The Secret Service: The Wings of Titania

Chapter 1: Of Individuality

 'Hey, what's that?' She asked, fixing me with those gorgeous blue eyes of hers. I became far too busy registering my cooked brain to care about who I was seeing. 

 Sophie Underwood, the girl all the other boys would talk about every single time, the girl who I had been sitting next to in class after all these months was actually talking to me. Her long hair fell in loose curls around her shoulders, an olive green jacket wore over her dress accentuated her creamy fair skin, making her look all the more doll-like and prim with her rosy red lips.

 'What are those?' She nodded towards my wrist, which still bore the marking of the mysterious stranger since that fateful night. Despite my best efforts, it stood out obvious against my tanned skin, two scars of silvery white that refused to darken against the bronze of my skin. 

 'Dog bite.' I brushed it off quickly, covering the scars with the cuff of my shirt. 'I got it from Beau when I was six.'

 'Hmm, he still around?' She asked, plopping down the empty seat next to me and setting down her food tray. I could feel the blood rushing to my face as she propped up her chin with an elbow, still looking at me.

 'Umm...y-yeah.' I stammered. Oh God, stop being so nervous! She's just a girl! I thought, willing myself to believe it. I noticed the athletes' gang on the opposite table were staring at me with disbelieving looks and dropped jaws, their food lying forgotten on their trays. 

 'You're different.' Sophie said suddenly, out of the blue and completely out of the topic. She stuck a straw into the cup and began to drink, pushing a plateful of graham cookies towards me. 'You aren't allergic to sharing food, are you?' She said, winking at me when I recoiled from the plate. 'Eat.' She insisted. I smirked silently to myself as I watched Jake Madison's face when I bit into a cookie. Here I was, a poor and pathetic twink (in his words) sharing lunch with who happens to be the most popular girl in school, and the same girl who ignored him through how many times he flexed his muscles at her whenever she passed him in the field. 

 'It's strange being around these people.' Sophie mused, stirring her soup absentmindedly. Her eyes unfocused.

 'Tell me about it.'

 'They're so concerned about fitting in, becoming part of the 'ruling class'. You get what I mean?' She looked back towards me. 'But you, you're not like them.'

 'In what way?' I challenged her. It was true, I didn't know what I was special for. In this school, there were only three differences to me. One, the students and the teachers. Two, the grades in exams. And three, the most important of all, the behavior. But if there was something about me that doesn't include those three that managed to catch the attention of the most popular girl in school, I'm more than willing to hear it. 

 'You don't care about what others think.' She said, looking at me with her eyes again. There was something attractive about them, either the color, the way they seem to look at somewhere beyond, I don't really know. 'You know what you want, and you go after it at your own leisure. It's not other people's influence, it's not inspiration, it's just....what you want to have, or be, or do.'

I didn't know how to continue the conversation, so I let it drift off to awkward silence. 

 'Hey, can you help me with something?' Sophie piped up again, tapping me on the shoulder. 'You're good in studies right?'

 'Umm....I guess?'

 'Great, here's the deal.' She smoothed down her clothes. 'My younger brother's starting school tomorrow, and I want to make sure he catches up. Do you mind being his tutor?' 

 'You have a brother?' I asked.

 'Yeah, he's moving back to town today. So, do you think you can handle it?'

 'Alright.'

 'Brilliant, thanks.' She smiled, a genuine smile of thanks, not like the menacing ones out teacher gives before they bombard us with questions or the sarcastic ones the jocks give before punching someone up, a real smile. She got up from her seat with her tray, as the bell began to ring. 'It was nice talking to you.'