The World of Nightingale

Chapter 1

If you had asked May yesterday, she would've said she dispised her life- now though was a different matter altogether.

May Scott shut the door to her school locker. The gloomy grey depressing hall walls with nothing else to show for color other than the rust red paint in which chipped around the edges of the seemingly endless rows of lockers. In this world, even her own appearance was unexciting to her anymore.

Her dark brown hair, the color of mud or similarly, fudge brownies, was as limp and lifeless as she pictured the world around her, even when May had tied two ribbons in it, pulling her hair out of her face, adorning the same red color as the lockers, her hair refused to be anything special.
Even her dull brown eyes had no meaning, just like her future at this abominable public school. Not that many schools were better by May's standards. All of them were the same, which is what made them all equally dreadful. Everything had to be done by the book, or there was no other way to do it. Nobody was commended for thinking outside the box, even when the way they learned proved to work more efficiently than that in which was taught.

In everyone's eyes, nobody stood out. Everyone was equal. Nothing different ever happened, nothing exciting ever occurred, no laws were broken. Perhaps it might have had something to do with the place in which May lived, but she highly doubted it ever since the world agreed that universal world peace was a better option than having anything history note worthy occur throughout the planet. At least the planet in which May knew to be called Earth.

Everyday felt like it was the same, wake up, eat, go to school, learn absolutely nothing, come home, eat, homework, sleep and repeat.
Nothing differed from the average routine in which May's parents kept on the household, and most of the other people May knew led the same casual citizen life.

The only relief she got from this was when she was at home, getting ready to fall asleep, as she read her favorite book on this earth. The main reason for her favoritism was the fact that this book basically transported herself to a whole new world filled with adventure, magic, and excitement, just as she wished to have herself.

Her older sister Blair often made fun of her for doing this, but even at May's current age of eleven and a quarter years old, she still played pretend, making pirate ships out of pillows and sheets, or pretending that she was flying on a dragon when she was on the tire swing tied to the old oak tree in her backyard.

Part of May made her sometimes think that Blair was jealous or boring, even though she definitely didn't look nearly as such. In fact, May often found herself comparing her own looks to that of seventeen year old Blair's.
Some people have asked how May and Blair were even related, May's mixed complexion vastly different from Blair's porcelain skin. And the fact that May's hair was numerously various shades darker than that of Blair's blonde hair, in which she had dyed highlights of pastel pink and sky blue. The two pastel colors accentuating her ice blue eyes as if Blair had walked out of May's favorite book.

In fact, one of May's favorite hobbies was comparing the little things people in relation to quirks in which fantasy species often held. Some of her favorites were calling the people who swam for long distances without pausing to take a breath, as merpeople. Another would be those girls in class who always insisted to have water bottles in class being sirens. Or the way some people liked bloody meat, comparable to the diet of a werewolf or vampire.
One of her top favorites however were the people who were somehow always cold, or always hot, being some sort of ice or fire dwelling character like an ice nymph or fire fairy.

This of course Blair always teased her for doing, calling such notions childlike and a phase.

Never would May have guessed exactly how much her sister actually had been hiding at the time.
In fact, had she known, May probably would've smacked her for all the times she told her to grow up for pretending that magical creatures existed.

"Moooommmm." May shouted as she ran down the winding staircase, her feet thundering down the steps and landing on the living room's floor with a thud.

"Yes dear?" Her mother's annoyance was slightly recognizable in her tone, and her voice had answered from somewhere in the kitchen, so May followed the sound, running through the house.

"The *huff* *huff* neighbors are finally moving in!" May explained excitedly, almost bouncing on her heels. She suddenly noticed exactly what her mother was doing, which was making her chocolate chip pancakes.
As was tradition on the first day of the week, just to start out on a good foot.
Even cooking, May's mother's long blonde hair, which was tied back in a loose ponytail, and angelic face looked like it belonged on a magazine in May's opinion.

May grabbed one of the pancakes, hearing Blair walk in behind her, muttering something about being sanitary as she gave her mother a hug from behind. "Morning mum." Blair murmured sleepily as their mother kissed Blair's forehead. Right next to each other, it was obvious that the two were related, Blair almost looking like a photocopy of their mother.

"Morning honey, how are you feeling today?" This was a normal question to be asked, and May had always thought that it had something to do with what her mother called "being a women", but little did she know she was oblivious to the real situation her sister was under.

"A little lightheaded, but I'm fine." Blair replied, pulling out of the embrace as their mother felt her forehead. For a second, their mother looked worried, nibbling on her lip as she wiped her hands on a towel.

"Do you feel up to going to school today?" Their mother asked, which made May want to whine. Why did Blair constantly get chances to bail from classes when May didn't? How was that fair?

"I'm fine really mum." Blair said, her slight British accent crisper than it had been moments before. "I can at least walk May to school."

"Umm, hello! I'm right here." May said, her mouth crammed full with the chocolate and pancake goodness. "What if I don't want to walk to school, can't mom drive me?"

As always, mother shook her head, repeating the same answer she always said. "It's good exercise to walk, it clears your head for learning."

May sighed, but rather than complaining more, she took out a glass and filled it with cold milk and drank it, washing down the melted chocolate and pancake in which she had just eaten.

"Are you ready?" Blair asked May, taking a small sip of the glass of water in her hand.

May nodded, somewhat begrudgingly, and pulled her backpack onto her back as she followed Blair around to the front of their house. As always, Blair wore her oversized grey hoodie over her stiff uniform, which was identical to the one May wore. May wasn't sure exactly why Blair always insisted on wearing the same hoodie every day, all day, wherever she went. She even wore it to sleep. And May would know, she'd barged into her sister's room plenty of mornings to wake her up.

As the two worked their way through the somewhat crowded space, May couldn't help but watch everyone as they went by.

And boy was she glad she did. Or she might not have caught that glimpse of gold that grabbed her attention.
May's head snapped in that direction, spotting a boy, around Blair's age, staring at the two of them, his peculiar gold eyes watching the two sisters.
His expression was almost one as though he had seen a ghost.

May offered him a little wave, trying her best to be friendly, and the boy grinned, flashing a smile that would've made any girl except for May fall flat on their faces.
No, it wasn't his smile that made him eye catching in May's opinion, nor was it the darkly dyed green hair.
No, it was the way gold strings twirled around his hands. As though little yellow magical particles were dancing off his skin, waiting to be used.

This was the day May stopped believing that any ordinary world actually existed in the first place.