Ima Jincs: Ch. 1-Ima

"Class, this is...uh...Eye-muh? Is that it? Eye-muh Jynx?" the teacher asked.1

"It's pronounced Emma," Ima said. The class roared with laughter and Ima frowned.2

"Right. Ima Jincs is here from Southamton, England," the teacher said.3

"Can I sit, now?" Ima asked.4

"Go ahead, hunney," Teacher said.5

Ima made her way to a desk in the corner of the class. She pulled out a notebook and began to doodle, eventually settling on the picture of a black squirrel in a karate outfit.6

"Ima?" the teacher said, her voice dissapproving. Ima clasped her notebook closer to herself so the teacher wouldn't take it away, as had happened so may times in England. "Ima, did you bring a pet to class?"7

Ima looked up to find a real, live black squirrel practicing Kung-Fu on her desk, its fluffy little tail swinging behind it as it kicked and punched through the air gracefully.8

"Uh..." Ima said blankly, thoroughly dumbfounded.9

The squirrel jumped from the desk, hitting the floor softly, then scampered up to the teacher. It did a flying jump kick, hitting the teacher in the knee. Teacher hopped around on one foot, cradling her sore knee as the squirrel ran up her back and settled on her head.10

It turned around and looked directly at Ima, then said, "You have done well, grasshopper."11

Before anyone knew what was happening, the room was filled above the children's heads with grasshoppers. Teacher screamed loudly and the children panicked, unsure of what to do, when the door opened.12

As if a torrent of water, the grasshoppers flew out of the room and down the hallways, leaving a disgruntled Principal in the doorway.13

"What is this?" the principal shouted, his face a dangerous shade of purple and red.14

"Its a plague of locusts!" a child in the front screamed hysterically.15

"No, they're grasshoppers!" Ima said defensively. She had to pause to wonder why she was defending the grasshoppers.16

The squirrel ran up her leg and perched on her shoulder, content. "Is good," it said in its high pitched voice. "You are doing well."17

"It's Ima!" a kid nearby shouted. "She's a jynx!"18

The children all began to chant the word as if spellbound.19

"Jynx, Jynx, Jynx!"20

Principal glared at Ima and she frowned, fully aware of what would happen next.21

***22

The door of the principal's office slammed closed behind Ima.23

"I didn't do it," she said flatly.24

"Then, what happened, Ima?" Principal growled. "It'll take weeks to exterminate all of those pests!"25

"You can't kill them!" Ima nearly shrieked as the black Kung-Fu squirrel chittered loudly from Ima's shoulder.26

"And why is that?" Principal asked. "Are they more of your pets? Like that infernal rodent?"27

"Don't insult Fluffy like that!" Ima said angrily. The squirrel let out a surprised squeak, then turned to scowl at Ima, shaking a fist.28

"You want to be called Pinky?" Ima asked threateningly.29

It turned back around and sat back down, its small ears flat to its head in disgust.30

"We'll have to get rid of that rat, too," Principal said smugly.31

Ima scowled angrily at Principal. She wished there were such things as flying skunks so that one could fly through the open window and latch on to Principal's face.32

The thought was amusing. She could see the image in her head, the black and white furred weasel with matching, bird-like wings clutching the principal's face as he swung around wildly, trying to free himself from the animal's clutches.33

And, oddly enough, she actually could see it. A real flying skunk had attached itself to Principal's face as he screamed madly, trying to pry the sharp little claws from his skin.34

Then it occured to her. All of the odd things had happened when she had been imagining them, so...It must be a dream!35

"Not quite," Fluffy said.36

"And how do you explain a talking squirrel?" Ima aked.37

"Don't forget me!" the skunk said, flying from Principal's face as he fell to the ground, exhausted.38

"Yeah, and a flying, talking skunk," Ima said, smiling indulgently.39

"Well..." Fluffy said, lost for words.40

"That's what I thought," Ima said.41

"Get out..." a voice from the floor groaned.42

"What?" Ima asked, confused.43

"GET OUT!!!" the principal screamed, spittle flying from his mouth.44

Before he could yell once more, Ima shot out of the room followed by fluffy and the skunk. As she rushed from the building the grasshoppers swarmed around her, sensing a means of escape.45

When safely out of the building, grasshoppers gone off to find their own safe places, Ima collapsed beneath a tree.46

"What's going on, Fluffy?" Ima asked.47

"You named him?" the skunk said indignantly. "I want a name!"48

Ima sat back against the tree, deep in thought. What would be a good name for a skunk? "I'll call you Este Lauder!" she finally proclaimed.49

To be continued in...Ima Jincs: Chapter Two-Dream50