“So?” she heard almost as soon as she walked off the bus and into the gym. Luke was standing there waiting for her. She noticed that almost every fiber of his being was excited and impatient.

She looked at the blond boy and nodded to the bleachers and for him to follow her and take a seat. “So what happened?” He pleaded as they found a spot that was separated from the other students. Victoria thought the low drone of other students' conversations would cover their discussion.

“I’m not sure what I can tell you and what I should tell you.” She started and looked at him earnestly. She bit her lip before she continued.

“Well start at the beginning. Move on to the middle then tell me the end.” He said wringing his hands.

Victoria sighed and looked at him before she spoke. “It's not that easy. I mean the beginning sounds like a fairy tale, the middle sounds like a bad movie and we aren’t even close to the ending.’ She pondered a moment then began thanking her new wisdom and the perks it gave her in relating information, but then she caught someone's motion out of the corner of her eye. Turning she spotted Caroline making her way up to them. She waved her friend over and looking at the two she could see that they would make a nice couple. “ Hey, I was just about to relate to Luke my evening.”

“I’m so excited to hear what your mom got you for your birthday. Oh and hows your dad.” Her friend said excitedly seeming to have forgotten the other news.

“Uhm, fine and mom were a little to busy to shop for my birthday. But we had my favorite dinner.” She said. Now what Luke wants to know about was my message.

“Oh yeah, what happened with that?”

“Well, I learned a lot. First, there is a type of system thing.”

“I knew it, Caroline.” The excited boy said reaching out to take her hand.

Both girls shushed him. “Its called the Akashic field it is an energy field that connects everything living, dead and it contains all of the past knowledge.”

“Like the force,” Caroline asked drawing Luke's attention.

“Whoa, you know about the force?”

“Yes, the rei is the worst Jedi ever. Now shush.” She said hissing at him.

Victoria sighed having known her best friends geek side for years. It looked like she might be able to give Luke a run for his money. “Back thousands of years ago the Atlanteans screwed something up and created rifts that allow monsters into this world.”

“Cool.” Both of her friends said then blinked and looked at each other before they grinned.

“Not so cool. They swore an oath to the Akashic library that they and all of their descendants would hunt down the monsters.”

“So your parents are hunters? I never knew your mom was so cool I always thought she was a bookkeeper.” Caroline said thoughtfully.

“She is a bookkeeper and my dad is just a foreman,” Victoria said sighing. “Mom and dad are not my biological parents.”

“Wait, what?” Luke said and then looked around the suddenly emptying gym. “Hey, it’s homeroom.” Startled the three friends bolted out of the gym each headed to different classrooms. One girl with thoughts of lightsabers dancing in her head while a boy dreamed of mastering all the knowledge in the world. While their friend traipsed to class, filled with loneliness and more than a touch of apprehension for what her new life would be like.

X X X

“Victoria, why is this place soo depressing?” Victoria looked in horror at the small pixie hovering around her. Her eyes darted around the classroom hoping no one else had spotted the small sprite as she flitted around examining objects in the room.

“What are you talking about?” She hissed between her teeth. “This is a school I’m learning.” The young girl was certain she had just been given her first eye roll.

“None of these people want to be here, even the teachers don’t.” Using her new ability to read social cue’s Victoria looked at the students and teacher. Then up at the board.

“Yeah, it's fish stick Friday. No one wants to be here for that.” The dark-haired teenager hissed.

The pixie looked at her suspiciously. “Why not?”

The girl leaned forward to whisper. “Because they taste like chicken.”

“Eww, that's gross.” The sprite said as Victoria chuckled to herself. “Well, are you going to practice your spells here?”

“Not right now.” She said looking around once more. “But I will definitely be using detect poison at lunchtime.” She hissed.

“Hey, Toria.” Said a cheerful voice loudly into her ear. This was one of the other annoyances that were in her life but she had shown up when she was seven.

“What's wrong?”

Victoria looked over to where it came from, her eyes narrowed. There was a cute blond pixie-haired girl standing there rocking on the balls of her feet her hands held behind her in parade rest. Her school uniform seemed to fit but it was subtly off in color, cut and style. “Go Away.” She hissed and shut her eyes.

“What? Why?” The young girl asked puzzled.

“You’re not real. Go Away.”

“Of course I’m real. We’ve gone over this time and time again.”

Victoria’s eyes opened wide and glared at the girl. Then darted around to see who was looking at her. “If you’re real why is it no one else can ever see you?”

“Because I don’t want them to, DUH!” She rolled her eyes. “You know how it is when a guy starts incessantly hitting on you and asking for a date…” She looked at Victoria with an appraising glance. “Well, maybe you don’t. But it is just so annoying I’d rather not have people looking at me like that. I’ve got to go the girl said as she ran off laughing”

“That bitch,” Lacie said as she glared after the girl. “I’m the only one that gets to make fun of you.”

Victoria looked thunderstruck. “You saw her?”

At that point, they both heard another voice. ”Mrs. Babbage I think Victoria is having another fit. She’s talking to herself.” Looking up the girl in question saw others looking at her including a few of the mean girls in school who were snickering.

“What? Of sorry, I was practicing a soliloquy for class.” She said looking confused.

“That's alright Victoria.” The older teacher sighed. “I’m sure they are just concerned for you after the day you had yesterday.” She gave the group of girls a sour look. Then went back to reading her papers on the desk.

“How in the library did you get involved with a Mazikeen?”

Victoria shrugged then took out a piece of paper to write; Talk Later tell me everything!!! Then crumbled up the paper just as the bell began to ring. The teenager felt that in someway the bell was toling her doom.