Skylar

3-Skylar 8 years

Ughh what an awful day at school. I'm so glad it's almost over. It all started this morning with Jacob. He is the most annoying boy in school, and he's so rude. He calls me an unwanted orphan all of the time because my parents abandoned me when I was a baby and I grew up in an orphanage. Then things just got worse and worse. The teacher singled me out for not finishing my math homework. It's not my fault that the older kids stole my math book and hid it until I fell asleep so that I couldn't do my homework. Mrs. Reyna thought I was lying and gave me a timeout in the hallway for half an hour! She's so mean that I don't even know how she ever became a kindergarten teacher. Who knew kindergarten was so hard?

That's not the end of it though. In gym, Tyler hit me in the head with a basketball. He told the teacher that it was an accident but I don't think it was. They all treat me like some kind of freak but I don't know why! I'm just like them, right? Anyways, you get the point. I have had one terrible day. Unfortunately for me, pretty much everyday goes that way. Even the teachers treat me differently because I grew up in an orphanage. Why don't they just treat me normally?

Now I'm stuck in English. Mrs. Reyna is making the whole class repeat the ABC's out loud. Jacob leans over and whispers "unwanted loser" in my ear. "Jacob!" Mrs. Reyna shouts, "Just because she's an orphan doesn't mean you have the right to tease her!' There it is again. The O word. I don't mind saying I was raised in an orphanage, but when people call me an orphan as if that's all I am and all I'll ever be, it really bugs me. More than bugs me, actually. Sometimes when I'm about to lose my temper I feel like I just want to break their necks. But I don't think a eight year old should feel that way, and sometimes it really scares me.

Finally, the school bell rings and it's time to go "home". The orphanage isn't much better in the teasing aspect. The whole world seems to have me pegged as some kind of freak. I don't know why. As I grab my backpack. Tyler comes up behind me and shoves me into my cubby. Just another normal day at school.

But when I arrived at the orphanage, there was a surprise waiting for me. A man wearing a black combat suit was waiting for me in the office. When I walked in the door Madame Barconi ushered me into the office and then turned and ran, slamming the door behind her. I was terrified. The man in front of me had oiled brown and gray hair and a lined, scarred face that did not look nice at all. He wore a familiar looking patch on the arm of his jacket. I knew it from somewhere, but where... And then it hit me. A skull and 7 hydra heads. Being carried through the night, the backseat of a car, strangers in a nursery. A dim memory, impossible to tell if it was even real. As I stood there dazedly, trying to think of how I recognized that patch, he noticed me and stared at me fixedly. " Sit down, kid," he growled, "I know you're young but we have a lot to talk about."

Hesitantly I pulled out a chair across from him and sat down. "Do you know who your parents are?" He said, looking me in the eye.

"No...." I responded warily, still unsure of whether or not to trust him.

"Do you want to know?"

I wasn't really sure what to say. I had never really thought about it before, given that I had never met anyone who was capable of telling me anything about them. I also still wasn't sure what to make of this guy; he was different from anyone I'd ever met before. He addressed me as if I was human, not cooing to me like I was a mindless baby with no hope of a promising future. " I don't really know..." It was the truth. What if they were heroes? What if they had been wanted criminals? Maybe not knowing would be better.

"Well you better choose, kid, cause I ain't got all day."

Suddenly, I knew what I had to do. Even if they were terrible people, I had to know. "Yes," I said, "I want to know". It never even occurred to me to ask who he was or how he knew them. All of a sudden, I just needed to know.

" Excellent choice, kid." He said, almost with a smile. "Now we can get somewhere." Then he began to talk. I just sat and listened and lost track of the time as he told me this story.

"My name is John Garrett. I work for a government agency called Shield, and another agency named Hydra. Shield responds to all of the strange alien-like problems our country has, and Hydra is responsible for keeping Shield in line. Your parents were neither Shield nor Hydra. They were rogues, in a sense. They lived in a small town in the middle of nowhere, led fairly ordinary lives. He was a doctor, she was a stay at home mom. But they; and you; are far from normal. You are special. That's why Hydra wants you to be part of our team.

I was in shock. " Really?" I exclaimed. "I'm actually wanted? Hydra wants me to be one of them?"

"Of course," he said, "you're special. Why wouldn't Hydra want you on our team?"

" Because I'm an orphan, and I have no special talents?" I asked sarcastically.

"Oh you have special talents," he said with a creepy grin, "We just haven't found them yet."

"Will you tell me more about my parents?" I asked.

"Not now. But Hydra will, if you join them and pledge your allegiance."

"What exactly is Hydra?"

"I told you before, they are an agency that lives within Shield and works against them to keep them in line."

"Well..."

"Join us or don't, kid. I'll only wait a few minutes." And he got up and left, just like that.

I sat in shock for several seconds. Then I got up and ran outside. If Hydra wanted me, then I wanted to join Hydra. It was nice to actually be needed. I caught up to him just as he was getting into his car. "When do we start?" I asked.

He grinned. "Welcome to Hydra, kid."

And just like that, I left my old life behind forever.