I don't really know how to format this, having never done this before, but here goes! Let me know if this is how it's supposed to work, ok?-Cockleburr 

Counter~

I wake with a start and stare blearily at my alarm clock. Ahh! It's late! I throw the covers off and leap out of bed, then franticly pull on my clothes. I run downstairs, still yanking my arm into a sleeve. I plunk down at the table, my unbuttoned plaid shirt flapping around me. Cockleburr looks up from her book, groggily surprised.

"Wass'up, Counter?" I jerk the refrigerator door open, grab an apple, race back upstairs to brush my teeth, button my shirt, and scramble back down the stairs. 

Cockleburr just stares at me. "Um, Counter?" she finally asks.

"What!" I yell, trying to shove my lunch into my backpack and eat my apple at the same time.

"Were you- did you actually try getting dressed this morning?"

"What?" I look down at myself. "Oh." My shirt is buttoned all wrong, with one side of the collar way higher than the other and I missed some of the buttons in the middle, so I've got weird bulges and valleys. She sighes.

"C'mere." She unbuttons my shirt, then I have to wait for her to redo the whole thing. By the time she reaches the bottom I'm almost hopping up and down.

"Hurry up, Cockleburr, I've really gotta go!" I shout, leaping out of her way, grabbing my backpack and launching myself out the door. 

"Bye, Counter! Have fun!" I hear her call as I bolt down the street. But I have no time to turn around. I see the stop sign where the bus waits in the distance, AEs boarding. Hurry! I put on a burst of speed and reach the stop sign- just as the bus pulls away. 

"No! Wait!" I yell, running after the bus. It suddenly stops and the door swings open. 

"Thanks," I gasp, climbing the stairs. The bus driver nods, taciturn. I look around for an open seat and realize that everyone is staring at me. I feel my face go hot and look away. I plunk down into an empty seat next to a tall boy with dark curly hair at the front of the bus. He glances up at me from his book, then looks back down again. My first impulse is to ignore him too, but then I remember that I'm supposed to make friends.

I study him carefully. He doesn't look too bad. Not wild and crazy like the AEs at the back of the bus. I gather my courage and speak.

"Um- hi, I'm Counter. Er, what's your name?" He looks up at me, and I can see his a bit annoyed that I disturbed his reading. I anxiously shy away, feel myself pressing together. My elbows pulling in towards my body, my shoulders tensing.

"Hey, Counter. I'm Basil," he answers. I realize I have no idea what to say next.

"Oh. Um that's a... a nice name." I mentally kick myself for saying something so stupid.

"Thanks." He goes back to reading. I breathe a sigh of relief, finish my apple, and don't speak again the whole ride. 

Gem~

As the bus pulls into the bus stop next to the school, every AE lazily starts piling out of the bus until the bus driver beeps the horn and we hurry through the school doors. The tecachers explain some general rules and hands out time-tables. I sleepily make my way to my first class. Suddenly, Sapphire rudely taps me on the shoulder, yawning. 

What was the first class? She asks.

I dont know, I wasnt listening either. I just follow the other AEs to the class room. The class is extremely boring and I am literally jumping up and down at the end until Sapphire tells me we still have two other classes before lunch. The 1 hour classes edge along at snails pace, until finally, its lunch time. I stare down at the healthy, brown bread sandwich and squashed banana that BookBug packed me and sigh. Good thing I secretly packed money for the canteen. Suddenly, the peaceful recess is broken with a whisper in my ear.

Follow me! Somebody says.

Sapphire-

As we settle down to lunch, an ear piercing bang breaks the silence. A few of the AEs stand up and start drifting over to the canteen to investigate, but Basil just continues reading. I sigh and finish my squashed banana. 

"Just like you! Juuuust like you, imbecile!" Shifting snapped at Volcano as the ghost and the fire deity took the late trolley. It wasn't actually Volcano's fault – it had snowed/rained again and Somebody refused to go outside in "three feet of slush at four in the morning". Shifting just liked having someone to blame. 

Volcano didn't really care about Shifting, as she took similar abuse from her every day. Currently she was upset because Somebody had put a timed lock on Volcano's suitcase with all the firestarters and explosives so it would open only when she got to the school.

All in all, an excellent start. Missed the entire first half of the first day.  

Finally the trolley pulled into the station and Volcano and Shifting exited along with a few other entities. Shifting summoned a map, looked at it quickly, and then set off toward what she deemed was the school with a curt "Let's go, imbecile." 

Volcano had seemingly gotten partly over her disappointment as she cartwheeled off with her counterpart, giggling like a maniac and moving her luggage along with her terrakinesis. Shifting rolled her glowing white eyes.

It took a few more minutes of walking – well, gliding and cartwheeling – to get to the school, but get there they did. 

The door was locked.

Of course.

Shifting glided right through, leaving Volcano outside. 

"AWWWWWW COME ONNNNN SHIFTIIIIIIIIIIIING!!!" yelled the redhead, voice echoing around the empty courtyard. She was about to call Somebody when her timed lock ran out and decided to click open.  

Volcano grinned wildly and opened her suitcase.

There was a large explosion as Volcano blew the doors sky-high and waltzed in. Her clear, excited voice rang over the blast as she screamed "I CAN EXPLAIN!!!"  

~Style

I'm sitting in a comfortable window seat by the time the bus starts to pull away. I brace myself for the jerk of the engine just starting up, but basically everyone else is pushed off. I smile but hide it by turning to look out the window. I almost immediately turn back. Why do AE's owners always have to be so embarrassing?! I think with a sigh. Slowly, I looked back. Yep, Star's still there, waving her hand frantically and shouting encouragement that I (luckily) can't hear. I ignore her. The person sitting next to me is giving me a strange look. I glare at him. Like, nope, I have no idea who that person is. 

I walk onto the bus, along with my siblings. Cilantro immediatly goes to sit with her friends, and Pseudonym walks over to a couple of boys. This leaves me alone. I don't mind. More time to read comics, and play on a laptop. I am dreading school. Help me.

Counter~

A huge, explosive BANG echoes through the canteen right when I bite into my sandwich. 

"It wasn't me!" I shout in a panic, throwing the sandwich across the room where it lands on some AE's head. Oops. She shoots me with a glare that could freeze fire, honey dripping down her face, peanut butter in her hair. I feel my face go bright red.

"S-sorry!" I squeak apologetically, right as the bread part of the sandwich lands in her lap with a plop. She gets up, sandwich fixing falling to the floor around her, unheaded, and stalks towards me. I consider running, but realize I'm frozen. She stands directly in front of me and screams at the top of her lungs,

"WHAT DID YOU DO!"

"I- it- it was an accident," I feebly protest.

"AN ACCIDENT? How did you just accidentally manage to land your stupid peanut-butter-and-stinkin'-mustard sandwich directly on my head, HUH?"

"It's honey, not mustard!" I protest indignantly. Who eats peanut butter and mustard?

"Well, whatever. I'm still going to have to get it out of my hair, right? Actually, honey's even worse than mustard for that!" I shrink back from this scary, angry girl.

"I'm sorry," I whisper, feeling my face go, if possible, even redder, "I really didn't mean to." She opens her mouth to reply, but before she can do so another huge explosion interupts her, followed by an extremely loud "I CAN EXPLAIN!"

____________________

So, who is this mysterious AE? YOU DECIDE! If you think this is your AE, write a post about it! -Cockleburr 

Yeah, cool thread!