Aistriú

Chapter 1

I have never been a "girly-girl." I would always choose dark blue shorts over bright pink or purple sparkly skirts, and boy scouts over girl scouts, mostly because the other girls were always rude to me, and everyone else. When I was from the ages of 6 to 11 my older brother was a boy scout and my dad was the troop leader. I would go to the meetings but only be able to watch, and when there were activities I could do, like camping, or games, I would still be left out by the scouts because I was a girl. I never had crushes on guys like my friends, and I didn't like makeup or the thought of shaving my legs.

My name is Scout O' Conor. I am 14 years old, one of the youngest of my friends. I live in Killarney, Ireland, and go to St. Brigids Catholic School. I came out as Lesbian about half a year ago and my family was unbelievably accepting, rainbows everywhere, and even though I'm going to St. Brigids, the school hasn't given me a hard time either. School is out in a couple of months and this the first year my parents will let me go adventuring by myself! Beep Beep Beep Beep. "Arrrgh," I groan as I turn off my phone alarm. The light is so bright it's painful. I reluctantly pull away from the warm safety of my comforter and slip on some randomly selected jeans, a t-shirt, and a hoodie and head to the bathroom. Thankfully, I got up late enough so that my brother isn't in the bathroom. I splash some water on my face, fight with the tangles in my hair, brush my teeth, and head downstairs for breakfast. "Morning honey!" says my mom, greeting me with open arms.

"Morning mum!" I reply going in for a comfy hug, she's wearing the new perfume I got her for her birthday.

"This morning we have Eggo waffles, bananas, eggs, and apple juice," she explains while pushing a plate towards me with everything she listed on it. "You don't have to rush, you've got 45 minutes before you meet your friends." She said that because she noticed I was rushing.

"Actually, it's just me today. Cara's sick, Gemma is visiting her grandma, and Sadie is camping. Is it ok if I still walk, even if I'll be alone?" I ask, nervously waiting for an answer. I'm planning on leaving a little early to get in some early exploring, just so I know my way around the woods before summer.

"I guess so since you'll be walking alone during summer, just be careful please." She responds. I smile and finish my breakfast.

"Also, I have to leave early today, I need to help Maria with Math Homework," I lie, slipping my backpack over my shoulder. The weight catches me off guard and I stumble. "Since when has my backpack weighed a hundred pounds?"

"It's textbook dropoff day and I have a doctor's appointment so I can't bring them in for you. Sorry, hun."

"It's fine, I'll try not to break my back," I say jokingly. She responds with a giggle as I wave goodbye and walk out the door. I have 20 minutes for exploring before I have to get to school, and thankfully the forest is next to St. Brigids.. I make my way, cutting through the park, over the creaky wooden bridge, and into the woods. The air already smells fresher and of oak. The trees have patterns in their bark that look like eyes watching me, keeping me safe. I walk for about 5 minutes until I see a long, small fox. Its fur is the color of burning embers and has a similar glow. Almost magical. I take a few steps closer to it as if I am hypnotized. It looks up at me then starts to scurry away, almost beckoning me to follow. I start running to keep up with the creature, dodging branches, and stones that could trip me. I try to keep up and track the snowy white tip of its tail with my eyes. I can see a clearing and sunlight bouncing through leaves and bathing the trees. Almost there. Just a few more paces, "Aurraugh!! Ow!" I trip on something sticking out of the ground. I gashed my leg and feel the silky rouge liquid trailing down my skin. I slowly get up and lean over to inspect my leg, when I see where I am. It's almost like a relic, or a ruin. Mossy stones on the ground, no, crystals. Peeking from the soft green grass. That's what I tripped on, a giant sharp crystal. I look back at and see some of my blood staining the twinkling object. I go over to wipe it off and as I touch it I feel a strange sensation in my leg. As if someone wrapped a warm blanket over it. I quickly go to see what's happening and I watch as my leg heals its wound! Astonished I stare at where there used to be a long open cut, eyes wide wondering if I hit my head when I fell and am actually in a coma. I wait for a couple of seconds but I am interrupted by a rustling in a bush. My head swivels urgently to see what made the noise, and I see the little fox, just sitting and watching me. We lock eyes and just look for a while until I try to stand up and get a good look at where I am. "Oh no," I moan, realizing I just ran into the middle of a forest I've never been alone in before. I hold my head and wonder if I'm dreaming, silently begging to wake up. The sparkling light of the crystals is starting to give me a headache, of course, it could have been the fall. I look down at my watch to see how much time has passed, but my watch has stopped. "Oh, come on, not now!" I grumble as I hit my watch, trying to turn it back on. I give up with the watch and reach for my phone, but the clock on my phone stopped too as if time hadn't passed since I stepped into the clearing. I decided I should probably head to school, in case time was still passing. I step out of the clearing and feel a surge of energy flow through my body as if I was just pushed out of a circular force field surrounding the land. I brush it off and try to retrace my steps back to the school so I remember my way when I come back. I make it out of the forest and check my watch. It's working again. "Weird," I whisper.