Starlight Dream

Chapter 53

"I'm leaving for school!" Seina said, throwing on her backpack. As usual, she'd overslept, and only scant minutes remained until school started.

"You forgot your homework, Seina!" Colten whispered, hovering down to deliver a handful of pages to her. He was always careful to keep quiet, so the others in the household didn't learn of his existence. Her mom would freak out if she discovered Seina harbored an alien visitor from another universe!

"Sorry," Seina said, stuffing them into her backpack. She looked at the clock on her dresser and winced. This delay had cost her precious seconds. Mr. Kiyojiro was going to kill her for being late again.

"Goodness gracious, Seina, what would you do without me?" Colten said, jumping into her open pack.

"Not much," Seina said, laughing. It still seemed like a dream when her fairy partner came into her life. A nightmarish monster had appeared to terrorize the town. Thanks to Colten's timely intervention, no one had gotten hurt. His fairy powers had given her the magical might to fight that creature. Who would have guessed a simple girl like Seina would become a hero?

"Sorry, mom. No time for breakfast!" Seina said as she sped past, grabbing a piece of waiting toast.

"Have a good time at school, dear." Her mom said, graciously accepting Seina's quick peek on the cheek.

"Have fun now!" Her father said, beaming as he sipped his coffee behind his paper.

"Be good, Seiko!" Seina said to the baby sitting in her high chair. Her sister garbled something back, waving her stubby arms as if to say goodbye.

"Ugh, I hate running. I'm not going to make it!" Seina said through the toast clenched in her teeth. No, Seina was a magical girl now. That meant nothing was impossible to her. She would make it to school with plenty of time to spare!

"Sorry!" Seina said, almost colliding with a middle-aged man in her haste. With effort, she pushed her breakfast down her throat.

After another near head-on collision, Seina reached the front gate, gasping for breath. "Thank goodness." Her heart was beating so fast that Seina feared it might beat out from her chest.

"Oh, you made it?" A sardonic voice said.

"Don't you start," Seina said past gasping breaths. "Morning, Takako."

"You know, Seina, with speed like that, you should join the track team," Aiko said, smiling.

"No, thank you." Seina rolled her eyes. She'd already gotten enough guff from their homeroom teacher, Mr. Kiyojiro, about joining a sports team.

"Anyway, we better get to class before Mr. Kiyojiro yells at us." She knew the punishment for their home teacher's displeasure. He'd make them stand outside holding water buckets for the entire class.

"Good morning." A voice said, joining them inside.

"Morning, Himari," Seina replied.

"Did you hear about the monster attack last Sunday?" Himari asked. "It attacked Ebisubashi-suji, apparently."

"Can't say I have," Seina gave a nervous laugh. How could she forget when the monster almost killed her with a tossed subway train? Only Colten's quick intervention saved her from getting smooshed. She'd been careless, and it almost cost her. The memory caused her mouth to rise in a slight smile, glad for Colten's timely rescue.

"Damn monster attacks," Takako said, scowling. "I used that subway to get to my favorite mange café!"

"I'm sure you can find another one," Aiko said, laughing.