Honestly, Jewel

People are idiots.
I’m one too, so I’m not just being selfish.
They seem to think they are so sneaky and too innocent, that they have to lie.
I don’t care if they think lying is easy, no matter how much of a smooth talker you are.
Oh.
I’m sorry, I haven’t introduced myself.
How rude of me.
My name is Jewel.
I’m tall, gorgeous, and graceful.
Of course, if you were like me, you would realize that none of these are true.
I can see your words. They make colors, rainbows from your mouth. When you lie, a darkness seeps out, oozing and gross.
Too much?
Well, we could go back to me then.
Do you want the truth?
I’m tall, but gangly and awkward.
I fall up stairs, trip over my feet, run into walls, even when I’m staring at them.
Sad, yes, but true.
It didn’t take me long to figure out that I was the only one who could see these things.
You would think people would go around blabbering about it because they would realize other people are lying to them.
It’s always horrible to watch someone ask a random person if they like their new haircut.
The random person, being shocked, will hate the haircut, and blurt out something, in case the questioner would punch them in the face otherwise.
Meanwhile, I’m standing in the background, my invisible self, watching a blackness seep out of their mouths, and they only shake their head in confusion.
Yes, I’m invisible.
I don’t have friends.
Now, don’t argue with me. Here’s an example.
You know everyone’s a hypocrite, right?
Well, when you’re a hypocrite, you lie.
I just got really tired of the darkness, that I detached myself from the rest of the world.
Don’t think I get off easy.
I hate to be selfish, but I think I have it worse.
I can’t lie.
Like, never.
It doesn’t work.
Once, I tried it, and only built up my reputation as a babbling idiot.
Seriously, I swear I invented a new language.
Besides, English shouldn’t be so freaking strict. It has too many rules and regulations.
Well, not regulations, but rules.
Rules, and rules, and rules, and more rules.
You can’t spell anything write in English or even use the correct grammar.
Did you know that some idiot decided that you could say ‘thunk’ instead of thought? I mean seriously! It’s just a noise.
But no, we’re going to make it a verb, but wait! It’s grammatically incorrect.
You know that the rebellious schoolboys decided then?
They decided to annoy their teachers with the word. I’ll be it was all an April Fool’s joke.
I guess it got bad enough, because now it’s even in your grammar book, saying that you can’t use it!
Last time I checked, when I smacked my head against the wall, it sounded like a ‘thunk’. But now, I guess it made a ‘think’ sound.
Screw English. I’m learning Chinese.1


I walk into the band room, quite unhappy that I have 105.6 days of school left. That’s not counting extracurricular requested by parents.
“You look pretty today.” I saw the rainbow come out of Lyra’s mouth. She didn’t lie very often, unless she was really mad at you.
I debated on responding.
I debated on opening my mouth.
I debated on whether pinky toes were necessary.
All the while, she was smiling and nodding, but then I realized she wasn’t even talking to me.
This, of course, made me feel embarrassed. Thankfully, I did not acknowledge her, so I could just walk away.
This is the price of invisibility.
I don’t mind.
I get to delve into the unknown, and study Chinese. I even get to rant about how people are idiots without them knowing.
Above me, the intercom crackled.
“Jewel, please come the office.”
I hear someone say. “Who the heck is that?”
I smile, knowing my goal was accomplished.
However, I have to miss band for this. They will pay, oh yes, they will.
Okay, no, they won’t, but it’s a small hope.
On my way there, I trip.
I look down, and see a trail of black.
Not paint.
Not scuff marks.
Lies.
No, there wasn’t much I could do about it, you know, other than watch the trail grow as a boy walked down the halls, his mouth opening and closing so rapidly, that I could swear he switched with a girl’s.
Worse, his arm was around an unlucky girl’s shoulder, probably telling her a tangled web, weaving her into a bag all the while.
I sigh.
I’m curious, so I pick up the trail.
Decided to experiment, I listen to what he had been saying.
“No, no Sweet, I will always keep you in my heart… don’t worry, I’ll go at your pace…”
I gag. He was lying through his teeth.
An evil smile appears on my face.
Something I’ve never tried before becomes a brilliant idea.
I’m not sure it will work.
You won’t even care anyway, because you can’t see this mess he’s leaving.
I swear, it looks like an alien life form.
My fingers squeeze the mess, and I think of the things he is thinking.
Tingles were in my fingers, but they vibrated to the darkness, and slowly formed a rainbow.
The color spread quickly, and soon reached the end of his trail.
It soon catches up to him, diving into his mouth.
He gagged visibly.
My face probably took on that wide-eyed look of a prankster, knowing they might get caught.
I rush quickly towards the office, but not before I see the girl slap him on the check.
I smile broadly, quite proud of myself.
I’m extremely excited with my new discovery.
Selfish, yes, but excited.
I wonder if I could save the world with this.
Nah.
People aren’t worth saving.
We’re all going to die anyway.
If I just killed you because you read this, then we have a problem.
You can solve it though; I was never good at math.2


The office is too clean. It smells like Frebreeze and Pledge, but the carpet looks old and ratty.
I hate ratty carpets. They completely ruin your attitude of the room. Besides, carpets are so useless. All they do for you is collect dirt.
However, for me, carpets serve the purpose of cushioning my falls.
I’m not really that clumsy. I just can’t see where I’m going in a crowd of people, because the mess of color and blackness.
“Jewel Drearie?”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
“You are leaving school early today.”
“Whatever for?” I feel like talking funny today.
“Because your mother felt you needed the day off.”
Obviously, this is very confusing. Since when did a school just let you go? However, I could see that she wasn’t lying.
“You are getting 100% in all your classes, and your teachers all agreed that you have gotten so tired and depressed looking, that they insist you take the day off. Besides, the rest of your afternoon classes are cut because of the ceremony, so you don’t need to worry about anything.”
“So, I, just, leave?”
“Anytime you want.”
“Oh.” I seriously don’t think that I work that hard. Ever.
Something was up…..
She wasn’t lying.
There were no hidden lies that I could feel in her, and nothing was amiss.
I know!
I’m dreaming.
It’s the only possibility to explain this.
Probably the only logical reasoning behind anything in this world at the moment is that we’re all dreaming.
Seriously, it could be like the Matrix or something.
There, I didn’t lie, I questioned. When having a problem like me, you have to learn to stretch and bend and hide the truth.
For example, if someone is wearing a particular ugly sweater with a lovely blue color, and they ask you opinion on it, I’d say something like, “That color looks amazing on you!”
Then, while you’re grimacing about how horrible it fits the person, they feel better.
No one seems to get that you don’t have to lie outright, or even give the brutal truth.
I’ve gotten by with it since I learned to speak!
Seriously. People think I’m nice, but if only they knew the thoughts that went on in my head.
I would probably be murdered on the spot.
Oh, by the way, I’m outside now, waiting for my mother to pick me up.
Thoughts keep me company during the long wait.
When the bell rings, signaling for B lunch, I think about how my feet are too small.
Maybe they’re the reason I’m so clumsy and awkward.
I also heard that fairies’ feet are small. Maybe my power comes from my feet.
Yeah, by the way, I’m also the queen of England.
Did I also mention that I have a fish named Scales?
You probably wonder why I have a fish.
Well, to be honest, my mother wouldn’t let me get a whale.
Besides, all you have to do is feed it, hope that you clean it good enough, and pray that it doesn’t die.
Fish are so cool.
Sometimes I wish I was one.
As a fish, you’d have the constant feeling of flying, and eat all you can. An added bonus, the thrill of running/swimming for you’re life because a whale decides you’re his next meal.
Plus, there’s all those horrible jelly fish that decided their special power was lethal to you.
Well, they didn’t really decide, but they don’t do anything to prevent it.
Seriously people. It’s like the only person with any reason at all is God, and he’s not even a person.
So I guess people don’t have reason.
You would think that someone would figure this out.
Well, okay, so lots of people have, including me, but there are too many times that they don’t care.
Here’s where I get quite annoyed.
They don’t have reason, know it, and don’t care.
I really hate hypocrites.
They are so oblivious.
Sometimes I wonder if it takes any energy at all to be a hypocrite.
You would think so, but I guess it’s just lying in its subtlest form.
However it seems to be a trench that so many fall into very easily, that they don’t even notice.
Idiots.
My mom is coming around the corner now.
I think cars are so funny.
They have headlights for eyes, a license plate for a nose, and between the car and the ground is their open mouth.
I swear, it looks like they’re licking the road.
It must taste pretty good. Or maybe it gives them rust.
Either way, driving is fun. I always feel bad for the car that lets me drive it.
I wonder if the headlights squeeze shut while I’m driving. That’s probably why people always stare at me.
My mom didn’t talk to me as I drove. She respects my silence pact.
I do wonder where I’m supposed to go.
Maybe I could go to the mall.
No, that would be stupid.
I wonder if she’d let me go to the nature preservation so I could walk around.
Oh! I could go get some ice cream!
Well, even after all these ideas, I’m at home.
I start to get out.
“No, honey, go have some fun.” My mom says this and shuts the door, walking right into the house.
I blink.
I tap my head.
I stare at the door.
Of course, none of this is helping my make my decision, so I back out of the driveway.
Maybe I’ll hit the mailbox. Nope, I didn’t.
Now what the heck am I supposed to do?
EEnie, Mini, Mynee, Mo.
Well, I guess I’m going to the preservation.
There’s no traffic during school hours.
I really should take the day off more often!
Okay, no, it’s actually kind of boring. You have to choose what you’re going to do, and that sucks.
Most people say they would love this, but I’m sure they’d be bored after they had too much freedom.
That, or they would find a gun and go on a massacre.
I don’t think I’d be able to do the latter unless some vengeful alien took over my brain.
Well, then, technically, it wouldn’t even be me, so I guess I would never do it.
Maybe a lot of quiet people are murderers.
That would be logical, cause they’re all in there thoughts. Obviously that’s not true. I could try and say it for you to prove it.
However, I don’t particularly feel like blabbering, let alone talking. It would take too much energy in the long run. I’ll just try not to speak for the rest of the day.
That would be serene.
You know, that is a sweet world.
Silence sounds too harsh.
When you hear serene, you think of something peaceful, not necessarily silent and eerie.
Like, I’d want birds chirping in a serene garden. Maybe the trickle of water in the background from a stream.
When “my” car pulls into the gravel of the preservation’s parking lot, all serene thoughts, and thoughts about the word, were gone.
Don’t you just hate the popping noise gravel makes? I loathe it passionately.
I rush to my parking spot to end the horrid noise.
Then, I realize that I’m in a handicap parking spot.
I laughed.
They had a handicap parking spot in a nature preservation, which had a sign that said the following: NO HANDICAP ACCESSIBLE
I laughed again.
Americans take disabilities with such an open mind, that I swear their brains fell out.
When I get out of the car, I’m still smiling so broadly, that my cheeks hurt.
Part of the reason I hate family pictures is that you smiling so much that your cheeks hurt for no reason.
I have a reason this time, and no one was around to take my picture.
When I walk to the waterfall by myself, I usually freak out at every sound in the woods. Today, I immersed my head in thoughts for the second time today.
I didn’t even hear the gunshots that were slowly coming closer to me.
Okay so I obviously heard them, but it was like a dodge ball was getting thrown at you, but you are paying attention to the person you want to hit.
In this case, the gunshots were the dodge ball, and my destination was who I wanted to hit.
That would never happen though, because all I do in dodge ball is stand there and hope nobody throws anything at me.
When I get there, I slip on a rock while trying to get to the other side of the stream.
Of course, my vision went black.
I could tell you that I was thinking wonderful things and didn’t almost drown, but that would be a lie.
I was knocked out.
I almost drowned in a stream.
Now, I’m not sure about you, but I think that’s pretty pathetic.
I told you being a fish would be a lovely idea.
For maybe five minutes, I was out cold.
Now, when you open you eyes and see a duck sitting on you, then you would most likely scream.
However, when the duck is staring at you inquisitively, you might possibly look back at it.
So here I am, with a duck peering at me, while standing on my stomach.
I look at the duck.
He quacks quite loudly.
I stare back.
He shifts his feet, and I groan from uncomfortable movement.
The dumb duck quacks again.
I decide to start a conversation. “Quack!”
The duck was disturbed.
I must have insulted him.
He jumped off, splashing water onto my face, and pushing in my stomach.
Sputtering, I sat up, disappointed that my day off was completely ruined by a duck.
“There! Now you can shoot that *swear-word* duck!”
Correction, my break was ruined by two reckless, foolhardy hunters.
By reckless, I mean that I was running serpentine away from their random bullets.
I hid behind a rock.
It was almost as if I was watching a comedy show, because they weren’t every hitting the duck itself.
Oh, they did hit rocks, and a few unlucky fish, and don’t ask me how they managed that, but they didn’t hit the duck.
He just stood there, his white feathers perfectly clean, with his head tilted slightly as if to mock them.
I decided that I liked that duck.
I named him Slick.
To be honest, as always, I was quite put off. Those stupid hunters didn’t even bother to think of my safety.
How very rude of them.
I decided to show them the way it goes.
Pulling out my track phone, and making absolutely sure they didn’t see me, I dialed the three dreaded numbers. Nine. Dramatic pause. One. Another dramatic pause. One. Dramatic music in three beats.
Yes, I did realize that it was not duck season. How would I know this you wonder?
Because I can feel the lies they were hiding by shooting Slick.
Now, I would give you all the boring details of talking to the operator, except, well, they’re boring. Therefore, it would be pointless.
But, the police were coming, and none too silently.
The hunters must have been deaf, okay?
Well, stupid played a part in it, but they probably are deaf. I wonder if they have poor eyesight.
That would explain why they haven’t hit the duck yet.
Slick is quacking so strangely, that I swear it’s laughing. These hunters were making me feel smart. Albert Einsteinish, even.
Boy, it must have been hard to be that guy.
Well, the police are here now, but the hunters are still yelling and shooting. I think I’ll stay here and hide, so I don’t have to deal with any legal stuff.
“Dude, the *swear-word* cops are here!”
“Run like the wind, then they can’t catch us!”
Ladies and Gentlemen, a new style of running has been invented! The silly walk running ministry will inform you of the progress soon.
The last those idiots saw of the duck was it’s feet, paddling away from them in the stream.
Yeah, it must have been really hard to have been Einstein. 3


To keep with theme of dissing people, I will now inform you that all deep people are hypocrites. While on that subject, I will got even farther and say that I hate all deep people.
They frustrate me to the point where I have to ignore them with great desperation or go mad.
I usually go mad, because it’s hard to ignore someone how can grab your attention with their dominate voice.
So today in school I completely avoided people and went right to my special corner of nowhere that no one knows about.
Everyone will be particularly mad at me for not having to go the assembly, but I’m particularly mad at myself.
As said previously, I hate deep people.
However, I have found myself becoming one.
It’s very hard to stop thinking deeply when you life is as unusual as mine.
When everyday you see the darkness in this world, I can’t but help thinking beyond our temporary lives.
See?
There I go again, deep in thought.
Did I mention that I’m currently walking back to my car?
No, of course I didn’t because I was too busy being deep.
Deep people must be terribly distracted.
I wonder if my friends were so deep in thought, and that’s why they forgot me.
Well, either way, I don’t need them anymore.
It’s very hard to walk on this pather when you’re to focused on depressing tings.
So, I re-focus my thoughts and feeling, or at least attempt to, and glace at nature’s beauty around me.
Before I realize it, I’ve run into someone.
Of course, I’m too embarrassed to see who it is, so I just stand there stupidly, hoping they’ll walk away.
It’s not like you want to admit you’re a clumsy idiot.
That would be proof!
Not that I didn’t already give proof…
“Jewel?” said a boy who somehow knew my name.
Offense number one: speaking to invisible girl you are not supposed to see
“You okay? Sorry about that,” he said sympathetically, I was almost pulled in.
Offense number two: apologizing to the girl who ran into you and should be apologizing instead.
Blank face.
Turn.
Blink once.
Heart stops beating… wait, that’s not supposed to happen.
Add new step: breathe.
Speak.
Speak…
Gulp.
SPEAK.
(This, to make sure I don’t look like too much of an idiot, all happened in about 1.534 seconds, to make it a random number.)“I’m not hurt.” But I’m not fine…
The boy who somehow knew my name nodded, smiling curiously.
“Is this your favorite place too?”
“Who are you?” I was mad at him for invading my silence.
“I’m August.,” the boy said, and smiled.
His eyes winkled sweetly around the corners.
He stuck out his hand, and I hesitated.
Almost immediately, he took his hand back. “Yeah, handshakes won’t do me much good.”
I nodded, knowing quite well how rude I was being.
“I heard you made first chair in saxophone.”
I blinked.
Now even August’s confident manner was becoming awkward. What an idiot he is for talking to me.
I sighed. “I’m sorry August, but I have no clue who you are.”
His eyes twinkled when I spoke. “That’s all right. You can get to know me.”
With that, he walked off in the direction he was going, and I could swear there was a smirk on his face.
Confused and flustered, I walked away, just as I was tempted to glace over my shoulder, August called from behind me, “See you Monday, Jewel.”
I’m not sure what scared me most, the fact that he wasn’t lying, or that I could swear the tree beside me was laughing at the fact I’ve never seen him before in my life.4


My parents were sitting on the couch when I got home.
This either meant that I was going to get a lecture about my grades being bad, or my grades being good.
Neither of them would be chosen over the other, because if I had my choice, I’d run up to my room.
Being the only child, your parents, if they are loving and kind, pour their attention into you.
This, is not, whatever you thought before, a fun thing.
Especially when you know that you’re being spoiled, and pushed to perfection at the same time.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my parents to death, and they are respectful enough to understand my mostly silent persona.
But as I sit on the couch, I realize that I actually wish I had siblings.
However, siblings mean noise, and noise equals annoyance, so I’ll just suck it up and listen.
They began slowly, as always, not even bothering to get to the point.
Our family sucks at small talk, we all beat around the bush. It’s probably why we aren’t really all too deep, and supper conversations are pretty casual and flowing.
I won’t even bother to tell you what they are saying. It’s more questions and blah about my day.
Finally, they ask if I would like to be around people who were more understanding of my personality.
Now, this was something I couldn’t lie to, but I still had no clue what they were getting at.
“That would be impossible.” Which, if you weighed in my gift, or curse, whichever, was probably true.
Unfortunately I’ve found that I can lie about things I don’t know, so it may or may not be impossible. Either way, a small hope flickered in my heart.
“Well, we’ve done some research, and---“
“Mom?”
“Yes, sweetie?”
“Could you please get to the point?”
Dad laughed, his laugh the perfect pitch as always, making me want to laugh with him.
I smiled instead.
“There’s that beautiful smile of hers, Adelyn!”
I felt my ears blush with the compliment. “Dad!”
Mother was smiling too, “Yes, it is beautiful.”
I made an annoyed face.
“Oh alright, we’ll stop with the nonsense. We’ve found a wonderful school, well, an academy, that we think will fit you much better than your high school,” Dad began.
I sat forward a bit in my chair.
“Do you remember the beautiful mansion we always pass by on the way home from our mountain vacations?”
“Yeah…?”
“That is Willowbrook Academy. We’ve enrolled you there for the second semester. They are very, very high class, with professionals and deans. Even uniforms are required. Now, don’t get too worried about rules, for they know that they can be high class without all the horrible guidelines.
“For one, they are a boys and girls school, they are roomed separately, but they will work together. They have found that it’s more tempting to like boys when you don’t have any around. Only highly recommended, students are allowed in.
“They evaluate by attitude, not their achievement. So, because you are such a willing learner, and very humble, you have been accepted. There were other things, yes, but that’s all you need to know for now.”
I was so overjoyed. I couldn’t believe it. The rainbows from his words filled my vision, swirling and dancing.
I smiled broadly.
“Thank you Daddy, and you too Mom!”
I jumped up and gave them hugs, not even realizing how open I was acting.
Through their overjoyed smiles, most likely from my own happiness, they told me when I started. “You’ll go Monday, so you’ll have to go shopping and pack tomorrow and Sunday.”
“Oh!” I exclaimed.
“What, dear?” Mother said.
“It must be horribly expensive.”
Dad sighed and shook his head. “Sweetie, we’re both doctors, and you’re our only child. We have plenty to spare to send you here. It’s worth all the expense.”
Concerned, I wrinkle my brow.
Dad laughed. “Stop being such a worry-wart. Go upstairs and look through the information we put on your desk.”
“Fine,” I say, defeated.
As I walk up our amazing spiral stairs, I hear the echo of their voices in the living room.
“That was definitely worth her smile, dear.”
“Yes, it’s nice to have found a school where she will finally be able to express herself fully.”
Well, so far there weren’t any loopholes.5


“Have everything?”
“Yup,” I respond to my Dad.
“Alrighty then,” he said, and started the car, my mother beside him in the passenger seat.
When we pulled out of the driveway, I was so nervous and excited that my stomach was growling at me.
I told it to shut up.
Apparently your brain isn’t as good as carrying messages as it’s supposed to be.
I’m living proof, if all those stupid scientists need it.
They’d probably just say the cause is global warming. Or that I’m evolving.
Then I would say their insane, and by natural selection, they should die off soon enough.
Ha.
It’s fun to twist circular reasoning against those who use it. Because if they use it then you can twist it back to them. If you can twist it back to them…
Anyways.
I’m now packed and going to stay at the academy all week. On the weekends, I can choose to go home and see my parents, or stay there and study, work, or just spend some time alone.
I already loved this school. It was so perfect.
The grounds were almost 1,000 acres, with trails and streams and ponds, even a few waterfalls.
Yes, I knew that I was a very, very lucky person. Only 100 people can be enrolled there, and they go through extensive reviews of the candidates.
I still wonder who sent in recommendations for me. My teachers didn’t really like my silence, but maybe they considered it good work ethic.
It would be my best guess that my old band teacher, Mr. Potter sent it. He knew me the best out of all my teachers, and maybe more than myself.
When he retired after my freshman year, I was devastated. I emailed him this weekend to tell him about my move.
He was excited for me, and told me he hoped I wasn’t too stressed in planning.
I wished that were true. This weekend was the most stressful experience I’ve been through in a long time.
The shopping, packing, and preparing myself mentally was almost too much.
It was worth it though, because I could not wait for all the classes. They created your schedule to fit you, so you’re not overworked or stressed, but still learning.
There’s a dress code, so it’s not as strict as uniforms. The other rules involve privileges, such as, if you do not get your homework done, then you lose outdoor time.
That would be a motivator, I’m sure, because I saw the pictures of the beautiful acres surrounding the mansion.
I couldn’t wait to see it, my impatience building with every second trapped in our convertible. The early morning air was giving me that clear feeling, like everything was laid out before me, waiting for me to make a choice.
I took a deep breath.
Maybe I would make some friends here; maybe I would find someone to trust. Maybe I could truly find myself here, become something my heart will lead me to.
Maybe I’ll learn to let go of the boundaries keeping me from talking to people, maybe I’ll learn to live.
One way or another, I was getting there, step by step, and as we pull into the main drive, I can feel myself running towards that goal.
The mansion towered over the drive, above the empty trees. It lost its effect on me because I could not see how beautiful they would be with leaves, or flowers.
Now I was again excited for the future, for spring, for five minutes from now. I had to enjoy this, every moment, for this was my life, the only time I got to be in high school. I was already a year and a half into it, and it will go too quickly for my liking.
The morning air blasted into my face as I rolled down the window to stop my thoughts. I couldn’t go that deep, for too many scars would re-open. I needed to focus on my next step ahead.
The mansion came into full view, shocking and striking in architecture. Even with my neck craned I couldn’t see the very top.
There was already no doubt that I would get lost.
I could see the potential of the possible passages, lying there waiting to be discovered.
The door slammed, and I quickly got out and turned get my excessive amount of luggage.
Before I could, I woman in her late twenties stopped me. “Hello, you must be Jewel. I’m very glad you were able to come.”
I blinked before answering. She must have forgotten to tell me her name.
“Nice to meet you…”
“Oh yes, I’m very sorry, my name is Elizabeth, I’m your dorm supervisor. I’ll help you get moved in and such, then take you to your first class.”
“I start right away?”
She looked side to side, as if this was a stupid question. “You can at least meet some teachers, but you don’t officially start until tomorrow.”
My dad put his hands on my shoulders, a command not to panic. “You’ll do fine honey. You can unpack slowly, and we’ll say goodbye quickly so you can get started.”
My excited stomach twisted and turned, along with my heartbeat. “Kay,” was all I could manage, running to the truck to grab my duffle, backpack, and two large suitcases.
Elizabeth grabbed on suitcase, my dad another. I grabbed the duffle and my overstuffed backpack.
Time seem to speed up around me, and they were already at the door, me still standing by the car. I took in the mansion, now able to look up and see the top.
Just as I do this, the sun peeks around the corner, and I have to look away, squinting as I walk in the direction my parents went.
My feet shuffle across the smooth asphalt, and walk into the elaborate wooden doors, one of them held open by my father’s foot. As I walk by, I catch a glimpse of the carvings, and see beautiful, intricate designs of flowers and music notes.
I couldn’t wait to study them later, along with the huge entryway I just walked into.
It towered above my head, and at least twenty feet away lay a staircase that split to the left and right about fourteen steps up. They were wooden, a dark polish over-top rich wood. Beside the stair case, on either side were entryways into another area.
As I walked up the stairs, blocking out my parents and Elizabeth’s conversation, I stopped where the staircase split on the balcony there, looking across the room. It was beautiful, no way to describe it.
A glass chandelier hung down from the ceiling, there were pictures and paintings all over the wall, and huge widows at the end, facing out to the mountains beyond the mansion.
“Jewel! Sweetie, you’ve gotta keep pace if you can, you’ll see it all in your tour,” said Elizabeth from my right. “This staircase leads to the rooms, the other to the classrooms.” I turned and followed her and my parents smiling faces up. “The first floor is recreation. What you just saw is the hall we use for dancing and such. The second floor is for the school staff, rooms and offices. The second floor cannot be accessed easily. We are on the third floor; this is the guy’s dorm hall. The girl’s is up these stairs.”
I just nod my head; too much concentration is focused on taking in what I’m seeing. I still am wondering how they separate the guys and girls in the dorms.
Straight ahead was a flight of spiral stairs we begin to ascend.
I decide asking if there’s an elevator would be a stupid question.
“Elevators wouldn’t fit the infrastructure, and we decided if we put the girls floors on top, the guys wouldn’t bother you guys as much then. There are four floors.”
I considered it five, because there was probably an attic also. After realizing the rainbow of Elizabeth’s and my parent’s conversation was sinking, I rushed to catch up, where the colors were still floating gracefully.
It was a long hallway, and my room was almost at the end. By the time we got there, my shoulders were sore from the weight of my luggage.
Walking carefully into the room, I realized it was actually quite homey.
I was relieved to see that my roommate wasn’t there, and her side of the room wasn’t messy. I was starting to think that I will have more of a problem with her perfectionism.
That, and I could feel the presence of a big blob of something under the bed. On first impression, and after moving closer to her bed, I could feel the lies of manipulation that have gathered.
Great.
“Keeli can be a bit of a perfectionist, I must warn you,” Elizabeth broke the silence.
The warning wasn’t needed. I did notice that when she said “bit” her colors turned murky.
Anyway, the room was so… so… put together. There was absolutely nothing out of place, well, to a normal person’s sight. With my sense, I could say everything in this room was wrong.
It was creepy, and foreboding to my stay here. However, at least she wasn’t a pigsty. I’d just have to watch her mouth.
“We’re going to miss you so much, sweetie,” said my mother, hugging me in the process.
I grunted from embarrassment but hugged her back tightly anyway. My dad joined in.
I’ll spare you the details of there goodbye, because it was pretty cheesy, and as much as I hated to admit it, I wanted them to leave.
Elizabeth gave me instructions to her office, and I was finally alone in the room.
I was roomy, but not too big, like a hotel suite. I was relieved that I would only have to share a bathroom with one girl.
Upon inspection though, Keeli, or whatever her name is, took up the whole bathroom.
Makeup, lotion, perfume, and other various girl things were everywhere. Organized, yes, but it completely filled the drawers and shelves.
I was angry now. I didn’t want to deal with this, and no, I wasn’t a high maintenance type of girl, but she didn’t even leave one freaking shelf.
So, whether I would feel guilty of not for getting off on the wrong foot. I squeezed her stuff to one side of the counter. Did I mention that it had two sinks?
Clearly, one side was going to be mine.
Then, I pulled two hair straighteners, a curling iron, and a blow dryer out of one drawer, and pushed it to her side; then I pried a bunch of lotions out of another drawer, and finally pulled nail polish out of the bottom one.
She was going to kill me.
But I unloaded my stuff and carefully organized it, making sure it looked as though she invaded my space. I needed some more room, but I just laid the rest of my stuff out by the sink.
I’d negotiate shelves later.
That done, I decided to see if my dresser would require as much work.
First I had to find it, and it turned out it was in my walk-in closet.
Guess what?
She had so many clothes hung up in there, it was ridiculous. She must have had five suitcases.
Seriously? This girl is not going to like me.
I grabbed the mass of clothes and hangers from my closet and piled them in front of hers.
I didn’t really care what she would think as I hung up my clothes, and placed my empty suitcase neatly on a closet shelf, after putting all the T-shirts and jeans in the dresser.
The closet was becoming my security zone. I knew I would be able to come in here to get away from the world. It was big enough, but still small enough to make me feel secure.
I stepped back out into the room. Grabbing the bedding and pillows my mother sent with, I made the bed. It made the room look slightly homier with my rich, royal-purple comforter.
I placed my two pillows carefully on the bed, and stepped back. I didn’t have any little decorations yet, until next weekend when I would get them from my visit home. You could tell that Keeli had already done that.
I grabbed my backpack and unloaded my school supplies, organizing the extra notebooks and things in my closet.
I put my diary under my mattress.
Then, I went straight to the big problem.
When I lay down next to Keeli’s bed and looked under, I began to think it was nighttime.
The blob was ugly, and terrifying. I was afraid to touch it, because I knew that the energy required to get rid of something like this would drain me.
Gritting my teeth, I swept my hand through it. Nothing registered in my mind.
Confused, I stuck my head under the bed, trying to view what this stuff was surrounding.
Visions of horrible monsters and other nasty things ran through my head, there talons grabbing and scratching me.
I pushed them from my head and quickly used my hand to search the floor that I couldn’t see.
I jumped when my fingers found something. Assuming quickly that it wasn’t something slimy and wriggling, I grabbed it and pulled it out.
The cloud slowly followed behind. Before it surrounded the thing again, I realized it was a journal.
How could words create something so horrible?
I glanced at the alarm clock set up on the wall shelf, and decided that I could figure this out later, after lunch.
Throwing the thing under the bed, and the cloud too, hoping that Keeli would notice the change in positioning, although I assumed she also throws it under there anyway.
I really hoped that horrid thing would not keep me from sleeping.6


Shuddering, I left the room, notebook and pencil in hand. Not particularly wanting to get lost in the huge mansion, I followed the rainbow of conversation my parents and Elizabeth had left behind.
I sincerely hoped that my roommate was not made of the evil that was under her bed. It would be a horrible fate to deal with a girl like that.
I began to realize that I had an advantage over her, because of my gift.
I smiled.
Maybe I could be the one to expose the pile of lies she gathered under her bed in that journal. I didn't know written words could hold that much evil.
I didn't have time to think, because an announcement came on, a voice I didn't recognize.
The voice was a girl's, young and happy.
“Hey Willowbrook! It's Monday, and today is picnic day. Be sure to take this to your advantage this privilege during your hour lunch break! I'll be out by the lake, if anyone wants to join.”
Does this mean new girls, or popular ones with hot guys? I silently asked.
I also began to notice that a rainbow was seeping out through hidden speakers by my feet. Is my gift developing, or have I just not noticed this before?
“Happy birthday to August Litham! There's a message in the office for Hayden Peirce and Jewel Drearie, who you should be sure to welcome as our new student!
“Thanks all, have a great day!”
My heart stopped as a chiming bell rang and the sound of doors opening came rushing towards me with the sound of footsteps.
I should probably not just stand here stupidly, but It's not like I seem to have much of a choice.
The kids came rushing towards me, smiling and laughing; there were at least 500 enrolled in this school, but apparently they all had the same lunch.
I still hadn't found the office, and I now had to find the cafeteria.
Logically, I should just follow the crowd.
Brilliant.
I jumped into the mass of people, feeling very exposed and vulnerable.
The words they said were clouding my vision, and I had trouble seeing where the stairs were through the pallet of colors.
The stairs end.
I'm almost free of the crowd as they fan out to their rooms to apparently get things for picnic day.
I just followed a gradually waning line of people to what looked like the café.
I didn't have any ID card as I saw others pull out of their pockets, wallets, and purses.
I bet the message in the office had something to do with this.
I didn't want to go back, because I didn't think I could find my way. If it was like my old school, I could just say I forgot my card, but I was already surprised that no one had noticed me yet.
It was relieving, but it hurt because I wanted to start off not being invisible for once.
It seems I've had my attitude set to invisible for so long that I've truly become invisible.
I was deep in thought before I realized that I was now able to get food.
There's a lot of choices.
I grab turkey sandwich and an apple, think portable was the way to go for my picnic today.
I then walked to the register and to wait in line.
No one talked noticed my new face there either, they seemed quite determined to get outside.
“You forgot your card?” said the lunch lady, kindly, so I didn't feel too horrible about not having one.
“Uh, yeah, I suppose you could say that,” I spoke uneasily, testing to see if that was considered a lie.
“What's your name sweetie? I don't remember seeing you around.”
“Jewel Drearie, and no, I just came here today, so I don't know if I even have an account.”
“Well welcome to Willowbrook!” she smiled, and everyone behind me started murmuring. “Well, we'll just see if you're on here. What'd ya know? Okay,” she pressed some buttons, “you're all set, just need to get a card from the office. Enjoy yourself!”
I smiled and responded with a quiet thank you.
Then I rushed out as fast as possible, food balanced on my notebook.
The doors led outside to a world of possibilities.
Away, away from here., was all my heart could say. I spotted a lake to my left, and knew that was the last place I should be right now.
I was in the back of the mansion, and the view of the mountains was breathtaking. A little farther in the distance, past the lake were woods.
They looked almost threatening, but they drew me in, and I began to run towards them. It was only about a quarter a mile off, but it felt like forever, because I knew people were watching me, eyes following my every move.
I blanked them from my mind, and ran as gracefully as I could. When I reached the woods, there were loud whispers coming from the whole acre.
I didn't look up as I sat down by one of the outermost trees, not wanting to enter the formidable forest.
Crossing my legs, I placed my notebook down as a table for my lunch and began to eat.
So this is how I must make me appearance. I must have seemed so very selfish, running like that without acknowledging my surroundings.
“Hey Jewel, I told you I'd see you!”
I jumped, knocking my apple to the ground, and hit my head on the trunk behind me.
August? What the hell?
I was mad at the fact I embarrassed myself and took it out on him. “Did you intend to do that? Scare the crap out of me? Are you some kind of stalker?”
The boy named August looked hurt. I'm sorry, but mysteries aren't something I enjoy when the truth is always known to me.
Like before, his words formed absolutely nothing. “No, I'm just glad you came. You've been enjoying it so far?”
Gah! A yes and no question! I had to answer that truthfully, but I didn't want to make him even more guarded by being more cynical and saying 'Yes.'
“Is it your birthday today?”
“You avoided my question.”
“You avoided mine.”
He glared at me. “You don't know a thing about conversations, do you?”
I sighed and looked at my hands. “Not really.” It wasn't like I had talked to anyone but my parents for a year or two now.
Oh, yeah, I talk to myself.
August sat down beside me. “Yeah, it's my birthday, but that doesn't really matter to anyone else.”
“Why not?”
There was an awkward pause, and I began to wonder if he heard me.
“I think,” August finally said, “Miss Drearie, you should find that out for yourself.”
With that, he got up and walked away.7


“Welcome to drawing class. Your assignment's on the board, and you have one week to complete it. Do not report to class until that time.”
What?
No darkness had come out of her mouth.
I had just sat down as the bell rang; a very blank-expressioned boy had led me to the classroom.
Mostly, my thoughts were just turning over what August’s tone and attitude could possibly mean.
I could turn this into a very scary, supernatural thing, or I could just say that this school has a lot more drama than I wanted.
Either way, I still had to deal with the art teacher.
Seriously?
What kind of teacher does she think she is?
Someone beside me raised their hand. “Excuse me, Miss Arian?’ the boy beside me asked, tentatively.
“Yes?”
“So we can leave now?”
“Yes,” was what my delusional art teacher responded.
Everyone was gone in 10 seconds. It probably looked like one of those stampede movie scenes.
Miss Arian looked up at me slowly gathering myself up. “Jewel Drearie?”
“Yes Ma’am?” Oh great.
“Do you need drawing paper?”
I nodded. No, I just came here expecting to draw on the notebook paper my parents donated.
She pulled open a cabinet behind her, and grabbed a stack of white paper. “An assortment of sizes to get you inspired.”
I took the papers from her as if I was about to be bitten by a rattlesnake. “Thank you,” I said, and looked into her eyes.
I gasped.
They were bright gold.
Pretending not to notice, I smiled, and left the room casually. Once I was out the door, I ran.
The chalkboard behind me still displayed its very curious message: Explore the forest, find the monster, and draw what you see.