‎Laura didn't like the idea of going to a new school. She'd already been kicked out of 4 schools. She'd begged her brother to let her be homeschooled, but he wasn't planning to let her off the hook that easily. He'd already explained that he hoped having an educational social life would help her deal with her rage outbursts and rebellious nature. "School helps build character" - the words of her brother echoed through her head as she got out of bed. The sun rays coming through energized her a bit, but didn't remove the urge to drown herself in the bed covers.

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‎With a lot of mental effort, she sluggishly rolled off the bed onto the floor. After a while of interior struggling, she got off the floor and headed to the bathroom. The cold water managed to jolt her awake. She wore a grey T-shirt that had the words Die Hard written in red with a cracked skull in the background. She wore grey jeans and white sneakers. She tied her honey blonde hair into a ponytail, threw her leather bag over one shoulder, and walked out her room, stomping her feet on the ground with each step, obviously to show annoyance, though the smell of pancakes cooled down her mood.

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‎The living room was a large square, a transparent glass centre table with black painted flower designs was in the middle of three red couches, the longest facing the front wall aligning with the front door, the two other couches were at the two sides of the long one, facing each other. The couch on the left side was about two sits longer than the one on the right. A brown wool rug with a lion design was directly under the table. On the wall opposite the door were three large pictures with a twelve-year-old Laura with her brother, seventeen in the picture. He also had golden blonde hair; in fact, he looked like the masculine male version of Laura with an athletic build. The main difference were their eyes. Laura had glowing red, whereas her brother had glowing blue, though now Laura had brown contact lenses on.

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‎"Marcus!" Laura called to her brother in the kitchen. He was already sitting down, his plate behind his laptop. He leaned into the laptop screen as if his very life depended on whatever he was doing. "Ready for school?" he asked, turning his head a little just to catch a glimpse of her, offering a warm and genuine smile and quickly focusing on his work. "I could tell from the stomping that you're still pissed about going to a new school" Laura sat down on the chair opposite him and stabbed a fork into three of the six pancakes at once as if they were school bullies she didn't like. She munched on them and continued glaring at Marcus as if trying to burn a hole through his head. His eyes no longer had that otherworldly glow but were still as blue as ever, just bright enough to look human.

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‎"I can feel you staring at me. Careful, I don't want my laptop to explode" He said with such seriousness it seemed she could actually make the laptop explode. "Why can't I just be homeschooled? You have the money" Laura said in a whining voice which didn't really suit her "Everyone needs to have a social yet educative experience, Laura" "I don't need it!" "Yes you do" "I'm not even like them. I'm not their typical normal human" "Neither am I, and yet I still know how to fit in"

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‎Laura couldn't argue with him on that part. She couldn't use the excuse of being different since her brother had adapted. If you looked through that point of view, then the problem stemmed from her, but she wouldn't admit that that's what she secretly thought.

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‎She ate her remaining pancakes and without saying goodbye, closed the door behind her.

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‎Laura didn't need to ride her bicycle to get to school on time. She'd even be faster on foot but then that would cause the rising of unwanted questions. She turned into a forest. This was the shortest way to Dairy Academy. She'd already been in the school two days so she'd already found a shortcut.

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‎She passed an old looking mansion which looked like it should be abandoned but apparently a rich family lived in it. But that wasn't what was on her mind right now. She'd said nothing to Marcus before leaving because she felt guilty, not that she'd admit it. She'd caused a lot of trouble for him lately and it didn't make her feel good about herself but at the same time she blamed it on the fact that he wouldn't listen.

‎"Maybe you were a little too hard on him. No! He should try putting himself in your shoes for a change! But if he adapted, why can't you. We clearly aren't even the same. Maybe he's lucky it was so easy for him but that doesn't mean it'll be the same for me!"

‎Laura kept on arguing with herself in her head as if she had split personalities.

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‎She was so lost in thought she didn't notice she was  about to run into someone with her bike. She noticed the guy in front of her just in time to jump off her bike. She rolled on the ground and bumped her head on a tree stump. She heard her bike crash but when she looked up she realized her bike had crashed into a tree that was supposed to be behind the guy who seemed to have just disappeared. Laura could have sworn she was about to ram somebody.

‎"You alright"

‎She heard a guys voice above her and looked up. He had snowy white hair, blue eyes that almost looked like they had lightning in them. He wore an expensive looking grey sweater and black jeans. He had a black crossbag on and Laura noticed he had two dot earrings on his left ear, one gold, one silver. He had a genuine smile, an extended arm and good looks like a hot movie star. Laura guessed he was 16, around her age. Then the thought came in

‎"No normal person who bumped their head on a tree would get up fine with no form of pain or discomfort"

‎She quickly put on the act. She held the back of her head and tried to put on the best "I'm in pain" face she could muster.

‎"Ow, yeah. Just bumped my head a little. No biggie"

‎She said, grabbing his hand so he could lift her up. Not many people could easily lift her body weight so she was shocked when this guy dragged her up with such ease she almost lost her footing.

‎"Wow. Your strong"

‎Laura said. The guy laughed. He tried to remove his hand but Laura gripped him tight. She felt something. An aura she couldn't quite get. It was similar to what she felt when holding her brother but still different.

‎"Ha, you also have a strong grip, don't you"

‎The boy said, smiling slightly. Laura quickly let go.

‎"Sorry"

‎"No problem. Where are you going driving so fast?"

‎"Heading to school"

‎"Dairy Academy?"

‎"Yeah, how did you-"

‎"I have a friend who lives nearby so I see the school when coming and going"

‎"Ah"

‎"Name's Aurelio, by the way"

‎Laura was a little caught off guard. She didn't think they'd exchange names after this accidental meeting

‎"Spanish?"

‎Laura asked.

‎"Yeah"

‎"The name's Laura"

‎Two of them stared at each other for a while before Laura spoke up

‎"Well I have to leave or I'll be late"

‎"Sure. See you around"

‎Laura got her bike up and rowed away.

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‎As Laura rowed further she couldn't shake the thought off her head that Aurelio was like her. Different, abnormal.

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‎Aurelio had sensed something different about Laura. She obviously wasn't normal. No normal person could slam their head so hard against a tree and walk away unharmed. He was still lost in thought when he heard a girls voice call him from behind.

‎"Yo Aurelio, is she your girlfriend or something?"

‎The girl had long red hair, a dark complexion and brown eyes. She wore a black long sleeve crop top and black joggers with grey Crocks. She wore a golden chain necklace that had a red gem at the end. She carried a leather crossbag on her shoulder and had a serious expression on her face.

‎"Why do you ask? Jealous?"

‎The girl grinned a little as if it were a cute thought then giggled.

‎"Perhaps in the next decade if you prove useful to me"

‎She said smiling like someone who hadn't slept for days. Aurelio looked at his friend as if it were the first time he'd met her. For the most part she looked normal but her eyes looked like that of a mad person.

‎"C'mon. Don't wanna make me late on my first day now do you, Frida?"

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‎Aurelio and Frida walked into the school compound. People stared at Aurelio as if he were some movie star but quickly looked away and cleared off when they saw Frida who was grinning as if she was in another world even as she walked.

‎"Lost in her own madness, again"

‎Aurelio thought as he glanced at her then at the students. He smiled a little.

‎"I guessed as much"

‎Aurelio mumbled to himself. Aurelio and Frida had been childhood friends. Their families, both rich, were very fond of each other even before their grandparents generation, though their line of business was very different. His family was into Biotech while Frida's was into Security and Surveillance. He never really got how their family met so far back with entirely different career focuses but he was happy they did. Frida was his best friend. Despite her psychotic tendencies and her family's weird and creepy habits they were a rather charming family.

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‎After meeting with the principal and Frida showing him the way to class he decided to do a quick stop at the restroom. He looked into the mirror for a few seconds before his blue eyes sparked with blue electricity. He blinked twice and the sparks disappeared. Suddenly he heard a guys voice just at the entrance of the restroom

‎"Hey, hey, hey. This is the boys restroom!"

‎The guys deep voice said

‎"Yeah, this is a whole new low, even for you"

‎Another male voice said. Then Aurelio heard a crack and the first guy scream in pain followed by Frida's voice

‎"Get out, on less you guys want more than your nose broken"

‎Aurelio heard feet clamoring out the restroom. Then Frida came in, a concerned look on her face

‎"Your eyes are doing it again?"

‎She asked, a little concerned. Aurelio didn't look up from the window. He was still watching in case it happened again. Frida laughed a little and dragged him away from the mirror.

‎"Quit worrying so much. Even if it happens, barely anyone would notice"

‎She put on such a nice smile that Aurelio felt safe with her. He remembered why his family had warmed to Frida's. They were the only humans who'd accepted them even though they were a family of Umbra. Maybe it was because Frida's family wasn't that normal either, despite being human but Aurelio didn't care about all that. All he cared was that he had a friend he'd do anything to protect. They walked to class and stopped a few feet away from the door. Frida patted him on the back, gave him a thumbs up and went in leaving him outside.

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