I Dream of Dragons

5. Friend

Misty stared at Ailysia, and her voice was uncharacteristically soft. "What do you mean?" And then, realization clicked in her eyes. "You did this?"

Ailysia nodded, though she wasn't so sure of the answer herself. "Something happened to me last night. I had a very strange dream, and it felt so real. It felt like I went to another world."

This is it. She thought. She was going to spill the truth. It still unnerved her to think what her friend's reaction would be. A tiny part of her was afraid Misty wouldn't believe her, would think she was paranoid. But the rest of her decided to trust her friend.

"I met a lady who was also a dragon, who told me I was..." Ailysia struggled for the appropriate description. "...genetically designed by her or something, and sent to Earth two million years ago. And then—"

Abruptly, she stopped, realizing that someone else was paying attention. Pedra, who sat two rows ahead, was poking her head over the back of the seat, and staring in her direction. Her dark thick brows were furrowed in confusion, and the headphones hung forgotten over her shoulders.

Ailysia had no idea how much Pedra had overheard, but she knew for certain that from her vantage point, Pedra could see the frozen window. Probably had witnessed its transformation. Ailysia clenched her hands on her lap, her palms sticky with sweat, and struggled to think.

What was she to do? She couldn't just trust Pedra with her secret—she hardly knew the girl! But what if Pedra were to tell someone else? What if everyone found out?

She fixed a fierce glare at the floor, as if she could bore a hole there and hide. And then Misty bumped her lightly on the arm, and passed over the writing pad. On a fresh page, Misty had scrawled a note.

"Don't worry. She doesn't know you have anything to do with the window. If anyone asks, we will say a refrigerated truck passed by, and a cold blast from the open door struck the window."

Ailysia nodded slightly, breathing easier. Misty was right, of course: Occam's razor – was that what it was called? There was no reason for anyone to believe that she had anything to do with the window, or to believe Pedra if that girl made a fuss.

She smiled at her friend, thankful that Misty was there to keep a cool head. She took the pen and wrote down a new message on the writing pad. "I will tell you everything at lunch. Let's meet in the arboretum. Thank you! And can we talk about politics again?"

Misty winked at her, and then made an exaggerated expression of staring at the note critically, shaking her head in disappointment. "I'm afraid this slogan is too generic. If you want to win, you'll have to come up with a more eye-catching message—something that rhymes."

The two of them launched into a discussion of the best campaign slogan for a while, neither paying any attention to Pedra. After a while, the girl seemed to get the message, and scooted back down into her seat.

The rest of the morning was uneventful. When the bus arrived at school, everyone was in a hurry to get off, and no one noticed or inquired about the window. Ailysia suspected the bus driver might have some questions later, but she would be long gone then.

She sat through her morning classes with a lingering agitation, her usually sharp concentration slipping a little. What happened on the bus weighed on her. Even though having Misty on her side was a relief, Ailysia still felt apprehensive, and couldn't wait for lunch to talk it over. Her friend would have some ideas, she was sure. Misty never failed to come up with a plan.

Her anxiety wasn't helped by the stealthy gazes directed at her. Unlike Misty, Pedra was in most of her morning classes. Ailysia had never noticed the girl before, but now the blue-haired girl appeared to be permanently stuck in her peripheral vision. Pedra stared at her surreptitiously now and then, sometimes clumsily hiding the attempt behind an arm, and always scrutinizing.