Dylan was dreading going to school the next day. He was certain it would be another seven hours of people's relentless stares. And now that he had made the most popular girl in school angry, he was certain things would only get worse. But at least this time, he had Ellie to ease the loneliness. They had texted all afternoon the previous day. She brought a little relief to the stress of being the new kid. 

Dylan walks into the main hallway of the school, his mind focusing on where his first class was located. Out of nowhere, a wad of paper hits him in the face, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Go back to Mexico!" someone yells.

"Build a wall!" another voice calls.

Dylan glances down the hallway to see a group of football players standing by the water fountain. They were avoiding his eyes and snickering. At the center of the group was Connor.

Dylan clenches his fist and feels his face heating in frustration. This was something he had battled his entire life, but it had become worse since he got to middle school. It didn't matter that he was an American, or that he had been born in this country. When people saw him, they just saw his Mexican heritage and felt the need to judge him for it.

Most of the time these sort of comments didn't faze Dylan. His parents had taught him to ignore people who wanted to bring him down. But Connor had crossed a line, and Dylan could feel fire in his belly. He had to really bite his tongue to avoid conflict.

The stereotypes of Latinos were always the same. They were always viewed as lazy illiterates who mooched on the American government, or hardcore criminals who set forth to wreak havoc on the country. But Dylan knew this was a rare occurrence. He and his family were neither of these things. If people could see the countless houses his mother had cleaned, or the thousands of hours his father had put in working construction, they would never doubt their work ethic again.

As far as crime goes, Dylan's parents were model examples of what an American citizen should be. They lived a righteous life. They attended mass every week, and gave back to the community they had called home. They were good people, and it infuriated Dylan that people couldn't see that. 

"Is everything okay?" Ellie asks, as Dylan trudges over to her locker.

"Yeah, it's fine," he lied. He took a deep breath and tried to subside his anger. He wouldn't give Connor and his crew the satisfaction of ruining his day.

Just when Dylan had brought his blood pressure down, someone bumps into him so hard, he falls into Ellie and causes her textbooks to go tumbling to the ground.

"Watch where you're going, 2XEllie," Jemma smirks. '

She narrows her eyes at Dylan before flicking her long hair over her shoulder and striding away. Dylan rolls his eyes and bends down to help pick up the books.

Ellie lets out a sigh. "That Jemma is a piece of work." 

"It seems like a few people in this school are," Dylan mutters, handing Ellie her history textbook. "I don't understand why does she call you 2XEllie."

Ellie's face turns scarlet. "Well, what a lot of people call me. It's a nickname Jemma started calling me in the third grade because of my weight," Ellie admits. Dylan regrets asking as the tears begin to fill her eyes.

Dylan feels his anger resurface. Just because she wasn't a twig like Jemma was didn't give her the right to bully Ellie for her weight. Dylan wasn't sure who he hated more, Connor or Jemma. Both were bullies who thought they were better than everyone else because they held the power in the school. He'd love for them to get a taste of their own medicine one of these days.

Later that night, Dylan is sits at the dinner table with Bernadette and Ava. Bernadette had made some concoction that she claimed was jambalaya, but it looked more like goo. Rather than risk being rude, Dylan puts the bland sludge in his mouth, wishing it was pizza instead.

"How is school going, my hatchlings?" Bernadette asks, taking a sip of her chai tea.

"Great!" Ava replies, positively beaming.

As anxious as Ava had been about the new school, she had transitioned well to her kindergarten class. She had already made friends and they were planning on having a sleepover this weekend. Dylan wished he had adjusted as well as she had.

Bernadette turns to look at him, waiting for a response.

"School's going good," Dylan lies.

But Bernadette wasn't convinced. She narrows her eyes at him, staring until Dylan shifts uncomfortably in his seat and has to avert his gaze.    

"Dylan, why don't you go to the football game tonight? It would be a great way to get out of the house and it's a chance to meet some new friends," Bernadette suggests.

Dylan fights the urge to roll his eyes. Only in a town this small would everyone know when the middle school football games were.

"Maybe," Dylan says with a shrug. The truth was that he would rather eat a tub of mayonnaise than go to a football game. Especially in a new school.

"Oh, come on," Bernadette presses. She continues to pressure him until Dylan reluctantly agrees.

After dinner he texts Ellie, explaining how he was roped into the game and begging her to go with him. Being there would be torture enough. He didn't want to have to endure it alone. The kind-hearted person that she was, Ellie agrees to go to the game.

Dylan and Ellie meet up at the middle school and find a spot at the top of the bleachers where they could suffer in peace. The game felt like it went on forever, but the two of them barely noticed. Neither of them was interested in sports, so they spent the entire time watching hilarious YouTube videos of cats on Dylan's phone.

When the game ends and the crowd begins to disperse, Dylan attempts to put his phone inside his jacket pocket, but it slips out of his hands. He scurries and tries to catch it, but not before it falls through the crack in the bench and to the ground far below.

Dylan and Ellie rush down the steps to the grassy patch beneath the bleachers, squinting as they try to find the phone in the dark.

"Looking for this?" a familiar voice asks.

Connor steps out from the shadows, still wearing his football jersey. Jemma was standing close behind him, twirling her hair with her finger. They had smirks on their faces as Connor holds Dylan's phone dauntingly in front of them.

"Give me my phone," Dylan says. He works to keep his voice calm, though it's difficult after seeing Connor's arrogant face.

"Oh, I will... eventually. But let's see what you have on here first," Connor says, swiping the phone on. Dylan grasps for it, but Connor is faster and jerks it out of his reach. Connor hits the photo icon and scrolls through Dylan's pictures.

"Aww, is this your familia?" Connor taunts, turning the screen to show a picture of Dylan, Ava, and their parents. They were smiling and happy, enjoying an evening at the San Diego Zoo. That day felt like an eternity ago.

"Stop being a jerk, Connor," Ellie says, her voice barely above a whisper.

"What was that, 2XEllie?" Connor retorts. "You have something you want to add?"

He takes a step toward Ellie, but Dylan intervenes.

"Back up, Connor," Dylan says, coming to stand between him and Ellie.

"Or what?" Connor sneers.

Dylan feels his blood pressure boiling. It felt like his veins were made of fire. His arms were shaking with frustration, and he has to ball his fist up to prevent hitting Connor right there.

Before he gets the chance to act on his anger, a loud "pop" resonates from beneath the bleachers. Dylan feels himself being blown off of his feet, falling rearward and onto his back with so much force, he loses his breath. At first Dylan thinks Connor might have struck him, but as he looks around he sees that Connor, Ellie, and Jemma were all lying on the ground too.

In the middle of the once empty field, a tall, lanky man with a long graying beard and balding head stood, staring at the group with a creepy smile. The man was sickly pale, and his skin shimmered as if it were made of glitter. If Dylan didn't know any better, he would say the man's body was translucent, for he could see Connor on the other side of him, looking just as stunned as Dylan felt.

He twirled in a circle to look at each of them, his eyes bright with excitement. "Hello! It's so good to finally meet you all," the man says in a gentle voice. He opens his arms as if he were about to hug them.

"Who- who are you?" Connor stammers, getting to his feet and backing away from the stranger. 

"My name is Ovi, and I am your guide. I'm here to help you learn to control the powers that dwell inside of each of you. The four of you make up The Guardians, the most powerful defenders the universe has ever seen. Together,you will save your world from imminent destruction."

Thank you for reading this chapter! If you are enjoying my story so far, please don't forget to comment and/or vote! :)

© Dawn Norwell