Some are Monsters

Tristan frowned. "Monsters?"

Jared shrugged. "I know it sounds crazy, but that's what I see."

"What kind of monsters?"

"Things you'd expect from fairy tales. Occasionally from nightmares. They show up everywhere, but no one else can see them. I thought I was crazy, except--"

"Except someone who thinks they're crazy, isn't."

"Yeah. So I shut my mouth and tried to ignore them."

Tristan nodded. "I understand. I can see a kind of aura around people. Only some people, though. You and me, for example. I think the aura means we're different."

Jared glanced around. "Who else is...different?"

"Destiny and Blair. A few others. I'm not good with names."

"But not many?"

"Not many that I've seen." He slung his bag over his shoulder again. "Let's go to lunch. Maybe I'll see some more."

Jared nodded and started walking with him. "So we can see things."

"Different things, but yeah."

"You think the others see things too?"

"I'm not sure. Yesterday, when Destiny and Blair were talking, Blair said she was different. I think she would have said she could see things if she did."

"You could be wrong."

"Yeah. I could." Something occurred to him. "Destiny's starting up a study group."

"I know, she's already talked to me about it."

"Did you accept?"

"I said I'd think about it, why?"

"I only started seeing auras after I saw her. I think she might have triggered it."

"Intentionally?"

Tristan sighed. "I don't know. There are over a thousand puzzle pieces, and I've only got a handful."

Jared shrugged again. "Don't let it bother you. I started seeing monsters after almost getting killed by one, so it's probably just a general trigger."

Tristan looked at him, startled. "You almost got killed?"

"Yeah. It looked like some sort of dragon-squid hybrid. With rabies. Maybe later I'll show you the scars."

"I'm good, thanks. So these things are dangerous?"

"Some of them. Some are actually pretty nice. Still, you don't know until you've seen them a few times. I mean, I thought these big wingless dragons were violent and somewhat evil because they kept killing these small, monkey-like things without any sort of provocation. As it turned out, the monkey-things' favorite food is young wingless dragon, hatched or not, and they reproduce at lightspeed. The dragons killed as many monkeys as they could to protect their kids."

"So they're also intelligent."

"Again, some of them. Some are dumber than rocks. A few even look like rocks."

"I think we're getting off-topic."

"I'm serious. There are three living in the geology classroom. I picked one up by mistake last year and it bit me. Miss Charleston still doesn't know why I suddenly started bleeding in the middle of rock classification."

"Ouch."

"Yeah."

"So you see monsters, and I see--" He did a double take. "More than I thought. What's that?"

Chemistry

Tristan had always found chemistry class easy enough, but the timing seemed a little inappropriate. Mixing strange chemicals right before lunchtime didn't appeal to him or any other student, but they put up with it. The friendly Mr. Stevens did his best to make the subject entertaining, and achieved such great success that competition was fierce when the time came to choose new classes.

Today, though, Tristan couldn't focus on the lesson. Not only were Destiny, Jared, and Blair different, a few other students were too. In Spanish class, it was a redhead Tristan knew by his reputation for mischief only. A black-haired senior intent on texting her friends had distracted him from calculus. Now, in chemistry, it was Jared and the redhead's little sister, a cute kid who, unlike some freshmen, actually paid attention to Mr. Stevens' lecture.

Tristan fingered the small, folded square in his pocket. It held the descriptions of these people, though not their names, and he had every intention of tracking them down later. They were different. He was different. There had to be a reason, even if he didn't know it yet.

The bell rang and the class surged to its feet, gathering backpacks and chatting with friends. Tristan hurried to put his things away, glancing up to see Jared approach Mr. Stevens. Good. They'd be some time. Tristan ducked out into the hallway and leaned casually against the wall, waiting. Finally the sophomore walked out into the hall, and Tristan fell into step beside him. "Hi, Jared."

Jared looked up, startled. "Oh, um, hi Tristan."

"How've you been?" This felt so weird. Small talk wasn't one of Tristan's skills.

It wasn't one of Jared's either. "Um, good. You?"

"Good."

Silence fell. Finally Jared said, "Tristan? Why are you suddenly talking to me?"

"I was wondering if you've been feeling normal."

"I told you, I'm good."

"That's not what I asked. Do you feel normal?"

"I don't understand."

They turned a corner and Tristan shoved his hands in his pockets, thinking. Finally he said, "You know Destiny Hunt?"

"Yeah, I met her yesterday. She seems nice."

Sure she did. "What about Blair Ross?"

"We have Latin together." Jared shifted his backpack to a more comfortable position. "Why?"

Tristan sighed and just got to the point. "They're not normal. Neither are we. Neither are some other students. I don't know how, I don't know why. All I know is that we're...different."

"Everyone's different, when you get down to it." Jared shrugged. "Life would be pretty boring if we weren't."

"I know, but that's not what I mean. I mean we're really different."

Jared sighed. "Okay. How?"

"I told you, I don't know yet. Maybe it's something we have, something we are, something we can do, I don't know. It bugs me that I can't figure it out." He glanced up and frowned. "Jared? Is something wrong?"

Jared rubbed an arm. "I...see things. Things no one else can see."

Tristan stood straighter. "Auras?"

Jared shook his head. "Monsters."

a Study Group?

Tristan sat at his seat and pulled out his notes, trying to conceal his anxiety. He'd gone to the library earlier, but hadn't seen Blair. That didn't mean anything, and he was prepared to wait until after school to see if she was okay, but that wasn't worrying him. No, what worried him was the simple fact that first period was history.

"Morning, Tristan."

He looked up. "Oh. Good morning, Destiny."

She sat next to him with a smile. "I'm starting up a study group at my place. Wanna come?"

He looked at the notebook again. "Um, not sure. Who'll be there?"

"Well, I already asked Blair, and she agreed. I'm going to ask Jared later, and there're a few other students I want to talk to." She shrugged. "You're good at schoolwork. Having you there would really help everyone out."

"Um, I can't." Not until he knew what happened to Blair.

"Why not?"

"I have things to do."

She frowned. "Really? What kind of things?"

BBBRRRIIINNNGGG!!! Literally, saved by the bell.

Mr. Richards stood, immediately commanding their attention. Destiny prepared to take notes, a slight frown on her face. He had...refused. She hadn't foreseen his refusal. Now what should she do?