Firebolt(8)

His wise advice: If I wanted to keep my sanity, I had to face whatever was out there. Today, I decided reluctantly to take that step.

I didn't want to end up in the loony bin just because I couldn't accept what was real, even though magic and dragons belonged only in Fairy tales.

Fortunately, there was a silver lining around this dark cloud. My birthmark.

Back home, a mark like mine was common. A lot of people had them. Doctors diagnosed these marks as pigment defects.

My version was an ugly dark splat above my knee that kept me from wearing shorts even in the height of summer. In Paegeia, it was something significant. The people saw it as an honor and, according to Julia, most humans would kill for one as dark as mine. What it really meant, I still hadn’t figured out, but it was my ticket straight into Dragonia Academy.

I took a deep breath and climbed out of the shower. Goose pimples broke out over my flesh as the cool air made contact with my warm body. I quickly grabbed a large, white towel positioned on a hook next to the shower and tried to retain some of the shower’s warmth.

“Elena, you okay?” Constance knocked softly on the door.

“Just give me a minute,” I yelled as I towel-dried my long hair. The shower had felt great and the clothes that Master Longwei had given me fit like a glove.

A quick glance at the price tags, before ripping them off, revealed the name “Twigs” written in big bold letters. Master Longwei had dropped them off last night when he’d come to check on me. The jeans were the kind I always wanted: it had the effect of being washed too many times, which made it look really old. The emerald-green tee went well with the color of my eyes, and the flip-flops were the perfect size.

How had he known what size to get? With his fashion sense, I was lucky to receive an outfit this hip.

Dad had never bought me the things I really wanted. It was always in and out of stores with him, too quickly to try anything on so my clothes always ended up being too small or too large. My throat tightened up at the memory. I swallowed my tears, pushing him to the back of my mind. I was done with crying.

I pulled my almost dry hair back into a high ponytail, and took another deep breath before opening the door.

“Don't you look beautiful.” Constance's echo bounced off the walls around me. Next to her stood Julia, a striking woman who put even Constance’s ethereal beauty to shame. She was all bronzed skin and soft curves, accented by a mane of long, wavy brown hair and large almond-shaped eyes. When she saw me, Julia gasped with joy, giving me the confidence I needed to leave the bathroom. I knew I looked pretty good considering the circumstances of my arrival and, of course, the bruises.

“Are you ready?” Constance asked.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” I mused. “Besides, I will go nuts if I have to stay here another day.”

Constance pulled me into a tight hug, crushing me against her stethoscope. “If you need anything, I’m right here,” she said, whispering softly into my ear. “Please don't be a stranger.”

“And she doesn't mean by breaking a leg,” Julia said with a mischievous glint in her eye.

“I could still end up losing my mind, and then you’ll be stuck with me forever,” I countered.

“Nonsense, you’re a tough cookie.” Constance smiled warmly.

“I’m going to miss you,” I said, feeling the emotions beginning to clog in my throat.

Julia leaned closer and grabbed me around the neck. “Believe it or not, I’m going to miss you too. It's too quiet here sometimes.”

A soft knock came from the door and we all turned and found Master Longwei waiting patiently.

Constance nodded once and he entered our small gathering.

I saw them nod back and forth a couple of times. It was as if he asked her for permission or something. Then the clothes popped into my head. “Thank you, Master, it all fits perfectly.”

“You’re welcome, Elena. Tomorrow we can go to Elm and buy more,” he said, seemingly satisfied with my reaction.

“Elm?”

“A city close by the students would call awesome.”

We laughed at the way he wrinkled his face when he said it. He even got the rock and roll sign right; I had to give him credit for that.

“You ready?” he asked timidly. I assumed that he didn't want to tear me away too quickly from the familiar.

The corners of my mouth twitched slightly upwards, and I played with my ponytail as I moved slowly towards the door. Constance and Julia looked at me with anticipation. They were probably scared that a dragon would swoop down and fly away with me to its nest or something.

Master Longwei whispered something to them. I hoped he alleviated their worries, but it only made me more nervous.