I can’t remember the last time things were normal, or where I felt normal. What is normal anyway? Is it a feeling, or just a cheap way to make someone feel like less of a human? Either way, normal is a word that has no place in this town. See, this town is the center of a magical war, and while everyone else in this town knows nothing about it, I am the resident expert.

My name is Samantha, but you can call me Sam, and I protect this town. Not that long ago that I realized the forces against this town and the people in it, and that I was the only person to stop it. It was simple, really, after that. Monitor and protect. That was my job. My duty. Maybe even my destiny. For now, it’s why I’m here.

“Oh, look who it is,” Tammy says, walking up with Denise and Sara. Great. I may be different, but Tammy sure knew how to make sure I knew it. Every. Day.

“I see you’re putting more words together. Soon, you’ll be able to speak in actual sentences” I say, snapping my notebook closed. There is no way Tammy could find out what I really do around here.

“You have some nerve, Sam” Tammy grits through her teeth as she pokes me in the forehead and pushes my head back. Sorry, no button there to press.

“Actually, I don’t have ‘some nerve’. What I do have, is better things to do” I snap back as I walk past Tammy and her entourage, swinging my backpack over my shoulder than the other. Tammy may be able to throw some words around, but she can’t do much more than that. Not in the middle of C hall. Earlier this year, she was suspended for starting a fight with Jessica, and she’s on her “last leg”, or so I’ve heard. None the less, here, within these walls, she’s powerless and I love it.

Outside, the sun is bright. In a few more weeks, the school year will be over. This will be my last summer vacation, as I will be a senior next year. Not too far from me, buses begin leaving the front of the school. I can hear one bus driver already yelling at kids, and she hasn’t even left the parking lot yet. It must make for a long day. I don’t live too far from school, so I walk. It’s easier for me to keep an eye on things when I’m in control of my movement. Bus drivers don’t stop at a moment’s notice to let you off when you ask. Or when you demand. They don’t like that too much.

As I see Principle Pernell about twenty feet to my left, I can’t help but grin at Tammy, who is further away glaring at me with frustration. As I release a happy sigh and turn to begin walking home, the day quickly becomes overcast.

As I look up in the sky, a single cloud is covering the sun. They are wasting no time, aren’t they. I reach into my backpack and put on my glasses, then throw my hair up in a loose pony and begin looking around. Who are they after? Across the parking lot, in between some trees, Stephen is staring up at the cloud blocking the sun.

I grab my backpack and run towards Stephen. “Hey, Stephen” I shout, slightly out of breath. He doesn’t even respond or acknowledges me in any way. Yep, he’s the one.

As I get closer to him, his blank stare up towards the sky is something I’ve seen all too often in this town. It won’t be long before they come for him. I kneel, opening my backpack and take out my kit. My kit has everything I need for situations like this. A few bottles, some empty, some with mixtures in them already, a silver necklace and cuff. As I begin to regain my breath, I hear the footsteps approaching, and the unmistakable growl that makes me grin as I stand up, cuff in hand.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“It’s been a while,” I say, as I slowly turn around. Across from me, no more than fifteen or twenty feet, a visible wave begins and blasts out in a radius of about one hundred feet. Slowly, the being I heard fizzles into existence, next to a tall, slim, being. A gargoyle and its master.

“The boy. We want him” the master says. His form is human, but he, like the rest of his kind, is all but. His eyes, emerald green, captivate any human who looks into them. This is where my glasses come into play, as he does not affect me, which will force him into taking what he wants a different way.

“Aww man, this boy? He’s off-limits to things like you and your pets” I shot back, sarcasm at full strength, as I take a step in front of Stephen.

“Get out of my way, witch,” the master says as his Gargoyle takes off towards me at full speed. Quickly, I throw one of the mixture bottles to the ground as the gargoyle leaps at me and I duck and dive to the left. The bottle hits the grass, causing an opening in the ground and the gargoyle, helpless in mid-air, goes through the portal and it closes.

“My my, where are your manners?” I say to the master, as I leap up and slap the cuff around my right forearm. A golden light emits from it, and it’s glowing makes it’s way up my arm and engulfs my body, then fades within a few seconds. Now it’s time to do what I do best. As I turn to look at the master, he shoots his hands out in front of him and red and orange orbs manifest from the palms of his hands and head my way. I lift my right arm and the orbs hit my cuff, which absorbs the blast. I take a step towards the master and run full speed at him. Just before I reach him, I slide as if I’m coming into home plate, hold my arms out and two blades of yellow light appear in my hands. As I slid under the master’s body, I connect on both shins, bringing him to the ground.

As the master hits the ground, I stand up and place my right foot on it’s back. “Today is just not your day, is it?” I ask.

The master, slowly fading from visibility, beginning at the feet, laughs. “Little girl, this isn’t the last you’ll see of me, or us for that fact. Your time here has come to an end, and we are taking back this town. The master’s legs disappear as his face goes from laughter to calm, accepting the fate coming his way.

I put pressure on the master’s back “Little? I’m saving this town from the likes of you and your wet rats on steroids daily. I’m sure by now I’ve earned some sort of reputation to advance from “little”.

The master looks at me, his upper chest up all that is left. “You’ve been put on notice, witch. Your time is up. We…” The master completely fades as he speaks.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Were you saying something?” I say as I remove my cuff, put it in my kit, and walk back over to Stephen. I take another mixture bottle from my kit and pour it on his head. A purple hue coats him from head to tow with a glimmer that still takes my breath away.

As his eyes begin to blink, I pick up my backpack, stand shoulder to shoulder with him and look up. The cloud has gone and the sun has returned, shining through the trees around us. “What are you looking at, dude?”

“Oh, hey Sam. I…I don’t know, I guess I thought I saw something” Stephen says a bit unsure of himself.

“The only thing you’re going to see if you keep staring up there is black spots,” I say, rolling with the conversation.

Stephen lowers his head to look forward and rubs his eyes. “I guess so.”

I reach over and slap Stephen on the back “It’s Friday, want to see what kind of trouble we can get into tonight?” I wouldn’t call Stephen a close friend, but we’ve been known to terrorize the local bowling alley with scores that would make a first grader laugh.

“Um, yeah, yeah. That new movie came out today, we should check that out while we can” Stephen said.

“That works for me. I’ll catch you later man, and keep your eyes off the sun for a while before you go blind” I say back as I walk away heading home.

Stephen looks my way as I head away from him and smiles. His blue eyes, bright in the spring sunlight, briefly glow emerald green, before he turns and walks in the other direction.