Illusion

Incongruous

When I first saw her, I felt like the ugliest person in the world. And the way everybody else looked at her, they felt the same as I did. I was sitting at my desk in History, chatting to Clarice, when she walked in. The whole class fell silent.
"That," Clarice said, "Is Valkyrie." She was pale, with a faint pink glow in her cheeks. Her hair was like a blonde waterfall; it fell down her back in waves, naturally. It shimmered, and there wasn't even any sunlight. Her eyes were a strange colour. They were almost the same colour as her brother, Isaac, but they were tinted with a deep purple.
"Sorry I'm late," she said to Miss Laivaux. She had a strong English accent, but I could hear a faint Romanian accent in her voice too. I stared at her as she walked to the back of the room, and sat next to a boy, who stared at her with wide eyes. I looked at Clarice. Her fists were clenched. I frowned at her.
"What's the matter?" I whispered. I heard Miss Laivaux cough. She put her fingers to her lips. The class dragged, but when it finally ended, Clarice rushed out of the door. I sighed. I wanted to speak to her about Valkyrie. I had never seen somebody so angelic; it was impossible to be as beautiful as she was. It hurt to look at her. I hurried to Advanced Math. I was dreading seeing Lukas. I walked through the door, and stopped in my tracks. The seat next to mine was empty. Unless he was late, like I was, then he wasn't at school. I hurried to my seat, apologizing to the teacher on my way there.

"So, what happened in History?" I asked Clarice, as I drove Clarice to my house. We were both going to do homework there. Her Dad had an important meeting at their house, and she didn't want to interrupt. She looked out of the window.
"I don't know what you're talking about," she said, firmly. I sighed.
"You obviously don't like Valkyrie," I murmured.
"It doesn't matter," Clarice snapped. I was silent.
"I'm sorry," I whispered. She looked at me.
"Don't worry about it. Valkyrie is just... Not one of my favorite people," she said, bitterness in her voice. I didn't ask her anything else. I was scared to upset her. She was a really nice person, and I didn't want to lose her as a friend. We pulled up outside of my house. But I really needed to know why Valkyrie missed so much school. And why she was so abnormally beautiful. And why Clarice loathed her. I didn't know why I had to know, but I just had too.
"Please, Clarice. Tell me," I said, pleading. She sighed and looked out of the side window.
"My family and her family have hated each other for a long time," she said. I had never heard her so angry before.
"Why?" I asked.
"I can't tell you, Anna," she muttered.
"Why?" I asked again. She got out of the car.
"I just can't tell you, Anna. Please trust me," she pleaded, desperate. I was more curious than ever, but I really didn't want to upset her more than I had. I got out of the car and we walked into the house.