"Ew, look at her clothes. Ever heard of a make-over, loser—"

"Oh my gosh. Check out that girl's hair, why don't you conjure up a brush? Huh? Ugly!"

Tears well up in my foggy eyes, but I force myself to move on. My arms tighten around my note book as I make my way down the crowded hallway. Looks of disgust are thrown my way, so I just keep my head down. My tangled black hair hides my face from others. I raise my hand to push my square spectacles up my nose, tucking some loose strands of hair behind my ears.

"Ugh, you should be burned to ashes, just like your mother. You witch!"

"Witch! Why don't you do us all a favor and just kill yourself now."

"Oh look what we've got here, the ugly witch! Don't cry sweetie! Your end will come soon enough."

I stop walking to gawk at near by juveniles. A single tear carved a pathway down my cheek, more were blurring my vision. I then scan the hall to find that every pair of eyes were on me. Only the sound of slamming lockers echoed through the hall, I swear you could hear a pin drop.

I dropped my school books and sprinted down the crowded hallway, tears streaming down my face. No one dared say anything, they just stood there, silently judging, thinking what they thought they knew. I saw the door ahead of me, I could almost feel the cold winter air. That's when some idiot stuck out his leg.

I stumbled clumsily over his large foot, landing on my stomach. All was dead silent. That is until the roar of laughter filled my ears. This is amusement to them, everything is a joke. What is wrong with them? In one swift movement I rose and rushed through the glass doors.

I didn't stop running until after I escaped the prison. I spurted through the streets, winding my way around obstacles. I took a sharp left to enter the woods, making my daily route back home. The wind whipped through my already messy hair. My heart was pounding in my throat.

Racing through the wooded area, I came to the a cleared area overlooking the ocean. Tears still pouring out of my eyes, so I raised my arm to wipe them away. Not realizing I had been holding my breath, I exhaled heavily. Relief washes over me, Zach. For the first time in a while a smile rose on my face. I rushed over and threw my arms around him, his strong arms embraced me, steadying me.

"It's okay, I'm here. That bad, huh? I don't understand why you even bother going to that dump." Zach's hands now placed firmly on my shoulders. "I hope you realize that you are always welcome at the institute. They welcome people like us, Classandra. People with our ability."

I stared at him, blinking away loose tears. Honestly, the only reason I remained at that place was to please my foster family. They have no clue what I was capable of though. Although my mother knew about my ability, but she wanted to keep it a secret. She didn't know that there are people like me, people I can trust now. So she put me in a public school. A few months after my mothers horrid death, I found Zach. He's the only person who actually knows me, who understands. He is an orphan as well, so he can relate.

His eyes, a black hole, were staring back at me. I strain my mind trying to read him, but it's almost as if there's a wall, keeping me out.

I c*** my head, confused. "Zach? Why is it that I can never read you? I can read everyone but you."

"Ha, trying to decipher my mind, are you? You see, people like you and me can't read each other. That's how it has always been. I've tried so many times, but each time I'm unsuccessful. Hopefully one day," He lowered his head, smirking, "I will know what you were thinking." His head rose ever so slightly, enough to see his cheeks lightly blushing.

I chuckled, "Nice try, doofus!" I stood on my tiptoes and kissed his cheek. "Meet me here tomorrow, I want to talk about the institute." I turned around and walked away.

I didn't look back, certain if I did, I would never leave. My foster family would loose it if I wasn't home on time, anyways. Unlike some, my foster family cares about me. They treat me as if I were their real daughter, and I love them for that.

I turned onto Silverway Ave.Not many families live on this street, but those who do, never show themselves. I sped up just thinking about them. What if they were watching me right this minute? I made my way to my house and opened the door.

"Ma? Pa? I'm home!" I announced as I entered the house.


"There you are Classandra we were getting worried! You were supposed to be home five minutes ago! It's nearly six o'clock!" My foster mother is very protective, she doesn't like me out after six. She says that's when the criminals start "hunting".


"I'm sorry, I just got caught up with some stuff. It won't happen again, I promise." I lied, I hated lying to my parents.

"We got a call from the school again today, said you took off early?" My foster father asked, wanting to know all.

"It's nothing, pa." I said running up the stairs. "I just had to catch my breath, that's all!”

"Oh, alright, honey!" He shouted after me, sounding unconvinced.

I closed my bedroom door behind me and plopped myself onto my bed. I wanted to tell my parents so bad, but I know that they are going to make a big deal out of nothing. I want to talk to them like nothing is wrong. Like everything is fine, but let's face it. Things are never fine with me involved.

Everything will stop soon enough, though. I'm going to go to the institute. Nobody can hurt me there. I'm going to spend more time with people like me. I'm going to have friends. I'm going to be with Zach. He can guide me. Everything will be okay, I hope.