Volume 1

Flower of Antarctica

1

Feeling the painful squish of her eyeball under her mother’s pointy fingers, Dora leaped up. "Don't forget your breakfast!"

She grabbed a slice of buttered toast and the hairbrush extended to her.

“Thanks, mom!”

In her rush, she spat as the brush went into her mouth, trying to brush her hair with the toast.

“Bleh! Heh, not like this.”

Dora’s mom smiled, eyes closed, and waved as her daughter rushed out the door. Dora hopped on her skateboard, slipping on her jean jacket with one smooth motion. Chewing the toast, Dora finished brushing her shoulder-length black hair, then pulled out a pin from her jacket: a bright green, smiling cartoon frog. She fixed it onto her head.

“I got this, there's still time. Today is gonna be another great, sunny day! I got this, I got-”

“Stop mumbling to yourself, creep.”

Before she could react, everything went black as pain spread through her face and the back of her head.

“Ow…”

Her skateboard screeched to a halt, rolling into the street. Sitting up, Dora rubbed her head and squinted at the approaching figure—a girl one year her senior. With her blonde hair in a ponytail and an ugly grin on her face, Jennifer loomed over her. Rubbing her fist, the blonde delinquent bent down, fingers reaching for Dora’s hair.

“Eek!”

“What’s this crap?” Jennifer sneered.

“J-Jennifer, please, I'll give you my lunch money! I’ll clean your shoes!”

Dora fumbled, voice shaky, as her wallet slipped out of her jacket. Tears welled up as she reached for Jennifer’s dark pink Converse shoes, but Jennifer recoiled, her face twisted with disgust.

“Please don’t break it. My mom-” Dora closed her eyes, waiting for the worst.

She heard a quiet click.

“Pathetic.” Jennifer’s voice was cold.

“Mister Kero, noooo!” Dora opened her eyes just in time to see her frog pin, broken in half, floating down the drain.

She reached for it, but it was too late. It was gone.

“My mom gave that to me,” she whispered.

As if things couldn’t get worse, a car rumbled by, crushing her skateboard in half. Dejected, Dora forced herself up and walked, slumped, toward school. On the way, something strange caught her attention. She heard the clopping of hooves nearby, but when she looked around, there was no one to be seen.

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“As we learned recently, the domain of Eukaryotes is made up of what? Yes, Dora?” It was 8:10 AM, ten minutes after the first class had started. Mrs. Mariposa, a middle-aged teacher with a slightly chubby figure and glasses that made her appear stricter than she really was, looked over at Dora expectantly. Dora sat upright, doing her utmost to ignore the sharp pencil jabbing into her back and the voice behind her chanting

“loser, loser” with each stab. She already knew.

“Kingdoms!” Dora’s voice wavered as she answered.

“That’s right. Can you name them?” Dora nodded, a strained smile stretching across her face. “Animals, plants, mushrooms—ow!—and protozoa!”

Taking a deep breath, Dora whispered to herself, fighting back tears.

“I won’t let this ruin my favourite class. I love biology, and I’ll be a top vet when I grow up. Clench your teeth and endure, Dora… clench your teeth.”

But the next stab hit her in the nape, and it was the last straw. Dora leapt from her seat, spun around, and yelled,

“Ouch! That really hurt, you mean piece of—”

“Dora Ray! To the principal’s office, NOW!”

“...baloney.” Dora's face fell.

She sniffed, defeated, as she trudged out of the room, the classroom erupting into laughter behind her. The last thing she saw was Jennifer high-fiving the girl with the pencil. Emma—she had long, wild black hair like a lion’s mane and a lip piercing—snickered.

“Why couldn’t she get sent to the principal’s office? She looks like she does drugs,” Dora muttered.

As she walked toward the principal's office, Dora sighed.

“Why is my life like this? I've only been at this school a week, and everyone hates me.”

She reached for the handle below the glass that read "Principal Miller," but as she touched it, a sharp pain shot through her hand.

“Ow! What now?” Dora jerked her hand back, noticing blood trickling from a small cut in her palm.

Feeling queasy, she fumbled for a tissue from her jeans pocket and wiped the blood away carefully.

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“Huh?” She glanced left and right, unsure of what she'd just seen.

“Did something move?” She shook her head. “Maybe it was just a fly or a bee.”

Still holding the tissue to her hand, Dora carefully pushed the door open with her fingertips. The office smelled faintly of rubber, and a gentle breeze from an open window ruffled her hair. She sat down beside another figure on the padded grey seat.

“Oh, hi.”

Her eyes widened.

“Wait, what?!”

She jerked her head to the side and came face-to-face with a horse’s head, nearly touching her own. Dora leapt up, arms raised in a panic, knocking her chair to the floor.

“E-E-EQUINUS! THE HORSE IS LOOSE!”

“Whoa, whoa, calm down! Please!” The horse spoke in a deep, calm voice—feminine.

It raised its arms, mirroring Dora, but trying to calm her down. Instead, Dora’s panic only worsened.

“It can talk! It can TALK!” Dora pointed with a shaky finger. “It can talk! It can talk! It can talk!”

“I can siiiing!”

Dora’s face turned pale, and she inched backward, trying to reach for the door. The horse-masked figure giggled.

“Just kidding. Relax, I’m human. See?” She spun in place, revealing long, dark orange hair that fell to her hips. Dora blinked, finally realising it was just a mask.

“Oh… so you’re not a centaur or something?”

“Nope! Heh, you must have quite the imagination to think I’m anything but a fellow human. You know, just like you!”

“W-why are you saying it like that?!”

“My name is Natalya. Natalya Petrova.” She extended her hand, which Dora, still stunned, shook after a moment of hesitation.

“I’m… Dora Ray. Uh, what’s with the mask?”

“Oh, this?” Natalya waved it off. “I just like dressing up. What happened to your hand?”

“Huh? Oh, I pricked it on the door. Maybe the handle is broken or something.”

“Weird. Anyway, what did you do to get sent here?”

“What makes you think I was sent here?” Natalya glanced at her watch, a shiny silver piece. Her mask swayed left and right with the motion, and Dora couldn’t help but grin.

“Well, class is still going on, so you obviously didn’t come here voluntarily. What happened?”

“I didn’t do anything! I was just defending myself!”

“Bullies?”

“Yeah! How’d you know?” Natalya shrugged.

“Wasn’t hard to guess based on your demeanour.” Dora scowled.

“Hey, no offence! I didn’t mean it that way.” Natalya raised her hands, trying to ease the tension, then crossed her arms over her chest. Dora noticed her dark brown riding breeches and realised she was the source of the hoof sounds earlier. Natalya’s pale skin stood out against her thick arms, which made her look more robust than Dora, who was thin and lanky by comparison.

“What about you?” Dora asked, trying to change the subject.

“You get sent here for wearing that mask?”

Natalya chuckled. “No, I’m just here to drop off a doctor’s note. I was sick all last week. I’m in Jennifer’s class.”

“Jennifer?!” Dora stepped back. “So you’re one of her friends?”

“No, wait, I—” But before Natalya could finish, Dora had already bolted out the door.

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On the way home, Dora kicked a can, her hands stuffed deep into her pockets. She sighed.

“I hate everything. Life sucks. I wanna die.”

When she unlocked the front door, the little bells above it rang out in a high, but not obnoxious tone. Dora threw her backpack onto the floor and headed straight to her room. The walls were dyed in a dark yellow paint and covered with posters of Japanese shows as well as various animals: penguins on a snowy landscape, a deer bowing its head to the leafy ground, a Labrador playing with a German shepherd, a chameleon with large eyes pointing in different directions, and more. Crack.

“Huh? Sounded like broken glass...”

“Excuse me for a moment, please.”

A muffled voice drifted from the other side of the house where the store was. Knock knock.

“Yes? Come in.”

Dora’s mom entered and sat beside her on the bed, her long black hair, streaked with a few white strands, falling against her dark green blouse as it cascaded onto the sheets. She gently wrapped her arm around Dora’s shoulder.

Dora sniffled. “Mom, I’m sorry, I—”

“You don’t need to say anything.” Her mother kissed the top of Dora’s head, softly guiding it to her shoulder.

She ran her fingers gently through Dora’s bob-styled hair.

“What happened to the pin I gave you?” she asked.

“Mister Kero... I lost him.”

“Oh.” Her mother sighed softly. “I’m sorry, my little honey.”

After kissing Dora’s forehead, her mother stood. “Would you like a hot chocolate?”

“Uh, mom, what about your customer? Won’t he mind waiting?”

Sipping from a mug with a cartoon cow on it saying "Good moo-ning!" in a speech bubble, Dora smiled slightly. Mother and daughter sat in the kitchen, savouring the sweet goodness.

“Trust me, he won’t,” her mother said with a gentle grin. “How are you feeling, baby?”

“I’ll be okay, mom.” Dora smiled again, although her eyes dropped to the wooden kitchen table.

“M-Mom, have you ever been bullied before?” she asked hesitantly.

“Oh?” Her mother placed a finger on her chin.

“Yes, I think I have.”

“What did you do about it?”

“I told them to stop.” Dora raised an eyebrow.

“Did it work?”

Her mom chuckled. “Oh, it absolutely did. But I wouldn’t recommend that for you.”

“Why not?”

“If someone’s giving you trouble, just tell me, and I’ll handle it.” Dora laughed softly.

“Thanks, mom. But I think they just need time to get used to me.”

Her mother smiled warmly, closing her eyes. Dora's bright smile returned.

“I’ll make lots of friends this time. Just give me a chance.” Her mother stood, her face soft with affection.

“There’s something I want to give you.”

“Oh?” She reached behind her back and pulled something out. Crack. Dora’s eyes widened.

“Is that…” It was a pin in the shape of a black snake, its features sharp and its expression neutral and stoic.

“I guess it’s kind of cute? A little scary, but I’ll get used to it. Thanks, mommy!” Her mother smiled as she fastened it to Dora’s hair.

“I’m happy.”

“What’s its name?” “Let’s call it Luc.” “Is it a girl or a boy?” Her mom laughed softly.

“It can be whatever it wants to be.”

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That night, Dora’s thoughts raced. “I hope I can avoid Jennifer tomorrow. Maybe I should try telling her to stop. It might actually work. Hmm... I wonder what Natalya looks like under that mask…” Ah! A sharp pain jolted through Dora’s hand. She sat up, inspecting her palm in the moonlight streaming through her window, her heart skipping a beat. Thin green veins seemed to spread from the centre of her palm. Hmm? Footsteps approached. Dora quickly ducked under her blanket, pressed her face to the pillow, and pretended to snore. The door creaked as it opened. “Darling, are you asleep?” Tap, tap, tap. Her mother’s presence was felt beside her. “Boo!” Dora blurted, making her mother jump. “Ah!” They both laughed as her mother shook off the surprise. She sat at the edge of the bed, and soon, they drifted off to sleep together. In the middle of the night, Dora’s mother awoke, her gaze fixed on Dora’s hand. A worried frown crept across her face as she gently caressed it.