Once the teacher realized what was going on, she called me over to her and I told her. She still told me to take my test and go outside. I told her that I was done, so I went to take my things and dropped the test off at her desk, and walked away. Before I walked out the door she said to sit at the bench closest to the door and wait for her.

I didn’t understand why she had asked me to go outside, I guess those girls really did have some power in this school. When I walked to the bench I noticed that it was dirty and I felt a sensation that I had been feeling before. I decided to wait nearby at another bench and the sensation that I was being watched hit me again.

As I walked towards the other bench I felt that feeling get stronger. I was being watched. I ignored the sensation again, and as I walked I took out my book. I tried to find my book in my backpack an when I found it I tried to see where I was in my book, but the sensation that I was being watched just grew more and more.

With out any provocation I dropped my  book, and I as I bent over to pick it up I saw a shadow of a person raising its arms and it… had horns!? Instinctively I ducked down to grab my book and then lunged myself forwards attempting to do a one-handed front flip. Which failed because my hand was sprained. I ended up rolling forward instead and was able to use the momentum to pick myself up. As soon as I was up I was shocked to see what was in front of me, but I shook my head and looked at this thing straight on and said “Wh…what are you?! And what do you want?!” No sooner did I finish my question that this reptile humanoid thing lunged at me and yelled “Prove yourself!”

I could see that his hands had claws and that they were sharp, scared for my life I did my best to dodge all of his swings. He slashed, I dodged, he said “and I will.” He slashed again, and I dodged again and he said “answer you!” He slashed again and I went for the front flip again only this time using my other hand and I made it. He frustratingly admits “seeing as you have dodged all of my assaults I claim you as worthy.” He seemed calm.

Then like a snake he lunged again. I turned to get away but it was too late. He slashed my back and I fell and whimpered in pain. Meekly I asked “who are you? What do you want from me?!” Calmly he came closer to me and I tried to crawl away. He grabbed me by the collar and as he picked me up he said “I, am Bullfrog.” He slashed my chest and he leans in close to my ears, and as I close my eyes he says, “and I need your flesh.” I felt him about to do something worse to me, and then I made up my mind that no he is not!

I opened my eyes and I kneed him with all my might. I don’t know where that strength came from or where my hit landed, but he dropped me and I ran away as fast as I could. In the distance I could hear him say “you will pay for that you bitch!”  I managed to go to an alley between two buildings in my school, I held my breath so as to make no noise. And soon after I saw him pass. I begin to frantically think that this encounter was really close, who what and why was this thing after me? What did he mean by flesh?! Like did he want to eat me!? How is it that no one has said or come to do anything about this!? In the middle of two buildings inside of school property and no one has come out to see this situation!? How is this possible?? My mind racing with all sorts of questions, and my body acting out all of my frustration. I had completely forgotten that I was badly wounded, and that I had stepped on a branch from one of the trees growing nearby.

It wasn’t until Bullfrog stepped on a branch and cracked it, that I whispered oh no and turned around to see him there. I turned back to run knowing too well that I had no place to go. And he got me. He smacked me so hard I slammed to the floor. Just as he seemed to get ready for the final blow, he stopped. It seemed as if he was needing to take a phone call from someone and  he called mother-something. As he talked, I groaned as I made an effort to sit up against one of the walls. I could hear him say something about looking for some guy, and as he turned around to look at me, I thought it was all over. My eyes got filled with tears of pain and I shut them. How could my life end like this?

My next class was math. I loved math. Growing up I was taught many different languages, but in math everything was always easier. I could learn it in English and completely be in a daze as the teachers tried to teach it to me in another language. I could choose not to care, because I already knew what I had to do.

Walking towards my math class I noticed the same girls from the bus ride to school, and thought of course they would go here. This time, however, I did not see the girl they had picked on. I thought maybe she decided to go home or simply that she was in another class. As I entered my class, I looked around and sure enough there she was, I should have guessed that a girl like that wouldn’t be too far away from her so-called friends. There she was in the back, looking nervous as she tried to explain to some students that the seats they wanted were already taken. The group of students began with the usual “you can’t save seats”, and “where are their stuff if they are here?” Not wanting to get involved with another problem, I sat two seats in front of her; one of the only seats available and away from all the chaos. After the bell rang and the teacher walked in. The girls came inside a while later and told the teacher that they were in the restroom but that they were already here before the bell rang, and simply created lie after lie and excuse after excuse. The teacher, not wanting to deal with this issue much further than what it had taken, asked for their names with all seeming intents on sending them somewhere else, but as soon as she heard their names she seemed to get nervous and just told them to sit down.

Watching them walk up the rows of seats, I overheard one of the students say “so that’s her” and another student reply “yea has to be, no one else could make a teacher that nervous”. Fighting my curiosity, I took a closer look at those girls and could very well see that they were some of the more wealthier students. The main girl had on some Gucci, and Michael Korhs, but even then I knew that I had more. Not that it mattered but when in doubt I knew I could put her in her place if it ever came to it.

The group finally sat down, and the teacher began to explain the rules and expectations of the class. She concluded with “…and that’s the whole spiel”. She explained that if we started class today with a lesson that we would be able to get ahead from the rest of the other classes, something that she made very clear she wanted to do. So she picked a random person and asked if we should start today. At first I thought she chose me, but very quickly realized that she picked the girl two seats behind me. At first, her eyes filled with inspiration, then filled with nervousness as she looked around to her so-called friends. She was able to mutter that it would be great if we could get ahead.

The teacher unable to hear her very well asked her to speak louder, which the girl wasn’t able to hear because she was distracted by the mutters of her friends telling her to tell the teacher no, to start later. “Miss El…” the teacher began and was interrupted with the girl saying “no lets… lets just start on another day”. The girl looked down and seemed disappointed at herself.

Then I got up and spoke up, “no, lets start now”. The teacher asked “excuse me?” And I continued “she said that we should start today, but then her friends told her to say something else,” so I looked at them “and I agree with her first response. We should start today, its obvious you want to and she wants to and even I want to. We are in the special class for a reason, we should have the mentality of wanting to get things done as fast as possible and being the winners should be our motto.” Everyone began to get riled up, and gave their yea’s in agreement and vigor.

Once again that thought came in my head, I would no longer be invisible in this classroom. I had shown some of my colors and they caught like fire. I quickly sat down and the teacher took control and excitedly  said “then lets get started”. She proceeded by testing us with a quiz from the first chapter of our book. I finished it rather fast, and while feeling proud of myself I couldn’t help but overhear those same girls telling the thinner girl that since it was her idea to make the class start today with a lesson, then she should give them the answers. She meekly replied “but that would be cheating” and the girls insisted. Once again without thinking and without hesitation I told the girls “shut up!”. The whole class turned around and I continued “if you girls really belonged here then you wouldn’t need to cheat off of her”. I could feel their eyes grow in disbelief and the rest of the class’ eyes on me.

I quickly turned away and began to walk, but before I could take my second step I felt a pull on my arm and I turned back to face him. Because of the force of the pull and my lack of balance for being mid-step, I leaned in close and he held me tight, right there in the middle of  a group of onlooking students. I looked up once more and he looked down at me, I could see him blushing too. We separated and acted as if all was fine and the people around us continued to their classes. He asked me if I was ok, and I said yes, even though my wrist was hurting, and I began to walk backwards telling him thank you for the help and that I had to go.

So innocent that first encounter was, so full of wondrous excitement. My life now holds days like that as days that are too quiet because of the malice in this world. As I sighed and took a nice deep breath I walked across some stones that cross the grass from one side of the courtyard to the other. As I got to the middle of the pathway, a young girl hopped her way into the block I was going to step on. Our pathways leading us in contradictory ways I stopped and so did she. Quickly she asked in Spanish if I was lost. Having been taught at a very young age the importance of knowing many languages, I was able to respond in Spanish that no I wasn’t. She asked to see my schedule and before I could answer to her request she took it from my hand and looked at it.

Before I could make an attempt to take the schedule back, she grinned and gave it back to me. A bit annoyed I asked why she was smiling, and very cheerfully she replied that we had most if not all our classes right next to each other. Unintentionally rolling my eyes with a disgruntled facade, that I am sure she noticed. She looked to her side as if contemplating whether to do something or not, and then looked back at me and said if you’re going to physical education then you are going the wrong way. Not wanting to seem unappreciative, I acted surprised and said that a girl had told me that the way to PE was this way.

With an understanding look in her face, she smiled so sweetly and said lets go. I followed her and for the short few minutes that we walked together we talked. And the way in which we talked to each other felt like if we were best friends from a lifetime ago. Not wanting for things to go any further, I decided that I would not try and befriend her. I didn’t want to hurt her. For the entire class I tried to get away from her, though it did not help that she was in the same class as me, I really tried. She followed me like a lost puppy. She seemed to understand what the class was doing, so the possibility that I would need to stay near her to translate seemed fairly low. After going into the locker room to change out, she dashed towards me and asked if I would like to be friends. Right away I told her no, and as she she asked me why, I simply said that friendships were pointless. Seeing the look in her face hurt me more than any of my last attempts to avoid friendships. It moved m, it compelled me to try to explain why I thought friendships were pointless, but before I could finish she exclaimed that friendships with someone like me would be pointless. Realizing what she had said, she gave a shocked face. It was obvious that she was surprised something like that had come out of her; and slowly with a heavy heart I said, maybe it was true and walked away.

Not realizing that the bell had not rang yet, I continued walking and thought about what that girl said. But, more importantly, why it had really affected me? Was it that it was high school? A semi-prestigious school? Just this girl in general? I didn’t know, I still don’t know; but as I looked forward I saw a map of the school on the side of the building wall. This school knew that its students wouldn’t be able to maneuver through with a map at hand so they set many of them up on the walls for easy access. Mapping out my classes I now knew where to go and and continued on. Hearing that a supervisor was around the corner, I decided to stay in the bathroom until the bell rang.

Once the bell finally rang I left the girls restroom and began heading towards class. I kept getting this feeling that someone was watching me. That someone was following me, and stupidly I shrugged it off thinking it was the campus security cameras doing their thing. I never would have thought that maybe it was something much more unpredictable. And unpredictable it was.