There was a reason Henry could distinguish Sarah’s laughs. There was a reason he knew about her real joy laugh, and the end-of-the-joke laugh. There was even a reason of how he knew about the past she strained to keep secret. There was a reason for it all.
And the reason was that Henry and Sarah had once had a past together. Not a romantic one, exactly. When they were kids in elementary school, they were play buddies. When Henry was 6 she moved next door. The first time they met went a little like this:
Henry: “Hey you’re a girl. You’re a Barbie sissy!!”
Sarah: “uh, uh”
Henry: “uh huh”
Sarah: “your en idiot!!”
Henry: “Hey you’re a…………………………….COOL GIRL!!! Wanna play tag?”
Sarah: “Yeah!!”
Anyway they grew up together, turning from play buddies to best friends who played Xman (a videogame) in Henry’s basement on the too-hot-to-go-outside summer days and who watched basketball at Sarah’s den every Saturday and cheered for the Lakers. Henry lent Sarah his ghastly ghost books, which she read every night before bed for a thrill. But in middle school Sarah dealt with mean girls, who spread rumors about her others believed. They laughed at her face. After school she would run, but not home, but to Henry’s house. Her parents were at work. She would run inside Gourox’s open door, would dump her head down on his pillow in his room, and sob. Henry’s mom would give her advice about the mean girls and treated her like her own daughter. Henry, in the meantime, was trying to figure out how to act ‘cool’ and ‘like a man’ now that he was in middle school. With help from Gourox’s mom, Sarah was able to deal with girl drama. No more crying in pillows. But she never forgot it. Middle school turned into high school, and that’s when Henry decided to get a girlfriend. He decided he needed one, and he was going to get himself one. And he thought: why not Sarah?? She had looked a lot hotter ever since she had to start wearing bras. She had started wearing make up, first starting with lip gloss and then accelerating to mascara. Having also developed acne, she always seemed uncertain of herself when going out, as though she looked ugly, and everyone would think so. But, Henry thought she looked 10 X hotter then in middle school. AND she liked Xman, AND wasn’t a snob. He soon found the perfect opportunity to ask her out; the PROM. And so, he had got himself a tux (that his mom picked out), some courage, and by prom night, he was ready. Gourox planned to ring her doorbell and flat out ask her. But when he went outside he found something else. Sarah, sitting on her porch step outside her house, bawling her eyes out. If life had been an old black and white movie, she would’ve been the girl crying rapidly, using wad after wad of tissue. She looked like a wilted flower. It broke Henry’s heart watching her cry, it was pure sorrow. He wanted to put his arms around her shoulders, make goofy faces and dance and jump like an idiot to make her laugh, say “I’ll take you to the prom”, anything to wipe those tears off her face.

Henry was just about to do just that when another surprise came and stabbed him in the heart. A camouflage truck just bumping down the road, a drunk Cerberus trio inside, with model-looking sober, but not-really-that-smart older girls, 1 of them driving (horribly). This is not saying that all model-looking girls are stupid. Modern music was playing at a volume that made your eardrums vibrate, but you couldn’t even tell, because the shouts and hoots of 3 drunken guys was louder. Henry thought the truck would just pass by the block, but just at the end, the loudest of the 3 screamed “STOP THE TRUCK!!!!!!!!”. The horrible driver came to an abrupt stop, almost making the truck flip. The radio came off shortly, leaving an awkward silence. Out came Anis, slamming the door behind him. He dove straight for a weeping Sarah. “Hey” he said, shocking a bystander Gourox with his suddenly smooth tone, as though he was a ‘good guy’. Anyway he said “Hey, what’s a babe like you crying on prom night for?”. Not even that good of a comment, and YET it made her smile through her tears.
Her response: “Dan, I really liked him. And I’d never been to a prom before. He asked me out, and I got so excited, I got dressed all fancy. Then, before I could leave, he called, ca-ca-cancelling cause he said he found a better date with Kayla. He even told me her name!! And it’s a disgusting girl I know!!”
Dan was just as much as a player as Kayla.
Anis faked empathy, but Sarah was too wiped out to realize it.
He said “Man, the dude’s a jerk. Tell you what. Wanna go to a REAL prom??”. And Button, too upset to refuse, fell into the devil’s trap, as seen in Henry’s eyes. She had fallen into the underworld, too upset to notice, or even notice that just a while ago Anis was probably mingling with 1 of the sober girls, and then the next second, faking empathy for her cause of her beauty. She followed him into the truck. And they sped off. Nobody acknowledged Henry, he was just standing there, watching it all unfold with his very own eyes. He never got his chance. He was baffled, and kind of hurt but more like envious. And that was his memory of prom night. Standing on the sidewalk like an idiot at 8 PM. Ever since that night, Sarah and Anis had officially started dating. Henry Gourox’s best friend and girl next door was gone with the wind. Come to think of it, that’s when Sarah had started laughing her fake laughs. Never again had the real joy laugh been heard. Henry knew that she’d changed a lot ever since getting a boyfriend. But what he didn’t know was that she’d changed for good and wasn’t changing back.




After FINALLY making it to the deli, Henry made a dash for the small badly conditioned rest room. He splashed murky brown water on his face, wiped vomit off his cheeks, washed his hands again, and again trying to eliminate the smell of garbage and vomit mixed, tried to scrub the junk off his hair, even tried to somewhat fix his mother’s shirt, even though it was already dead, and by creating a water stain it was even MORE dead (if possible). And yet, he had managed to get SOME crumbs out of his hair, got some lilac scented perfume one of the hot under aged workers accidentally left behind before she quit. Well it’s not like there was anything else. So yeah there was still some muck left on his face, his mother’s shirt was still dead, his baggy pants still ugly, the American cheese was still stuck to his hair, his ears still smelled like old pickles, and he was still feeling a tad sad about being reality-struck that he never got Sarah even though he tried so hard. Henry was nowhere near presentable. But he considered himself to be satisfactory compared to how he looked like before. Thanks to the lilac perfume, the stench was gone. Yeah, Gourox smelled like flowers. It was better then smelling like something that would make you nauseas enough to vomit at the first smell. Henry had just looked at himself in the shabby small mirror above the sink. The mirror with a huge crack running through it. He looked himself in the mirror, splashed murky water on his face one last time, and that’s when he got the sensation. His eyes started bulging, and he knew. He thought Oh crap, here we go……………………. And the rest room started spinning in circles and he couldn’t think anymore. Heat hot like fire started exploding inside of him, first with his fingertips then up his hands, up his arms, accelerating to his chest, his head, his toes, then passing. It wasn’t over yet. The pangs came. A sharp pang of pain each one was. One pang, Henry was clutching his chest. Another pang, he’s clutching his arm, and then a pang there, and there, and there, and there, and there. The pangs kept coming, more and more, faster and faster. He opened his mouth to scream, but was then blocked by the pain and he couldn’t even get out a squeak. The biggest pangs of all came. They came on his throat, stomach, and mouth. They cancelled out all the other pangs, and they all came at the same time. This led to Gourox throwing up uncontrollably. His vomit shot out of his mouth and flew across the room. It looked like oil in an oil leak, only with lumps. And it STILL wasn’t over. Henry’s vision switched from Technicolor to black & white. His head, it felt like his brain was splitting in 2. Very slowly the pain wore off, but Henry’s face had an orange glow. No vomit was left on his face, his own or the one he landed in. No makeup, his face was clear. So was his hair. His mother’s shirt wasn’t dead. His ears smelled…………………………………..well, not like old pickles. After the sensation, Henry looked exactly how he looked BEFORE being dumped in the can of trash. Except for the Elvis Presley wig. Some may call it strange, some may call it “HOLY COW”, and others……………………………….”OH MY GOD”…………………………..and “NO WAY!!!!”
Some may even call it magic.
The sensation had been happening for a while now. It started 2 weeks ago, and then, instead of an orange glow his face turned gray. Then blue, then dark blue. Of course, Henry didn’t tell his parents. He left the deli, passing by the cashier/Chinese guy who owned the deli Huang. Huang didn’t mind owning a dilapidated deli. He was always solemn, with a chill attitude. He was just as run down, as his deli itself. Never repairing his shop, even though hardly anyone ever came in to buy. Haung was so chill that he hired under aged workers (some say there’s a reason most of them are girls). He was so chill that he was still solemn after all the days Henry got the sensation and messed up his deli’s restroom. Hell, he would even let people smoke crack in his deli. Everybody in the neighborhood knew it. If you were, say a 12 year old kid or a 15 year old kid who was an outcast to society or whatever, and wanted some extra cash where do you go?? Huang’s deli.
The deli was at the side of a very unpopular road, that no one would ever drive on, intentionally. The road went unnamed, and was surrounded by bushes, and other plants. No lanes. In fact if the road WAS known by MORE then teenagers in the neighborhood (who called it “Road Anonymous” and called the deli “Huang’s deli”) then a patrolling police car would’ve stopped by YEARS ago, and “Huang’s deli” would be gone by now. The police would’ve charged Huang for not getting a health inspector to look at the place (either way the deli would’ve failed the test by a long shot). Or even for having a deli made of unstable wood that was probably old enough to be from the 1970’s, that was also infected with rats. In front of Huang’s deli was a rugged gas station with no sign. There might’ve been a sign but if so, you couldn’t even notice because half the station was smothered in old graffiti some teenagers sprayed on in the 90’s. You could pretty much tell why no one ever stepped in for gas unless seriously desperate. On those rare occasions, when filling up your car, you could hear sputters and gurgles and all sorts of sounds coming from the gas pump. It mostly just sounded like a guy with a lot of gas from a day of endless burritos, nachos, and chili. It was half funny, in a messed-up-comedy-for-schmucks kind of way, and half of it was just sad. It wasn’t exactly a Shell station. The deli didn’t have a sign either, hence the nickname “Huang’s deli”.

Henry’s house was hidden behind a plant, 2 plants away from the deli.
The deli, the school, the neighborhood, it’s all in Long Island. Anyway, the reason Huang was, in fact able to get away with hiring under aged workers, and owning a dilapidated deli that had never even seen a health inspector, was simply because no patrol police cars ever rolled around on Road Anonymous.




Very calmly, as though nothing had ever happened that day, Henry unlocked the door to his house. Finally, a place where he could be alone, not have to relive his never ending embarrassing moment by sharing it. He wouldn’t have to face anyone, wouldn’t have to face the world. No more gossips. Only peace, and Xman videogames. Henry was made to be a geek, not impress girls………………………….
Yep, an afternoon of Xman would definitely take his mind off his problems.
Afterward he could always just cry or ball up and cry. Cause you know, NO ADULTS TO SEE HIM.
Either way Henry was just glad he was alone, it was just the way he liked it…………………………..
He had just slipped inside, and was JUST leaning against the door thinking PHEW!!! That was just about the worst day of my life. Eh, either way…………………time for relaxation!!! ALOHA XMAN!!!!!!!!
He was JUST in that position when……………………………………………….
“UGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
Henry jumped at the sight of his parents standing right in front of him.
So much for being alone in relaxation.
So much for not having to face anyone.
So much for any of it.
Gourox’s mother (Cynthia) had short, black hair in a pixie cut and shopped at the men’s section at stores. Many people had called it strange, but in the past she claimed “back in the old days I grew up a frilly gal who cared about magazines and make up. Well, screw her!! I’ve found a breakthrough, and, well I’m not afraid to express myself. I’m a rocker!! And frankly I don’t give a damn what others are saying about me, you know what I say?? Screw them!!!”
More then a couple of people had called her strange, and some had even said she was the way she was because of way too many drinks. But personally Henry thought that even though she wasn’t that much of a role model, she wasn’t a shitty mother either.
As for his dad (Ron), well he loved Cynthia even after she decided to leave her ‘frilly gal’ life behind. And sure, he might not have had rocker clothes but hey, he and his son had more of the pat-on-the-back father-to-son relationship. Ron was the perfecto guy for conversations like this

Henry: “She punched me in the nose today. Why are girls so confusing??”
Ron *arm around son’s shoulder*: “We may never know”
Henry & Ron *at the same time & in a sigh*: “Yeah”

And………………..
*Ron and Henry driving home from Xman convention*
Ron & Henry *both singing the theme song to that 70’s show at the same time*: “HANGING OUT!! DOWN THE STREET!!! THE SAME OLD THING!! WE DID LAST WEEK!! NOT A THING TO LOSE……………….”
*the car hits a pole, therefore sending the car flying into the air while spinning. Gratefully, the car lands in a patch of grass, unharmed*
Ron *before Henry could say ‘HOLY COW!!’*: “ Let’s not tell your mother about this”.
Henry *too shocked to speak*
Ron *pats Henry on the back*: “Just remember son, when you see your mother, BE A MAN. Nothing ever happened…………………….”
Henry *finally able to speak* “Are you trying to convince me or yourself?? Cause your even worse at that then I am. Once you look into mom’s eyes you’ll be blurting out exactly what just happened, detail to detail”
Ron: “a man can only try”

(yes that event actually did happen)

Things changed for Henry, when he went to high school. Not only was his dad always working, but his mom was too. It turns out she had felt guilty about Ron always working, and she, staying home. It made her feel like she was being lazy. AND she had always wanted a job. AND by the time Gourox was in high school, she had decided he was old enough to handle being home by himself. Henry didn’t mind, ESPICIALLY that day. His parents worked as managers. His dad, as manager of a small fast food cart company “Jack’s food”. Basically, the company was mostly just men driving in trucks full of hot dogs, hamburgers, lemonade and all the other good stuff. They drove around small parts of Long Island, and stopped for people to buy. Kind of like an ice cream truck, only loaded with fast food. The company wasn’t exactly famous. His mom worked as manager of the HUGE Macy’s department store at the nearest mall. Keeping everyone in order, and deciding which employees should work there. Both parents only came home on weekends (except on holidays), so why both of them were home on this seemingly ordinary day, baffled Henry. In fact, he was JUST about to say (in a sarcastically happy way, with a fake smile) “Mom, Dad!!! What are you guys doing here?!!”. He was JUST ABOUT to say that, when he took a good look at their faces. Both were serious, which was an EXTREMELY RARE OCCASION. However, when they saw his face, their expressions changed dramatically. Cynthia put a hand over her mouth, which wasn’t something she’d done ever since she gave up her ‘frilly gal’ life. Ron’s forehead wrinkled with worry. Henry was just about to become MORE baffled when he remembered: DAMN!! I forgot to wash away the color on my face!!! Usually, before leaving the deli, he would splash his face again and again, until the color on it wore off. But on that day, with depressing thoughts of not getting Sarah clouding his head, it must’ve slipped his mind. Slowly, Cynthia sat down on the nearby couch. When FINALLY getting over her shock (which wasn’t very fast) she finally said “Were you embarrassed today??”. Her voice was a whisper.
Gourox said exactly what he was thinking at the moment: “How do you know??”.
Cynthia and Ron exchanged worried looks. Her husband took the seat next to her. Ron was the next to speak: “You started getting sick 2 weeks ago yes?”
Henry was now officially freaked out.
His parents must’ve sensed it too, because his mother said “Huang told us about you getting sick in his restroom”.
Okay, so maybe Huang wasn’t as chill as he thought.
Slowly, his voice shaking he replied “Mo-om, d-d-dad w-what’s going on?” Henry hardly stuttered. But now was an exception. There was this huge pause, like in soap operas.
After a while, Ron answered “Son, you getting sick, it’s not just a flu”
And he explained.


Ron wasn’t always the manager of “Jack’s food”. Before that he worked at a nearby railroad station, patrolling the place, making sure no one was doing anything out of order. One night, he had found this teenaged boy to the side. The boy had been there all day, and the station was just closing. “Hey kid, you gotta leave, the station’s closing” Ron told him. The boy looked up, eyes blood shot red, face glowing lime green. He was in such pain that he was clutching his stomach. With the little strength he had left, he attacked Ron, with his fingernails, of which were between fingernails and claws. He attacked and left a mark, but not a scratch mark, oh no, but the mark of the sun. Then, pain free, the boy left, and Ron never saw him again. He discovered that the boy wasn’t normal. The boy had powers, magical ones. There was, in fact a species different from our own. Humans with powers. They didn’t have a specific name. Those kind of humans, their brains were shaped like suns (hence the mark) and could do MUCH more then the normal human brain. Magical things. Other then that, they were just like us. Of course at first they are born regular humans, but as they became teenagers, their brains start to shape into a sun, giving them powers, but also making them sick. The boy was one of them. His brain was shaping up. The pain was too much, so he transferred those powers to Ron. So now the boy was normal again, and RON was the magical human. After getting over the shock that there WAS such thing as magical humans, and that HE was one of them, Ron trained himself, to control his abilities, and hide them from regular humans. Then he’d gotten Cynthia pregnant with Henry and all his abilities…………GONE!! No more sun mark, he was normal again. Ron and Cynthia had decided to forget all about it. They didn’t know the abilities were hereditary.

“And a part of it is that well, when you first get sick, your vision, the only color you could see is the color of your emotions. Like, if you see blue, your sad. Red, your angry. But on the outside, the color of your vision, it’s the color you face glows” Cynthia finished explaining.
Even though Henry was shocked as hell and hell’s tomorrow, he could still speak and he had A-LOT of questions
“ARE YOU SERIOUS??!!!”
“Yes, 100 %”
“HOLY CRAP!!”
“Henry, don’t curse in front of your mother”
“SO your telling me I’m a creep”
“NO WE’RE NOT”
“OH MY GOD!!”
“Only girls say oh my god”
“but I just said it”
“Anything else Henry??”
“How do I get rid of this??”
“You don’t” Ron answered. “But the pain CAN go away. I’ll just have to train you, and I will. I’ll train you”. The room was a deadly silent place after those words, as everyone absorbed the news, and tried to relax. There was finally peace.
Henry: “one last question. Do I get a wand??”
Ron and Cynthia screamed their answer at the same time.
“NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

A week and a half later was the day. The day training would start. Henry was JUST staring up at the ceiling, staring at the chipped off pieces, and the Shingled fan above, thinking This CANT be real……………….. This conception wasn’t strange. It had started 3 days ago, when Gourox, with nothing to do, stayed home. Of course, with nothing to distract him, his thoughts wavered towards the previous conversation with his parents (the one with them telling him he had powers). But, just thinking about it made his brain hurt, so he forced himself to distract himself with thoughts of something else. Or some-ONE else as Henry’s thoughts then wavered towards Sarah. Which made him remember that horrible, embarrassing, day not too long ago. Which made him think of the conversation AFTER he came home from school on that particular day. The conversation about him being magical. MAGIC, SARAH, MAGIC, SARAH, MAGIC, SARAH……………………………Now his brain REALLY hurt. Gourox didn’t realize he was pacing, until he came up to his bedroom door. His bed was looking so nice and comfy, and with his wave of sickening thoughts, Henry would do just about anything for a long, long nap, and then to wake up to discover that there was NO SUCH THING AS MAGIC. So he ly down, but instead of falling into a disturbed sleep, he lie awake, still thinking about the previous conversation, only this time, he didn’t feel sick just thinking about it. This time he was collecting his thoughts. Basically you would come into the room to find a teenaged guy lying down on his bed staring into space (the ceiling) with a HUGE frown on his face, as though he was depressed. Neither of his parents minded this brand new daily virtue. Both knew their son, as well as any kid out there, would take a long time processing this news easily. Which was why Henry was caught off guard when one day, in the middle of the virtue, his father strut into the room, boots and jacket, and tossed Gourox his coat. “Come on”. It took a while for Gourox to snap out of his meditating state. When he did, and processed the words he said “Where?”. And then, with such an un-father-like fashion, Ron threw his son the “o-puh-leeze” look, and said in a matching tone “You didn’t honestly believe I’d forget about training did you?”
Honestly, Henry really did.
For 2 hours they drove to reach the training ground, which was on the further side of Long Island. And when they had reached it, Henry was almost more baffled then the time he found out he had magical powers. Almost, but not quite.
“This is a ditch” he stated.
“Yes it is” Ron said as though his son just said ‘Pluto’s a moon!!’
“This is A DITCH” he repeated, this time emphasizing the last 2 words.
Technically, it was a wildlife conservative, that stretched on for miles. Part plains, part woods. It stood at the side of Road Anonymous, with a fence around the edges, with an opening.
“Look son,” R started. “I know it’s no gym, but over the months this’ll be your training ground. The area’s huge and secretive and it’s got everything you need to be a man”. Henry knew that right at the very moment, man meant a guy who’s NOT a vomiting sicko.
They began with a few basics:
“K, champ, I want you to pick up that tree”. Ron’s pointing finger flew to the nearby newly planted tree, that fell during a thunderstorm.
“why?”
Ron answered “Cause, we’re gonna build you some muscles. Now here’s the trick, whenever your stuck, feeling weak, just say “I got the power!!” real strong. Say it long enough and you’ll convince your brain, of which will give you the strength you’ll need”.
Here’s what happened: Henry thought it was just a puny tree and that the task was gonna be easy, until he discovered that the tree was, in fact, heavier then he thought, so heavy in fact, that he couldn’t pick it up!! He pulled, tugged made sounds, and still nothing. Embarrassed by how weak he was, he started to shout it.
“I got the power!!”
“I GOT THE POWER!!”
“I GOT THE POWER BABBYYY!!!!!!!”
Until he was FINALLY able to pick it up, screaming “I GOT THE POWER!!” like the biggest buffoon ever seen.
As soon as he’d picked it up, had he dropped it, the tree bouncing with a PLOP! Off his head. At the time he was on top of a hill, so down he rolled, down the hill, and into the nearby lake. When he got out his face was red as a cherry and he was panting “Could I try that again?”

What they did next……………………………………………….

“So maybe your not up for endurance yet, but we’ve still gotta get those legs and stomach flab-free” . That was Ron’s reply to the previous event. He had walking Henry to the next destination in the conservative: 2 very small hills that were parallel to one another. “So here’s what your gonna do. Your gonna run up and down those 2 hills, once you get up, you go down the same way you got up, then you go up the parallel hill. If your legs are feeling weak, then before you fall from running too much, right at the last minute, do a flip, then keep on running. DON’T STOP”. Even HEARING his instructions made Henry nervous. In less then 5 minutes, Gourox’s legs felt weak. As told, he did a flip……………………….and landed on his head.

And after THAT……………………………………..

“Now what your gonna do next is so easy you wont have to do a thing. It’s a test no one can fail” Ron said after that. This time father-and-son were at the pond, at the conservative, looking up at thin branches weaved around each other like a trap. R continued: “All ya have to do is climb that there tree” {points at a nearby tree} “and jump into the branch trap. Ya see, those branches up there aren’t normal. Once they sense the touch of an animal, they’ll stretch you beyond belief. Which is just what a guy like you needs”.
Oh, they stretched Henry alright, but so much he hung upside down, screaming as the branches stretched him so much that his pants ripped, right down the middle.

Then came the end of the day…………………………………..
Henry spent the rest of the remaining day in bed. When his father came to check in on him, he stated his case.
“dad, I don’t think I should, you know, train anymore. My head seriously aches, and I’m too weak to train for anything.”
Ron was quick with a response: “The training I’m giving ya is training made for magical humans, which you are one. I could tell cause your brain makes you stronger then a normal human being. If you were normal, you’d be in the emergency room by now. So I’ll see ya tomorrow at the conservatory 7:40 SHARP. Don’t worry about a thing. You’ll get the hang of it in a couple a months”.
CASE CLOSED.
That sure got a groan out of Henry.

All that training really paid off. In just 3 months, Henry had lost his grandfather’s stomach, lost the flab. He now had muscles, and awesome abs. Gymnastics and running weren’t a problem, and neither was endurance. But it wasn’t just his body that’d changed. Working out a lot in the sun, had given Gourox a hot tan that made him look like a hunk. He grew an inch or 2. And he even came to be a little bit charming. Henry hadn’t gone to school ever since training started, but that was gonna change. Ron and Cynthia found out {to their great relief} that there was a school for teenaged magical humans, it was at the edge of Earth and was called TSOMC. Humans believed it stood for “Teaching school of mystic creators” and that it was a school for teenagers with minds MUCH more creative then normal. And they went there to pursue author careers, and that though the school pursues all genres, the mystical creative writing is the biggest subject. Only the students who went there, knew the truth: TSOMC stands for Training school of magical craft, and that it was a boarding school because it was a protective barrier to hide teenaged magical humans, whose brains were starting to shape into suns. It was to hide them from the world. The school was for magical human teenagers who wanted to live in the mortal realm. There, they were taught how to control their powers, and use them wisely, AND how to hide their powers from humans. Also how to fight scientists out to get them, and do it SECRETLY FROM HUMAN SIGHT. And Henry’s parents were positive they didn’t want him living in magical realms. So they sent him to TSOMC. On his first day, he strode through the door to the TSOMC gym where the first class was. People were doing everything, from gymnastics to fighting…………..with POWERS. One girl came right up to him, but she didn’t look like the others, who all looked like normal humans. She contained a red aura, with her red hair in a rockstar cut. She even had tiny red wings {similar to butterfly wings}. Everything about her was red, red, RED. She came up to him and said “Hey, are you, like, the new kid?”
Henry nodded. She kept on talking “Don’t worry about it. We all get nervous in the beginning…………..”
Gourox rudely interrupted her. “So am I, like, a witch or something??”.
The girl’s face turned from friendly to steaming mad, turning red as her aura. She elbowed him in the ribs, HARD. “Witch is just a stereotype” she snapped.
It was right at that moment in time, when Scarlett walked in.

My name is Scarlett. And if you want a story, then hell, I’ve got one. A story unlike any other. Here it is……………………..
My father is one of the members of the principality (unlike human schools, there’s more then just 1 principle. There’s tons and they all get together for important discussions (they hold meetings)). The principality is a group of the most powerful, sophisticated and wise magical humans in the mortal realm. They hold perhaps, the most important job of all: they’re guardians. To everybody in TSOMC. They make sure no creatures from other realms (like the henerden griffin) come into our world. Many have the strict responsibility of hiding TSOMC from those human scientists out to get us (and as powerful as they are, it’s never an easy task). More then few depend on them. My father being a member, is the reason that though in age, I may be 14, I have extremely advanced knowledge and behavior. The cycle is quite simple: I’m next in line to be a member of the principality, this being because of where I stand. But just because my father (Andre Beckham) is indeed a member of the principality, it absolutely does not mean life is at ease and luxury for me. In fact, I do play a role in TSOMC, one quite huge for my age. I’m a student teacher, otherwise known as assistant teacher. I work putting my good knowledge into use, by teaching it to kids my age, who trust me because of my age. This position, it’s kind of like being vice principle of a huge company, I do a lot. It’s my first step to becoming a member. I am strictly professional, because I don’t let emotions get in the way of my work, in fact, I HAVE no emotions that interfere with my work. I get up earlier than others, I’m fair, and I’m simply put on Earth to be a member of the principality. End of story. I walked into the gym of TSOMC, ready to assist, when the back of my brain, burned, Marlee, she’s mad. I knew this before I saw her crimson face. This lesson, comes with advanced knowledge, and it’d take years before I could teach students this. I walked over to where my senses told me she was, to see what the situation was, and fix it, counselor-wise. That’s when I saw the new arrival, Henry. WHOA. He didn’t look anything like the other male magical humans I’ve ever seen. He looked different, for some reason that caught my eye. All I know is, that even though I had come to fix the situation, I heard this pounding sound, that was quite loud. I felt myself get nervous. Were those dang scientists breaking down the protective barrier that concealed the school?? Apparently not, as I looked around, nobody heard, they just went on their usual duties. I realized, with great embarrassment, that it was the sound of my beating heart. Strange…………………… Anyway, I fixed my eyes off him, I had maintained my sophistication for so long that I was too cool to lose it now. “What’s the problem??’ I asked Marl, The red hot Butterfinger answered: “Nothing, I was just talking, being polite, when this dude starts being rude and goes all over the witch stereotype”. I assured her “Don’t worry, he’s kind of new to this whole thing. He probably didn’t digest it yet, give him some time. If in time, he doesn’t improve……………” I waved my magical pointer finger for show “You know who to call”. M smiled, and said “Thanks Scar” before getting back to her normal duties. “Come” I said to Henry, careful not to stare, “I’ll take you to your first class”. I walked him across the gym, knowing he didn’t exactly learn magical transportation yet. “Who ARE you??” he asked, his voice between the lines of soft and firm. I answered as I always did: “My name is Scarlett. I’m an assistant teacher. And I assume you must be Henry”. Henry looked star struck, as he marveled “has EVERYONE been talking about me??”. I answered this one honestly “but of course. We haven’t had a new student in AGES”. H smiled broadly. The front of my brain boiled. Ahh…………… in his old school, half the people didn’t even know his name. We were here. “This is your first class” I explained. “gymnastics”. A small cloud floated out from inside my head and made the familiar POP sound that indicated, the words on it were visible. “That’s your schedule. Bedtime’s at 11. If you need me, just send me a mental signal” I added, hoping I wouldn’t have to explain what mental signal meant. I didn’t. The cloud floated inside Henry’s head. He now had the schedule memorized. I made my final speech “now if you excuse me I now have duties to attend…………………………….”. But something about my voice sounded different. Wait, it wasn’t my voice. It’s, it’s my emotions. For the first and only time EVER, I didn’t want to have to have ‘duties to attend’, I wanted to get to know Henry. When I walked away, my heart started pounding AGAIN!!! This was highly unusual. But, it’ll pass, it’s just a small part of puberty, it occurs in all teenagers. Surely it’ll go away by the next crack of dawn.

Chapter 2

But it WASN’T puberty!! This I had discovered by the next crack of dawn. I was just about my regular duties, helping assist Ms. Greenberg in her class, defense against the human mind. The class was for students of whom now knew how to control their powers, use them wisely, and how to hide them from humans. Now they would learn how to battle those human scientists I’ve been speaking about. Today, was their first day, when they would discover all the creatures out there to get us. Even though it was reality, hearing it could be quite a scare, especially coming from a speech from Ms. Greenberg. Of course I had to assist. But the strange thing was, that when I woke up in the morning, I had so nearly forgotten about my duties. The strange thing was HOW I had nearly forgotten. It was, unbelievably because, my mind was wavering elsewhere. Wavering towards thoughts of that new boy Henry

I wonder why hardly anyone at his old school knew his name. He’s unbearably eye-catching.
I hope I can get to know him, without my senses………………

The next thing I knew, I had swaggered into Mr. Oce’s room, the empowerment class. It was just as everyone was staring at me that I snapped out of it. I was on the way to Ms. Greenberg’s class when thoughts of Henry distracted me, therefore I accidentally walked into Oce’s class. This realization worried me. I hardly EVER got distracted, from ANYTHING, in fact I NEVER got distracted from ANYTHING. I never walked, I magically transported. I wasn’t dizzy daisy, I was cosmopolitan Scarlett, sophisticated as name. As knowledgeable as I was though, I knew how to keep the feelings of worry off my appearance. Cosmopolitan Scarlett was here to stay. I maintained my cool. “Hello, I was just doing a quick morning patrol around the classrooms, you guys need anything?”. Mr. Oce obviously sensed my emotions (it’s a wonder how teachers can see through the young mind). But he was, poised with this random interruption. He smiled, and, slowly with a point of his finger, rose into the air. Going higher and higher until he was near to the ceiling. Then he flew, back onto the ground with a huge drop. But before his feet could touch the ground, he stopped, rapidly. He was now floating on his stomach. Mr. Oce’s body then started moving like an eel. Like jogging, kind of. This move, I knew, was called the eel move and was useful to relaxation of the mind. Mr. O joked “Don’t you worry, class is going swimmingly”. The laughter from his students could be heard from the other angle of TSOMC. Oce was known for his quirky sense of humor. I smiled and nervously, swaggered back out the door. After leaning against the door, my breath caught, I magically transported myself to the first duty on the agenda: Ms. Greenberg’s class. Though I got striked with a huge fear: This Henry may just be getting under my skin, perhaps much more then the dang human scientists. This was more then highly unusual, this was a bad omen. I willed myself to set my thoughts strictly to business. That is, of course why I was chosen to be student teacher. “why Scarlett,” Ms. G exclaimed sarcastically as I popped into the room, “we almost thought you weren’t gonna make it”. That was her way of saying Don’t you start skidadling anytime soon. Tidy up. Ms. G was right. I absolutely musn’t let silly little thoughts interfere with work. What would I possibly do without Ms. Greenberg to put me back into place?? As usual, I stood to the side, while Ms, G made her daily speech.

Kids, you now know how ta control your powers, you know not to use them to do stupid stuff like stealing a magazine, and you EVEN know how ta hide them from them mortals. Does that mean you could just go home and get on with your life?? Does that mean you could just go back to NYC or Hong Kong?? DOES-THAT-MEAN-YOU-COULD-GET-OUTTA-TSOMC-OF-WHICH-MOST-OF-YA’S-THINK-IS-A-HELLHOLE??? No siree, you know why?? Cause they are creatures out there to HUNT US DOWN. Some are creatures from other magical realms, who even wanna eat you for dinner!!

But, even more dangerous, are these worldwide group a scientists called the Tenant. Insect scientists, brain scientists, body scientist, scientists of all kinds are working together RIGHT NOW with only one goal: hunt down magical humans. They’ll set traps, set out cameras, set out spies, they’ll do anything ta get you in their labs. They wanna experiment on us, study us, expose us to the mortals, inject us with drugs. How’d this all begin?? In 1840, a while back, there’s this girl, Katie Strussel, magical human teenaga like you guys. She’s doing fine in the mortal world. Hell, she even gets herself a mortal boyfriend. Then she decides their relationship should be based on trust. So……….BLAM, she lands the bomb and tells him she’s magical. So not only does he break up with her, he tells his scientist daddy. Daddio just goes right ahead and tells his scientist friends, who tell THEIR friends, and next thing you know, you got a worldwide rumor about us magical humans. Which got OTHA scientists interested, which made them start hunting for the truth. Now all a those scientists decided ta work together, making them 10x more powerful. Every-magical-human-out-there is in jeopardy of bein killed by one of the scientists in the Tenant. Oh, and little Katie, not only did her boyfriend break up with her, she got banished to hell. So ok, you can go home now, but how’ll you know who to trust?? Herenade griffins that work for the Tenant could hunt you down. A friendly mortal could be a ghoul in disguise, ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN. So you know what?? You could hate me, think I’m scary, I don’t care. Cause though I can protect you now, once your outside TSOMC’s protective barrier, the only person to protect you is yourself. And I’m gonna teach you how. And these lessons will stay you for life, hell, they’ll SAVE your life. Cause you cant change reality and reality is, that the Tenant is still out there. Don’t believe me?? Take a look around. The tenant tried to mess with 2 of TSOMC’s students and now they’ve got conditions that’ll last FOR LIFE.
Welcome to Defense of the Human mind.
This isn’t just a class, this is life.

JUST with those words, she singled out the only 2 butterfingers in TSOMC. My worst fear came alive. Disasters planned at the last minute. They’re my fears because I can’t prevent them. And I could tell this latest addition to the speech was planned last minute, because otherwise Ms. Greenberg would’ve told me about it. This was truly disastrous. The back corner of my head ached. I smiled. So there was a way. A way to fix this.

After my first duty was attended, I went over to have a chat with Ms. Greenberg. “You know I rather believe that your speech was different then usual. I like it, but I think it could’ve been a lot more effective”. Greenberg, chomping down on an apple, said “How so?”. I continued “well, you know that part about you talking about the 2 students who’ve got conditions for life? Well instead of mentioning the butterfingers, why don’t you mention HOW the scientists could give you conditions for life??”. Ms. G considered this, before replying “that’s actually not a bad idea. Hell, those wimpy kids would get a whole lot more scared, which’ll make them listen and participate in class more, which can promote a whole new generation of Protected magical humans!!” her excitement flew by quick though, as she said “but what are ya gonna do? I already made the speech, guess I’m just gonna have to live with it.”. I pulled out a jug I’ve been hiding while we’ve been having this conversation. I ran to the shoo-in and got it before I’d approached Greenberg. The jar contained powerful purple dust that toyed with other people’s minds and put thoughts of your choice into them. The shoo-in was the storage area where the most powerful, strongest potions, remedies, and magic what not in the world was kept. Only members of the principality have key access to it. With the exception of me, of course, my father being a member of the principality. I, of course wasn’t allowed to use any of the stuff there, unless I wanted to be banished to hell. But TSOMC authorities were allowed. Of course, Greenberg and all the other teachers knew that the principality would be extremely angry if the use of these powerful potions and what not wasn’t important. As I held out the jar I said “but you CAN change it”. Ms. G’s eyes widened, but then, thinking about a whole new generation of magical humans, she said “gimme that jar”. The trick was that instead of making her believe that it was for Marlee and Genevieve’s sake, make her believe it was to scare students more. This concept of toying with the mind, my father had said, is key to getting what you want. As Ms. Greenberg opened the jar, all of the purple dust in it, levitated into the air……………And came together in the form of a cloud. As words of events completed in Ms. Greenberg’s lifetime slowly appeared visible on the cloud. Ms. G held up her hand, just when word of the previous speech she’d made was about to fly by. With a wave of that same hand, she erased the part of the speech where she mentioned the butterfingers. She then recited HOW you could get conditions for life, just as I suggested. After, with one blow, she blew the dust into the nearby vent, where it separated, and flew out of vents in the rooms students from Greenberg’s class (who’ve heard the speech) were staying in. The dust flew into those students’ ears. So now instead of hearing the speech about the butterfingers, they heard the speech about how the Tenant could give you conditions for life, And no one even had to time travel. When we looked back at the jar, the dust was back inside, a little less then before. Problem solved.
Great!! I thought. I didn’t think of Henry the whole period!!!

Then I heard his voice inside my head.
Um………….Scarlett?? You there?? Could you hear me?? Is this mental signal thing working??

It was only when I heard the word mental signal did I know I wasn’t being paranoid. Phew!! It’s just Henry sending me a mental signal.

I sent him a mental signal back.
Yeah. Where are you?

He was quick to answer.
In the gym

Slowly, I concentrated.
Gym……………….gym…………………………
My senses all became intact, the mind, body, and soul came together as one. I shut my eyes, as my finger felt velvety, as they transformed into vines, then my hands, my arms, then my whole body. Every single one of my veins became visible.
My eyes were still shut and I was still concentrating.
Gym……………………..gym,…………………
ZAP!! I disapeared,
POP!! I reappeared, this time in the gym.
And that’s how magical transportation works.
It’s kind of like teleporting, but not exactly.
It’s different for everyone.
I almost screamed. But, I held my cool at long last.
I yelled instead.
A strange man, was dangling upside down, from the gym’s advanced placement branches that stretch you beyond belief (yes, there is an abnormal tree in the gym (we call her Willy)). I held up my hand, ready to strike up some kung fu (with powers). Wait……………the man was……….mumbling……………something. Cautiously, I came closer. And gasped, the branches covered the guy’s mouth, and throat, and just about everything else. Slowly, with the hand that wasn’t raised, I uncovered the branches, that covered his mouth, but that was it. “It’s me” he sputtered. “It’s me, Henry”. I put down my kung fu hand. Henry’s face was glowing orange, his hair was sticking up on his head, like spikes, and had turned crimson red. His clothes were ripped up and torn, and who knows where his shoes could’ve went. Whenever students were feeling lazy, their teacher would tell them to jump into Willy’s branches. Willy would not only stretch you beyond belief, but she would twist you around, toss you into the air, do just about anything to tidy you up. Willy REALLY must not have liked Henry.
“HENRY??!!” I exclaimed. “You gave me a start. WHAT DID YOU DO TO YOURSELF?!!”. My exclamation only made his face, glow all the more orange before he answered, “well, in gym Mr. Olsen said I don’t even have a need to take the class, but he said I could take extra credit. So I was doing that, when I jumped into these branches…………..and, well, it didn’t really work out so well”.
Glancing at his red spiked up hair, and face orange as an orange, his rags that were once clothes, and his shoeless feet, I replied “Yeah, I could see that”. With a snap of my magical pointer finger, Willy’s branches untangled themselves from Henry completely. I could feel my hand tingling with energy. It shed a small light. I took Henry’s hand, wrapping my tingling fingers around his. Now my energy got passed down to him, as slowly, his face turned it’s normal color, his rags, clothes, and he became in the same condition he was before he jumped into Willy’s branches. I didn’t know why I had chosen to touch his hand. With my tingling energy, I could’ve touched any part of his body and the result would’ve stayed the same. Why I chose his hand was beyond my comprehension. I found that I was STILL holding his hand even after his condition was completely back to normal. And I liked it. It felt………………..different. A good different. Henry didn’t protest. In fact he was smiling at me. Ok, that was it. I threw all my willpower out the window, and just looked at him, took everything in. His features, like the way his eyes glowed in the limelight, they glowed green. How his muscles, big and strong sent shivers down my spine by how they could lift me up, how he had that little dimple on the side of his nose, how his smile could light up a city, How he was soothingly tall, how his hair only accentuated his features. My breath caught. I now knew what made him seem so different the first time I saw him. It was all making sense now. It all came together in one sentence.
He’s Beautiful.
I tried so, very hard to prevent a blush from making an appearance. Which was highly unusual. I’d never have to TRY to hide my emotions before. I simply did. But hey, a lot of unusual things had been happening lately.

Before me and Henry could do ANYTHING, I shyly released his hand. Even hiding my emotions, a little pink had crept onto my face.
I started to get nervous.
“Well I-I’d b-best be getting to my d-duties”
Quickly, I headed for the door, forgetting magical transportation. I had never stuttered before IN MY LIFE!!
Well, I guess there’s a first for everything.
I heard his voice: “Scar, wait”.
My heart started beating, what did American humans call it? ‘a mile a minute’??.
I turned to face the most beautiful magical human guy I’ve ever seen.
“Yes??”
“Could you kind of, you know, show me to my room?? I’m pretty sure I don’t know how to get around this place yet” He asked.
I couldn’t help smiling as I answered “gladly”

Chapter 3




It was unbelievably silent as me and Henry walked the halls to his room. Amazingly, I was able to think clearly, Despite standing in his presence. I remembered Marlee’s previous lash-out.
“You know if you want to survive here, you’re going to have to be polite. There is no such thing as wizards, or witches, or any witchcraft. Nor is there such thing as zombies. All of those creatures are simply made from creativity of the human mind, put on paper” I said, avoiding looking at him. I could never concentrate or think right unless my eyes are averted from him. “Is that what they teach you?” he responded teasingly. “In polite school”. He then randomly flapped his arms, danced and jumped like a buffoon, in a circle around me. Next, H joked “AND NOW WE A GOING TA LEARN HOW TA SAY GET BACK TO MY DUTIES PROPERLAY, AND THEN HOW TO WARN THOSE SILLE LITTLE HUMAN BOYS ABOUT POLITENESS. JOY TO THA WORLD!!” I knew it was every wrong in the world, and mortally embarrassing, but I lost self control. I hooted with laughter. “STOP!!” I playfully swatted his arm, and my laughs had blocked me from saying “INAPPROPRIATE!!”. As we calmed down, we continued to walk down the hall smiling from our laugh fest. The silence didn’t last long.
I was the first to speak.
“You know what’s crazy?”
“What?”
“People afraid to admit their romantic feelings for each other”
“Yeah” Henry agreed. “Afraid because they’re supposed to be loving someone else”.
“Afraid because they’re supposed to be stern, with no emotions to distract them from their duties”.
And, just like that, I lost all self control-all together. And he must’ve too, because we both turned to face each other, with huge grins, twinkling eyes and a renewed happiness. Almost as though we were in love. My heart was yet AGAIN pounding, but this time, I could almost hear his heart, pounding to the same beat of the same drum. Full of chemistry, full of harmony, and a buzz of excitement. We were now at the door to his new room. “Well, this is it” I broke off.
“Yep”.
Neither one of our single-souled bodies moved.
I was trying to propose how to say goodbye. I was well afraid to touch his hand again, or touch just about any other part of his body.
Luckily, he decided to pull another joke. “Farewell, ma-damn Scarlett”, he joked, with a solemn bow to finish it off. “Farewell Sir Henry” I bowed as well. Bowing, very clever. Slowly, the door closed, Sir Henry on the other side, myself in the hallway, smiling. I could still feel the buzz of excitement I felt with him. The electricity between us was so strong I could still feel it, wafting in the air.


It was now time to consult the spirit of change. I had rushed into the shoo-in once again, this time to grab an object. The Principality had gained it from Madame Zacharana, a real physic. She was, in fact the most powerful physic on Earth of whom WASN’T a magical human. She traveled the world, so that many could benefit from her services. On one of her travels, to a small island nearby Fiji, she discovered it, hidden under rocks and sod. Once she discovered it’s powers, she kept it hidden, on the cover that it was her crystal ball. I can’t blame her, it does indeed look like a cheap human crystal ball, or, simply a ball of glass. But it was MUCH MORE. This crystal ball was the key to the spirit world, spirits, gods, and, all spiritual consultants. I took the ball to a quiet, private, empty room at the corner of TSOMC. Consulting in the spirit of change was a monthly virtue. The maidens knew this so they’d always clean the room, dusting, and taking care of cobwebs. And they’d never walk in whenever they saw blue smoke. Usually the virtue was done early in the morning, when I had spare time before tending my duties. Inside the empty room with the door closed, I held the crystal ball in both hands, shut my eyes and concentrated.
WHOP!! The room immediately began to fill up with bright blue smoke. As I let go of the ball, it floated into the air, no longer made of glass, but a deep purple portal. It rose above all the blue smoke in the room. Now I could consult in the spirit of change. Though I couldn’t see her, I could hear her. The spirit of change was the smartest and wisest of the spirits in the spiritual world.
“O’ great spirit” I chanted. “Is Sir Henry a menace to the future of the principality or of myself?”
OK, I know it may’ve come off as a selfish question, but this was also for the sake of the future principality!! Usually I consulted in the spirit of change for the sake of protecting the student body of TSOMC, like a woman praying to god for her family.
Change answered “no he is not. But, as I have said, the nearest menace is a family member of yours.”
I think I know just the one I thought. Change couldn’t tell me everything. For, she knew that it was wise to allow me to discover certain things, that it was better for me, to allow me to grow. This, she told me when I asked.
“Is that all?” she asked.
“Yes” I answered.
POOF!! She disappeared, as the smoke fell to the ground in the form of dust. The maidens would have to sweep and dispose all of it. Perhaps this time, I would help them.


There was one place in TSOMC students were allowed to go to on the weekends. The place was as closest to a mortal store as there was. There were magical human gear for fighting, wrestling, and gym. Also, food magical humans could have that WOULDN’T make them vomit, but these tasted almost like mortal food, or so I was told. Also served were beverages that relaxed the brain, and other stuff. All for magical humans. You didn’t even have to pay. All you have to do was show your school grade report, and if you didn’t get a low score, it was all free. The man who created the place and who worked there, Josh was a close friend of mine. He lived in the mortal realm outside of TSOMC longer than any other magical human had ever before. Well, though he was an adult, I didn’t have to teach or be stern with him. He was more knowledge able then me, and I could speak with him normally, not hiding my emotions. I could confide in him. “Why look who it is. Did you get a scar today Scar?” he joked. He really meant ‘did anything wrong happen? Are things normal?’. “Hello Josh” I greeted him, taking a seat. “Did you hear about the new guy…………” I started. “Henry Gourox, freshman, huge muscles, brain’s just starting to shape into a sun? nope haven’t heard of him” J replied. My mouth was wide open. “HOW’D YOU KNOW?!”
“a little bluebird told me” he answered. He then warped himself in a tiny normal bluebird. “Tweet, tweet” bluebird Josh joked in a squeaky voice. “Henry Gourox”.
“Oh, Josh, you were always very childish”
By now he’d warped back into human form as he said “Oh darling, I’m not childish. I’m IMMORTALLY childish. But really, everyone’s talking about him. Including the ladies”. My eyebrows rose. “You listen to girls’ private conversations?” I asked. J joked again “nope, I listen to ALL conversations. What about Henry?”.
I poured out my heart to him. How I held his hand, the walk in the hall……………..
“He made me laugh” I said.
“He’s a funny dude then”.
“He made me laugh for the first time in my life”
“You’ve never laughed before?”
“Nope. Just smiled”
“How’d it feel?”
“it felt……..like I was breaking free, like I was flying, as though there wasn’t a trouble in the world. The spirit of change said he’s not a menace but………………..”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa!!!” Josh dropped the towel he was holding to clean the tables. He said, in a this-is-unbelievable tone “You went to Change over a crush?!”. When he saw my face he said “Please tell me you get out more then that, that’ you know what a crush is”. He saw my face and tried to explain: “When you like a guy more then a friend? Kissing on the lips? Love, couple love?”. Now I completely understood, but when I heard ‘kissing on the lips’ I felt an abnormal heat, on my face. The corner of my brain melted. Ah, my face was as red as a red hot chili pepper. Josh stared at my face in amusement. Finally, he commented “the girl who’s so good at hiding her feelings, crumbles when hearing the word ‘kiss’”