The Dragonier

Chapter 1

          The room was particularly quiet, especially for a quiz, which made it even more boring for Magmira, being the first one done all the time. So what better way to ease the boredom than by torturing her friend. 
          "Twenty two. Eighty seven. Square root of pi."
          Drake slowly turned his head, glaring at her. Really? He mouthed. Magmira just smiled, acting totally innocent. Once Drake turned back to his math quiz, though, she started telepathically bombarding him with more random numbers. 
          "Fifty seven. 360 degrees. You know, this doesn't really screw up normal people. You must be a special kind of stupid. Seventy six". 
          Once again Drake stopped and glared at her, mouthing various insults and threats in an attempt to silence his brain. Magmira pulled out her puppy eyes and drew a small halo over her head. Drake retorted by creating small horns on the sides of his. 
          By now, Jessi had noticed the silent mayhem and tried to intervene by drawing a line across her neck at both of them. They both replied by pointing at one another accusingly.
          They all stopped, however, when Mr. Felix walked up in front of their desks, just looking at them. He didn't even try for an explanation as it usually resulted in a headache for him. He just got his silence and moved along.
          The last quiz was put on Mr. Felix' desk about fifteen minutes before class was out. After that, the classroom erupted into a swelling sea of gossip, popularity and raging hormones. From anywhere in that room you could here a dozen different tales of who's cheating who and so-and-so totally did this with so-and-so. But, every other class was the same, especially at the end of seventh period. It was high school after all. 
          The first thing Drake did, however, was not gossip (which the girls had promptly engaged upon). He sought revenge against Magmira by no other method than flinging a pencil at the back of her head. It struck home quite solidly, then clattered to the floor. Magmira never flinched, knowing that showing any sign of weakness would only strengthen his attitude. Instead, she filled his head with the lovely image of him burning alone in some long forgotten ditch by the side of an old road. 
          "Haha, Magmira. You're so clever. Not that I haven't seen that image a hundred times before. Although, I have to admit, the buzzards circling overhead was a good touch. The new details each time make it better and better. Maybe even slightly convincing. " Drake sauntered over to Jessi's desk, sitting on the edge to join in with their conversation. 
          "Really? I'm so glad you enjoyed it. What should I add next? Some spikes, maybe a couple spiders? How about a demon or two?" Magmira smiled lovingly at him, then turned back to Jessi. "So, anyways, after she said that, Carlos was, like, all up in arms. He even got up and was yelling at her. See, in my opinion, if you want someone to treat you right, and you want support for your case, you don't stand up and make a fool of yourself. You have to just turn the other cheek. That's what gets followers." Jessi nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly. But Drake had to add in his two cents. 
          "Or you could just get a social media account. I heard getting followers on those are easy. All you have to do is say 'swag' and 'YOLO' a lot. Simple enough, if you ask me. Also, usually, the people with the most followers nowadays are the ones who treat others the worst." 
          "Tell me about it." Magmira sighed. "How I'd love to go back to the good old days, where people were actually smart." 
          "What do you know about the good old days? You're too young to even remember the O.J. Simpson trials." Commented Mr. Felix, his balding head glistening in the electric lights above.
          "I know more than you think, sir." Magmira replied. Jessi and Drake chuckled at this, an inside joke that they knew Mr. Felix would never know, let alone believe. 
          "What in tarnations is that supposed to mean?" He was such an easy teacher to confuse. His years of learning all sorts of mathematical equations, proofs and ridiculousness had rendered his English skills a little more rusty than most. 
          "We'll just leave it at the fact that I'm a bit of an 'old soul'." Magmira smiled at him, and quickly turned back to her friends, leaving Mr. Felix to ponder. He shortly gave up, deciding to merely chalk the answer up to teenage insanity.
          "So, how did class with Robin go today?" Drake asked Jessi. 
          "Oh, it was horrible! She wouldn't get off my back. She just made a complete fool of herself by trying to prove everything I said wrong. But it's history! I love history. I'm never wrong, and she was just spouting out the most ridiculous answers." Jessi rolled her eyes, placing her head in her petite hand, twirling her pencil around on the desk. "Why does she hate us so much? And why did she have to switch into my class?" 
          "Because she's the most popular girl in school. She's a rich and spoiled child. She hates how we're all nice kids who get the teachers on our sides against her. Because I'm twenty times more beautiful than she is without makeup or anything to improve appearances. Take your pick." Magmira sat back in her chair, smirking at the thought of humiliating Robin. 
          "But we're anything but innocent. I mean, really! The first two years of school here, you and this buffoon fought every loser this school had to offer, and then a couple from other schools as well! You are not a goody two shoes. Although, you are correct about being more beautiful, but that's just part of your 'special condition'. Like, how else do you just naturally have the perfect body, face, hair, everything?" Jessi laughed, flailing her arms in disbelief at the perfection she called her best friend. 
          "Do I detect a bit of jealousy?" Magmira chuckled, poking Jessi in the cheek. "Besides, it's not a surefire thing for us to have perfect bodies. We can overeat and become fat. I heard my grandpa became a very large man. Apparently he liked cows...." She trailed off, thinking about that thought. "Honestly, cow only tastes good when they're cooked, but that's just me. Anyways, I digress. The only reason we have an easier time keeping in shape is because our increased temperature and faster bodily functions burn energy much faster. Increased metabolism means increased fuel burning rates. Simple fact of life." 
          "Yeah, but not simple to come across, lucky duck." Jessi stared at Magmira, teasingly accusing her. 
          "Are you calling yourself fat again? Because we've been over this before. You're not fat. You're beautiful. Knock off the whole hating yourself business. Honestly! Does every girl hate herself in some way?" Drake frowned with an honest sadness, for despite his arrogant facade, he really hated seeing people depressed and being hard on themselves.
          "Yes." Both girls answered. "Even guys feel that way, Drake. There's no changing it. It happens. It's life." Magmira said. She wasn't one for breaking news softly. 
          "Yeah. But, thanks, Drake. Every little bit helps." Jessi chuckled, giving Drake a small smile. He smiled back. He especially hated seeing Jessi sad. She had way too much sadness in her life. He was determined to always keep her happy. 
          "By the way, my mom found a couple books that she wants you to read. She thinks they'll help you out a bit. In fact, one is specifically about autism and loss. Right up your alley, hopefully." Drake said with a smirk, trying to make the sad lighter. 
          "Your mom is a blessing." Jessi mused. "A true blessing. I'll swing by tomorrow and pick them up, before going to my class. I don't want to miss tomorrow's. It sounds very important. I'm so glad this is a thing. I have no idea what I'd do without it." She laughed out, drawing Drake and Magmira into it as well. Her laugh was quite the contagious one. "Oh, and Maggie, the instructor guy said you are always welcome to sit in. He welcomes anyone. He's such a sweetheart." Jessi was quite proud of her help circle. She went to it every Thursday to help her deal with her father's worsening autism. 
          "Wait, when did the instructor turn into a dude? I thought it was a girl. He's being polite, right?" Drake fretted uncomfortably. 
          "Drake, no need to be jealous." Magmira laughed. Jessi just blushed. "Of course he's being polite. It's not a private one-on-one lesson, silly. Besides, Jordan is commonly a boy name, last time I checked." 
          "Yeah, well, I just want to be sure. I'm not gonna stand for some perv hitting on my friend." He just pulled a face and dropped the conversation, as Magmira and Jessi laughed. 
          "Maybe I should take you along, Drake." Jessi proposed. "Clear up any false and incriminating ideas you may have." 
          "No thanks. I'd rather not. Like, I'm ok going with you. I just don't like being with people. Especially when they're sharing their feelings. Then they're all weepy and crying and wanting hugs. I don't want that, thank you." 
          The bell rang, and the class quickly emptied. The three of them waited until everyone left, then they entered the hallway, and the mob of kids. The hallway was packed, and very loud. The kids here liked to talk a lot, but the hallway quickly emptied and it became quite once again. 
          By then, Jessi, Drake, and Magmira had reached their lockers. They all tossed in their binders and grabbed their bags, ready to head home. 
          "Oh, hey! By the way, there's a new kid coming into one of my classes. He was supposed to be here today, but I heard them saying that he's still coming up from California. Apparently he got stuck in bad traffic and got super delayed." Jessi said. 
          "Yeah? Sounds cool. Which class?" Magmira asked. 
          "Um, in my English class." Jessi replied. "Apparently he's a good student, because they were talking highly of him, and they haven't even met him and all. It's cool. I wonder what he's like, y'know?" 
          Drake closed his locker. "Probably just another average Joe who goes the wrong way and gets caught up with the wrong crowd or just stays an average Joe. Who knows. We'll only know when he gets here." 
          "Maybe he'll be super cute!" Jessi said excitedly. Drake just looked sideways at her, making her laugh. "Or, maybe he'll be your one and only, Magmira! That would be so exciting!" Jessi grabbed Magmira's arm and shook her. 
          "Yeah, I don't think so. I don't think I'll ever find him. Just saying." Magmira brushed Jessi off, her mood visibly turning blue. "It's been over 300 years. Mom and dad found each other in 200. Besides, I've probably already scared them off at some point." 
          "Maggie, you can't think like that. It's not good for you. Besides, every love story is different. Remember that one ancestor who took 1,000 years? Was that the second? I can't remember. Either way, they took forever. So what if it's been 300 years. Hang in there, ok? You'll find them." Drake gently hugged her, trying to fight away the demons for her. 
          "Thanks, Drake." Maggie smiled, pulling away and wiping away a tear. "You guys ready to go? Mom's making treats for us. Don't want them to be cold, do we?" Magmira closed her locker up tight and started walking towards the door, with Drake and Jessi right behind.