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  Synthia gasped, pressing one hand against her bony chest. “My outfit is perfect.”

  Priyam smirked with delight at Synthia’s reactions. “It is perfect, if you’re a streetwalker.”

  Like most of Priyam’s comments, it took Synthia longer than it should to react. “You are so dumb…” She rolled her dark brown eyes. “Why would I walk on the street when I own a car?” She placed her purse on her shoulder and teetered away followed by her two shadows.

  “Did you hear that?” Priyam laughed, her glasses almost falling off her face. “She’s not a street walker because she owns a car. I swear that girl needs to stop bleaching her hair with such strong chemicals.”

  “She might not be bright, but you have to admit her immune system is amazing. I can’t believe she hasn’t died of pneumonia yet,” said G.

  “Oh, now you say something?”

  G took her sunglasses from the locker and placed them in her bag in case the light got brighter. “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “Two minutes ago she was bitching at you, and you stood there silent.”

  G closed her bag and hung it on her shoulder. “I’m peaceful.”

  “Is peaceful the new word for pushover?”

  “I’m not a pushover. I just think you do a better job sending her away,” said G as she closed her locker.

  Priyam grinned. “And I’m proud of it.”

  Walking down the hallway, G kept looking at everyone. Some were excited, others angry, and others sad. Some played around with their phones; some took pictures of each other and others texted nonstop.

  Everything in her life, except Bobby and Priyam, made G feel like she was missing something. She viewed the rest of the people around her like they all had everything figured out, everyone except her. While they all talked and wished to be skinny, date an outrageous number of people, have lots of money to spend on useless stuff and be prom queen, G hoped for something more. She wished for the knowledge of who she was, for a family, for incredible adventures and for the brave and loyal love she sadly finds only in her favorite books.

  But no… people around her valued the size of their jeans more than any personality trait. And they call me weird… she thought. Well… they probably call me that for other reasons. She acknowledged that unlike them, she could understand things in animals that no one understood, she could feel the plants and the flowers. She could sense when the snow was coming, when the spring was starting. Always making her wonder where she truly belonged. She felt like her life in Truckee, in that school and everywhere she went, wasn’t real. She felt as if she were living inside of one of the video games Priyam loved to play. As if she kept waiting for her life to begin. As if she were in a constant state of pause.

  Halfway down the hallway, G and Priyam noticed there was too much commotion among the students. “What’s going on?” G asked one of the overly excited seniors.

  “Hot new teacher,” she giggled.

  “Poor woman,” Priyam said while tying her black hair in a ponytail.

  “No.” The senior student smiled like a kid in a Christmas toy store. “It’s a male teacher.”

  Priyam stopped cold. Those were rare creatures at that school, and like always, she needed information. “What’s his name? What class?”

  “Mr. Blau.Twelfth-grade chemistry.”

  “Yes! We are going to have our own Ezra Fitz!” cheered Priyam.

  G grinned at the mention of PLL’s character; her friend was definitely a bottomless pit of pop culture references. “Since when do you care about what teacher you have?”

  “Since the word “hot” is attached to the word “teacher,” Priyam explained, even though she thought the answer was obvious. “We should go soon. I don’t want to miss out on a good desk.”

  They arrived at the classroom and noticed a bunch of girls already took the whole front row. “Guess you weren’t the only one with that brilliant idea,” teased G.

  Mrs. Smith, a skinny woman with frizzy brown hair, entered the classroom and saw all the girls sitting at the front with the exception of G and Priyam. “I assume everyone knows,” she said starring at the giggling girls at the very front, “but for those who don’t, Mrs. Hale left the institution for personal reasons. In her place will be our new teacher, Mr. Blau.”

  “What personal reasons?” G asked Priyam, finding it strange that someone like Mrs. Hale would leave her class without a single word. “That woman almost had her baby in the classroom because of her dedication to the school.”

  “Who cares? It’s not like-” Priyam couldn’t finish her sentence. Her complete attention focused on the new teacher walking into the classroom.

  Mr. Blau, a tall, toned man in his early twenties, with light brown hair, a Greek nose, and piercing green eyes, walked into the classroom and everyone went silent. G knew the rumors mentioned the teacher was hot but this was ridiculous. Between the intimidating presence and sharp features, his expression was cold and calculating.

  There was a contrast between his youth and demeanor. His face looked young, but his manners and clothes gave him an elegant old vibe. His posture was flawless, and so was his body. The fabric of his pants and fitted vest, framed his body, while the rolled up sleeves of his shirt accentuated his lean, muscular arms. A stylish black leather forearm cuff covered up to a few inches below his left rolled up sleeve. Something about that bracelet made G think of one of the blacksmiths Priyam loved to flirt with at the yearly Renaissance fair.

  Mr. Blau glanced at her classmates and stopped on G. His beauty was breathtaking.

  G felt like a powerful magnet was pulling her towards him, but unlike everyone else, it wasn’t his looks that were enchanting her, it was the strange feeling of familiarity and need she had for his approval. She felt like she knew him, and more than that, she felt like he knew her too. The real her, whoever that was.

  “I- I will leave you to your class,” the teacher stuttered as Mr. Blau walked closer to where she was standing. “Any other questions feel free to stop by my office,” she managed to say before leaving the room.

  “Thank you, Mrs. Smith,” spoke Mr. Blau in a thick British accent.

  “Oh, damn…” Priyam gasped and looked at G as if she’d won the lottery, but G was still holding eye contact with Mr. Blau.

  Mr. Blau’s masculine jaw clenched as he looked away from G’s stare and walked to the whiteboard. “As you were previously told, my name is Mr. Blau.” He wrote his name on the board.

  Synthia raised her hand and bent down slightly to show more cleavage. “Can I call you Blau?” she asked with a sultry voice.

  Mr. Blau turned around and faced her. His face was emotionless. “Does it only say Blau on the board?”

  Synthia flicked her hair and giggled. “No.”

  “Then no,” he responded in a cold tone while taking a book out of his briefcase. “Can someone tell me what page and topic you reached with Mrs. Hale?”

  Being the know-it-all she’d always been, Priyam raised her hand, but before she could answer, Synthia jumped in. “So, are you like from another country or what?”

  Mr. Blau placed the book on top of the desk. “I’m sorry Miss, are you hard of hearing?”

  “Oh, not at all,” she giggled for the second time, creating annoying waves of pain in G’s headache. “I like pop music. What about you?”

  Priyam choked while G and the rest of the class froze. Even though they’d just met Mr. Blau, they all realized that messing with him was a terrible idea. Synthia, as always, was oblivious.

  Mr. Blau walked closer to Synthia and bent so his hands could reach her desk. “Are you in the right class? You are fully aware this is 12th-grade chemistry, right?”

  “Well-” Synthia said.

  Mr. Blau lifted one of his hands to shut her up. “Answer yes or no.”

  “Yes, and yes,” she giggled.

  Mr. Blau straightened up and pointed at the door. “Out of my class.”

  “What?! Why?!” she whi
ned while the whole class stared at what Priyam would call ‘a magnificent show.’

  “Why, you ask?” Mr. Blau walked to the door and opened it. “Because I refuse to teach a high school class to a person who acts like they are in kinder. Now leave.”

  Priyam faced G beaming with excitement. “I love him!.” She whispered.

  “Why? He’s a dictator!” G whispered back. She knew Synthia wasn’t the brightest, but she couldn’t believe how rude the teacher was to her.

  Throwing a temper tantrum, Synthia grabbed her purse and stomped out of the classroom. Mr. Blau closed the door and walked to the middle of the class and faced G. “Page and topic,” he asked her.

  “Page 107, principles of chemical equilibrium,” said G. For a second, Mr. Blau raised his thick eyebrow.

  “Start reading,” he demanded and turned to write on the board.

  G felt a pinch of curiosity and nerves as if she knew something was about to change.

  Chapter 3

  1014-12 Sierra Ave

  1014-12 SIERRA AVE looked like an ordinary house. In fact, it was a typical house…at least in the neighbor’s eyes.

  The house had a very convenient location. It was right across from the high school and a few minutes away from the main street. It was painted with soft tones of orange and a wooden fence that protected a garden. Pretty normal, one might think.

  But what was unknown about the place was that markings of light made from unique rocks covered the entire house, that there were more than ten secret exits, and that it was soon to be the home of six occupants who were not entirely human.

  On the inside, the house was impeccably clean with a few hanging crystal artifacts, unique weapons, and runes making the place look like a Bohemian market with a severe case of OCD.

  Mr. Blau opened his eyes and focused on the empty calendar hanging on his bedroom wall… December. Even though there was nothing written on it, he couldn’t stop staring at it, as if time had just stopped.

  Despite there being no school that day, Mr. Blau was wearing his leather forearm cuff and an elegant shirt with long sleeves that made him appear uptight. The same look he wore every single day. He was resting on the bed but still looked rigid, as in a perpetual state of stress.

  Mr. Blau gazed at the window as if he sensed something was coming. He grabbed the Rondel crystal dagger hidden under his bed and within seconds, he was next to the window’s edge. Trying not to move the curtain too much, he took a peek.

  As his clenched jaw relaxed, he left the crystal dagger on the table next to him and walked out of the room.

  Mr. Blau opened the main door and saw Willow Thénardier, a girl in her late teens with wavy pale blonde hair, a freckled straight nose, and sporty clothes. She’d been scattering seeds throughout his garden. Once finished, she lifted her left hand, which had a circular tribal mark of a tree with a leaf engraved on the back of her wrist and dozens of light blue flowers grew.

  “You haven’t even unpacked, and yet you are already decorating?” Mr. Blau asked.

  “It’s “Terra’s Wolfsbane’,” she explained to Mr. Blau with a flirty grin on her lips. “I thought the house needed a little more security.”

  “It doesn’t, Willow,” he corrected her. “Besides, ‘Wolfsbane’ is known for being poisonous.”

  Willow flicked her hand, and the flowers bloomed to their final stage. “So? They are beautiful.”

  “We can’t kill the neighbors.”

  “They’re poisonous only when you eat them.” Willow walked to Mr. Blau. “They just paralyze you when you touch them.”

  She stopped walking a few feet away from him. “It’s been so long, Edan.” She closed her amber eyes and hugged him wishing that at least for once, he would hug her with the same intention she had. He didn’t. “And you are as proper as ever.” Turning on her heels, she smiled and went inside the house.

  Willow took off her jacket, revealing a flowy crop top. Her floaty tank top moved showing the Sakura tree tattoo she had on her ribs. The tattoo looked like a watercolor painting. It started at the front side of her waist, slowly curving around the side of her ribcage up to the middle section of her chest except for one branch that managed to cross her clavicle up to the lower part of her neck. “Have the others arrived?”

  “You are the first,” said Edan, “but the rest should be here any minute.”

  THUNK, a loud noise was heard from outside. Edan and Willow peeked through the window at the same time. “Idiot,” he hissed while Willow smiled utterly pleased with herself.

  Edan opened the door to Shui Yan, a petite Chinese woman in her early twenties wearing a silver Celtic choker with a blue teardrop. She was dragging an unconscious body out of the flower field. It was the body of Veter Jankovic, a massive twenty-four-year-old Viking looking wrestler with a dark brown man bun. “I warned him,” said Shui as she dropped his heavy foot to the floor and stared at Edan with her deep black eyes.

  “Of course you did.”

  He walked outside to help before the neighbors saw they were dragging what looked like a corpse inside his house. Edan stood next to Veter’s body and lifted him. Damn, was he heavy.

  “The others?” asked Shui. Her silky blue ombre hair shifted back and forth tickling her hips as they both moved Veter.

  “Willow is here. You are the second ones to arrive,” he replied.

  As they dragged what felt like a truck, Edan realized someone was watching them. He looked left and saw G staring at them, her eyes wide open, almost unable to blink. Edan turned away pretending not to notice her as they finally reached the inside of his house. Flipping hell… he thought.

  Once inside the house, Edan and Shui left Veter on the floor next to the wooden stairs. Willow walked to Shui and hugged her. “Shui! How you been?”

  “Good,” she said and hugged her back. Like Willow, Shui had a tribal circular mark over her left wrist, only hers wasn’t a tree with a leaf, but a drop of water surrounded by two waves. “I see your plants are getting stronger.”

  “Yeah, sorry about that.” Willow passed her hand playfully through her hair. “The house needed some extra protection.”

  “And you knew Veter wouldn’t resist,” said Shui as she placed her travel bag on top of the kitchen counter.

  “True,” Willow grinned. If there was something she loved as much as her flowers, it was getting back at Veter. “But I didn’t know you guys were coming together.”

  “Neither did I.” Shui took a small pouch out from her bag.

  “That’s because you weren’t supposed to,” said Edan, placing a couple of colorful vegetables and a thick piece of meat on top of the kitchen counter. “You must be hungry from the trip. Sit down; food will be ready soon.”

  Twelve years prior, Edan and the rest were sent to Earth to take care of their princess when the time was needed. The parliament gave them three simple rules: to find their princess at the appropriate time, not before nor after; to never use their powers to hurt humans; and on gathering day, to arrive alone to prevent unnecessary attention.

  Shui blushed. She knew that their gathering there and arriving together was already breaking two rules. Something she hates doing. “I’m sorry. He appeared in front of my place before I left.”

  “Traveling to China to do nothing but escort you,” Willow scoffed in disagreement. “Sounds like him.”

  Shui gave the small pouch to Willow. “Yes, he’s always been completely irrational.”

  Willow opened the pouch and saw a bunch of seeds; her heart fluttered with delight. “Shui!”

  “There are mostly healing herbs and some other poisonous plants you might find useful.” Shui glanced back at Veter’s unconscious body. “Try not to use them on him.”

  “I’ll do my best.” Willow smiled mischievously and placed the pouch in her box of seeds.

  SWISH! The main door opened, and a fluffy ash brown sugar glider with a white stripe on its back glided into the house, landing on Veter’s face. It bent sligh
tly down, then stretched out lifting its arms as gymnasts do after finishing their circuit. “Great landing, Icarus!” cheered Donovan Bär, an eighteen-year-old Latino with electric blue eyes, a chocolate brown undercut hair and a black leather jacket hanging from his forearm. He stood clapping next to the main door. Donovan had a tattoo of a white eagle on his back. The head of the eagle was right on the nape of his neck. The wings extended from his shoulders to his wrists so every time he moved his arms the eagle looked like it was flying.

  Donovan walked inside, and Icarus jumped next to Edan’s food. “No animals inside the house,” he said.

  “And yet, you are still here,” laughed Donovan as he pulled Edan into a powerful bear hug. “Good to see you, my old friend.”

  For the first time, Edan smiled, a refreshing, carefree smile. After years of not seeing his best friend, they were finally together. “Likewise.”

  Donovan let go of Edan and ran to the food. “Yes! I’m starving!”

  “Wash your hands first,” said Shui with a soft motherly tone. “You probably pet animals all day long.”

  “Baby girl!” They hugged. “How’s everything?”

  Icarus jumped and crawled up to Shui’s shoulder. “Everything’s good,” she said while tickling the sugar glider.

  “Veter! Wake up man!” screamed Donovan, but Veter stayed motionless. “Is he really that tired?”

  Shui walked to the kitchen, grabbed a ceramic teapot and wielded the water from a nearby jar inside the teapot. “He’s not sleeping; he’s unconscious.”

  “No way,” Donovan grinned. “What happened?”

  “Willow,” both Edan and Shui said at the same time.

  “Oh, man! Why do I always miss the best parts?” Donovan laughed so hard he could barely breathe, his arms clenched around his stomach. “Is that why the flowers are blue?”

  “Hey! It’s not my fault that giant man is obsessed with that color. Besides, Shui warned him not to touch them,” said Willow with a hint of pride over her work.

  Donovan softly kicked Veter’s foot. “Is this man-child taking good care of you?”