My sleep last night was filled with a very vivid dream. A huge lake surrounded my waterfalls, pink colored creatures dancing underwater, the sky filled with white and silver clouds, and lastly, a familiar boy cliff-diving. The water was crystal clear and had mirror like rocks at the bottom that glistened in the sun. Laughter echoed off the cliff walls, ripples bloomed and faded on the water's surface. A paradise filled dream.

   After a yell of good bye to my Mom in the kitchen I raced out the front door and across the crosswalk, watching for new sophomore drivers. The sun was rising, making beautiful colors of blue and orange spread across the sky. Honking horns and loud shouts of greeting filled the student parking lot. I ignored them, heading straight for the concrete steps. To Trent.

   Cobalt sleepily sits on my shoulder. One hand holding on to my loose hair and one holding a slice of toast that he munches on slowly. I wonder if others would either see a floating toast on my shoulder or nothing at all because it disappeared once the creature touched it?

   Through the small crowd of people I see the familiar tall figure. Short brown hair looking like it was combed with just his hands and two dark chocolate colored eyes that smile with the rest of his face when he notices me. I can't control the smile that makes it way onto my face. I can't stop these smiles when he uses that special smile.

   "Hey, Jenna," Trent twirls a lollypop in his mouth while he talks. I roll my eyes at the sight. I remember him saying that lollypops are the number way to his heart. In other words, his addiction.

   "Have you even have breakfast yet?" I ask.

   Trent shakes his head and chuckles under his breath as he stops twirling the lollypop and walks beside me as we make our way inside.

   "At least I know one of us did," I say, looking down at Cobalt on my shoulder.

   His eyes are half open and his tail droops down my shoulder blade. Most of the toast is gone now, but he still chews on small bites. He still holds onto a few strands of my hair. This time all of my hair is straightened and down, not in my natural state of hair with a braid at the side like yesterday.

   Trent notices this. I think. He keeps taking long glances at Cobalt and then short sneaky peeks at the hair he is holding. The tip of ears feel hot. I haven't been this close to someone in a long time. I haven't had a friend who understands in a long time.

   I haven't dreamed about them either.

   I shake my head a little, trying to scatter the thoughts away. We both make our way to the American History classroom, avoiding the random flying paper planes and the much bigger throng of people that either walk really fast with no will of moving slightly to the left or right or very slow walkers that throw their arms around wildly while they talk with someone. High school hallways are a trap if you don't know what to expect. I believe middle school was worse though.

  
Only a couple of students are in Mrs. Chapman's classroom when we arrive. Two boys in the back that are plugged into their headphones and one girl who sits up front next to the window with her nose almost touching the pages of her book. She either can't see or she is reading a really good book. Trent ignores them and makes his way to his new assigned seat from yesterday. I'm surprised he remembered. I follow behind him and set my backpack next to my chair and set Cobalt onto the desk. Trent and I both lean back into our chairs.

   We have grown close in the matter of a day. Is this fast or just the way we work?

   "Thank goodness Mrs. Chapman isn't here yet," Trent says. "She seems nice and all, but yesterday she also seemed uptight. Is she normally like that?"

   "Oh no," I say with a shake of my head, "she is usually like the nice women you met at first but the reason she was a little uptight yesterday was because the guy that sits next to me, Eric, was sleeping in class yesterday. She asked him to answer a question and he just sat their dumbfounded."

   The corners of Trent's mouth turn up as he nods.

   "That's not even the best part," I continue. "You see, Cobalt was playing around and decided to tie Eric's shoelaces to his desk. It was a funny sight to see him get up for one second and then the next he is sprawled across the floor."

   We both laugh. Trent with his annoyingly loud laugh while I try to keep mine quiet because the girl up front turns and looks at us with a small glare. Trent must not notice because he continues to laugh until it turns into just a small chuckle.

   "Dang," he says breathlessly, "I didn't know that Cobalt here was a mischievous one." The small creature looks up at him when he hears his name. He has come to a liking of his new name, I know I like it.

   "So," I start, "what about soccer tryouts this weekend?" Trent was able to talk to the head coach yesterday during lunch and was able to sign the forms and make the list for tryouts.

   "I would say I am a bowl full of excitement mixed with a dash of nervousness," he jokes.

   "I'm sure you will make it," I encourage him. "If you played at your old school, I believe you can make one of the soccer teams here."

   "Hopefully JV or varsity," he says with a sigh and a scratch of his head. "We never had a C team like you guys do. The way the coach was explaining the C team sounded like, "you aren't good enough but we kinda like you. Play here.""

   I nod in understanding. I have heard that some of the boys that made C team last year automatically quit after the teams were posted.

   Our conversation is interrupted by the screeching of the five minute warning bell for first hour. The teacher races in with a coffee cup and sits at her desk before students begin to shuffle in. They are either tired and are barely walking straight or energetic and bounce to their seats with their friends.

   This is high school.

   High school. I thought I was alone here. Imagining things around me that I could see and touch, but one new guy turns up and tells me he can see them too. What a wonderful situation to happen to me.

   When class starts I sneak a glance to Trent who is opening his textbook with a concentrated expression. He notices me peeking at him and sticks his tongue at me. Instead of him influencing me to smile with his, I smile first. He copies me and turns back to his textbook.

   Creatures warp around me and I now know an understanding guy who has a contagious smile and is my friend. Only one word can describe how I feel right now.

   Paradise.

   I, Jenna Bates, have found my secret paradise with Trent and Cobalt in this unknown world.