Prologue
In the unfortunate event of having to return to school and the recent discovery of my liking to pistachios, I found myself feeling nauseous. Because genuinely, I do not like being forced into public and socializing. Most of my comfort comes from the mysterious power of books, but liking to read books makes you a quote in quote, 'nerd.'
I informed my aunt about this, but she pushed it aside. "You're just having first day jitters, that's all, you're not actually sick." I wanted to argue back, but I knew in the back of my mind that I was just trying to find an excuse to not go. So, I reluctantly gave in and began walking to the nightmare otherwise known as Golden Sun High School.
Before returning to school, I was on a road trip with my aunt. We were out camping somewhere in Oklahoma. It was during the drive back I realized that I discovered my craving for pistachios.
We had stopped at a gas station, and I preferred to eat snacks while reading my books, so I bought a large bag of pistachios before we hit the road. I had somehow managed to eat the entire bag in 45 minutes, which was shocking because I usually don't like eating. All the salt had collected on my feathers, so I dusted them off on my shorts.
I had managed to shove down two pieces of toast before leaving the house as breakfast, but I could still feel the bubbling nauseous feeling in my stomach. Still, I forced myself to keep walking forward.
Somewhere along the way, Polar and a few others of our friend group joined me, but I hadn't even noticed until Sage snapped her fingers in front of me. I blinked in surprise and looked up.
"You good there, short-stack?" She asked, and I nodded, not really bothered by the nickname, because it was true. I was shorter than the average height.
I could hear the group talking about how their summer went, and I occasionally listened in and zoned out. Then I had the random thought about how a spiral going in never actually ends but rather gets tighter infinitely. In that time, we somehow managed to get inside the school, as I was too focused on my thoughts.
We all parted ways, which left me alone, with my thoughts once more. Which wasn’t really that big of a deal, since I am practically always alone with my thoughts. Some would say that is scary, but I am used to it. I looked around.
The school was filled mostly with humans. Me and my friends were critters, which made us aliens for some reason. Which was weird, because half of the population on Earth were critters.
I just needed to get done with this day, so I turned and headed for my first class, which I didn’t remember what subject, but I remembered the room number. And as I walked, I locked eyes with someone by accident.
A blue elephant. A critter like me.
Then we both broke eye contact as I walked inside my classroom. It had taken me a moment to realize that I had never once seen that critter here in my entire life. Were they new?
Then the bell rang, signaling that class was going to start soon. My stomach rumbled, and I went back to focusing on that.
