In Part 1 (Ch. 1-5), we met our Static bookworm narrator Emilie and her friends: the active Mage Jess, the shy Wizard Shannon, and the enthusiastic and Dynamic Alex. But when Emilie was set to research her favorite true dragons, she read a mysterious note saying that she was a true dragon herself.
Mom and Dad left while I was being interviewed, since it’s not like Al and I don’t travel around without them all the time anyway. I guess they still trust me at least a little. But Al is here to make sure I actually go home.
“Where were you, really?” Al asks as soon as we start biking home. He brought his bike, too.
“At the park,” I answer, as I’ve already said a million times.
“Really? Because I’m pretty sure Mrs. Chesbrough can scry that far.”
“Well…” I didn’t exactly keep track of where I was flying. At least I’m pretty sure no one in town spotted me, but there were a few times that I looked around and realized that the park, while still within heat sensing range, was not in view. And I’m pretty sure I found another town or two at the edge of my range. “I might’ve traveled around there a little bit.”
“At least you’re safe, I guess,” Al replies. “You didn’t see any beasts, did you?”
“One,” I answer truthfully. I guess other beasts know better than to get spotted by something at least four times their size. “It ran away.” I don’t elaborate on why.
Al laughs. “Wish I could’ve seen that. My little sister, so big and scary as to scare away a beast.”
I can’t help but laugh, too. “It was kind of small.” Relative to me, anyway. The wolf seemed enormous when I saw it at first, but it was actually about the same size as my lower leg.
“Well, if you decide you want to scare away some bigger beasts, I have some friends you can chat with, alright? I’ve only been training to fight bullies, but Chris says he wants to be a beast hunter. I don’t know if he’s quite at that level yet, but he’s really good in a fight already.”
I’ve seen Chris a few times. I don’t want to fight anyone, but he probably wouldn’t be the worst teacher. The guy is short—he’s two years older than me but we’re just about the same height—but really strong, and I don’t think he relies on magic all that much. I nod in response; “I’ll think about it.”
Saturday was mostly spent on homework, after I woke from collapsing upon arrival at my bed. The binder clip in bed with me was not pleasant upon waking. The feather, meanwhile, proved just how indestructible it is. It was folded in half under me while I slept, but when I held it up it just sprung right back to its normal shape, not even marked by the fold or my movement on top of it.
I think I feel a lot better about being a Dragon now, and I think my family might’ve noticed my mood change. Not that they could possibly know why, but I definitely feel way less nervous than last Saturday. Although I don’t know if they’ve noticed my eye color yet.
I’m still avoiding my friends at school, but I’ve thought about what I promised Mom and Dad. I think Shannon would be best to bring with me: she’d never tell her parents anything about me in the first place, and she knows how to keep a secret. I’m not going to tell her or show her that I’m a Dragon, but she’s almost certain to see my dragon form. Which would be bad for most people to know exists anywhere in proximity to town. I frown to myself. I guess I’ll have to talk to her before school’s over this Friday.
Thankfully, Shannon shares a class with me before lunch, so I can ask her without pulling her away from Jess and Alex. Well, physically pulling her. This isn’t the sort of thing I think is a good idea to talk about during class, but I can ask Shannon to sit with me during lunch.
Shannon might not particularly like school, but she always manages to get to class before I do. As soon as I set my stuff down at my seat, I nervously make my way over to her desk. I know I have to do this, but it’s still potentially dangerous. But if I don’t do what my parents said, I don’t think I’ll be allowed out again, and I really, super don’t want to accidentally shift while in town. That would be bad for a whole lot of reasons.
“Sh-Shannon?” I ask quietly. I’m kinda hugging myself what with how nervous I am.
Thankfully, Shannon seems to have spotted my desire for secrecy. She nods in response.
“Could you sit with me at lunch today? Just you, I mean.”
She nods again. “Sure, Emilie.”
I stand there awkwardly for a second longer, but Shannon doesn’t say anything else so I go back to my seat. Phew. Hopefully I can do a little better at lunch?
I hate to call it “my usual spot,” but I’ve spent the last two weeks sitting by myself. And today is the last day of school before Christmas break. At least Shannon will be here in a little bit.
I haven’t tried to heat up or cool my lunch yet, but based on what I sense and what I’ve read, I’m not sure I could do more than heat the container and the air around it. Unless I feel like being really precise and targeting individual tiny points, but that’s why Dragons don’t normally target people directly with their magic. It’s too complicated to be worth the effort.
While I’m still lost in thought, Shannon decides to sit on my right. “Emilie,” she says softly, snapping me out of it. “Is it alright if I sit here? I told the others not to come.”
“Thanks,” I reply, nodding slightly without turning my head. Time to get this over with. I take a deep breath before quietly continuing, “My parents caught me sneaking out last Saturday and I promised I’d bring someone with me the next time. Can you go with me to the park early tomorrow morning?”
We both sit in silence for about a minute, with me hoping she’ll say yes so I don’t have to ask anyone else. “Why do you need to sneak out just to go to the park?” she finally asks.
Fair enough. “Um. For one, I went about four hours before sunrise?” I don’t want to give her every detail. “And yes, it has to be at that time. If you come, you’ll see why.”
Shannon goes silent again. I almost open my mouth to ask again if she’ll come when she responds. “You rode your bike, right?” I nod. “Then I’ll meet you at your house tomorrow, at that time.”
I can’t help but smile and sigh in relief. “Thank you.”
We spent the rest of lunch talking about more normal stuff, like Christmas break and hard classes and break homework.