Young Writers Society

Zivibelle

I took a deep breath. So, I thought. What shall I be today? I thought for a moment, then snapped my fingers. Immediately, my reflection in the doorway changed from a nighthawk to a small, smoking black dragon. I frowned and snapped again. A centaur stared back at me. I sighed and snapped once more- third time's the charm, right? An elf princess, gorgeous but terrifying smiled at me and I grinned. This was who I would be. A sassy blonde pixie cut, teal-colored eyes, perfectly clear skin except for silver tattoos up my arms, neck and face, and two little black, feathery wings were wrapped up in a dress of silver and teal. Brilliant.

I walked- or strutted, really- into my classroom. A chimera sat in one corner, a sullen-looking but strikingly beautiful human sat in front, and an intimidating sort with a tattoo on one side of her face sat near a redhead. Mold grew on the ceiling and the room was pretty dank but I liked the company.
"Hi everybody," I said cheerfully. I always said things cheerfully. Too cheerfully, father always said. Before he...you know. I tried to tell myself I didn't care about their stares. I'd almost forgotten I'd shape-shifted into an elf princess so it's natural that they would stare. But then again, we are in a school of monsters...I shifted nervously from foot to foot, waiting for them to accept me.

Toni

A girl strutted in a few minutes after I took my seat at the front of the class.
She was amazingly beautiful, with a cute pixie cut, blue eyes and flawless skin.
She was even more enticing than me, because she knew how to work it.
That haircut? I could never have gotten away with it.
She stopped, eyes clouding over with anxiety as she looked back and forth from the back crew to me. She wanted one of us to say, " Come on over!"
I smiled, disbelieving at what I was about to do, and gave the girl a small wave then patted the seat next to me.

Sophia

The new girl came over and sat next to the foggy girl, the fluorescent lamps overhead making her winding tattoos glimmer. This girl was really, really pretty, especially her eyes--an exotic teal color, like a deep pond. She walked like she knew it, too. I gave my head a little shake, flipping my hair out of my eyes. That was so unlike me--I wasn't graceful like that, I was fiercer, more...well. More animal-like.

"Hey," I said to the newcomer. "You're...ah...shiny." I said the first adjective that popped into my head.

Toni

I looked up as I heard a voice. The chimera had spoken up.
" ...shiny." I heard her finish.
The elf girl, who hadn't even spoken one word to me, turned around and said, almost boastingly," Thank you! And I love your... um...wings!"
At least she tried...

Zivibelle

The others looked a little intimidated so I knew I had to back off a bit. Tone down the sass, like my father always told me to. Thinking of him in the past tense sent another flash of pain through me, setting my tattoos aflame.

"You guys are so cool," I insisted. I had to make this better. "I wish I could look half as fierce." I gestured to the gown, trying to make them see that I'm not that different. But then, we're all different, right? I could almost hear my father's voice say, "You're different and special. Just like everybody else." I turned to the girl who'd been so nice to me.

"Thanks for letting me sit with you," I said. "I think people think I'm some kind of monster." No pun intended.

When I hear the new girl say that "some people think she's some kind of monster" I smirk.
"Gotta newsflash for ya sweetie" I shout.
"You ARE a monster."

Zivibelle

I turned slowly to the new voice and tried not to let my emotions control my shape-shifting. I decided not to let the comment bother me since it was true after all. I shook my head and turned back to the girl I was sitting with. I swear, her beauty could rival mine.
"I love the fog effect," I said. "Were you born with that or is it a power?" I swirled some fog around my arm and grinned, watching my tattoos glow in the light of the lanterns. I'd outdone myself with the elf princess shift.

Toni

I smiled and told her," An annoying power, actually..., completely involuntary..."
" You see, I'm a water nymph. And this little patch of fog seems to like me, so it follows me around all the time."

Zivibelle

I was amazed. "It just follows you around?" The nymph nodded. I held out one tiny elf hand. "I'm Zivibelle," I said. "But you can call me Zivi or Belle." I began to think I would like this new school.

Toni

" Nice to meet you, Zivi. My name's Toni."
The fog reached out with slinky fingers and put it's hand on my arm.
It never did that before...

Zivibelle

I smiled and shook the fog-hand. "It's so cute!" I said, running my hand through it as if petting a wild animal. I looked around at the others, who seemed to be talking about me...

Sophia

"Aren't those pretty, though?" I said to the red-haired girl. I paused when I noticed the elf girl, Zivi, staring. "The tattoos," I explained. "I so wish I could get metallic ones like that. On my face, or something. Or my wings. ...Hey, fog buddy!" I reached out toward the fog, but it moved its...appendage...closer to Zivi.

The fog retreated back , behind Zivi.
I leaned closer to her and whispered, " It seems to like you...a lot."

Zivibelle

I almost didn't hear the chimera's compliment. Toni's fog was doing...something weird. I watched the fog retreat behind me as the chimera called out to it. I couldn't imagine why it would "like" me. Nothing had ever liked me.
"I think I've seen this before..." I said, my voice trailing off. The fog swirled up around me, forming a figure- a figure of my father.
My heart stopped and my blood boiled at the sight of my father's face.
"I know what this is," I said. "It's what shape-shifters use when they're learning to shift. The fog will take the shape of a family member, and young shape-shifters have to practice shifting into whatever the fog imitates."
I swirled the fog around my wrist, as though shaking my father's hand.
"I can't imagine why it would be following you around," I said to Toni. "Sometimes the fog just has its own mind."
I tugged on the fog-hand, and my father dissipated. I wiped tears from my elf-eyes and turned to face the others' stares.

I bit my lip.
I always thought it followed me bacause of the water=fog relation...
Maybe it's something more.
Maybe I was something it followed just to meet someone. That someone being the shape-shifter in front of me.