The Loner Years

Part Seven

It was the first day of school. Exactly one year ago I was a freshman in high school who would later pull a prank on a girl in my art class during a field trip.

Jacklyn and I... we're okay. 'Friends' is a strong term, but 'acquaintances' doesn't quite cover it.

I scanned my schedule for the next year. A new class caught my eye.

"Creative Writing? All right!"

Yes, Zor... I did get into the class. It was your idea.

***

I studied each face as we sat down. Creative writing... I wondered what new challenges it would bring. I wondered how many were here because they thought the class would be an easy A. I wondered how many of them had a demon guiding each choice they made.

We went around the class introducing ourselves. First our names and then something about us.

"Hi, I'm Min... and I like to write," I announced. It is why I'm here.

"Hello Min," the class said in unison.

"Min, what an unusual name," the teacher, Mrs. Harthorpe, commented.

"It's long for M," I said and got a few giggles. "But it's also short for Minny."

"And what's Minny short for?" Mrs. Harthorpe pressed.

"Minerva," I said quietly. I like my name, don't get me wrong. But I don't like others knowing my full name.

The kid sitting next to me smiled. "Roman. I like it."

"Yeah," I said quietly after I sat down. "It tends to not attract people like Jessica, Jennifer, or Tiffany."

"But those names are already taken and way over used," he said.

It was his turn to introduce himself.

"Hi, I'm Basil, and this is my girlfriend, Nero." He sat down and the dark haired girl next to him stood up.

"My name is Nero," she said quietly. Almost as quietly as Jacklyn when I first met her. "But everyone just calls me Nemo."

She sat down in a hurry as if she were afraid to stand any longer than necessary.

"You three have very odd names," our teacher remarked. The three of us shrugged. The introductions continued with all the Taylors, the Maddys, the Johns, the Ray's, the Jennifers, the Jessicas, the Rileys and the Joes.

I looked at the two kids on my right. They were... odd. They were no more odd than I was, but they were odd by the TaylorMaddyJohnRayJenniferJessicaRileyJoe standards.