Angel's daughter

Chapter 17

Now that dad got his grace back and wasn't dying, my mum was overjoyed. In fact, she was in such a good mood and since I was the one to get it back, I was spared the consequences this time. Still, the ban on any supernatural research stayed and now, I'm in a school in town. Yet another first day of school. I got up early today. I got up to the alarm and stretched my arms out tall. My black feathered wings felt heavy with sleep and I stretched them out to their impressive wingspan to relieve the cramps before tucking them away, making them disappear. I understand why angels hide them now. Wings were quite the nuisance. They bump into everything, people walk into them, they knock things off shelves. I went to the bathroom to wash my face, brush my teeth and tame my hair. As I got dressed and went out to get breakfast, Dean was already up along with my dad who never sleeps,

"Look at you up early" Dean smirked. I went quietly to get some cereal,

"School" I said,

"Just no fights this time" My mum said from her seat at the table,

"Is this really a good idea?" I asked, "I still can't control when my wings pop out. What if they do it in front of everyone?"

"They only come out when you get panicked. You'll be fine" I sighed, squeezing a little extra honey into my cereal to see if I could wake myself up more for the day ahead. I knew it would be hard. I've had so many new starts that I could already plan out exactly how I'd have to introduce myself. My mum drove me to school. I had almost forgotten my bag as I got up to follow her to the bunker's garage,

"Grace" My dad called me back, holding up my bag,

"Oh, thanks" I rushed over to grab it before running after mum. It wasn't a long drive from the bunker to the school but it felt long enough for me. I was busy planning out my whole day, how I should act around people. I'd prefer it if I stayed invisible, maybe I could try that. That didn't work out when I got into the school gates and was immediately confronted with three boys ganging up on one girl. They were throwing her books about, shoving her and she barely spoke up. I realised now that invisible wasn't the way to go, learning from her example. As she got up again to stop another boy kicking her bag about, she was shoved down yet again and something in me stirred. I took a breath, still worried my wings would pop out if I got riled up. The bell rang and the boys moved on, leaving the girl behind. I looked to the doors as everyone filed in before moving back to the girl. She shied away from me until I placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and she realised I'd come to help. I picked up some books of hers and helped her up,

"Thanks" She said shyly. I gave a smile and a nod at her, before heading inside. I had gotten my timetable from the front desk but not so much as a small tour so I took a while to catch my bearings. Eventually I just followed the numbering on the doors to find my room. At least I wasn't too late. Everyone was just settling in when I arrived. Before I could get a seat however the teacher stopped me,

"Everyone, this is Grace. She will be joining us for the rest of the year" He introduced me to the class. I didn't appreciate the show as everyone stared at me as I found my seat at the back of the class. They turned their eyes to the front, losing interest in me as the first class started. It was like this for most of the day. I've had a couple people come up to talk to me, politely introducing themselves. The conversations never lasted long when they got to the question of where I'm from. I could see the smiles fade as I listed off the various places. Many left it there. As lunch time came around, I found a secluded spot outside, under a tree to eat my lunch. At least no one would bother me there. I was wrong. Remember those boys? They were back again. They were like a pack of wild dogs, testing me to see where they fit in the pecking order. I ignored them. They weren't worth my time. Most of the school was actually ok. The musical kids weren't really snotty, the sports kids weren't too loud. The social groups mingled with relative ease. It's just the odd groups. The odd people actually. Some can change the atmosphere in a room as soon as they arrive. As I was sitting down, they couldn't really take any kind of swing at me. They resorted to taunting and mocking me, which I ignored. I couldn't care less what they called me. They then took my bag and started throwing it about. I wasn't interested. It only had school books in it, it's not like there was anything important in there that I cared about. They got bored of me quickly. They dropped my bag and walked away, going to terrorise someone else. After I had finished eating, I went to pick my bag up again and bring it back to me. I looked up and that girl was getting picked on again. I saw the boys circling her, going in for the kill. Luckily, this time she had backup. Another boy. He was extremely calm in approaching them and the mere presence of him moved them off.