VIOLET ( A FORBIDDEN ROMANCE)

nta,

r first day at a new school.

achers, learning new hallways.

mell of a new place, the sounds

t everyone in a new place always

it never seem

y she was so conspicuous. A

brown hair and brown eyes (and

like some of the other girls. At

make her

re was something about her th

e was different. But she

n a first day, it was starting

this first day, in mid-March, w

d feel i

ough, she never thought it wou

d seen a lothad pre

chool, a vast Atlanta City p

Why me? She was way underdr

prepared for the noisy chaos t

ming, and shoving each other.

ds laughed too loud, cursed t

was a massive brawl if she did

h energy, and she, exhausted, f

om. She closed her eyes and

d felt something: her ipod. Yes

up. She needed to

oked down and saw the ba

ing for some distraction,

the sea of new faces, she felt

eferred that. Some of her clos

ndianand some of her meanest

ecause it was urban. She stood o

ional area,” and she had had to

by massive metal gates, topped

one to

ool, bars and cages on all th

to new schools easily, large an

, trees, sky. Here, there was no

eathe. It t

nd she shuffled her way, with

hly by a large girl, and dropp

en looked up to see if the gi

ady moved on in the swarm. She

was direc

ne thing that grounded her. I

n every place she went. It wa

nce, and had to squeeze in ju

She had hoped it would be warm

breeze blowing down her back

od at the entrance, flanked b

guns conspicuou

!” commanded

rmed policemen would have to

got much worse when she looked

l detector with air

tood on either side of the

ity g

POCKETS!” sn

lling small plastic containers

same, inserting he

h the detector, and

a guard. “Off

cou

made to raise her arms, and the

down he

earing any

her neckline, and sudden

f,” snapped

dmother gave her before she

atin which she never had transla

ther. Anna wasn’t religious, a

s hundreds of years old, and it

ow

r shirt, holding it up

r not,” sh

ared at her,

ut. There was shouting as a c

all, removing a small

Anna took the opportunity to

wn the

public school, An

counting the day

he’d ever seen. She couldn’t i

e kids crammed in shoulder to shoulder. There must have been

s even worse, bouncing off the

ven have elbow space to raise he

, and the ene

ady

and finally spotted the room i

n’t getting anywhere. Finally, af

She started elbowing and jostl

the wide hall, and pushed the h

looks as she, the new girl, w

pting a silent room. But she was

igned for 30 kids but holding 5

the aisles, shouting and yellin

utes ago, yet the teacher, dish

He actually sat with his feet u

ng eve

placed her new I.D. card on

to look up, b

y cleared

use

ly lowered h

new. I think I’m suppo

replied, and raised h

d there,

, “….you don’t

n Monday,” he snapped.

tion was over, Anna to

. The mayhem hadn’t stopped.

. No one here seemed to care ab

l

e packed room was nerve-wracki

left t

ching her Diary, walked tenta

lked between unruly kids scream

uld finally see

e empt

n idiot, and felt other kids st

asn’t going to stand there the e

ither way. She turned and loo

aisles away, and felt sure it

e didn’t look like them. Her chee

consp

o walk out of the class, and ma

d a

er

tu

e the window, a tall b

e said.

as the others waited

ed not to look up into his ey

ldn’t h

th, olive skin—she couldn’t

she had never seen such smoo

as short and brown, and he was

place here. He seemed f

by a guy. She’d seen her frien

derstood.

l you sit?

, but it didn’t sound convinci

rvous

e, revealing

and moved to the large windo

ed her stare, their eyes fully l

ut she

d, and was instan

all you could m

lled a voice. “Give that

se in the room suddenly picked

once

lower his hea

asked. “Is th

“That’s just what they call me

like

and realized that h

f black, part white,

that’s a compli

they say it,”

the window sill, his confidenc

e, even. He didn’t belong in thi

felt protec

eaching out her hand an

rprised, and his

,” he a

ingling sensation ran up her

she melted into him. He held her

help smil

a blur, and Anna was hungr

uble doors and was taken aba

d like a thousand kids, all sc

wenty feet there stood another

ng car

e to go. She searched the huge

and entered what she t

ou cut m

overweight girl, half a foot

y, I didn

napped another girl, p

ine stretched back at least a

minut

back of the line, a kid on the

ont of her, hitti

p of the other and started

roar of excitement, as doze

T! FI

k, watching in horror at th

ame over and broke it up, sepa

They didn’t seem t

d, she scanned the room, hopin

here in

ssing table after table, all p

ere free didn’t seem that invit

ie

empty table towards the back. T

e boy with braces, poorly dresse

d on h

down and checked her phon

m her last town. They wanted

n’t feel like answering

ng of first-day nausea still w

eyes. She thought of her new ap

. Her nausea worsened. She brea

ing, anything g

going on 20. Sira never seeme

her older brother. He’d grown

s leaving, from the way their

ould see that he was starting t

rprise her. She feared

ira absolutely loved her. A

e she could rely on. He seemed to

was determined to do

nn

ju

one hand and trumpet case

f I joi

o,” she said

ught. Stop act

s, then sat across from her. He

lly beside him. He gently laid

’t quite place. He was differen

erent era. He definitely di

first day?

at I ex

at you mea

at a t

e kept it close, and kept one h

might

t a little smaller, but it’s a mu

nd hoped that he’d put it on the

want to pry. He was still resti

like it was pers

practice

A few hours a day,

s!? You mus

guess. There are a lot of play

my ticket out

d to play the p

don’t

had one, but stopped herself.

wn at h

to own a piano

tartled that he’

his school. For all the bad he

ns for free. All you h

eyes

all

de the music room. Ask for Mr

ie

f that word. She slowly felt a

e

Their eyes lock

, green eyes, she burned with

lfriend? Why are you being s

e bit her tongue

r would run out soon, she scan

conversation. She tried to thin

m again. But she got

r mouth, and just as

se and motion, and Oliver

e said, gathe

at her tray. “C

zing she’d forgotten i

” he

ddenly shy, not kn

…see

ed lamely, her voice

Anna exited the building int

blowing, she didn’t feel cold

hey streamed out, she was no l

of the day had gone by in a blu

single n

stop thinkin

like an idiot in the cafeter

any questions. All she could th

asked where he lived, where he

col

irlfriend. Someone like hi

y, well-dressed Hispanic gir

passed, and wondered fo

, and for a second, forgot wh

e, and for a moment, she blan

rner, disoriented. A cloud cov

she suddenly

, am

was standing in front of a fil

it, seemingly oblivious to the co

next

re, baby!” ye

ememb

reet. Th

at a brisk pace down another s

if those men were followin

eeks and woke her up, as t

. She looked around at the aban

the windows, and she suddenly f

er apartment, but it felt like

better, Oliver—and she wondere

he felt angry at her Mom. How

aces that she hated?

en g

e saw some activity up on the

ried to keep her head down, but

nd she couldn’t help but

bestood standing over anoth

in and punched him in the gut,

, maybe 17, tall, thin and defen

d up and kicked

and stared. She was horrifie

ke

steps around their victim, t

t them

y were going to sto

she sc

hing sound as they bro

oken bonerather, it was the s

ing a small, musical instrume

of a flute all o

hand to her m

ive

the street, right to the pack

er and their evil smiles broade

tim and saw that it was indeed

and he was

ids, her anger overpowering he

th

ne!” she shout

, at least six-four,

asked, his v

r, and realized that she’d jus

the concrete, but that barely cus

r Diary go flying, its loose

. And then footste

er adrenaline kicked in. She m

d her. She took off at a sprint

i

owed clos

, back when Anna thought s

nd realized she was good at it.

e 100 yard sprint. She could ev

e flooding

fe, and the guys c

w far behind they were, and

he just had to mak

she could either turn left or r

ted to maintain her lead, and

und each corner, though.

the right choice

made a sharp left and saw

ng

the wall, scanning for an exit

to face her appro

hem turn the corner and appr

right, she would have been home

ne of them said, “you

they walked slowly towards her

the violen

athed deep. She tried to wil

ll-powerful, ready to save her

ly her attackers

she hated her, of all the pla

a. She thought of what her lif

, of how she’d always been tr

her way. And something clicked

e this. I DON’

suddenly,

ke anything she had ever expe

er blood. It centered in her sto

ground, as if she and the concre

course through her wrists, up

t surprised and scared even he

her wrist, she watched as her h

twisting it backwards at a right

, and then arm, we

to his knee

oys’ eyes opened

the three charg

u f

jumped up in the air and plant

about ten feet and slamming int

here, no

ked at each other, sho

an inhuman strength course

kids (each twice her size), hoi

ith a si

air, she swung them back, the

n incredible force. They b

, breathing, foa

oys were n

he contrary, she wanted more.

thr

nted somet

vision, and was able to zoom

an inch, and she could see, f

. She wanted to

appening to her, she tossed

e buildings and down the block.

nfulfill

k of an animal t