Mark of the Dragon

Chapter One

"I thought the Dragon Mark was supposed to be a sign of great power-not great disappointment!" Natasha Bennington said, as she pushed me up against the light blue lockers that lined the school hallway. Standing at around 5 foot 11, she easily towered over me- me only being about 5 feet. Her platinum blonde hair was braided, with a light pink ribbon holding it together. Her ensemble today was a hot pink "Daddy's Little Princess" tank top with tight blue jeans, possibly a size or two too small for her, and platforms with a hot pink accent.

Her followers laughed. Suddenly, everyone dispersed and I fell to the ground. I was helped up by Principal Smith. I brushed myself off and turned around to open my locker, thanking him and glancing away. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that he had his longish brown hair in a ponytail, and he had chosen to wear casual clothes today.

"What happened, Cyzari?" he asked, concerned.

"Nothing, I just fell is all," I replied, grabbing my geometry book from my locker.

He sighed. "Are you sure? If she is picking on you, you can let us know. We will put an end to it."

You can only put an end to it when you are around. What if I decided to go to the park and she were there? Perfect opportunity for her to start it up again, only way worse. I wanted to say. "Yeah, I know. But really, Principal Smith, I'm fine. I'm just a little clumsy," I said instead, smiling up at him.

He obviously didn't believe me, but he didn't push any further. "Very well then. Have a good day Cyzari," he said, waving as he walked away.

I was happy he decided to leave it at that, and walked to my Geometry class, which was upstairs and on the other side of the school. When I walked in late, the whole class gawked at me.

The teacher, Ms. Gargoyle, was looking exceptionally mean today. She had her gray hair up in a severe bun, and was wearing some old-timey dress from a nightmare, with thick wool panty hose and black loafers. She slammed the yard stick she was holding down on her desk. "Detention Ms. Cheyenne!" she said, handing me a pink slip.

"But I-" I started to say.

"No buts- that's your third tardy this month. You know the rules. Detention tomorrow at 10 o' clock sharp. The class snickered. "Now, as I was saying-"

I quickly made my way to my seat at the back corner of the classroom, by the window. I took notes what she talked about, how to find the area of a shaded part of a circle, till the bell rang, and sprang up. The rest of the day passed quickly, and when it came time for last hour, I sped walked all the way back to my locker to put up my book and to grab something to read. I walked down the hall to the library. This was my free hour. I usually go to the library to work on homework or read. Since it is my last hour of the day, I can sometimes go home to the orphanage.

I sat down in the back of the library, where it is usually the quietest, and thought. I thought about what Natasha had said. She was right, the Dragon Mark was supposed to be a sign of great power- and even though I had the orange eyes, I had no power at all. I was as human and ordinary as the rest of the students here. Maybe my parents sensed that I would be a disappointment, so they decided to get rid of me by putting me up for adoption. That put me in a sad state of mind, so I tried to push it out of my mind and read my book.

Before I knew it, school was over and I was on my way to the orphanage. There used to be other kids, but they never stayed long. As it became evident that I would stay, Ms. Hoiten- the women who runs the orphanage- allowed me to choose a room upstairs and decorate it with my own things. The only belonging I have, however, is a small silver ring with an amethyst gem.

When I arrived, I went up to the attic, where my room was, and belly-flopped onto my bed. I didn't have any homework today, so I read some more of my book. The dinner bell rang at 5:00 and I walked downstairs to the kitchen. It was small, but very colorful, with roosters and apples decorating the walls and table.