Pixies and wolves

CHAPTER 1: SCHOOL LIFE

XENIA'S POV

Ever since I can remember people always told me that there are no such things as fairies or dragons and werewolves and other mythical fantasy creatures, but i know different. I'm Xenia and I'm sixteen in three months' time. Normally by my age you stop believing in such things as fantasy creatures, yet somehow I see them, I'm one of them and i know it's true. It might just be my crazy overworked imagination that my parents say i adopted from my grandfather. He too believed they existed and passed the knowledge down to me before he died a couple of months ago. Now it's up to me to find the truth for myself, how a fifteen year old is supposed to do that i do not know.

"Xenia, pay attention or I'll have to call your parents again", that's my English teacher Mrs Stones moaning at me again for staring out the window watching a pixie stalk a pigeon for dinner. The rest of the class all giggle and stare at me as shame once again covers my face. Only one person doesn't find this funny and he sits far away from me and everyone else, Joshua Stevens. He is a tall tanned well-built 16 year old transfer student, apparently moving from school to school for the same reason as me getting moaned at a few seconds ago 'day dreaming'. Why a student like him would day dream is one of school's greatest mysteries. I start zoning out again while watching the pixie snatch the pigeon and drag it out of sight.

"That's it! Xenia, head to the principal's office now please", Mrs Stones shouts at me. I pack my stuff and slunk out of the class. As i head out Sarah, the grade's popular girl, sticks her foot out and i fall face first on my hands and my bag opens spilling all my belongings out. The entire class bursts out in laughter and tears start to well up around my eyes. I grab my stuff shove it in my bag and burst out the class tears now streaming down my face. I head to the girls washroom and slam a toilet door behind me locking it while i sit crying and wait for my tears to dry up. Girls bust into the washroom and start talking about me as usual saying how weird i am.

I waited for them to leave the washroom and I slowly crept out from behind the graffiti door. I stared into the mirror and wished I were with the pixies at this very point in time because they always seem to lift my mood up. I clear up my makeup smudged face and apply a new layer over my skin to hide my awfully dull complexion. I rearrange my hair to cover and hide my deep emerald green eyes from sight.

Sure you might be wondering why on earth I would hide such eyes but the truth is I don't want to stand out in front a whole class of silly high school students that have two major concerns, popularity and looks. I'm tired of living such a life where I have to hide but I keep reminding myself it is only a short period more till I am free of this school and the new kid in some other silly old government school with the same student issues.

I head to my locker where I slam my books into the back and head to the next class, history, only to find that Joshua has kept the only available back seat.

The weirdest part is, and most guys would let her sit there, is that Sarah is turned away. I head to the back to see if I can sit there and he lets me. I mean really lets me. The entire class sits there staring at us and then the whispering begins.

"Settle down everyone, settle down. Today we are talking on the travels...." The voice of Mr Newman fades away as I follow a pixie running on the windowsill being chased by an overly excited cat.

I turn around to see everyone is paying attention to the lesson except Joshua. He too is staring at the cat blankly.

"You can see them..." the bell rings and the end of day has finally come and I can get away from here.

Joshua dashed out of class without even saying goodbye to his best friend Adrian. "Nice going freak" Adrian remarks in annoyance at the fact that he now has to catch the bus just like everyone else instead of catching a ride with Joshua.

I sit there staring at the empty seat left by Joshua just as the bell rang.

Sarah approaches me as I start getting up, "stare all you want freak, Joshua isn't going to return to the seat to be next to the only freak in the whole school."

And that's it I lost it, I sent a punch right through the air and caught her square on the jaw only to hear a crack as my fist collides with her nose. A stream of blood starts flowing from her nose and she screams at the feel of it and the blood on her hands. A few students barge into the classroom and start laughing at the messy sight.

Mr Newman returns to the class he just left to see me with clenched fists and Sarah with a bloody nose. "Straight to the principle for you Miss. Sarah, go get yourself cleaned up. Someone help her please", he continues on moaning about how childish I was for punching Sarah. The principal office is not as bad as I thought. Heck I just got moaned at as usual and then my parents were called in, but they gave up on me years ago.

My mother comes to the school and has a private discussion with the principal. She comes out fuming. I have learnt by now to say nothing at all until spoken to first by her when she is in such a bad mood.

"Next time you do something like that I'm sending you off to your Aunt's in Texas, is that clear?"

"Yes Mom" I sigh staring outside at the darkening sky showing signs of an incoming storm.

"Xenia, what is the matter? What is going on that your father and I don't know about?" she asks, but I remain silent staring out at the growing clouds and the setting sun. "Xenia, if you don't talk to me about it I can't help you", she rambles on.

By now I'm not even listening as I stare intently at this one cloud in the shape of a pixie busy brushing the fur coat of a wolf. Mother sighs, and the drive home is finally silent just the way I like it.

We arrive home and I head straight up to my room to my only sanctuary of peace where the pixie drawings give me a smile. I dump my bag next to my bed and leave the homework for later. I grab a blank page and my drawing case, and start to draw the cloud of the wolf being brushed by a pixie.

It's well past eleven o'clock and everyone is asleep so I head down to the freezer and grab a bite to eat with a glass of soda. The wind is howling strongly outside the by the back porch and I can see some lightning flashes off in the distance, the roll of thunder reaching my ears in the faintest of grumbles.

I'm still left with a pile of homework but fortunately it can wait till after I have eaten some food. I gather together some milk and sugar in a bowl and start munching with the greatest of pleasure. I finish my food rapidly and grab some cookies with a glass of milk, heading to my room again as I switch the lights off.

I open my bag, take out my books and open it to the pages to work on only to find it is all done with a small note left in tiny golden dust on a green leaf, we love your pictures and drawings of us Xenia human. We did your work out of love and praise for you. Love Mereth. I sit and stare at the note for a little while till a glint of light catches my eye and I see a small remnant of a pixie foot before it vanishes out of sight behind my thick curtains. A big grin forming over my face as I creep up to the curtain and open it only to find blank wall and plain curtain. I huff and sit on my bed in annoyance that they haven't shown me how they do it all.

I get into bed too tired to change out of my day's clothes and fall asleep warmly knowing I'm being watched over by small little creatures.