This story in set in an alternate world. So some things may be similar…

Ex: CIA

And others may be different, like places and most organizations, in order to remain “obscure” and because I don’t know that many companies~ (think of Hunter x Hunter if you’ve seen it)

Ex: Liverpool → Bumchester (I won’t use this, I promise!)

And countries may be majorly simplified (like a more united Europe) ‘cuz I suck at politics.

And I may use different languages for names. Because they could cool.

Also, if you feel like I spend too much time describing a character or a setting, that’s how it’s going to be. I want people to be able to form a better image for major characters (and settings), and not just be stuck with, blue hair and blue eyes (I’m sorry Sephiraaaaah~!).

Also, I school like what I describe exists.

If you feel like you know me, don’t say anything. I’ll collapse from embarrassment.

I hope I posted this chapter correctly…

That being said, I’ll do my best!

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I enjoy my school. Is that so weird? I’ve always felt that schools in most TV shows and movies were strange.

A battle for social survival among pubescent adults. Almost sounds like a setting for a horror movie, doesn’t it?

Simply put, my school is strange. My high school, Égalité Academy in Avslappet, California.

I’ve always felt lucky to be here, In Avslappet. Perfect weather, all year round, reaching at most a sweltering 80 degrees Fahrenheit, and a finger-numbing 52 degrees Fahrenheit. Serene, clear blue skies, and gently swaying palm trees. From the top of a hill, you can see the royal blue ocean and the endless horizon.

Any life, really is luck. A string of inconsequential coincidences. What if my father hadn’t moved from Michigan as a child? What if my mother hadn’t left China to go to college? What if they hadn’t hit it off at a Christmas party? What if my mother’s first child hadn’t miscarried? Would I, the second child, be born? (I do have an older sister, Avery). What if my parents hadn’t divorced? What if I was taken to China with my mother? What If my name wasn’t Noelle? Would my personality change?

Would I have met my friends?

When I think about them, I think myself blessed.

You see, I don’t really look very attractive. I have extremely fluffy brown hair. It is about shoulder length, with medium curls. Slightly frizzy, ridiculous volume. Adults have always told me that other adults would be jealous. Well yeah, but not other teenagers. It is awe-inspiring. I’d like to think that I’d make a good lion in a play.

Because of my half-Asian descent, I have angular eyes, but not squinty. I do like my eyes, at least their shape. But my eye color is rather normal—a light brown, with the occasional golden flecks. My nose is rather normal; and my lips on the smaller side, but with a little more “lip” on the bottom. My ears and smaller as well, but well proportioned. Because I don’t like to go out much (not that I’m antisocial, just lazy), my skin is pale, especially for an Asian. I have a more angular face, with a nice jawline for a girl. If it was only my facial features, I think I would be beautiful.

But I am plagued with the ultimate enemy of all teenagers—acne.

But I am blessed with little to no hair on my arms and legs. I’ve never had to shave….is that gross? On the downside, no hair on my body means faint eyebrows.

Matt Smith and Benedict Cumberbatch are my eyebrow buddies.  We just all have delicate eyebrows…  

I’m slightly taller than most girls, at around 5ft 7in. It’s probably because my dad, who’s a European mutt, is 6ft 2 ½ in (he insists on the ½). I’m already taller than my mom. For an American, I’m definitely slimmer. I practice Kung Fu, after all (so I’m also a little muscular), which makes me weigh more than I’d like to admit. If my mom knew, she’d freak. Scarily enough, she weighs only 115 lbs., but she lacks the curves I have.

There is a point to all this.

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When I was in middle school, I was bullied. I don’t think it really counts as bullying though. Rather, I was more of a loner. Sure, I wasn’t exactly candy to the eyes with my poof ball hair, but you guys didn’t have to be so mean! Anyways, all it amounted to was name calling by the insensitive few, and I mean few. You see, I was smart, smarter than most. Being nice to me meant help on work if you needed it. I never gave away answers though, I wasn’t that mean. I helped them. I taught them how to get the answer themselves. You know that quote? “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”

To sum it up, I had okay social relations, but no real friends.

High school came along, and I found some real friends. Friends that were, is certain areas, leagues smarter than me. Jac, for example was a whiz at math. She loved those hyperbolic planes, that girl. She and theoretical mathematics were inseparable.

You see? It is a good high school. The arts and music are all the rage there. Nerds belong. Geeks are cool. Cosplay is normal.

A haven, in the sea of conformity.

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I was lingering outside the band room, on a slightly chilly Monday morning. We band kids always hung around outside, even though the band room was open. Did I mention I was a band kid?

For some reason, I felt distracted from the conversation we were currently having. I kept glancing at the field beside us, this awkward nagging feeling that something was out of place. That something was wrong.

“Oh! Noelle? Are you cold?” my darling friend, Kim Quak, suddenly draped a blanked around my shoulders. She happened to be the type of person that brought blankets to school, and wears multiple Pikachu shirts at the same time.

…Was I cold?

I looked at my hands, only to notice they were shaking uncontrollably. Why? What is this foreboding feeling I have?

A hazy voice flashed though my mind.

“This will kill millions.”

My eyes were compelled to look out at the empty field again.

The empty field.

Where were the bees? The birds? Even the wind?

No, not the field. The sky. My eyes were drawn to the sky. The sky, felt wrong. So very wrong. It felt still, devoid of life, a blue void in which no other colors existed.

I had a vague feeling that I tried to shout, to warn my precious friends, to protect them. But I made no sound. My words were ripped from my mouth by the unforgiving air.

The sky seemed to warp, like an optical illusion. Why can’t they see it!? Why aren’t they running?

No, I can protect them. For all of their kindness, for being around me, the sadistic, lazy me, I will protect them, at least them.  

“Hey, why don’t we set up early for band to make Mr. Vuerts happy? It is teacher appreciation week.” My words sounded strangely confident, not at all like a frightened rabbit, with its incessant shivering. Yes now, I am a lion, I will be a lion for my friends.  

“Ehhh~ but I wanna chat more with you guys~”

“C’mon, let’s do it for Mr. Vuerts! Imagine how happy he’ll be! You know what a stickler he is on punctuality.” I grinned and pulled Kim next to my side, wrapping her in the blanket that was draped over my shoulder, “At the very least, I won’t be cold anymore.”

Kim grinned back, and patted my head lovingly, “Noelle, you’re so nice, like a puppy~!”

I thought I was a lion.

Ever so slowly, they all filed in, one by one.

“Oh wait, I almost forgot my backpack, silly me!” Kim skipped back out, deftly swung her backpack over her shoulder and made her way back towards the door.

“Quickly Kim!” I shouted at her, hysterical, and practically picked her up and started to run.

I won’t make it. I felt it, in my bones, down to my very cells, even to the tiniest of atoms that made up the person that was me. Kim won’t make it.

Everything stood still.