I should have known that day was going to be a bad day, but I was too stubborn to believe it. I was determined to make it a good day. Boy, did I fail at that.
It started off like any other day, with the exception of waking up from a strange dream. This time it was about horses and the sea. I've been having these weird dreams for weeks now, and almost every time they involved the sea or a bunch of people in orange shirts fighting.
After getting up, I got dressed in my usual attire: plaid Bermuda shorts and a tank top over a swimsuit. Yes, I said over a swimsuit. Yes, I am going to school. You never know when you're going to get a chance to swim! I slipped on my blue converse and put on a denim jacket. After grabbing my backpack and a granola bar, I was out the door, ready for another day at the worst school ever.
My school wouldn't be so unbearable if I actually had a good friend there, but when you don't have money like everyone else, you kind of get cast out. The only reason I go to Lincoln Academy is because my mom felt it would be for my own good, and she worked hard to get me into the school. Though I'm not sure how keeping me in a prison with the snobbiest, meanest girls in the world eight hours a day, five days a week is "for my own good," but my mom usually knows what she' stalking about. She usually knows what's good for me. Usually.
My plan of having a good day was off to a bad start as soon as I reached my locker. Alena, one of the richest and meanest girls at Lincoln, and her group of "friends" started walking towards me. No doubt they would either brag about their money and make fun of me for having none or criticize my clothes. Or all of the above. Yeah, that seemed right.
"Oh look at the little surfer girl!" Alena exclaimed, putting a hand in her hip. "Let me guess. Another swimsuit under that pathetic outfit?"
"Yeah, actually," I told her, feeling pretty confident for only a second. Then I realized how stupid I probably sounded.
"Too bad you don't have as much money as everyone else at this school," she continued, completely ignoring what I said. "If you did, you wouldn't have time for swimming, because you'd be too busy shopping!" Her little robots laughed, although what she said really wasn't all that funny.
I shrugged. "No, I'd probably still wear it, and I probably wouldn't spend all day shopping. Money wouldn't affect my personality. I wouldn't be like you," I said, narrowing my eyes.
"What do you mean by that?" She asked, slightly angry.
Shrugging again, I said, "I mean if your daddy didn't have money, you probably wouldn't be as much of a jerk."
Her expression was priceless. "You arrogant little-" The bell interrupted.
"I'm sorry, what were you going to say?" I smiled sweetly.
She glared as one of her friends, Cassidy, whispered something in her ear. Alena glared at me, snapped her fingers, and left without so much as a goodbye.
"No goodbye, Alena? That's a little rude don't you think?" I shouted after her. She kept walking.
I headed for my first hour class, English. It was also my least favorite class, because, well, I'm dyslexic. My brain likes to take words and letters and do a gymnastics routine, complete with flipping and flopping, with them. I dreaded bring called on. It was embarrassing.
We were reading The Hobbit, which would've been awesome- except I couldn't read it. As Mr. Higgins started reading, I started zoning out. I thought about the strange dreams I've been getting. Did they mean anything? Maybe-
"Nixie Andrews!" Mr. Higgins called.
"Yes?" I responded.
"Will you read the next paragraph?" My mouth went dry and a knot grew in my throat.
Alena smirked at me. "Yeah, Nixie, read for us."
I gulped and it felt like I was swallowing sandpaper. I looked at the page, trying to decipher the words. "Um, well, I, uh... can't?" Alena and her friends sniggered.
Mr. Higgins was about to protest when something else got in the way. Something a bit more urgent and important. Something that wiped the smile right off of Alena's face.
Crashing through the window by Mr. Higgins desk came an ugly, grey, mess of skin and bones with wings. "Nixie Andrews!" the thing hissed. "Come with me!"
"You're even more of a freak than I thought!" Alena squeaked.
The bird lady thing turned to her and hissed in her face, causing Alena to pass out. I was starting to like the thing a little bit more. "Nixie Andrews!"
All that feeling of pride in the bird lady that I mentioned earlier? Yeah, that was gone. Replacing it was sheer terror.
Suddenly, the door swung open. A girl and a boy ran inside. The boy had tan skin and curly brown hair. The girl had jet black hair and brown eyes. The guy had a sword and the girl had a dagger. They were both wearing orange T-shirts.
"Yo, ugly! Wanna taste some metal?" the curly-haired guy shouted at the bird lady, jumping on desks and readying his sword. It responded by smacking him with its wing. He fell off the desk and onto the floor, losing his sword int he process.
The girl waited until the thing turned around to strike with her dagger. Unfortunately, she didn't think if the fact that windows are reflective, and the creature slashed her with its talons. It turned its attention back to me.
I quickly dove under the desks and army-crawled until I reached the sword. I swung it in front of me, hoping to keep the creature at bay. When I opened my eyes, though, the bird lady was gone. In place of her was a puff of smoke. I closed my eyes and took deep breaths and felt myself being lifted up.
The girl in the orange shirt grabbed my wrist and she and the boy started running, me trailing at their heels.
"What," I heaved, "is going on?"
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Thank you for reading! This whole story is dedicated to owlgirl8, who had the original idea for it! Unfortunately, she couldn't complete it, but we're very happy thAt she handed it to us.
And also, shout out to miss lucianaDY for creating the awesome cover and banners for us!
Hope you enjoyed, and stay tuned for more updates!
