The Sight

03| FAE-TAL MEETING

Glaxill community College wasn't the best place to receive an education, but it was the closest to Astrid's home, and therefore the treacherous walk from her house to the school gates was short.

As her feet pounded the pavement, the so-called Fae gathered in throngs around the sidewalk. They danced and dangled from the telephone lines, sat upon the window ledges of houses and for all intents and purposes followed her to school.

They didn't touch her, but out of the corner of her eye, Astrid saw them wreak their not-so-playful havoc on other walkers.

One of the rules in her Nana's journal was to make no eye contact. Humans were blinded by Fae in the past for having the sight, Astrid didn't fancy adding that experience to her bucket list.

She marched swiftly, keeping her eyes fixated ahead until she came within metres of the school gates where her friends were waiting.

Within spitting distance of safety, a Fae girl swirled rapidly into her path. She looked like a cross between a human, wolf and something else. Tall wolf ears twitched upon her head, a tail whipped around two wolfish legs and her chest and stomach were submerged in a thick off-white pelt.

Astrid automatically jolted to a stop, and the gesture caught the Faery's attention.

Two luminous, yellow eyes locked onto her face.

Astrid felt her heart treble its beat as she shakily flicked off a pump and pretended to get rid of a stone in her shoe. It took a great deal of effort to drag her eyes to the Fae girl's forehead in an attempt to seem like she was merely looking in that direction and not directly into the Faery's eyes.

"Astrid would you get a move on!"

Glad to have an excuse to quickly move along Astrid walked forward and the fae girl stepped out of her way.

She tried to continue to walk at a reasonable pace, but it was difficult. Her heart raced in her chest, she felt hot, flustered and tears pricked her eyes. She couldn't look back to check if her facade had worked, that would only make it more obvious.

She had to be more careful. The Fae were clearly observant, she couldn't just stop when one got in her way. She shouldn't be able to see them at all. If she slipped up like that again, they'd soon realise she could see them, and there was no going back from that. Her Nana had made that very clear.

"Heather was right, you really are away with the fairies."

"What" Astrid snapped back into focus. Gillian, Heather and Leanne stood around her.

They were inside the school at the lockers. Astrid glanced around, taking a moment to gather her bearings before she realised she'd well and truly zoned out.

Gillian looked a little wistful before she placed two hands on Astrid's shoulders. "You know what your problem is, you've been isolated for too long. You need to let loose, relax a little. You're off that funky medication now right? Come to the party tonight."

Astrid frowned. "What party?"

Leanne scoffed, and Heather cleared her throat awkwardly. Astrid quickly got the feeling she'd forgotten something important.

Gillian's brown eyes glistened a little as her expression tightened and then relaxed.

"No worries, I figured you'd forget. It's my birthday party, the one you helped organise. The party of the century, remember?"

Astrid nodded slowly. She did now, it was supposed to be the biggest party of the year. They'd thrown flyers out all over the school, given invitations to their favourite friends outside of school and had even told them to bring friends. It was the biggest celebration ever for Gillian's eighteenth, and it had disaster and teenage paradise written all over it.