Chapter 1: The Amphibian Girl

Chapter 1: The Amphibian Girl 1

Brad squeezed Demetri’s hand as she looked down at her watch. The film was almost over. She looked back up at the screen uncomfortably. She could feel Brad’s eyes baring into her profile. The woman on screen was some drop dead gorgeous movie star with a hundred watt smile. ‘Oh God’ thought Demitri as the two characters leaned in for the predicted kiss. ‘I hope he doesn’t…’ Too late. Brad had reached over at the same time and pinned his lips to hers. Demitri had hoped he wouldn’t do it, but now that he was already stuck to her face, she didn’t bother. It was only when Brad opened his mouth and slipped her the tounge that Demitri pulled away awkwardly. She really didn’t want to find out how Brad ‘The Lizard’ Jennings lived up to his reputation.2

As the credits began to roll, Demitri and Brad got up, and went to the cinema’s exit, throwing out her Diet Pepsi along the way. They stopped outside the cinema’s back doors, to wait for Demetri’s friends: Louise, Paul, and Sara. 3

Louise and Paul were twins, and Sara, Demetri’s best friend, was dating Paul. Louise came out first, looking as if she would blow up from laughing so hard. Paul and Sara followed, hand in hand, looking red in the cheeks.4

“What happened?” Asked Demitri putting her hands in her jeans pockets in case Brad got any ideas.5

“In the middle of their snog session” laughed Louise animatedly, “this old bloke goes: ‘For God sakes get a room!’”6

“You’ve been telling them that for weeks, Lou” Demitri replied.7

“I told you we should have taken the back” said Sara, red flushing her face.8

Brad raised an eyebrow and gave Demitri a wry smile. 9

“Thanks mates, that was fun, but I’m worn over. I think I’ll head home” she said trying to sound tired.10

“I can walk you home” Brad started. He gave her a smile, and she felt his hand creep toward her bottom.11

“No! No, Brad, you go with them” she said rather fast, beginning to walk away hurriedly.12

‘Oh great, a bum pincher lizard’ thought Demitri crossing the street.13

“What’s wrong Dee? Are you feeling peaky?” Called Louise from across the street.14

“I’ll call you later!” Sara added before Demitri disappeared from sight.15

When she was safely out of her friends’ view, on an empty side street, she reached for the purse on her shoulder and pulled it open.16

“Finn, you can come out now” she said to the purse.17

Amongst the gum wrappers and movie ticket stubs, there appeared a tiny blue head.18

“You can come out now, dunderhead, date’s over.”19

The little creature just cocked his head and flew out of the purse in a rush of blue sparks. 20

It was an impish creature, with a fat oval head, a round cherry nose, and a plump little body that appeared to be too big for its feet. The creature’s skin was completely blue, with orange tufts of hair on its head and at the end of his long wispy tail and antenna. 21

“Well finally. I was beginning to think you’d never let me out.” It said, shaking its shaggy head.22

“Believe me, you had it better than I did” she replied.23

“Well, you seemed to enjoy having your head sucked off by that boy. Oh, if your mother were alive today to see you…!”24

“Shut up you furry little newt. You think I liked that Brad bloke cleaning out my mouth?”25

Finn made a face, stuck out his tiny orange tongue, and said hopefully “Any more kernels?”26

“Nope, Brad threw the bag into the rubbish bin on the way out of the cinema.” Demitri had been slipping little popcorn kernels through her purse throughout the whole movie.27

“You know, if you eat too much of that you will get fat” she said to him.28

“Human food is overrated” he replied huffily. 29

Now normally, it would be very strange for a normal girl to reach into her purse, pull out a tiny blue creature, and carry out a conversation with it. No normal girl would ever do such of thing without having a case of schizophrenia. But Demitri Greenwood was not a normal girl at all. In fact, she was only half human. Her only human roots came from her father, a completely semi strange human adult. Demetri’s mother had been a child of the secret order of the Realm Faeries, or Faye race. Her mother was most likely dead, since she had disappeared nearly fifth teen years before. The only person that was last to see Demetri’s mother alive, was a one-year-old Demitri herself. Unfortunately, all of her memories of the day her mother seemed to walk off the face of the earth were shadowed. As if they had been erased off a chalkboard. When her mother had died, she left young Demitri with an impish little Faye guardian, named Finnian. Her mother’s family was all pure Fayes, and spent their days in the Faye Realm, only visible to those who knew exactly where to find it.30

Secretly, under her band tee shirts, filmy wings were grown into her skin.31

Her father liked to tease her about being a tinker-bell sort. He called Demitri “The Amphibian Girl” because the Greek translation meant ‘double life’. A secret double life is something Demitri had lived with all her lives.32