Topaz and Citrine

Chapter 4

School. My panicked mind could not escape the dreaded thought. School. The very word reeked of misconceptions and ill fated days of terror. Was I being dramatic? Maybe. But in my mind, there was no worse torture than going to a wonderful place of reading and learning, and wasting time there socializing and demoralizing.

My first day outfit was simple. A dark purple shirt, a pair of dark jean shorts, blue sneakers, and my hair in a ponytail. I didn't really care what people thought. It was one of the advantages of being me.

Now it was time to test my fate.

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Finally! I had made it to 3rd period without more than a few minor teasings. Next period was lunch. Oh how I dreaded lunch. I would sit with nobody, or some teacher would make somebody let me in, and it would be awkward the entire period. But no matter. I would have to stomach it.

The lunchroom was loud. It was to be expected. Throw the entire grade of snotty 8th graders in one room and what do you get? Noise, confusion, bullying, and havoc. My only wish? That I could eat with Rin. But no, her grade ate separately. Ah well. I scoured the room for the rebels, the misfits, or the drama kids. What I found was nothing like that.

The tables farthest from supervision held the black people. They danced, sang, and swore. I even saw a couple making out in the corner. The next section of people held the rowdy latinos. They wore crop tops and sweat pants, a combination that i found revolting. They were much the same. Then there were the quiet latinos. They were made up of those shy little latin girls that always sit in the back of class, and the smaller boys.

And then there were the white kids. Some tried to be rowdy, but it was different from the others. They were more annoying then troublemakers. Then there were the white girls. Here were the dreaded cliques. Here were the people that scorned other races. Here was the race that I, unfortunately, belonged to. They were sitting closest to the "supervision."

Suddenly, a lady I had taken to be part of the taller girl groups, went over to scold some latinos. A black kid tried to catch her attention, with little success. Was THIS the lunchroom? No groups other than by race? No cliques outside of the white kids? I was astounded.

A group of quieter white kids beckoned me closer. I sat with them for the remainder of the period, still not quite believing the lunchroom order.

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I got home with a load of make up homework. I had managed to get some of it done on the bus, but the majority remained. I was sitting at the small kitchen counter when Felix stormed in. Literally. A swirling current of air seemed to follow him whenever he moved. His eyes were cloudy gray, the same as the cumulonimbus clouds we had looked at in science.

"Cristen!!" he bellowed, with a voice like thunder. Our mother, wide eyed, came tripping down the stairs.

"Oh my goodness," she whispered.

"Why don't you explain to me," he said dangerously slowly, "all of this?" he gestured to himself and the wind. With his gesture though, came a fresh gust of wind.

"How did it happen so fast?" she murmured.

"What is happening to me?" he sounded frantic.

"Hey guys!" Rin called, bursting in the door with Luke. Her eyes widened at the confrontation, and they came and stood next to me. Unbeknownst to me, Ivy had crept down the stairs behind me, listening in.

Cristen's eyes were teary. "I didn't know it would happen so soon," she said, barely loud enough to hear.

"What is happening to me?! I need an answer! You ruined my chance with Chelsey with your secrets! I demand an explanation," he yelled, towering over her.

"Why don't you tell me what happened, and I'll tell you why?" she said in a futile attempt to calm him.

"I was at the water fountain," he started grudgingly, "and this beautiful girl came up. I introduced myself and told her I was new. She said her name was Chelsey." He seemed to be lost in 'pretty girl land' as Amber and I called it. But then his voice hardened. "But then, just as I was about to do the hair sweep (one of my signature moves) a gust of air blows her back down the hallway! I was confused. Where did that come from? But then she stared at me like I was some sort of monster and ran away. Then I realized it had come from me." His voice trailed off into silence.

"Alright," Cristen sighed, "the truth is painful, and I'm sorry it had to happen this way. I'm not sure how to make this any easier, so I'll start with the logical and make my way into the improbable. You all are adopted." She announced. We stared at each other in shocked silence.

So guys, I'm not trying to be racist, AT ALL. But when I moved from one place to another, (not saying where, although I will say I did not move to Utah or California) this was how it was. It was kinda astonishing, which is why I included it.