I tug at my falafels are good for the soul t-shirt, which I'm unhappily beginning to realise won't fit me for much longer, trying to stop it from making my feathers itch. I sit in the Principal's office in a plastic chair that I outgrew years ago, my feet crammed uncomfortably against the wooden desk taking up most of the room. My best friend, Cole, sits beside me looking nervous and like he was going to puke, but more comfortable in his chair because he's over two feet shorter than I am, and he's average height. He hates getting in trouble, and I mean hates as in hates with a passion. I don't really care about being in trouble. It's happened so many times, it had lost its effect on me years ago.

"You're not in trouble, you know," The Principal says in his deep, ancient, and gravelly voice. Cole visibly relaxes a little, but he still looks confused and worried. He glances at me, the expression on his face clearly asking, do you have any idea what's going on? I sigh. Being here is all too common for me, and the Principal gives me a look that shows he hasn't forgotten my most recent 'crime.'

All I did was throw a mudball at Luther Jones last week, the most stuck-up, idiotic, and narcissistic creature on the planet. How was I supposed to know it had a rock in it, or that it would hit him so perfectly and hilariously in the face?

Principal Grumvog frowns at my sudden smirk, and I know he can tell what I'm thinking. He usually can, and it's pretty creepy. I'm used to my best friend being able to guess my thoughts, but he's psychic, whereas the Principal is most definitely not. Well, not in the normal sense. I'm pretty sure he's got magical teacher powers, or something like that.

"You two are here because I've picked you to show a new student around. She's from the Woods dimension and is unfamiliar with Earth customs, and needs some people to show her around and explain our ways to her for a while. I didn't pick girls to show her around because in her culture, it's normal for girls to fight each other all the time, and frankly, you two avoid the other gender too much. I picked you, Griffin, because you know this school better than anyone, even myself, and know what it's like to come here and have to wear a translation necklace because you don't know the language. Not only that, but you know the teachers the best of all the students, and can introduce her. I implore you to keep her out of trouble, as well as yourself." 

"Now-the reason I picked you, Cole, is because you two are so often together that it's almost like you're his shadow. You're virtually inseparable. Not only that but you're a good, honest, smart boy with a knack for keeping people out of harm's way." I frown, but Cole smiles. He loves praise; he's a suck up, but I would go crazy without him. After a few moments, the Principal added: "Also, you should really make more friends, Cole my boy. You're unbelievably shy, and I'm worried that only interacting with Griffin will have him rub off on you. We wouldn't want that."

I hold back a slightly offended, but mostly amused snort as Cole shrinks back into his chair, blushing purple because of his pastel blue skin. Principal Grumvog laughs (a deep, unsettling noise) and says: "It's alright, I was only kidding. You're a good kid, don't you worry. And don't let Griff here teach you anything bad, you hear? Don't think you're too ghetto to show a new kid around." The Principal winks, obviously thinking he's being cool or something, and it makes me nearly sick. Cole visibly cringes, blushing more out of embarrassment. I hate it when adults act like they're our age and think they're pulling it off, but fail miserably.

I hate it when they say ghetto. I never, not once, liked or used that word.

I hate it so, so much.

Principal Grumvog stopped laughing his deep, gravelly laugh at last and we all lapse into an awkward silence. I shuffle around in my tiny chair, trying to find a comfortable position as an excuse to never look at the Principal again. He finally stands and resumes his normal teacher tone, and Cole and I exchange a relieved glance.

"I'll bring her in so you can get to know her a little before I send you three off. I want you to just bring her around the school today, like she's on a tour." The Principal finishes. I stand at long last, relieved to finally be out of that torturous plastic chair of pure evil. When you're seven foot seven at fourteen, sitting in chairs designed for people much smaller than you is not pleasant, not to mention the fact that average doors are six feet eight or so, meaning I have to bend over a significant amount just to enter a room. My hair brushes the lower-than-average ceiling of the Principal's Office, and I know that if I were to stand even slightly on my toes I would hit my head.

"Ah, could we meet her out in the hallway, please?" I ask. "This is kind of a small room," I feel cramped and slightly claustrophobic in the slightly smaller than average room (it was designed for an elf teacher, and elves are generally a bit smaller than humans), and am worried I'll knock something over with a stray elbow. Principal Grumvog kindly notices my discomfort and nods, leading us into the dramatically cooler and more open hallway just outside the Principal's office. I stretch, relieved, and my fingers brush the ceiling. The Principal tells us to stay put as he lumbers off to wherever the heck he had been keeping the new student up to now, and I wait until he's gone before talking.

"So," I say, looking down at Cole thoughtfully. "We have to show around a new student, huh?" He makes an irritated noise at me and I snort. "I bet you couldn't try and see what she looks like before she even gets here. You know, use your psychic gem-eye thing." I say sneakily. I'm always curious to find the limits of his ability, but he rarely practices around me. He never refuses a bet, though, and I smirk because I know he'll agree.

"... Alright," He says slowly, brushing his bright blue hair from his face to reveal the octagonal blue gem on his forehead. A brilliantly white, elongated diamond shaped pupil darts back and forth as he closes his other eyes and goes completely perfectly still. I find myself holding my breath as the seconds tick by, not wanting to wreck his bizarrely surreal concentration. I can't even tell if he's breathing, until he snaps out of it so suddenly it makes me jump a little.

"She has brown hair with leaves in it, and she's got a tiny nose and really green eyes. She has branches on her head that are kind of like antlers, and she's barefoot. Also, she should be here in about forty seven seconds." He smiles smugly as I look down the incredibly long hallway. The Principal, an intimidating rock golem who dresses in formal suits that I personally think make him look ridiculous, stands next to a tiny elf girl who hops from one bare foot the other excitedly. I have inhumanly keen eyesight when looking at things far away, though things that are too close get a little blurry. Even from this distance, I could count her eyelashes. Creepy, yes, but incredibly useful.

I face Cole again and whistle. "You were right," I say. "How come you can't use that power before a math test and give me all the answers, then?" I joke. Cole frowns. "That's cheating. It's not my fault that you're apparently incapable of studying or paying attention in class, you know. Anyways, I'm in the advanced class. You're in the normal class. You should be able to focus in one of the few hours we're separated." Cole said in the sarcastic tone I'm so familiar with. I smirk. "And you should be able to interact with people other than your fellow super-geeks when I'm not around without being totally awkward for at least a minute." I say back. "You're the most socially awkward person I've ever had the misfortune to meet, and let me tell you-I know some seriously awkward people."

Cole makes a face at me and I grin evilly. We make fun of each other all the time, and we both know it's all just jokes. To be honest, Cole keeps me sane, and I keep him from turning into a fourteen-year-old hermit, so a little teasing here or there is nothing.

Our friendly bickering is interrupted as Principal Grumvog arrives (exactly forty seven seconds after Cole predicted it) with the girl we're going to have to spend the next few weeks with. She's exactly as Cole described-brown hair, branch antlers, etc. etc. etc., but up close I can see that she's literally shivering with energy and excitement and tapping her foot crazily. She stares up at me with her mouth wide open and I'm immediately really self-conscious of my height all over again.

"...You're so tall," She gasps, making me frown. She turns her gaze to Cole. "And you're so blue," She whispers, putting her hands to her face and partially covering the almost crazy grin spreading across her face. "Oh, this is so exciting and amazing! I am going to love it here and it is going to be incredible! Yes, oh yes, oh yes! I am so happy!" She hops from foot to foot and startles me by extending her hand to shake mine in a motion so hyper it was almost violent. I stand dumbstruck and stare at her hand for a few seconds, my mind still trying to figure out why she's so... Cheerful.

My huge hand completely covers hers when I shake her hand, and I find I have to bend over slightly for her to be shaking my hand on a comfortable level. She would be a small person to most people, and to me, she's even smaller. I can hardly believe she's our age, though the Principal assured us she was fourteen.

"I'm Ayla, let's be best friends, yeah?" She chirps, smiling so widely and sincerely that I can't help but smile back a little, even though her eyelid is twitching slightly and it's freaking me out. "My name's Griff," I say, still slightly dazed by how incredibly cheerful she is. "And, uh, sure?" I add. She makes a tiny squealing noise of approval and goes to shake Cole's hand next. I straighten up and stare at them quizzically. Cole shakes her hand nervously, and I nearly laugh at how different they are. She's a ray of complete hyperactive sunshine, while he's a fairly morbid, gloomy, and overall shy person.

"Hey," He says quietly when she introduces herself. "I'm, uh, Cole." He's too shy to meet her eyes. Ayla steps back and claps her hands together once the introduction is complete. "So, now that introductions are done, can I have more coffee, Principal?" She says loudly, still grinning from ear to ear. Ah, that's why she's so hyper. Principal Grumvog shifts from foot to foot, looking at her with a wise but also slightly wary expression.

"No, you shouldn't drink coffee. I only let you have it because you were freezing when you got here, and there was a coffee maker conveniently nearby." I can tell he's regretting his decision to give her coffee, big time. I find myself smirking evilly at the whole thing and receive a glare of death from the Principal. I wipe the smirk from my face and try to look innocent, putting on my best I was just smiling at how nice the weather was, oh wonderful teacher Sir face. 

During the exchange of dirty looks between me and the Principal, Ayla had wandered her way back over to Cole and was chattering excitedly with him while her leg jittered crazily. Cole looked extremely uncomfortable, and to be honest terrified, and I knew my duty was to get us moving so she would be distracted enough that Cole could have time to get over his apparent fear of incredibly friendly and hyper girls who just had coffee.

"Alright, then, Principal Grumvog-we'll take her around before last class ends and the hallways get too crowded, and show her some of the school. You can trust us-I promise." I say, taking a few steps back and plastering my best and most responsible expression on my face. I really did mean the last bit, sort of, but really I just wanted to get moving because of Cole and because I was starting to feel claustrophobic again. It was fine when it was just Cole and I, but even the large, open hallway seemed cramped with a stone golem and a hyperactive, caffeine-crazy elf in it.

The Principal nods, looking pleased (and slightly relieved), and we set off. We were called out of last mod-art for me, interdimensional history for Cole-to show Ayla around, therefore the hallways are mostly empty, and very quiet. Before too long, Ayla is far away from me and as close to Cole as possible without them being one person. I walk silently, my face in my signature scowl as I think about random things, like how my feathers are itching and how there's a fly buzzing against the window. Ayla is incredibly friendly towards Cole as we walk, but basically ignores me. She won't stop staring at him, and he looks incredibly unnerved.

I can guess why. A lot of girls (and guys) think he's absolutely adorable-they love how dorky and shy he is and think his ears are cute or something. He's so shy, in fat, that I'm fairly sure he hates any and all attention. On the other hand, people generally think I'm creepy or scary or just weird. I can't help that I'm seven feet seven inches tall and have stupid cream-colored hair that's more like feathers and sticks all over the place, and I can't help that I have red eyes that Cole says are the color of cherries or maybe hot sauce to make me feel better, but really are the color of fresh blood. My eyebrows are in default slanted, so I basically always look angry whether I like it or not, and when I'm actually angry, it's even worse. Not only that, but people are freaked out by the scars all up my arm that I really don't want to explain just yet.

I'll never understand why girls (and some boys, not including me) think he's cute, though. He's sullen and grumpy and antisocial. His skin is a grayish sort of blue, for one, which still shocks me sometimes, and he has blue hair, and blue eyes, and a blue crystal growing from his freaking forehead, and he has weird deer ears that are also blue and twitch when he's mad, and yes-even blue leg hair. We have gym together, and seeing him in gym shorts is like a crime to my eyes.

It's weird.

And gross.

... I'll admit I'm jealous of how many people want to be friends with him, but flattered that he refuses to stop being friends with me despite everyone telling him I'm a temperamental birdbrain and that he should be friends with them instead.

I mean, what is it with the guy that everyone likes? He eats maggots.

I watch as Cole sneakily gets Ayla to stop talking to him for a minute by pointing to a mural on the wall and mentioning that it was me who painted it. Ayla grabs my arm roughly and drags me over to it, demanding that I reveal to her how I learned to paint so well. It's a mural of a portal between worlds, and a random assortment of monsters is flying out of it. I'm really proud of it-it actually looks like they're flying directly at you, right out of the wall, and the colors are bright and abstract and totally awesome.

"I was taught by a bear." I explain, kind of uncomfortable about the subject she started on. Her jaw drops. "You're lying to me," She says as I gently pry her hand off my scarred arm, wincing. Her nails are sharp. "No, the art teacher here is Miss Ursus; she basically raised me." I say a bit more quietly, and I feel my the feathers between my shoulderblades fluff up slightly. Usually, I can talk about this pretty normally, but recently something happened that brought it all back, and I really am not ready to tell a stranger about it.

"She's a bear? Does she talk?" Ayla asks curiously, and I nod. Miss Ursus stands on her hind legs and wears long, flowing, colorful clothes. She always smells nice, too, like lavender, and is more like a mother to me than mine ever was. She's a polar bear, and her fur is always stained with colorful paints. She calls me cub, and she's the person who really took care of me. I rub my arm uncomfortably, the scars that are so obviously bite marks rough under my fingers.

"Why do you have those scars on your left arm?" She asks as she notices me rubbing them, her voice cheerful enough to make me angry.

I freeze.

When I'm mad, my eyes go slit pupiled and turn a darker red. It's really scary to someone who isn't used to it, and I have to turn away a little, fists clenched, so as not to scare Ayla on accident. I rub the scars on my arm more angrily, the warped pink scar tissue bumpy under my fingers, a deep frown on my face. Ayla touches my arm, gently this time. "Did I say something wrong?" She asks. I shake my head. "It's not you, it's just some crap that happened in the past that some idiot brought up today and got in a fight with me over. I'm still mad about it is all. It's not important," I say roughly past the lump in my throat and my gritted teeth. My hands are shaking and I don't want to lose my temper when I just met Ayla. Cole knows how I am when people bring up my scars, and I can tell he's ready to intervene.

I try and calm down, but instead I feel my hair standing up like feathers, and the real feathers between my shoulderblades do too. They spread a little bit, itching as tiny new feathers poke up from under my skin. It gets even worse as Ayla suddenly hugs me, obviously thinking it's the right thing to do, shocking me more. I stand perfectly still, utterly confused and with my personal space completely violated. My anger vanishes under a cloud of total discomfort, and more feathers start to crowd up my neck and down my back, warm and itching like you wouldn't believe.

I make a distressed noise and Cole somehow convinces Ayla to let go of me. "Ayla, he doesn't like being hugged by anyone he doesn't really know," He cautions quietly, tugging at her sleeve. She lets go and apologizes, sounding sincere, but I'm too freaked out to really respond. Ayla backs up a little bit, looking hurt and confused and still twitching from the coffee.

"You need a minute? I'll keep her occupied," Cole says under his breath, pulling me to where she can't hear us.

"Yeah, thanks," I whisper back, my fluffed-up feathers smoothing down a little and the extra ones slowly detaching and floating to the floor. That was... Weird. I don't like people touching me, and being hugged by a virtual stranger after having a random emotional moment left me feeling completely scattered. I make the excuse that I have to use the bathroom, then speedwalk down the hallway, eventually ending up where I said I was going and frowning into the mirror. My reflection frowns back at me, and I stick my tongue out, trying to relax. There are cream-colored feathers all over my clothes and still more are falling off as I manage to calm down a little tiny bit.

I hate people touching me, I absolutely despise being hugged by anyone other than Miss Ursus or Lily, and above all, I can't tolerate it when people ask about the scars on my arm like they're nothing at all. They're not normal scars, and they go deeper than the skin. Much, much deeper-so deep I know they'll never fade-and to have someone ask me about it as casually as if they were asking about the weather always ticks me off way more than it should.

I grip the edge of a sink with both hands, knuckles white. I force myself to take a deep breath and push the awful memories clouding my vision into the back of my mind where they don't howl and scream bloody murder at me quite as loudly. I open my eyes and stare at my reflection feeling shaken up and weird. Today Luther (that idiot I mentioned earlier) made fun of me being an orphan and made the joke that the bite marks and scratches on my arm are from my parents trying to get away from me before they died of disgust at how awful and ugly I am.

Sure, I'm not handsome or anything, but I'm not that ugly.

He was horrifyingly close to the truth, but I didn't kill my parents. I didn't. The opposite of that is closer to the truth. We got into a fight, that kid and I. I ended up sitting on him while I screamed 'liar' into his face and punched him. I wasn't caught for punching him, either, which was great. Thankfully, though he was close to the truth, he had it twisted enough that it barely resembled what really happened.

What really happened is none of your business.

And I didn't kill them.

One of them tried to kill me.

I calm down enough to leave the bathroom and catch up with the other two. I act like nothing happened, even though inside I'm still really angry and wishing some person I hated (like Luther) would come along so I had an excuse to punch someone (like Luther), not to mention the fact that I'm still shedding cream-colored feathers as I go and gritting my teeth every once in awhile. I swear vengeance on Luther (that idiot deserves it) and decide to put maggots in his bed, or something equally as horrible. That, or insult him a bunch and perhaps punch him.

I kind of have a bad temper, in case you hadn't noticed, and minor (and major) things tend to tick me off.

A lot.

We take Ayla to the kitchens, and I introduce her to the cooks (I know all of their names, all twenty seven of them), and after that came the library, where the utterly terrifying (but very friendly) librarian with ten tentacled arms covered in razor sharp spikes and a mouth like an insect's waves hello. We showed her the courtyard where we usually spend our free time, the gym where our incredibly buff cyclops coach is napping, and even where some of the bathrooms are, just to be safe. We brought her to the entrance to the Girl's Dorm, but didn't go in for obvious reasons, and after that we had to pull her aside as the last class of the day ended. By then, I was feeling better. Ayla is really good at cheering me up, even though we just met, and even though she obviously would rather talk to poor old Cole, but she seems a little nervous of me.

The hallways flood with creatures of every shape and size and species as the last class of the day ends. There are people with extra heads and arms and eyes, people with fur and feathers and scales, people who fly, people with strange ears and elephant trunks, and people who don't resemble humans at all. There is even a unicorn or two, and the occasional small dragon. Just the usual, really.

Ayla stares at the crowd with wide, excited eyes. I can tell she's never seen so many different species in a single place, and she just has to stop and take it all in. I remember when I first arrived, I was just as awed as she was, but I was terrified because of what had happened, and because the only inhuman I'd ever seen were my parents and myself. I'm glad she enjoys it more than I did, despite wearing an uncomfortable band around her neck that translates her speech until she learns English. Trust me, those bands itch horribly, especially if you're me and half the time you have feathers growing there every time you lose your temper (which for me is often).

We waited for the rush of people to die down a little, sitting at a small table by a window, and were (thankfully) ignored by the rest of the students. I asked Ayla what it's like in the Woods dimension, and she was incredibly enthusiastic and eager to answer my questions.

"So," I begin. "What's it like in your dimension?" She smiles, slightly more calmly because I can tell the caffeine's starting to wear off at last, but not really. "There are trees there, taller than anything you could ever imagine, and we live up high in the canopy. Our homes are weaved from the branches and connected by rope bridges, and the air there smells so fresh and clean because we have no need to burn things for energy. We do everything with magic or our own natural abilities, and it's very peaceful there. All the different elven kingdoms are at peace, and I had many friends from the other kingdoms." Her face becomes a little sad. "I love it there, but I wanted to experience what the other dimensions are like so I came here instead, just for a little while." She says, but I can tell that isn't really the truth. I'm distracted from that when Cole asks what I've been wondering for ages. "Are all elves as incredibly cheerful and energetic as you are...?" He says shyly (as always) and kind of embarrassed.

"Oh, definitely not," She laughs. "I'm just a really happy person. I drank that drink you call coffee and now I feel really crazy," She laughs a little freakily, obviously still hyper, and I laugh too, her mood contagious. "Reminds me a bit of how Cole gets when he has sugar, actually," I snort, smirking. Cole frowns at me, face murderous. Whenever he has sugar, he goes completely insane, so much so that it's one of the funniest things I've ever seen or ever will see. I smirk even more evilly at the thought.

A bell rings and I realise it's time for dinner. My stomach growls loudly right after the bell rings, as if it heard it somehow. "Right on cue," Cole comments. "Always thinking about food, huh?" My stomach growls more loudly and I make an innocent face. "I'm hungry," I whine, making a face and standing up. "I don't want to wait in a line, either," I add, hinting that we should get going.

Ayla jumps to her feet with a smile. "I would love to try some of your Earth foods! We should go right away!" She says enthusiastically. Cole sighs and gets to his feet, and we push through the loud, varied crowd filling the hallways and make our way to the cafeteria. The cafeteria is a huge, mostly undecorated room full of tables of many different sizes, and there are tons of different food choices to satisfy the incredibly diverse diets of the students. At the back of the room are stacks of trays that you grab before choosing a food line and waiting to get your meal, then head back to your table to eat.

I go to a line labeled 'Earth Food' and Ayla follows me, seeing as Cole eats really big, really alive maggots, and she doesn't think that sounds appetizing. I know bugs are supposed to be good for you, and that people all over the world eat them, but larger-than-average live maggots?! I think it's disgusting, but I've gotten used to it enough that I don't gag and lose my appetite every time he comes to the table with a plateful of squirming, squealing (yes, squealing-these ones squeal) maggots. Even stranger is that he thinks my eating habits are gross, just because I have awful manners and tend to eat a lot of food very quickly.

In the line, Ayla tugs at my sleeve. "Do hamburgers have meat in them?" She asks innocently, looking at the list of food choices, and I snort. "It's kind of the whole concept of a hamburger," I explain. "But they have tons of other options like veggie burgers and salads and foods from places outside the United States too, so if you're a vegetarian or a vegan you can eat that instead." She nods. "I don't eat meat," She continues to jump from foot to foot from the caffeine she had. I find it hard to believe she's our age, what with the way she acts, but then again, she had coffee for the first time. I remember the first time I had coffee. That was bad.

I have since been banned from drinking coffee, probably for the best.

Coffee and I do not get along.

(Continued in part 2 of chapter 1)