Chapter 1

"Elizabeth"

"Elizabeth, pay attention!"

"Huh?" I said, looking back from the window.

"Pay attention Elizabeth" The teacher said, she sighed and went back to lecturing the class.

I tried to listen to what she was saying but sometimes its hard my attention wanders. The birds had been talking to me again, they do that from time to time. I am not like the rest of the students, I know I am different, my Sisters says I am special like our father. I never knew my Dad, he died before I was born, saving the world I think, Mom doesn't talk about it much.

The bell rang signaling the end of the period, I got up and made my way to the lunch room, weaving through the crowd always there but never apart of it. My Aunt says I should not be in school, she says I am above it, she keeps bugging my Mom to allow her to apprentice me, I can't see why I can't do both, I could go to the school during the day and at night be her apprentice, my sister says dad would not have wanted it that way, she claims he would of wanted me to have my childhood.

"What ever that means." I mumble to myself.

"Freak" Jillian said as she tried to shove me out of the line, only to find I was not where she thought I would be, she looks around startled at my sudden disappearance, I have learned to blend in with the other kids, but some still know I am different, Jillian has been tormenting me since first grade. I find my way back into the lunch line, I watch as Jillian looks confused and than goes back to what ever it was she was doing before she decided to pick on me.

Sometimes I wish my Mom would listen to my aunt, my mysterious and dark aunt could take me away from all of this, well so could my older sister for that matter, but she always agreed with mom. I looked at my watch to see how much longer would I have to endure the horrors of high school, not much longer, I still had gym. I smiled to myself, gym was one place I did well, what ever specialness my father gave me allows me to do well in any physical activity. I had tried being a gymnast until it bored me, than it was ballet, followed by karate, now I was into tennis.

I ate my lunch alone in the corner of the lunch room, I didn't have many friends, it seemed I gave off a vibe that said stay away. My aunt says it was simply that the others sensed a predator and with most herd animals they simply avoid predators, My other sisters always got mad when my aunt said things like that. I sometimes wondered if it was true.

"Hey Lizzy." Shannon said, as she sat down across from me.

Shannon was one of my only friends, she had been so ever since first grade, when I had beat the stuffing out of Jillian for picking on her. I had found Jillian and her friends pushing Shannon around, a broken arm later and a week suspension later Shannon and I had become inseparable.

"Hey Shannon" I said back.

I watched as she started to pick at her food, Shannon was a picky eater, she was my opposite in every way, I am tall she is short, I am athletic she is skinny, I am tan she is pale, I like to eat, she picks at her food like its toxic. My aunt always laughs when she sees us together, she says we make an interesting contrast. I wolf down my burger and start picking at her plate, she doesn't mind.

"You gonna make people think you have an eating disorder." I said stuffing my face with fries.

"Their going to think your bulimic, where do you put it all." She said watching me eat.

I shrug.

"Mmmehr hehheo heherm" I said with my mouth full.

"Liz seriously thats gross, chew, swallow, talk." She said frowning.

I swallowed.

"I said my Aunts coming over tonight you want to come?" I said.

"Oh, I don't know which one? Sunny or Lillian? Lillian gives me the willies." She said.

"Oh but she likes you, you make her laugh." I said.

She frowned thinking.

"Okay, shes not that creepy, I just get the feeling she is looking at a steak every time she looks at me." She said.

I snorted holding in my laugh.

"Yeah she does that sometimes, its not you." I said.

She shrugged.

"Sure its friday, I could stay over?" she said.

"Yeah that'd be sweet, Sunny my stop by too, she said if Phil wasn't too tired after work." I said.

The bell rang a little later and we parted ways making plans to walk home together after school, Gym went by in a blur, as always I did well. We played basket ball today, the coach watched me through the whole game, I could feel her eyes on me, I could swear I almost hear her thoughts. I knew what was coming when she called me over.

"Elizabeth, did you ever consider going out for the team?" She asked.

"I was hoping to go out for tennis, I didn't think you would consider me for Basketball since I am a freshmen." I said.

She shook her head.

"I am considering you now, that was damn fine work out there, some how you just happen to be in all the right places out there." She said.

I nodded.

"Lucky I guess." I said, that was another thing, my Uncle Murray always said I mess with the laws of probability, he says he can't wait until I am 21 to go to vegas, another thing my mom frowns on.

"Well why don't you come by the gym tomorrow we are having a practice, Id like to run you through a few drills." She said

"Sure Ill ask my mom if its okay." I said.

"of course." She said, She dismisses me and I head for the lockers.

I see Jillian talking with her friends, she sees me as they all say something and snicker, I can make out comments of "dyke" and various other statements I chose to ignore, I go to the shower to find it mostly abandoned. I shower quickly and head back to my locker, to find my clothes are gone, I am standing there in just a towel.

I take a deep breath to calm myself, I shut my eyes and think for a moment, I walk down the rows of lockers running my hand across each one. Of course I stop at Jillian's, I hold up the combination lock for a moment and focus on it, I spin the wheel the numbers seem to appear in my head.

A few minutes later and I am dressed like nothing has happened, I am walking out of the gym when Jillian and her group spot me, she seems surprised to see me fully clothed, her and her group storm toward me, encircling me.

"How dare you go in my locker freak." Jillian said staring at me angry.

"Jillian, I don't know what you are talking about, are you implying that you stole my clothes and hid them in your locker?" I said.

She glares daggers at me, obviously her little group has bolstered her confidence, she goes to shove me, but misses, I had moved slightly just moments before.

"Careful Jill I wouldn't want you to hurt yourself." I said, my eyes going cold.

She looks at me for a moment.

"Lizzy, There you are!" I see Shannon running toward us and I raised an eyebrow.

Jillian seems startled for a moment as Shannon slips through the crowd to grab my arm, she is instantly pulling at my arm to get me out of the circle of Jillian's friends.

"Your sister the cop is here already to pick you up." She said as she moved me away, emphasis on the the cop part of the statement, I frown down at her as I allow myself to be pulled away.

Jillian is watching us dumbfounded for a moment but seems to consider what Shannon has said before letting us go.

"Sharon is here?" I asked as we walked away.

"No shes not, I just didn't want you to get in trouble for hurting them." Shannon said as we walked toward the schools exit.

"I wouldn't have hurt them." I said.

She raised an eyebrow at me.

"Much." I added.

She laughed, shaking her head.

"Lizzy we are new to this school, freshman, don't you want to start a new? No fighting, no getting in trouble." She said.

I sighed.

"I guess, but she started it." I said defiantly.

"And if you ignore her she will go away" She said.

"Yeah sure that's what poland said 1939." I said.

She looked at me funny, than shook her head as we walked away from the school toward her house, we would need to stop there to get her things, then we would take the bus to down town, we walked in silence for awhile.

"So hows the headaches?" I asked.

She shrugged.

"Still there." She said.

"Whats the doctor say?" I asked.

"Have to go on monday for more test, who knows." She said.

I frowned, Shannon had started getting headaches over the summer, her mom had said it was just migraines.

"Oh that sounds like fun." I said.

"Yeah, so what brings Lillian into town?" She asked.

Lillian my aunt was well traveled, always going around the world on family business, she always made it a point to see me though as much as she could. She wasn't really my aunt, her and her sister had been good friends with my Dad.