I was able to sneak around because my aunt and uncle were irresponsible guardians. I was able to do whatever I wanted so long as I wasn’t in their way. After a few years of stealth watching everyone I thought was a good person, I quickly realized that people were bad. All people were bad. The nice girls and boys, adults, everyone had something to hide.

I witnessed so many things and often thought about how easy it would be to just get rid of all of these bad people. Saul taught me otherwise though. He said that I had a fiery inclination for justice. That burning sensation in my heart wasn’t all just anger, but passion for the right thing.

I became an expert in becoming inconspicuous at every school I went to and minded my own business. I came to believe that I was the one who didn’t want friends, I was the one that needed to be punished, I was the cause of my parents deaths, and that of my little brother. To me, even if only to me… he was someone I had lost. And now, she had lost someone too.

She blamed me, I didn’t understand why. Back then I didn’t know. Now I know why all of the abuse began again. Eventually I stopped all my lessons, not by choice. She made me hate it by getting involved. Things got worse fast because Saul was kicked out. At that time, I didn’t understand why he was just gone, I was so upset. First her baby was gone, the joy left my life, and then my lifesaver was gone. For the first time I refused their orders, I thought who cares, if I die, I die. It was the only time I ever did. Her escalation and his permissive behavior allowed it to get worse. When I gave the notion of disobedience, they nearly killed me.  Both of them… if Saul hadn’t stopped them, him… her.

I tense up and gargle some throw up, I swallow it. Holding my stomach I fall out of the thoughts in my head and sit still. I’m on my bed. Tears now flowing down my face. I had promised myself I wouldn’t go to that dark place. I hold my stomach and face tighter, and breath in slowly. I take some medicine and it lulls me to sleep.The strong medication holds true for the rest of Saturday. No dinner, no homework, no bath, I simply drift to sleep.

I wake up and I am at the cabin, I hear my brother crying. I am snapped into the moment and I rush towards him knowing the fate that will befall him. I can see him clear as day. Then the little boom, I can see it. The gas tank next to the cabin was hit by something. I can float and roam through things. This time this dream feels different.

I feel the urge to go to my brother, but its as if something is forcing me to go towards the fire. I swing my arms trying to move towards him, I see a shadow. Jumping from place to place and a sense of calm overflows me. Now, I can go see the fire. I can feel that he is going to be okay. I get to the fire. I am no longer a child, but I am standing in the fire. I can feel the soft warmth of the flames engulf me.

I can feel a merging happening, it’s like I am turning into fire and the fire is turning into me. I feel my anxiety flare and I loose control of the flames. This feels right and yet this sense of danger! My eyes open and utter the words, Jason! My eyes tear up as I run away from it all, I feel the flame behind me. It envelopes everything. The cabin, the trees…. I go to where my young self lays, as a floating apparition again, and see that I am unconscious but unharmed. I noticed the shadow from a distance, and feeling that it can sense me, I back away from my child self and hide as if I walked away. In the trees, I think to myself, ‘I can see what this thing is, or I can go search for Jason…? What should I do?’

“WaaaAAAaaahhhHHH” I turn instantaneously, and float to the noise. I turn back around and I see the figure is small, a child!?! I see him stick out his hand and then jump away to the shadows of the trees. I can see myself start to wake up. I can still hear the cries of a baby. I see my little self struggle to get up, and move towards the noise. I get close to her, I can help! I reach out to her, and she falls through my arm to the floor. Shocked I look at my hand, no…NO! I have to do something! ‘Y..You,… can,… do it. You can do it!’ I tell myself as if I’m telling her.

She crawls to the noise and reaches it. Making it there, I realize I can go further faster. When I try I am blocked. I guess I can only go as fast as her now, this must be the missing memory! I try my best to see ahead but its all blank. I hear a loud caw sound. I hear it over and over again. It wont stop.

I’m not too sure what happened after that, but things got better. I was treated like a human being. And I was put into ballet, singing lessons, I played the flute, and played soccer. Saul would encourage me to go out and try new things. I would ask my guardians and they always said yes. Then she got pregnant. And with that her sanity began to unravel, I felt for her.

When she shared the news with me, I was happy for her. I knew that a baby would bring a wonderful time to the family. At first, the news brought great joy to the house, we laughed and I was involved with helping her with anything she needed. The first few months things were great, then something changed. I guess someone found out my aunt was pregnant, she had told me to keep it a secret, so the only person I told was Saul and he would never betray my trust. I knew that she would actively try to hide it from him and get silent when he would come around her. If we would talk about her baby, she would change the conversation to include all babies. I always found it suspicious.

Actually, …wait, I remember why…

It was years later, I walked in on Saul talking on the phone, before this I didn’t even bother to think of Saul having a family or anything like friends. He was just always there for me. So when I saw him on the phone I remember thinking that it was weird and stayed by the door to hear what he was talking about to see if I could see who he was talking to. I remember him saying, “She’s pregnant again? Well, this time she can have it. Since Magenta is in good health and away from any harm,… yea, yea, she has been doing great. We don’t have to get rid of that one, we know who the right heir is now anyways…” I remember getting bored and walked away because I heard my cartoon come back on.

So then…,

I guess she hid it from Saul because if she was pregnant while I was under her care, I might die? Maybe she wanted to make her child the only heir? Why kill me though? It’s not like it was my fault for being born. So then, Saul killed her baby? Saul would never do that! Never! So then, it was her deteriorating mental state that made her loose her baby. Just like the doctor said.

When she began to plan for the arrival of her baby, she was maybe 7 months along, I remember that some people came and took everything away. From one day to the next, we went from joy to depression. No one was allowed to talk about babies or young things. I tried to stay out of her war path because the mere sight of me drove her insane. I questioned my value and saw myself as a person who was so bad. What else could I be? If she acted that way towards me, then I must have been doing something wrong. She had me so well trained to believe that.

When I first moved in, I went along with what the family routine was. I thought that I should fit into whatever their normal was. I went to the school they wanted, I did everything that they wanted. There was a fight going on over where I should live and with whom. There were some strangers who I had never met that wanted me, they wanted me so bad.

But, when the judge asked me with whom I wanted to live, I chose the only family I had. I had chosen my fate and me being in that situation made me feel like it was all my fault. I had chosen what punishment to get, for having had something to due with my parents death. When they heard that they won me, I remember their reaction was lacking. But I was just happy that the judge has chosen someone that I at least knew.

For a while things were routine, but then when I made a friend and asked to do… something, I don’t really remember what it was. My aunt got very upset and annoyed. She complained that “Well, if this is were our money is going to go now! We don’t have money for that and our vacation that we already paid half of.” I was just a bother, I quieted down and apologized.

Not soon after that, my friend moved away. Every single friend I ever made after that moment, moved away. She saw me cry after the third one and told me that it was because I was supposed to be friendless, that because I was so worthless any one who came in contact with me would get their lives ruined by first moving away. She would tell me that if I liked someone then I should just stay away, and admire who they were from a far.

I remember liking different people and they moved away. Then when I would meet someone nice, I would stay away and just quietly and sneakily watch them from far away. That’s when I noticed the evil side of all people.

 

After that day I went numb, I wouldn’t do anything, I just couldn’t…. I wouldn’t talk, or respond, it made them upset and I couldn’t care because I couldn’t feel anything. Why was I alive? Why were my parents taken from me? Why couldn’t I accept that my brother was a figment of my imagination? How could life change so much for me? Why am I surrounded by people who don’t care about me? Oh…

That’s right, because it’s my fault they’re gone. I don’t remember what happened, those memories lost since that very first day. But I do remember that I felt guilty, a guilt so heavy that even then, I knew it meant I was bad. I must have felt that way for a reason. This was my penance, and Saul more than anyone knew how bad it got. It was he who found me the day I almost died. He knew something was wrong with me and told my guardians about it, but they were fed up with the chaos that was me. They simply replied, “If you think she is sick, then you may take the motorcycle, add the companion seat, put gas in it, and take her to the hospital yourself.”

As soon as he came back to my room he put a sweater and coat on me, carried me to the motorcycle and sat me in the buddy seat. I remembered thinking ‘Why are you doing this? Just let me go, I want to see my family again.’

I remember his frantic state, and the gentleness of his care for me. I felt for him, he was acting in vain. He asked me over and over if I was okay? By the 10th time I finally grunted to sign ‘yes’. We made it to the hospital and they took care of me. I ended up getting pneumonia, and if I would have arrived any later I would have died or been mentally damaged. The doctors took Saul aside, they talked. It seemed like an agreement of some kind, and then my guardians came. The nurse asked me some questions and I couldn’t answer. I was still numb.

My aunt entered my room, and exclaimed “Oh, Magenta! You’re all right!”. She hugged me, the same way as the first time when I was being taken care of, the day of my parents death. I realized, ‘Since then? Since then you didn’t like me? Since then you didn’t want me? You are a monster.’ I looked at her with contempt. But, as soon as she looked my way I put my face down.

A police officer came in and asked the nurse, “Ma’am is the man who brought her here still on the premises? We need to ask him a few questions.” The nurse said “Yes” as she should have and walked out of the room to show him where last she saw him. My aunt let go of me and she smirked. I looked up at her, to this day I don’t know why, why she told me what she told me? Did she think I was too far gone to do something about it?

She stood up and mumbled to herself, “He messed up, finally I can get rid of him. Once he is gone I can finally do away with this burden” she faces and looks to me “and move on with our lives.” I just thought to myself ‘So this is how I finally get to die.’ Then I heard the commotion outside of the door, a mumbled voice. My aunt goes to the door and goes outside, but doesn’t close the door all the way. I hear Saul very clearly, “I didn’t kidnap Magenta! I was given permission from madam to take her to the hospital!”

I could hear the officer say, “Sir you have the right to remain silent,…” Saul made eye contact with me and calmed down. He smiled and left willingly with the officer. I felt the injustice, I realized this wasn’t my punishment, this was their cruelty. I sat there wondering ‘What should I do?…. Wait…

I want to do something? I can’t just let this happen. He didn’t lie, and cops were good people, so why did they think that Saul had kidnapped me??’ Then I remembered her comment, and realized what she had done.

I needed to do something, but what could I do. I brought my knees to my face and felt defeated. I needed to make this right. So I did the only thing I could think of, I chose to threaten my aunt to free Saul. I called for the nurse and she came in with an officer. She finished her check up, and I started to respond, answering her questions. Finally it was the cops turn to ask.

Her first question, “Did the servant Saul kidnap you?” I was shocked, I looked at her confused. Then it came to me, this is my chance! I replied “What? No! Saul didn’t kidnap me. I don’t remember if he asked for permission from me, but I was unconscious. I was sick and disoriented that I couldn’t even respond. He saved my life! Please don’t punish Saul for saving my life, when my aunt and uncle did nothing to help me.”

She then asked, “Do your guardians normally ignore you when you get sick?” I said “Yes, because they don’t want to get sick too. So they always have Saul care for me on top of everything else he does for our family. Sometimes it gets overwhelming for him…” I start to cry, realizing how much he truly cared and tried for me, “but he always makes time for me, not like them.” I respond almost hissing in anger, through my tears.

At first everything was fine, we unpacked what we brought, we made the beds, I set up my baby brother’s room. The feeling in the room was happy, joyful, and… Saul was…there? Ha. ha. ha. No. Saul isn’t there, but because of this day I really got to meet him for the first time. Then, the storm hit. Such a weird moment. Everything a blur. I remember putting my brother to sleep, I remember looking at his cute little face thinking that “I can’t wait to talk to you.” I remember feeling frightened, and hiding under my blankets. Seeing flashes of light. One right after the other. And the little rocks hitting the cabin. Then.

Then I remember feeling a sense of calmness. I walk out of bed towards the window and I see such a beautiful red and magenta to orange light coming from the woods. Next thing I knew, I was outside in front of it. A tree fallen over, embers everywhere and a fire thriving. I remember reaching out my hand, almost playing with the soft little fires. They tickled my fingers, I remember carrying one and feeling its little heartbeat. Then the boom and things go dark fast.

I wake up to my aunt crying to the officers. My uncle yelling at the officers to find him, you must find him. I get up and walk towards the commotion, I can’t see. I wipe my eyes, and when I open them I see red and blue flashes of lights. I cover my face and walk towards the cabin. An officer sees me and he yells “medic!” I get lifted and they say “what happened?” The medic starts his check up, and I try to grab her hands to make her stop, I ask again “what happened? what happened?! WHAT HAPPENED!?!?!?” almost screeching at the medic.

She walks away and comes back with my aunt. She says, “Oh, Magenta!” She hugs me. “How are you dear? Are you all right? We were both so worried about you.” She lets me go. I look to her confused. “Yes Auntie, of course I’m alright. Auntie… what happened?” She backs away, surprised. She walks away, I get up and head to the cabin. I look and look, I think ‘where is it? Where? Is? It?’ I begin to call out, “Momma! Pappa!”

Silence. Everything stops, it all goes quiet. At that moment I knew they were gone, in that moment I felt this blame on myself, I felt responsible for not being where I was supposed to be. This was all my fault. I began to cry, I stood there and I cried. I heard the officer say that they found the bodies of the mother and father only. I thought ‘…only…? ONLY??’ I run through the ashes to where my baby brother was. The fire fighters catch up to me and lift me yelling, “Wait! It’s still too hot!” I yell “But… my BABY BROTHER!”

They bring me back to my aunt and uncle. They ask my aunt and uncle “Is there also a baby that was on the premises?” They both look at each other confused and say in unison, “Baby!?” My Aunt continues, “They didn’t have a baby, we saw them just about a month ago, they didn’t have a baby.” I watched her lie, my dad talked to her everyday, how could she not know. I grew angry on the inside and yelled, “I do have a baby brother! I do!” They left me with a police officer, and they talked, and talked, and talked.

I remember feeling and thinking “I have a brother, I have a brother, I have a brother, I have a brother, I have a brother, I have a brother, I have a brother, I have a brother, I have a brother, I have a brother, I have a brother, I have a brother, I d… have a brother, I do… have a brother, I don… have a brother… I don’t have a brother?”

I ended up living with my aunt and uncle. At first I really think they tried to love me. Love me like one of their own they would tell me. Always distinguishing that I wasn’t really one of them. But after failed attempts to convince them that I did have a baby brother, they began to punish me. Maybe it felt good to them to do that to me, but what ever the reason it didn’t stop there.

After the funeral, they read my parents will. That’s when Saul came to live with us. He was our servant, he introduced himself to me. I almost spoke “I’ve met you before”, but my aunt cut me off and said “I know that so long as we care for dear Magenta, we will be able to use her parents finances to provide her the lifestyle dictated in their will. My poor sister-in-law, my poor brother-in-law, but alas here we are Saul. We accept your services as dictated by the will, but understand that if you cross us, we can always live without Magenta…”

My heads looks down, I felt such a shock, to my core. I lost all sense of myself, I felt destroyed. I lost my mom, and my dad! I felt as if I was going crazy because I remembered my brother, his scent, his little hand, and yet, he didn’t exist.

She continues “I mean without Magenta’s parent’s money. We love Magenta, but we don’t know you. We don’t live like this. My husband chose to bring her in because she is HIS brother’s daughter. Me? I have a connection with Magenta that isn’t a mother’s role, because I could never be her mother. But I care about her well-being, so I am invested in raising her as a proper young woman who knows her place. And you wont interfere with that.”

I walk through the front door and say “I’m home Saul!” No one answers. I think to myself ‘Well it is Tuesday, maybe he went shopping?’ I decide to make myself a snack, peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a glass of milk. I close the knife drawer with my hip, and a shooting pain rushes through my leg. I yelp, and start to breath in agony. I put the knife down and grab my hip. I expose my hip to find that I am bruised and its purple and green. I get reminded of the last time I had this color bruising… back when I was with my aunt and uncle. My face goes numb and I know what to do. I leave my sandwich and go get the first aide kit. I grab some Gauss and wrap my waist and hip with it. I put water on the stove to boil, get a rag and dip it in the boiling hot water and set it to slightly cool to where I could put it on my skin. It burned, it hurt, tears flowed; but I knew from past experiences that now I would be fine.

I thought back to how I got the bruise, and remembered Jorge. I feel myself blush. Then I’m reminded of Michael… the boy with the orange who fought off a monster bullfrog… who followed me today. I shake my head and realize maybe I just had an episode and that really didn’t happen? Monsters and heroes, powers? No it was too ridiculous.

I ate my PB&J, drank my milk and got ready for bed. Not 5 minutes in bed and I fall asleep.

The next day, the third day, I went invisible. No one noticed me. The girls who I had interacted with left me alone and I didn’t see Jorge. I went home, I didn’t see Saul, ate a snack, did homework and went to sleep.

The rest of the week went well, everyday that ended uneventful, I just went about my day. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. Finally Friday. I look for Saul as soon as I get home and don’t find him. I get frustrated, he hasn’t been here for me lately. But, I shrug and feel proud that I have been able to take care of myself. I decide to go out, my own personal secret.

The next morning I wake up slowly and take a deep breath. I smell nothing. I get up and change to day clothes and walk to the kitchen, expecting to see Saul; but there is no one there. I wait around for the only adult I really trust and know, Saul, the person I consider to be my father figure. The person I care about the most, where is he? I think back to the last time I saw him and realize that its been a few days… A sense of panic sets in. How could I not see it, how did this pass by me, how could I not know?! I sit in bed, stuck.

For that moment I am frozen, stuck in an seemingly endless cycle of my past memories. I feel cold, its raining. I look at my hand and its cold because I was touching the car window. We are driving to the cabin, such a happy place. I am 10 years old, we have been coming here since I could remember, as early as five.

I still remember my fifth birthday, just me, mom and dad. We lived in a neighborhood where it was nice, every one was nice to me. I loved it there. Then, all out of the blue we moved, everything changed, life changed.

We moved to a house that was smaller, dad no longer stayed with mom like he used to. Mom always said “Dad went to work darling.” While he was away, Saul would come and stay with us. Mom gave me singing lessons and I always got the songs right, sometimes even before she would teach it to me. I can still remember her happy loving face.

I wish I could remember when I first started to see Saul around, but I was just a baby. Mom and dad tried to keep a lot of old belongings away from me. But just once, I went into that room and saw Uncle Saul carrying me as a baby, smiling, holding me with my parents in the background. They looked weird but very happy.

The long drive that awful night gave me such a wonderful opportunity to really think back and solidify my memories of the really beautiful moments I had up until that point with my parents. Some big news had occurred, Mom was pregnant. She was surprised, maybe even a little appalled that she was pregnant. I remember asking her if “I was going to have a sibling?” She asked me “why?” I replied, “because momma, I want to be a big sister to a baby brother.” She looked at me and smiled sweetly, she got up and made a call as I left to play in my room. Next thing I knew we were coming to the cabin as a surprise visit.

I turn to see who it is, and its the coffee cream girl. “Why are you following me?”

I am surprised to see her and I squeak out a meek “no….no”, she squeezes my arms and says “Show me you schedule.” She lets me go to get my schedule, and shoves me towards the back as her group of friends look at my schedule.

As she is checking it, her hands clench and wrinkle my paper. She throws it to the me but it falls to the ground and I reach for it. She looks down to me and bends over to warn me “If you breath a word of what you saw in the garden, I will kick your ass.” Scared I look down and say “I-i-i wont” and she turns to the door and goes inside.

She scared me. She was mean and frightening. I never felt this scared for anyone that wasn’t my aunt and uncle. I take a minute to collect myself, I look around and nobody looks at me. I get up and I go inside. I walk in and give Mr. Bucanon my pass and he tells me to take a seat. He dims the lights and we proceed to watch a bill bye video about ecosystems and general biology terms. This class goes on with out a problem, though I feel coffee cream staring me down. I decide to ignore it, because while in the classroom I feel safe, I am safe.

The bell rings and I forget the whole ordeal. History had really taken my mind far away into the past. I wait for the students to leave, because I need to talk to Mr. Bucanon about the day before. I feel relieved that I don’t have to have a confrontation with her.

I leave his class 5 minutes later, and feel mildly depressed at the sheer volume of work that I will have to do in this class. High school is no joke. I look around and see people eating, it dawns on me; it’s lunch time. I walk and I feel like I’m being followed, I look back and sure enough there he is. Michael. I turn back around and continue to walk to the line for food. He follows. I go to sit down by myself and he follows. I move again and he follows me. I feel like I can’t even eat in front of him. I get angry.

I grab the burger and throw away the tater tots and side salad, and walk away again. Finally I stop and turn around and ask “What do you want from me?” “I needed you to be alone and secluded” he says. I realize that there is no one around me. He annoyed me until he had me where he wanted me… my face must have shown I was shocked, because then he said worriedly, “hey, hey, relax. I still just wanted to talk.”

I repeat, “What do you want from me?”

He walks towards me. And he says with every step, “please…just…stay…right…there.” He is two-steps away and he looks down to me, and with a brave face I stare him down. I will not go down without a fight, no matter what he may try to do.

We hear a teacher yell, “Go to class! The bell isn’t working! Go to class!”

Instinctively, I bite my burger and start to walk away. I past him and tell him “gotta go!” I hear him yell “hey, wait!” and then I hear him say “she’s not ready”.

I finish my burger quickly and head to Language Arts, which is a fancy word for writing/reading/speaking English. This time no issues, I go into class before it starts and I speak to my teacher regarding my absent. I take my seat and I stare at the people coming to class. Just like on the bus I start to day-dream about what their lives are like. And then I saw her.

A girl that resonated and called attention to herself in such a marvelous way. Windy. Popular Windy, the girl even I have heard about. There is just something about her that just draws attention to her. But, not me. I see her and feel nothing. I see how others react to her, and I can imagine what that feels like, but I personally don’t feel that about her. She seems like a normal, typical, average girl to me. Either way, I need to avoid her as much as possible so that I can go back to being unnoticed.

Class ends. Everything ends just like the second day of school should. I go to my last class, and it goes well. Art is, well art. I get on the bus, and it’s on time. I go home.

The class soon ends, and being on the last row I find myself waiting for those in front to leave, I feel my stomach rumble and my hand is quick to hold it in hopes that it will quiet down. I feel my face blush and I can’t believe that I feel THIS hungry. It’s a feeling that I had not felt in a very long time.

Instantly I’m reminded of my past. I think of how Saul would sneak food in for me on the days when my Auntie and Uncle would punish me, but being the “good girl” that I was, I never ate it. I took my punishment with honor and would only eat when permitted.

They controlled what I ate and when, what I did and when, and where I was and when; they were the reason why I had gained so much weight. They would starve me all day or longer and then feed me huge portions and make me finish them. Soon, all the feelings of sadness begin to flow through my heart. What monsters would deny a child food? I catch myself making an angry sad face and I force myself to smile.

It’s finally my turn to go and I make plans to go to the snack station so that I may get food. I know I have 7 minutes between classes and if I go straight there and to class I will make it. As I walk, I see Michael, waiting by the door, I roll my eyes, let out a sigh, and walk straight through not even pausing to talk to him. I am able to take a few steps before he says “Hey, red! Hold up!”

I keep walking pretending that I don’t know that he is talking to me, and then he appears in front of me so quickly that I am unable to stop and bump into him. My hands on his chest, I push him away hoping that no one saw, secretly hoping that Jorge did not see. I look around and he says “Relax, I just want to talk” as he hold his hands up in the air.

I look at him sternly and continuing to walk I say “What do you want?”

Again he walks in front of me to stop me and says, “It’s not about what I want, it’s about what you need from me” he smirks and winks at me.

Annoyed that he wont get out of my way I reply, “If its about the notes, don’t worry about it, I’m a good student and I will catch up on my own” and then I reach for his shoulder and push him aside as I check my watch. Now I must go directly to science, another class I never attended the day before. Having wasted that time on him, now I didn’t have time to go get a snack. Annoyed I realize that now I must wait for lunch. I walk away, and he doesn’t follow me, my mood darkens, I know that as time passes by, it is inevitable that I WILL get hangry. Angry VERY easily because I am hungry.

As I’m walking to science class I hear a faint whimper, I’m honestly surprised I heard it. I look around and I can’t figure out where it’s coming from. After looking around I see nothing, I stop myself and wonder ‘Whhat? If someone IS crying why is it that THIS time I care.’ I start walking towards my class again and I hear it clearer this time. I’m heading towards it and rather than take a different route, (which is what I would normally do) I feel the need to keep walking. Something is pulling me to this person.

I turn the corner and its the garden the school has for us to grow our own produce for lunch. really most students use it as a make out area. I walk through the entrance and I hear the noise coming from a… wall. I look right and then left and see no way to go in, so I stick out my hand in the shrubbery and walk forward. I am able to go inside, this wasn’t a wall. It was just vines.

Inside I see this African American girl, sitting down and crying. Before I am able to make my presence heard, I hear her say “Why ma? Why couldn’t you just be a good person..” I walk forward and trip on a vine. I catch myself and she quickly turns away and wipes her tears. She snaps at me and says “What are you doing here?”

I say “I’m sorry I was just… was wondering around and bumped into this place,… are you ok? I heard you crying and I thou…” “YES, I am fine…” She cuts me off and she grabs her stuff and walks towards me. I look down and get out of her way and feel useless. For whatever reason her sadness, got to me. She was tall and very beautiful, her skin reminded me of regular coffee with one mini cup of cream in it. Just pure and sweet. Though even in her sharpness she was still beautiful.

I stay in there, something in this place just holds me here, I stop feeling my breath and stop feeling my hands. I go numb and feel weak. I wobble, something in here is holding me there and I feel myself struggle to leave. Slowly I take steps to get out and even though I am struggling I feel that I’m doing okay, it’s hard but I’m getting away. I finally get out and the bell rings. I am able to run to my next class just as he is about to close the door. I am supposed to be in my science class, with Mr. Bucanon, but I see a woman inside. Maybe a substitute? I ask if this is Mr. Bucanon’s class and she replies that the change was made yesterday, his class would be in room 1201 not 1102. So I calmly ask her for a pass, explaining to her that I was not able to attend class the day before and I go. As I’m about to go inside my actual class, a hand grabs my hand and yanks me to the left.

I think to myself ‘why is it that people keep grabbing me?!’

As he walked away, I positioned myself in bed and leaned back into my pillows and looked out my window. My lights turned off, thinking it was him, I didn’t even turn around and I said thank you, and fell asleep. I woke up the next morning to the sound of my alarm clock. It read 9/28/04 7:30am, quickly and annoyed I push the button with my hand to stop the sound and I turned my head back into my pillow. Then after a second, I look at the clock again and dart out of bed.

I think to myself, ‘I’m late! I cant believe that I’m late.’ I yell, “Saul!” as I’m getting ready, “Saul! Please get the car ready!!” No response, I quickly justify his lack of response thinking ‘maybe he went shopping?’ I finish getting ready and run out of my room. As I run out the front door I notice that the car keys are still hanging. Closing the door I think, ‘he’s probably out in the back.’ I check the time, its 7:34am and run to the bus station.

After a long hour and forty-five minute commute due to traffic, I get to school at 9:36am and go straight to the office. At the attendance window the clerk tells me, “You do know that school starts at 7:50am, Miss Levine?” I respond “Yes, ma’am. It wont happen again.” Another one of my biggest lies ever told.

I get a late pass and report to 3rd period. The first class I never attended the day before. I let out a huge sigh and hurry my speed to head towards my class. I take a deep breath before going inside, straighten my hair, fix my skirt and then I walk inside. “Mrs. Tronug?”

As she responds “Yes?” I look around and before I am able to speak, I see him. I feel my face petrified. Its him! ‘Omg! I cant believe it’s the guy with the orange!’ Just as I finish my thought he turns to me as if he heard something and rolled his eyes. As I force myself to turn to the teacher, I hear a pshht, and I turn to see who called me. Confused I look around and make eye contact with whom I thought I heard the sound from. My eyes jump from face to face and then I get to him. He looks at me and for the first time we lock eyes, and it’s as if my body is possessed. I feel a shiver and an overwhelming feeling, like if now at this moment I know that I know him, even though I just met him.

I snap out of the eye lock as my teacher frustratingly says “Miss Levine!?” I snap my gaze to her and say “Oh, I’m sorry. Yes?” She proceeds and tells me to take a seat all the way on the right.

I take my seat and she continues with the history lesson. As I write the notes down, I hear mumbling and yet I know I don’t actually hear it, then Mrs. Tronug is suddenly reminded that I was the only one not here the day before and stops class and says, “Now hopefully you will be joining us every day Miss Levine because absences like that of yesterday will count very badly towards you. Make sure you get the notes from a fellow student otherwise you will fall behind and fail.”

I look down almost discouraged at the fact that I was scolded, in front of class, this had never happened to me. I always tried to make sure that I was invisible to my fellow students and my teachers. And it worked so well, that most teachers would ask “Who is Magenta?”

As she turned around I hear a loud voice from behind me say “Don’t worry Miss Tronug, I got her” I turn around and see orange guy as he raises what seem to be the notes from yesterday. She ignores him and I stay looking at him.

Of course it would be orange guy, I get irritated, ‘I know who you are’ I think to myself ‘And I wont fall to this trick of yours.’ I quickly respond to him “It’s ok, I’ll ask someone else to let me borrow them.”

I turn around and continue to write the notes down. As class continues a girl seating behind me nudges me and hands me a folded paper. I open it, and sure enough its from him. On the paper it says:

“Hi, I’m Michael. You don’t have to act all mighty just because you think you know who I am! I was just trying to help and you never even said thank you to me for saving your insignificant life. I didn’t have to show you my powers, I could have walked away.

Don’t even bother asking anyone else for the notes, because Mrs. Tronug made it very clear that anyone who helped you, would get homework points taken away. And I’m guessing that no one else in this preppy school would want that.

So meet me after school to get the notes. I know you will find it very interesting because I’m going to have to show you about proper manners.”

I sit there thinking that it is true, he did save my life. And then I felt angry, how dare he say I’m insignificant!? He didn’t have to!? Having those powers means it is his rightful duty to save another persons life! How arrogant and an ass he is, I will NOT meet him. I can’t believe there are guys like him that go here. He is nothing like Jorge!