A True Companion

The Tenth Birthday

     Indie Moore woke up that morning, more excited than she'd ever been in her life. It was her tenth birthday. This was the time, now that she was ten years old, that she would get her companion animal. All the kids in the Rutskan clan got their companion animals on their tenth birthdays. It's not some generic animal that the parents get their children, the animal chose them, based on how they are as a person. For example, Nicholai Thorne was chosen by a snake, which represents lies and deception. As the school bully, it fit him perfectly. 

   Indie opened her eyes and looked around her room, expecting to see whatever animal had chosen her. After realizing that there was no animal in her room, she figured that just wasn't how it worked. The other kids in her class never talked about how they got their animals, just what they got and their theory behind it. She walked out of her room, still in her pajamas, eager to see what animal awaited her. When she got downstairs, though, the only animals she saw were her father's turtle (he was extremely wise) and her mother's deer (she was the more gentle one.) Indie looked from one parent's concerned face to the other. 

   "Mom, dad, where's my animal? What is it?" she asked, looking around again to no avail. It should have been here by now, surely. 

   "Well, sweetie, we aren't quite sure where it is. How about you get ready for school, maybe it will find you there. Don't worry to much about it," her mom said in her soothing 'everything-will-be-okay' voice. When it was clear that she wasn't going to be able to stay at home and wait, she huffed and went back to her bedroom. She quickly threw on the clothes she'd laid out the night before and looked in the mirror.

   Her red hair was a mess, so she ran the brush through it a couple times. She didn't do much else to her appearance, since it was against the law for women to put on makeup of any kind, as it hid the pure beauty. She got to her bedroom door, but stopped when she heard the voice of her father. 

   "-Know that they don't get lost. Her animal should have been here by now. Something is seriously wrong," 

   "Kapu, how could you say something like that? She's our daughter. Maybe she is just a late bloomer, or maybe her animal is just hiding somewhere. You know how playful she was when she was younger,"

  Indie chose that moment to come out of her bedroom, not giving her father the chance to answer. "I'm leaving now," she announced, walking to the door. Once she got outside, she looked around once more in hopes that her animal would be out there, or even too big to fit in the house. When there was no such luck, she made her way to school, the disappointment setting in. Indie got to school and mentally braced herself. A general rule was, once you got your animal, you were supposed to have it with you at all times. They say that it's to strengthen the bond between human and animal, but the very few conspiracy theorists say that it's to prove that you are truly part of the clan.

   She walked into the building and immediately saw Nicholai and his group of bullies waiting outside the girls' restroom, probably to harass them before class started. With him was Gerard Bettington and Travence Miller.

   Nicholai's snake was curled around his neck like it normally was. His two followers had their animals already too, Gerard's being a rat and Travence's a black owl. Indie turned around and fled as quickly and quietly as she could. She wasn't looking to give them a reason to harass her, so if she could avoid them until homeroom, that would be for the best. She went through the back entrance and got to her classroom just in time. They would know that today was her birthday because it was announced on the loud speaker every day. Tenth birthdays were a big deal around here. She walked into her homeroom class to be greeted by the teacher, Mrs. Miller. She was Travence's mother, but she always seemed to look the other way when her son was getting himself into any kinds of trouble. So much for a zero tolerance for bullying.