Something's Wrong With the Different Realms

Twenty-One: That Strange Creature

Harry Silvio

Why doesn't she let me talk to her? I think to myself as I tap my pencil against my worksheet in math class. If she just lets me talk to her then I can explain everything and... well, she'll probably still be mad at me but at least she'll see that I have a reason to be doing what I did.

"Can you stop that?" one of my classmates asked, snapping me out of my daze, "it's kind of distracting."

"Sorry," I mumbled as I put my pencil at the top of my desk and turned to face the window.

I guess, if it was any consolation, Allaira just said that she needed more time to process what I did to her. I understand that it's not every day that someone spills our most trusted secret. If I were her, I would be mad at myself too. So... maybe all I had to do was to wait for a while and wait for Allaira to cool down, then I could try to talk to her again.

I raised my hand tentatively, all this thinking was giving me a headache. "Can I um... go to bathroom?" I asked when the teacher called my name.

The teacher gave me a bathroom pass and I quickly got out of my seat. I made my way around the hallways, I decided to go to the bathroom near the cafeteria because it was the furthest away and I needed a bit of a walk. Usually, I'd just go to the bathroom across the hall from me. It was a good thing my teacher didn't care about students who took super long bathroom breaks. Some people spent half the period in the bathroom doing something called vaping and the teacher didn't bat an eyelash when they returned.

Walking through the school hallways was a weird feeling. At this time, they were empty and desolate except for a few students skipping class or getting something from their locker. I glanced around, there was a student with pink headphones and blonde hair that passed me and another student who wore a black hoodie that had just disappeared across the hall.

I didn't need to go to the bathroom so I just took another lap around the school, pausing now and then to gaze at something out of boredom.

I was just turning the corner when I saw someone familiar. They were probably a classmate in one of my other classes. I started walking toward them to say a brief hello when they whipped their head around. I paused in my tracks and took in their dark brown hair with red streaks, red-brown eyes, and rosy dark skin tone. It was the person that Allaira had spotted the day she'd fallen and convulsed in pain; that day we visited the store.

I backed up against a locker, feeling like I'd done something wrong just by staring at them. Allaira had believed that they were the creature that she'd seen that day at the Zenobian festival. She believed that they were other-realmly like us. She wanted to talk to them but couldn't because she'd fallen to the floor and convulsed in pain.

I wasn't sure if I believed her. For all I knew, they were a regular student here whose features just reminded her of that creature that she'd seen. So I scooted closer to them to get a better look. When I did, their features morphed, their brown eyes switched to a bright cerise glint, their hair became magenta and their skin became more salmon for a split second before their features returned to normal.

Allaira wasn't lying then.

Just as I leaned in to get another look, they picked up their cellular device from their pocket and started walking. In a few seconds, they had disappeared from my line of vision.

But the thing was, if they were a student here, then why hadn't I noticed them before? I probably would've seen them around the cafeteria or the hallways somewhere. Perhaps it was just a matter of luck and me not paying attention. Though now that I knew that they were a student here, I decided to pay more attention. I could probably talk to them the next time I saw them lingering around the school. I could probably get some information from them.

For now, I should probably return to my math class. Despite my better judgment, I still cared about school. Yes, even though it was Earthen school, I still loved learning and I didn't want to miss the entire lesson.

During my creative writing class, there was an unbreakable tension between our group. Isla and Jasper could barely even glance at each other. I thought only Allaira and I had some sort of a fight but I guess I was wrong.

I kept glancing at the clock during the entire class and I could barely get a paragraph out, partly because Allaira wouldn't help me with my English writing because she was mad at me, and partly because of the recent tension that had occurred between everyone in our group.

I was glad when the bell rang. I was glad that I didn't have to sit next to Allaira, Isla or Jasper for another minute. Otherwise, I'd become more stressed than I already was.

Instead of heading to the café or hanging out with Allaira, I decided to head to the trails near the bridge behind the school and practice my photography. That was what they called capturing light on Earth. I had lost touch with my photography so it'd be nice to try to get some practice in.

Earthen photography was much different than Elven photography. In some ways, it was easier. In other ways, it was more difficult. For one, Earthen photography required less energy because all you had to do was click a button and a photo would appear. However, it was more difficult to take better quality images with Earthen photography. Most of the photos that I clicked on my phone appeared blurry or too crowded or too overexposed or just looked bad in general.

Recently, I'd started using Fleur's old camera to take photos that were slightly better quality. Fleur's camera also allowed you to zoom in more so that it was easier to take photos of faraway objects. That was what I was using to practice my photography today.

I steadied my hands as I clicked open the camera, then adjusted the settings before pointing the lens at a red cardinal perched atop a nearby tree. I zoomed in, focused, and clicked the button in rapid succession. Success!

I clicked my camera off and started wandering around, taking a few pictures of anything that caught my interest. A squirrel, a few plants, the river, the bridge, the park bench.

I started heading towards the trail when I caught sight of familiar brown hair with reddish undertones. Please don't be Jasper, I thought. It wasn't Jasper, it was that other-realmly creature.

As soon as I saw them, they disappeared into the trail. I took note of the time, it was getting late so even if I'd caught them, I probably wouldn't have the time to talk to them.

These past days have been awkward, I thought as I circled the cafeteria. Allaira was avoiding me, Jasper and Isla needed time to process things and they weren't on good terms either so the tension between everyone in our writing group had peaked at an all-time high.

I wondered if Allaira would ever forgive me. I'd betrayed her trust, I knew that, but I thought that she would start talking to me by now. A few days had passed and she still couldn't spare me a second glance. I knew she probably just needed more time to process everything but I was getting impatient!

But mostly, I was crushed by the realization that I had no one to talk to and hang out with now. When I was forced to Earth, I'd lost my family and now I lost Allaira as well and now I truly had no one. I was truly saddened and only.

I felt lightheaded and dizzy at that realization, so I stumbled to the nearest wall, pressed myself against it and just let myself crumble and cry in the school hallways. I gave myself some time to process everything that's happened as well. I allowed myself to think about the pain, about the realization that Cassie was the one controlling our pain to manipulate us, about being forced to tell Isla and Jasper and about facing the consequences of someone else's actions.

When I poked my head up from its clutch in my arms, I spotted the other-realmly creature. Maybe there was a light in the darkness after all! I jumped up from my position and dried the last of my tears and walked toward them. I reckon that they didn't know everything but they probably had some answers so that was something.

When they spotted me making my way toward them, they widened their brown eyes in surprise. Then, they walked faster, trying to get away from me. Why were they walking away from me? I wasn't trying to stalk or murder them? Maybe they were just surprised.

I tried to catch up to them again but this time, when they saw me speed walking towards them, they broke into a run.