“Hey Drake!” I exclaimed smiling as I opened the front door to my house. It was now Saturday at six in the evening, like when he said he’d come pick me up. “Ready for the movie?”
“Yeah. I’m driving.” Drake told me, taking my hand and heading down the path to the car. Yes, Drake had a car. It was a shiny red Honda, and he was sixteen and had a legal driver’s license. What girl wouldn’t want that?
As we were driving down the highway, my mind kept flipping back and forth between relaxing and enjoying the night and what Ezami said to me. But I was overreacting, right? There’s no way anything would actually happen… but it could…
I turned my head in the direction of shotgun window, looking at the sky and trying not to think about it. But what would happen if Drake found out? Would I be banned or something? I shivered at the thought, thinking of any possible way they could do that.
I didn’t realize the car stopped moving when we arrived at the movie theater. It was kind of odd to be there, just because it wasn’t really a special occasion and I was all dressed up. Even Drake didn’t wear his usual T-shirt and jeans. Thanks to Nicole and her awesome fashion sense, I wore a purple knee-length, strapless dress and strappy silver shoes and diamond studs, and Drake wore a leather black jacket and black pants, but still had his silver converse.
“I’ll get the popcorn, so why don’t you grab seats? It’ll be packed.” Drake asked me, getting in line.
“Okay.” I replied, starting to head towards the theater. I whipped around again before I was out of ear shot. “Also, cherry icee for me!” I called to him, and he held a thumbs up. I entered the black-walled theater, sitting down a few rows from the top in the comfy red chairs. Before Drake came, I was over-thinking what Ezami told me. Your wings will come when you least expect it and the most hated time.
Now would be that perfect time.
When Drake walked into the theater, I tried to make the thoughts go away, but they stayed. He sat down next to me, and everything was gone.
~~~~~~~~~~
We went through the entire two-hour long movie without any mishaps. I let out a sigh of relief as we headed out, and I was ready to go home, just so I could get rid of this stressed and worried feeling that was settled over me at the moment.
“I had a really great time. Thank you so much, Drake.” I told him as we walked back to the car.
“No problem, I had a lot of fun too.” He replied, and we both got in the car and drove in the direction back to my neighborhood. I watched as my house was in front, next, and then behind me.
He drove right past my house.
“Uh, Drake? My house was back there.” I told him, pointing the other direction.
“I know. We’re going someplace else.” He grinned at his comment. I trusted him, but had no idea where we were going. We drove out onto the highway, and it was getting closer and closer to my curfew. If I wasn’t back by nine-thirty, I was screwed.
We eventually arrived right in front of a restaurant. Not just any restaurant though; my favorite. Cheddars.
“Wow!” I exclaimed as I got out of the car and hugged Drake. “I can’t believe this!”
“A special girl deserves a special restaurant.” He said as he planted a kiss on my cheek. “And it’s also for your birthday.”
“Thanks.” I smiled as I held my arm around his and headed inside. When we arrived at our table and ordered drinks and entrées, I was still having that horrible thought in my mind. Something’s going to go wrong, I know it.
“You look worried.” Drake said softly, breaking my thoughts and taking my hands. “You’ve been spacing out all night. Everything okay?”
“Yeah.” I assured him, looking him in the eyes. His very pretty hazel eyes, that I couldn’t stop staring at. “Yes, everything’s fine. It’s just…” I had to come up with a subject change. “I’ve been thinking a lot about my parents.” Nailed it.
“Ah, makes sense.” Drake said, letting go of my hands. “I wasn’t adopted, so I don’t know what you’re going through. But you being sad makes me feel sad.”
“Please.” I started, silencing him. “Let’s just have a nice, peaceful evening.”
“Agreed.” Drake said as the waiters with their meals approached their table.
While I was chewing on my third bone of my half rack of baby back ribs, I felt a weird, tingling sensation go up my spinal cord. It felt like… leaves? Flower petals? I didn’t know what it was. I felt it growing, expanding in size underneath my sleeveless, knee-length dress. This was the worst night to wear a sleeveless anything. I didn’t dare look at what it was. I really didn’t want to ruin this almost perfect night.
“Uh, excuse me for a sec.” I told Drake as I stood up from the table and headed toward the women’s restroom. I quickly glanced around for any other people, and unzipped what I could of the back of my dress. I could tell why nobody saw anything.
These butterfly wings just popped out of nowhere, expanding par past my waist on both sides, rounding perfectly at the edges. They were a royal purple color, and very, very sparkly. They were shaped beautifully, and they were breathtaking.
“Wow…” I breathed, admiring their beauty. When I realized that anyone could walk in at any moment, I folded the wings any way I could without them hurting too much. I eventually wrapped the wings around my waist on the inside of my dress, which had little to no pain. I took a deep breath and headed back to the table.
I could barely pay attention to anything at dinner. All I could think about were the wings, and that I was going to Tanyela. And I wasn’t freaking out as much as I thought I would.
When dinner ended, Drake drove me back to my house.
“Thanks for the movie and dinner. I absolutely loved it.” I smiled as I planted a kiss on his cheek and headed to the door. Drake waved, and drove away. Once inside, I avoided my parents and ran up to the bathroom and locked the door. I undressed myself to where I could see the entire shape of my wings. I examined the details, but the whole time wondering if Ezami knew I had them. I also tried to move them, but that epically failed. I decided I was done admiring them and slipped into my night dress and tip-toed to my bedroom, hoping not to wake anyone up.
“Ezami.” I whispered, lying on my bed and staring at the ceiling. “Enter my dream. I have my wings, and I want to go to Tanyela.” It felt weird saying that for the first time, because the mere fact itself was still overwhelming me. Me, a faerie? I still couldn’t wrap my head around the idea. But me thinking about it exhausted me, and I fell asleep anyway.
~~~~~~~~~~
“Hey, Ezami!” I yelled in my dreams as Ezami approached me. “I have my wings!”
“I know. I saw you admiring them in the bathroom.” Ezami laughed, and my cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
"Which time?" I asked, and she burst out laughing.
"Both." She answered, and I felt even more embarrassed.
“Hey, what are wings based on?” I asked, but she kept silent. “Because mine are a sparkly purple and yours are a solid white. Is there a code or something?”
“Kind of, but not really.” She answered, twisting her hand from side to side. “They’re pretty much based on your personality. My favorite color is white, and I like to keep things simple, so I have no pattern. Your favorite color is purple, and you like things that sparkle.”
“Well, yeah, everything’s prettier with sparkles!” I laughed, and Ezami shook her head and laughed. “Okay, now that I have wings, when do I get to go to Tanyela?” I asked hopefully, making my eyes sparkle as much as my wings did.
“Tomorrow. I’ll bring you through the Water Entrance. There’s four Entrances to Tanyela; Fire, Water, Earth, and Wind. I think Water is the easiest, so we’ll go through that first. Then you’ll get to meet Queen Lufrewop. Maybe even get a tour of the Academy!” She sounded hopeful, but I was getting sort of terrified.
“Whatever works, Ezami. I do have to know though. When, or how, do I start flying?” I asked, because I couldn’t move my freaking wings at all.
“It’s a class at the Academy. Depending on how easy it to you, you should learn it really easy or learn it almost impossible.” Her tone went soft to straight-forward, and a feeling of uneasiness washed over me, causing me to be even more nervous.
“And I’ll be really easy, right?” My voice trailed off into a squeak, making her give me an annoyed look.
“Sorry, that I can’t answer.” She groaned, probably annoyed with my questions. “My God, you are the most questionable person I know.”
“Ugh, fine.” I muttered, raising my hand in the California blonde matter. “See you tomorrow.”
“Oh wait! Wear something comfortable. Not anything fancy. Okay? And don’t bring a bag of clothes either. You won’t need it.” Ezami told me quickly and disappeared. After that the area faded black into a dreamless sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~
The next morning was Sunday, so both of my parents were at work. I dressed in a red T-shirt, dark blue jeans, and my purple converse, with my hair was also in a very long braid. Around ten, Ezami showed up at my door in, surprisingly, normal Californian clothes. A white T-shirt with blue jean shorts and white tennis shoes, and her hair was brushed down casually.
“Hey!” I greeted as I shut the front door and locked it behind me.
“Ready to go?” Ezami asked me, and I nodded.
“Yeah. Come on, my wings are cramped under my shirt.” I complained, adjusting it for the umpteenth time today.
“Yeah, mine too.” Ezami said as we started walking down the street. “But you’ll love Tanyela, especially since you have wings.”
“I bet I will.” I said sarcastically. “So, where is the Water entrance?” I asked as we broke off onto the street I usually walk home on.
“You’ll be surprised.” Ezami told me, walking a little faster now. Moments later, we came into view of Ridgeland High School.