Monster

Chapter 1

I took a deep breath and looked at myself in the mirror. My light gray hair ran down my shoulders in waves and stopped abruptly at my elbows. In my mind, I looked beautiful. My mother called up from the kitchen, informing me that it was almost time to go to school. I stared at my reflection for a second longer before swooping my hair into a bun and sliding my baseball cap on, hiding my strangely colored hair. The only part that was visible was a small bundle that fell down the side of my face. No one should notice the color. The hat had done well to hide my hair so far in the few weeks of school that had flown by quickly and I trusted that it would do for now. Quickly pulling my bag over my shoulder, I ran down the stairs, taking them two at a time. My mom stood in the kitchen holding my bagged lunch. I quickly stuffed it in my bag before grabbing the waffle that had just popped out of the toaster and heading out the front door.

I had just finished my waffle when the bus pulled up to the stop and the doors slid open. I walked quickly up the steps and took a seat in the very back where I was practically invisible. There was a squeal, and the bus shuddered into motion. A few seats in front of me, a boy turned around and stared at me. I looked up at his eyes before quickly returning them to the book that sat open in my lap. The boy's name was Justin, I knew that. I also knew that he was the school bully and the fact that he was staring at me couldn't be a good sign.

I emerged from the world of my book when the bus finally pulled to a stop in front of the school. Closing the novel, I stuffed it in my bag and stood, walking down the aisle and exiting the bus. I waved to the driver before turning and walking into the school. I didn't see Jason get off the bus, so he was either the first one off, or he was still on it. I was hoping for the latter.

My locker was deep within the maze of a school and by the time I got there, classes were about to start. I quickly stuffed the unnecessary supplies inside my locker before slamming it and walking briskly to my class. Speeding through the doorway, I sat down in my desk and began on the bell work. Even though I sat down a second before the bell rang, I was still the first one there. It seemed as if the other students in the school didn't care much if they were tardy every day. On the other hand, I was never late.

Once the rest of the students had finally filed in and finished their bell work, the teacher stood at the front of the class and began to lecture us about the simplicity of the math work he was giving us. It really was quite simple, but the other students seemed to struggle greatly with the concept. It seemed as if they got increasingly dumber by the day. I snapped out of my trance when the teacher said my name. My eyes snapped up to meet his and he gave me a sympathetic look. He was obviously telling the class how I was the only one who seemed to understand what he was teaching us. He gave me a small smile and pointed to a problem on the board.

"Perhaps you could show the class how to solve this?" My face turned pale at his request, I was supposed to be invisible, not the one teaching the class. Reluctantly, I stood from my desk and made my way to the board, where the teacher handed me a marker. I looked over the problem, solving it in my head before writing the answer to the side and then telling everybody how I got it. They seemed bored and most weren't even paying attention, so I explained as quickly as possible. I then returned to my seat and hid my face in my book. A few lectures later, the bell rang, signaling the end of class. The day went on like this for a while. The teacher giving boring lectures, me being the only one listening and understanding, the teacher giving me a sympathetic look, Jason pulling pranks on the teacher or shooting spit wads at other students, and me being as invisible as possible.

The lunch bell finally rang and I quickly gathered my things and headed to my locker. Grabbing my lunch, I hurried to the lunchroom and took my regular seat in the very far corner with the flickering light and the squeaky table. No one ever sat over here, probably because they were superstitious about the ghost of the lunch lady, which the 3rd years just made up to scare the younger kids. I mentally thanked them for freeing a table for me and dug into my small sandwich. I ate quickly and threw away my garbage before heading towards the door that led back to the classrooms. I walked through the empty hallways and opened my locker. Grabbing my supplies for the next class, I headed for the study hall. It was open before and after school and during lunch for those who want a little quiet time to catch up on studying. Setting my books on the corner desk in the back of the room, I walked to the teacher and told her I was going to go get a drink really fast and that I'd be right back. She nodded without even looking up from her book and I thanked her and headed for the door. Once out in the hallway, I turned in the direction of the nearest drinking fountain and began the quiet walk.

I leaned forwards and took a long refreshing drink. Sensing someone behind me, I stood up straight and spun around, coming face to face with Jason. He smiled an evil smile and chuckled evilly.

"Hey teacher's pet, why you always wearing that hat?" he teased. I backed up before bumping into the drinking fountain which gave off a low hum as the water was activated. Jason laughed and reached forwards, tugging the cap off roughly, pilling my hair out of its bun as well. His eyes widened as he saw my hair, which seemed to move like smoke. At this point, I had become angry and my rage boiled to an even more dangerous level when he spoke again.

"Freak," he whispered, his eyes even bigger behind his glasses. I was surprised that he didn't get bullied for the fact that he wore glasses, but I suppose that everyone was to scared of him to tell him how ridiculous they looked.

"Has anyone ever told you how ridiculous those glasses look?" I voiced the question aloud before I could stop myself. His face turned an impressive shade of purple before he raised his hand and a loud slap echoed through the hallway. I was surprised for a split second and raised my hand to the red spot on my cheek. However, when the surprise faded, it was replaced by anger. Jason's face sneered as he continued to taunt me about my hair and how I was a freak. Finally, I couldn't contain my anger anymore. He stopped talking as my hair slowly darkened, going from a light gray that was almost white, to a deep shade of black that you only see in thunderstorm clouds. But that's exactly what it was. My hair began to frizz from the static in the air and Jason's glasses cracked. Through the nearby window, I could see the sky that was clear only moments ago. The wind was now bending the trees and the blue of the sky was gone, replaced by dark storm clouds. There was no rain, but an impressive bolt of lightning struck down in the school grounds, blackening the grass and shaking the school. The thunder that followed was deafening.

Jason whimpered and looked as if he were about to wet himself. I just snatched my hat back and chuckled cruelly as I tied my hair back up and made my way back to study hall. By the time I sat back down in my desk, my hair was almost back to its cloudy white which meant that so was the sky. I pulled my hat down over my face and tried to concentrate on my homework. The rest of the day went on as planned except for seeing Jason in the hall with his cracked glasses and whimpers, and the talk about the freaky weather.

When I finally opened my own front door, my mom was sitting in the living room staring at the TV. She waved when she saw me.

"Freaky weather today, huh?" she said. I froze, waiting for her to call me out on the fact that it was definitely my fault. She left it alone and I sighed in relief and walked upstairs to my room. Pulling off the hat and letting my hair fall to my shoulders, I flopped down on my bed and stared at the stormy sky painted on my ceiling. There was a knock at my door and I remembered that the neighbor was coming over today for tutoring.

"Come in," I shouted to her through the door. There was a rattling sound and I realized that I had locked the door on my way in. Concentrating on the lock and waving my hand, I heard a small click and smiled as Jessica walked in. She gave a small wave that I returned before sitting in my desk that sat in the corner of my room. She pulled out the math homework that had been assigned today and stared at it in confusion before giving me a look that told me that I was probably going to be doing her homework for her. She was the closest thing that I had to a friend and the only person outside of my parents that knew about my hair. Well, her and Jason that is. She had no idea about my powers, I didn't trust her enough. All she knew was that my natural hair color seemed to always match the color of the clouds in the sky. I sat up from my comfortable spot on the bed and pulled my finished copy of the homework out of my bag and handed it to her. She accepted it with the most innocent smile she could muster, before quickly turning around and copying the answers down. I shook my head with a small smile before laying back down to wait for her to finish.

"Done!" she shouted, scaring me from my daze. I sat up and accepted my copy of the homework from her outstretched hand. She smiled once more before shouting her goodbyes and fluttering out the door. I sat silently until I heard the front door close before falling back down onto my pillow and falling asleep, not even hungry for dinner.