietly climbed out of bed, undoing her arm band and putting it on the nightstand next to her bed. She carried her small insulin pump with her to her trunk. She pulled out one of the dresses she made.

The sun was just starting to rise as she hurried into the bathroom. She waited until she was inside to turn it on. She undressed and changed into the dress. She pulled the pump through her armhole and stored it in the pocket of her dress. She sighed softly. Even the other kids around there treated her like a freak because she was sick. She could still do everything they did. She just had to be careful. She left her PJs on her bed before creeping downstairs.

She said good morning Robin on her way out. It was kinda a habit of hers to go outside and watch the sunrise over the water. She had been there for so long, Lena got away with a lot. But it's not like she didn't follow the rules, she just had been following them for so long that they let some things so to give her a little more freedom. And it wasn't like they didn't know where she was. She did they every morning since she was about ten.

Lena sat outside for a long while. This it when she got ideas for her different outfits, she drew the patterns in the sand with her fingers to get an idea of how she would need to piece it together. She smiled at the drawing of a peasant top. She's pair it with a nice fitted pant and maybe some sandals. Pulling her insulin pump out of her dress, she looked at the time on it. 7:15 AM. She hadn't meant to stay out there that long. She put the device back into her pocket and hopped up.

Brushing the sand off outside, she finally went inside and washed her hands before making herself a plate. She took a seat across from the new girl and smiled at her. She couldn't remember when she was first brought here, but she knew it was harder the older you got.

"Hi, I'm Lena. That's Jessica and Amber, they're sisters." She explained, glancing over at them. Those two always seemed to be in their own world. "Hey guys." She said to them, hoping to draw their attention to the new girl. Sure, Amber didn't talk but she would at least smile.

'Why does morning have to be so hellish?' Grace thought to herself, keeping her eyes shut even though the light from the window was falling directly in her eyes. She frowned, opening her eyes as she sat up. "I'm up, I'm up." She muttered to the sun as if it was her own personal alarm clock. She climbed out of bed and struggled off her pjs, not bothering to leave the room. They were all girls. She grabbed a pair of jean shorts and slid them on. She was just buttoning up a plaid shirt with the sleves ripped off when she saw Ms. Heidi and this new girl walk in.

She didn't bother buttoning the lower buttons when she heard the girl ask Heidi if she was serious. She just tied it in a knot. "You can bet you're bleach blonde hair she's serious." She said dryly, walking out of the room sandals not even buckled up. Rich girls. Sure, Grace was one herself but at least she didn't come out all high and mighty when she got here. Her parents had just been murdered and none of their friends wanted her, even though they'd get money to keep her. She knew she hit rock bottom. She couldn't stand girls like Diamond who hit rock bottom and didn't realize it yet.

Taking two stairs at a time, she hurried downstairs into the kitchen. Her eyeliner was smudged from where she left it on the night before, and she couldn't care less. She made a plate of eggs, bacon and carefully positioned a bowl of cereal on her plate and carried a mug of coffee- black like her soul- over to Lucy. She set her stuff to the side and hopped up on the counter next to her, sipping her coffee.

Glancing at the Tumblr feed, she nodded her head in support of what she was looking at. "I made some more jewelry last night before bed. Can you help take pictures in the best light and upload it to Etsy?" She asked Lucy. They were far beyond pleasantries by now. In fact, Grace liked Lucy so much that she would call Lucy horrible things, though the other girl- hopefully- knew she meant them lovingly. When she said she hated someone, especially to their face, it meant she loved them.

She picked up her plate and started eating. She waved her fork at Diamond when Lena- the princess and longest resident of Oceanside tried to include her. "We've met."

Zach, as usual, was the last one out of bed. He had fallen asleep in his jeans and his shirt. He sniffed at himself. No smell. He was good. He sat up and slid on his tennis shoes. He laced them up quickly. Before going downstairs, he made a pit stop in the bathroom. He wasn't surprised to see all the faces that had greeted for the last five months. He was surprised to see a new blonde among the girls.

He shook his head. This place was going to go on overload with all these girls around. Then again he was used to living with girls. His dad left when he was only ten. Zach had always been really interested in dance and since his mother was a teacher, he was always learning. His dad thought that was a waste of time and even assumed that he was gay because he liked to dance and he was good at it. He didn't care too much about his dad and was much happier living in a orphanage than with that scumbag. The last two years with his mom, she suffered with leukemia so he spent a lot of time taking care of her and trying to find his dad to help. She just wanted to see him one last time. But the jerk didn't even bother to show up to her funeral.

He figured he was better off. After grabbing a plate, he sat down at the table with Nik. He liked the other boys just fine, but Nikolai was easier to get a long with than Nate. Nate seemed only to have one goal. Sleep with all the girls. He wouldn't doubt if he tried it with Heidi or Robin at least once. He gave Nik a short nod and started drinking some water. "There's a dance competition today. Think you can help me map it out on the bus route?" He asked. The one thing his mother asked of him was to keep dancing. He wouldn't break that promise with her.