Breathless

My sister was weirdly happy that night. It threw me off for a second to see her like that, considering the mood that she had been in for the past month. All of the kids at school were always mean to Emily, and she had been coming home in tears ever since the school year started.

"And then it said that I got all A's!" she said with a wide grin on her face. Emily had her elbows propped on the mahogany dining table as she spoke, but Mom and Dad didn't say anything to her about it. That wasn't unusual, though.

"All As?" Mom asked as though someone had just told her that she won the lottery. She spoke like that every time Emily brought home a report card, though, because she always made As.

"We're proud of you, sweetheart," said Dad. His grin was genuine, unlike Mom's reaction. He cut off a piece of steak and shoved it into his mouth. "What were your grades, Terra?" he asked me.

I gulped. According to most parents, I did well in school, but my Mom and Dad didn't fall under the category of 'most parents'. "I got five As...," I made my voice quiet so that there was a chance for them to hear me wrong, "and two Cs."

"Really, Terra?" my mom asked. The tone that she used with Emily before was replaced with one of pure disappointment.

My dad shook his head. "What did you make C's in?"

My stomach seemed to fall to the floor. I wanted my parents to be proud of me, but it was hard. How was I supposed to compete with Miss. Emily Einstein sitting next to me?

"Advanced Math and Gifted Science," I mumbled.

"Why don't you just ask us for help? I majored in math, Terra," Dad tutted.

My parents continued to express their disapproval, but I zoned out. It was easy to block them out, because I'd had to do it so many other times before. They started to raise their voices, and that made it harder to ignore them. I put my headphones into my iPod and hid the chord behind my arm as I tried to discretely put them in my ear. Mom and Dad didn't notice.

A warm hand touched my arm, and I turned to see Emily's blue eyes staring at me with concern. She picked a red strand of hair that had fallen out of my ponytail off of my face. I smiled as a way of saying 'Thanks'.

Emily smiled back, but instead of the eight-year old that I grew up with, another creature sat where my sister sat only a moment ago. Her skin was scaly and rough, and her eyes were a bright yellow. The creature had knotted hair that slightly resembled Emily's blonde curls. It looked at me with the same expression that my sister had worn only a second ago, but it didn't have a the same crooked teeth. It's teeth were sharp, like razors.

Then, I blinked and it was gone. Emily was in front of me, just like she was supposed to be, and the creature was no where to be seen.

"Terra, are you listening?" Mom said. She must have not seen Emily transform into that thing. "Are your headphones in your ear?"

I rolled my eyes and put the song on Pause. It wasn't like my parents were telling me anything important, anyways. I'd had this lecture a million times before; why couldn't I listen to music while they yelled?

"You're better than this," Dad said. 

I nodded and tried to forget the creature that was beside me only a moment ago. "I'm finished, can I go to my room?"

Mom looked annoyed. "May you be excused."

"May I be excused?"

Dad sighed and rubbed the bald spot on the back of his head. "Alright, go."

"But this conversation isn't over," Mom chimed in.

I nodded and picked up my empty plate to go put it in the dishwasher so that I wouldn't get lectured again. Whispers were coming from the dining room. They were probably my parents complaining about my 'lack of respect' or something like that. Typical.