Like Me

Slv woke to the sound of voices. He had forgotten he shared the house with two others until they started making so much noise.

He exited his room and walked to near the entrance to the hall was. For a moment, he hesitated. Finally, he decided eavesdropping couldn’t hurt that much...

Aroaw was laughing. “Yeah, sure. No way is he sweet. We must be talking about different Slvs.”

“No, really! We’ve been best friends since fifth grade! I know him, he’s really a sweetheart once you get to know him. Please, just give him another chance. You did say he apologized last night...”

“Well, he only did it because he apparently has a good reputation to keep up. By the way, is he some long lost prince or something? When we first... met... he said “Dont you know who I am?”. What did he mean by that?”

“Oh... well, let’s just say Slv has a big ego, but an even bigger bank account.”

“Oh, so he has a couple hundred thousand dollars. Big deal.” Slv wasn’t sure, but he thought he heard a bit of sadness in her voice.

“Add a couple more zeros-”

“Hey.” Slv walked in, intent on ending their talk of him.

“Slvie! How’d you sleep? Are you excited for school? Will you walk there with me?” Elio was smiling that giant grin.

Aroaw looked indifferent to the fact he was here. Well, he felt the same about her presence. “Something wrong, Aloe?” Slv said, a smirk on his face.

“Aroaw. And no, nothings wrong. Oh, except your face... and your clothes... and just you in general.” She smirked back.

Slv scoffed and took a step towards her. “You’d better watch what you’re say-“

“Hey, hey. Let’s calm down! It’s our first day of school! Oh, I have to go, sorry. Early algebra class. Don’t kill each other...” And with that, Elio abbanded Aroaw.

They stood glaring in silence for a long time. “I thought you were sorry about how you acted.” Aroaw shot.

“I thought you were too.”

“Whatever. I have to go.” Aroaw turned and walked to the door. She opened it.

“You’re going in those?” Slv asked.

Oh. She was still in her night clothes. “Sh-shut up.” Aroaw quickly shuffled to her room and slammed the door. Slv smirked again.

When she got back, Slv was gone. “Thank god I don’t have to deal with him anymore...”

Okay, first class is... English. Great.

Her nerves were building up, and butterflies fluttered in her stomach. Her very first time at a real school with real teachers and classmates... it seemed a little daunting now.

“I can do this.” She said as she stepped out the door with her backpack on. “I am not afraid.” Aroaw walked to the class blocks, repeating this to herself along the way. She reached the English class and took a seat in the back. “I am gonna be fine. Yeah, everything’s gonna be great...”

“Thanks for the pep talk.” Aroaw was startled by the person sitting next to her. It was a girl, a little older than Aroaw by her looks. She had dark brown hair and green eyes. “Really helped.”

“Oh. Yeah...” she was embarrassed someone had heard her.

“Hey, don’t be nervous, alright? You’ll be fine, just like you said. I’m Venna.”

“Oh, I’m Aroaw. Nice to meet you, and thanks. This is my first time at a real school...” she said, and smiled at the other girl.

“Nice to meet you too. Hope you have a great first day.”

Then class began. It rushed by in a blur, since her and Venna were talking the whole time.

“See ya later, Aroaw. You have my number if you need anything.” Venna smiled, and was lost in the crowd.

“See ya...” Aroaw was sad to see her go.

Her next two classes also passed quickly. She didn’t see Venna in either of them, but that was fine. She talked to plenty of other people.

Aroaw didn’t understand why her mother had always separated her from other kids. Well, she knew the reason... but no one had found out about it yet, so what was the big deal? Just because she was different (which her mother reminded her every day) didn’t mean she couldn’t live a normal life. Right?

Lunch was next. It was a forty minute period where students could go wherever they pleased, on or off campus, as long as they got back in time for the next class.

“Hey! Aroaw!” She turned around at the sound of her name. Elio was standing in the doors to the cafeteria, waving her over.

When she reached him, he gave her a hug. An actually real hug. He was surprisingly... warm, despite the winter air. Aroaw never got hot. But she couldn’t be around hot things, or be in the sun for too long, since... well, she just couldn’t.

“How’s your day been so far? Do you like Gray Sky?” Elio had pulled her down onto a chair and sat next to her. His smile was contagious, and Aroaw found herself having a good time with him again.

“It’s been great. I really like it here. So much different than homeschool...”

“You were homeschooled? Me too! My parents were really protective... they didn’t like me going out much.”

“Same here. My mom was really strict about who I hung out with, or where I went. It’s nice to have a change.”

“Yeah.”

It was silent for a moment, while both of them thought.

Then, at the same time...

“They did it for good reason though.”

“But they did it for good reason.”

Elio and Aroaw stared at each other for a moment. This was a phrase Aroaw and had thought only her mother said. Apparently she was wrong.

“Heh...”

“What was your parents reason?”

“What was your parents reason?”

“We have to stop doing that!” Elio said, and laughed a nervous laugh.

“Oh... uh, you first.” Aroaw said, eager to get the attention away from her.

“Oh, I just have a... condition... so I can’t be around cold things, or, um, water. My parents just wanted to protect me, so they kept me home. Your turn now.”

“Um, I can’t be in the sun too much, so my mom kept me away from other kids because they, uh, might judge me. Yeah.”

They stared for another moment. Something was up, both of them knew.

Then someone bumped into Aroaw from behind. She fell forward, straight into Elio. He caught her just in time. “Th-thanks.” Aroaw said, then sat back up and turned around to face the person who pushed her and teach them a lesson. But Elio was saying something. “Y-your... arms...”

Oh no... is it happening? This is what mom warned me about... Yes, it was happening. Three little veins in her arms had turned bright blue. Bluer than they should be.

“Yours too!” Aroaw shouted, then quickly covered her mouth, knowing that she should be quieter.

Elio had dark red veins.

“You’re like me.”

“You’re like me.”

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