Sandabury Academy

My Little Secret

For the longest time now I've been having this reoccurring dream that I can't explain. In this dream I'm a little squirt who can barely walk and I'm dressed up in this frilly, yellow dress stumbling around a bunch of plastic white tables. I guess it's some sort of party because the next thing I know I'm trying to avoid being trampled on by fancy shoes attached to what seem to be the legs of giants. When I finally manage to break free of the danger zone, I find myself on the edge of a forest with trees so big it put what I had previously thought to be giants to shame.

I must have been feeling adventurous because I only pause for a second before clambering over a tree trunk and dodging the next. Eventually, after delving deeper into the forest, I recall coming across a totally random fallen log in the middle of a small clearing. I jump onto it and act as though it's a tightrope as I make my way to the other side.

Halfway through I hear a low growl to my right, making me whip my body in that direction so fast I lose my balance and fall over the left side of the log. Luckily the drop was only half my toddler self's height so it didn't hurt too bad. The only problem was I had caught a glimpse of large yellow-brown eyes glaring out from a bush in the direction the growl came from right before I fell flat onto my back. This, of course, made me burst into tears, the only thing I knew how to do best besides get myself into trouble.

I wail and wail until a faint sniffing noise can be heard from the left end of the log. This shuts me up instantly, paralyzingly me with fear. This fear doesn't last long though because out pops the fuzziest looking baby wolf from the other side of the log. My tears dry in seconds and all my previous worries are forgotten as I struggle to get in a standing position so I can go and pet the woofy. It cocks its head to the side as I make my way over to it, raising its head to sniff me.

Once I'm right in front of its face, I plop down on my rear end like a pro and wrap my arms around it, stuffing my face into its fur. Then suddenly two more of the woofy's furry friends show up out of the bushes to check me out. There's not much to see considering I'm covered in dead leaves from my free fall to the ground minutes earlier, but they seem fascinated nonetheless.

After about 10 minutes of playing with my new friends, a sharp howl breaks the silence and I am wracked with fear once again. The two baby wolves that had joined in after the first take off running in the direction the howl came from while the first one looks straight at me with its deep, ocean blue eyes.

The dream always ends with the background quickly fading into black until all that's left are those eyes staring at me followed by a male voice whispering my name as if he's inches from my ear.

Valerie.

"Valerie."

"Nnnnnnnnn..."

"Valerie."

"Unnn, five more minutes..."

"Valerie, if you don't get your big butt out of this bed in the next 10 seconds I'm going to light it on fire. "

My eyes shoot open and I immediately whip the sheets off, tossing them over my roommate's head. I quickly side step behind her while she struggles to get the sheets off and I tie them in a knot behind her back.

"VALERIE!" She shouts rather loudly.

"Who did you say had a big butt?" I whisper coolly into what I presume to be her ear under the sheets. The next thing I know my roommate's hands burst into flames, causing the sheets to ignite and run up her arms. I make myself comfortable laying on my stomach on my bed as I watch the remains of my sheets turn to ash and fall to the floor.

"What the hell was that for?" She asks, crossing her arms.

"You know how much I hate being woken up, you had it coming," I reply matter-of-factually.

"Well you didn't have to tie me up!" She exclaims while walking over to the window.

"And you could have simply asked me nicely to untie you instead of burning through my sheets again. How many sets is that now? Three? I think you owe-." I don't get a chance to finish my sentence before the curtains are ripped open, letting the first beams of the morning sun rain into our tiny dorm. I instinctively flinch, causing my roommate to crack a sly grin.

"You were saying?" She prompts with a knowing look on her face.

"Why oh why did I agree to have a bed sheets hating fire elemental as my roommate?" I say, dramatically looking up for effect.

"Because no one else was willing to risk having a blood sucker in their room at night. Besides, we both know my fiery blood is too hot for you."

Yes, that's right, I'm a vampire with a fire elemental for a roommate.