*AUTHOR’S NOTE¹: Hello audience. As you know, this story has been a work in progress for a couple of month’s now. During this period of time, I have found that some names that I have given to my characters have lost their charm and require a better fit, particularly, the ghost boy Koobla Stpan.

I know he hasn’t particularly gotten much screen time yet but I’d like to change his name now before I get too far into the book. As Koobla was originally meant to be an expy of a videogame character, I want to keep the spirit of his name but make it better. So without further adieu, presenting Koobla’s new name is(drumroll please)…….

NAPTALI STANLEY BROOK²

YAY!

All previous chapters will be edited to accommodate this change.³

That said, please enjoy the story. Comments are very much appreciated.

Also, forgive me if any of the language translations are off, due to the backstories of some of the characters, at least four of the people in the main class speak a different language or are bilingual⁴.

Arcene twirled the pencil in her hand. It matched the grey world that surrounded her. It was a world without form just a light grey, almost white for what she perceived as miles around. There was no wind, just infinite stillness. She looked at her hands her brown skin had turned into a shade darker than her plain, grey dress.

Arcene wasn’t alarmed at this. It wasn’t her first time in this monochromatic world.

Taking a deep breath she once more began her work in the world. Pencil in hand, she drew in the void and began to create.

She started with skyscrapers, drawing the three dimensional colossus’s to heights beyond imagination within what to her seemed to be moments. Upon seeing herself amongst a vast cityscape, she knelt on the ground to create its streets, but as she did so, she was overcome with the desire to ice skate and so the streets became her own personal ice rink.

Though in reality she would be faceplanting with every step, she skated through the city with grace, drawing into existence flowering vines that crawled up the buildings. She drew parks and playgrounds, ice cream trucks and street vendors, traffic lights, cars, horse drawn carriages and sleighs, and trees bearing fruits of many kinds.

When her work in the city came to an end, she skated until she reached the end of the city streets and stepped into the open world, still a blank sheet of canvas for her to create on.

She pressed her pencil against the canvas and began to run, she ran at speeds she could never run in real life but if there was one thing Arcene loved about this world is that what was impossible for her in the real world, she could do with ease in this world.

She ran to the edge of the world and when she stopped, the horizon was sprawled out before her. Her fingers itched to put something on the horizon but she restrained herself, deciding to leave the best for last.

In the void she drew rolling hills, trees, rocks,soft grass, and wildflowers that dotted the landscape. The grass faded into a sandy beach which in turn faded into an ocean and its frozen waves.

With all this done, Arcene gripped her pencil tightly in one hand, readying herself for what would be her masterpiece. The blank horizon stared back at her and dared her to make it beautiful. She accepted its challenge with glee.

With thousands of scratches from her pencil she drew thousands of fluffy clouds and through them into the sky. She ran next to the horizon and with a flying leap she drew a setting sun on top of it. With another bounce she drew birds into the air. As she worked, the sun’s rays materialized, along with shadows behind the rocks and trees.

Arcene took a moment to survey her work. The pencil landscape lay spread out before her, shaded to the best of her ability and silent in its beauty. Yet still, its creator found fault in it. A feeling of unease began to settle in the pit of her stomach. She searched desperately for anything that could be missing from her world.

She drew lines in the air. The wind began to blow. Her hair shifted in the breeze but it wasn’t satisfying.

She drew more animals, dolphins, fireflies, lizards, frogs, a herd of unicorns, but none of them satisfied her.

She gripped the pencil so tight that her knuckles turned white.

She drew wind turbines, sailboats, and an airplane but yet again couldn’t find any satisfaction.

She sat on the soft grass, deep in thought. She drew a lollipop and examined it before sticking it into her mouth. There was no flavor. If she hadn’t felt its hardness she wouldn’t have known it was there at all.

Disappointed, she spread herself on the grass and stared at the sky, the clouds slowly drifting about with the newly created wind. As she contemplated the sky her hand moved on its own and before she knew it, the sky was filling with stars as the sun set. As she drew one last star above her head, her mind was consumed with the thought of one person.

She stood up and carefully began to draw the person on her mind.

Tallish, about 5’10, straight hair, long in the front, short in the back, bang partially covering one eye, a fedora (God, he loved that fedora⁵), his eyes (God what she would give to be able to convey the sparkle that was always in his eyes)….Was he muscular, skinny, chubby? His hugs were soft and comforting and he didn’t seem particularly wide. She drew his dress shirt(Rolled up to his elbows as they always are), his vest, his pants, his dress shoes.

Arcene placed her hand on her creation’s cheek. Before her stood a life sized version of Dinari as she remembered him.

She stared into its eyes, it stared vacantly toward the western setting sun. Sighing, she went to its side and stared at the sunset.

Her energy that she had when she had first appeared in this world had faded and was replaced by discontent.

She took her fake-Dinari’s hand in hers. He didn’t react⁶.

Figured he’d be a poor imitation of the real Dinari. He was a lot like the rest of this world. Still, lifeless, and without color. Everything her hands created was grey and dull.

She cursed the fact that she always forgot about the world when she woke up , allowing her to try again futilely to fill her world with another living soul once she returned.

Every person and animal she created was a statue that couldn’t move on its own, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t live, couldn’t talk to her….

She glared at the world she created. Her love for had turned to hatred.

She looked at her faux-Dinari and her gaze turned sorrowful. She embraced it though she knew it would not hug her back.

How she wished she could at least give it the pale yellow light that always engulfed her when the real Dinari stood next to her.

She leaned her head back to keep her tears at bay and stared at the sky but that only made her want to cry more. The stars above, the ones that always made her feel closer to her absent friend, were plain and dull. As much as she loved stars, she could not make the ones she drew beautiful for she had no vivid colors of her own to give to them. All she had was….

She looked at her hands, covered it smudges from the pencil she had used to create this world.⁷

“Grey⁸,” she said out loud but no sound came out of her mouth for it was a silent world that she had created. As she stared down at her hands, she felt the ground shake beneath her.

She looked up at watched as the world began to erase itself from existence. Her sunset, the one missing its myriad of colors, disappeared off the horizon, followed by her ocean, her trees, her city, and her rolling hills. Everything that she created disappeared from existence until once more it was just her in the grey void.

She didn’t even feel like she was standing anymore. She looked at what she assumed to be upwards to see a lone star, somehow still in existence above her. She reached her hand out towards it just before everything went black.

………………..

Arcene’s eyes snapped open. Her hand reached upward toward her grey ceiling. She blinked. Her digital alarm clock was going off and she was laying in her bed.

She sat up in her bed and stared blankly forward as the dream faded from her mind. When it was completely gone she silenced her alarm and climbed out of bed.

………………..

“I hope all of you are looking your very best because guess what day it is….” said Babe-Sensei cheerfully.

“Picture day!” she exclaimed.

Some of the class groaned, some were excited, while others just looked at their teacher with a confused expression.

“Resim günü ne?(What’s Picture Day?)” asked Mesi in Turkish^9,10.

Babe-Sensei gave her a confused look. “Er, Mesi-chan, ¿puedes hablar en inglés o español, por favor?(Er, Mesi, Can you speak in English or Spanish please?)” she asked in Spanish.

“Qu’est-ce que jour de la photo?(What’s Picture Day?)” Mesi repeated…..in French¹¹.

Babe-Sensei’s smile faltered. It hadn’t been more than a few weeks since school had started and she could already feel how difficult it was teaching kids with such ‘special’ needs. Due to most of them being from other worlds, most of them had no clue about the Earth’s history, when it came to math, their levels of ability were all over the place, some of them had never even heard of germs before, and three of them weren’t native English speakers and had difficulty writing in English.

In the case of Mesi in particular, there was the issue of language. Mesi seemed to have the idea in her head that all humans spoke one language.

Babe-Sensei had watched her try to interact with her classmates. The bulk of their interactions resulted in confused looks from her classmates and her repeating herself in multiple different languages.

At this point, Babe-Sensei had listened to her enough to realize that all of the languages she spoke were of countries situated around the Mediterranean. Sadly, this meant that she didn’t speak English. Luckily, that included Spain and Babe-Sensei knew Spanish. Unluckily, Mesi couldn’t seem to tell the difference between the languages she spoke so asking her to speak Spanish would just result in her switching into another language that Babe-Sensei didn’t know if not, Mesi would just stare blankly at her.

She drummed her fingers on the desk, looking back into Mesi’s expectant eyes.

“Le jour de l’image est un jour où tout le monde à l’école prend sa photo pour pouvoir l’envoyer à la maison et plus tard dans l’annuaire.”(Picture day is a day when everyone in the school gets their picture taken so that it can be sent home and later used in the yearbook)

Babe-Sensei turned her attention to Marcella who happened to be sitting in the seat next to Mesi.

“Oh…” said Mesi, nodding in understanding.

Babe-Sensei gave Marcella a grateful smile. ” Thank you Marcella.”

“It’s not a problem. She only speaks languages from around the Mediterranean, correct?” Marcella asked, glancing at Mesi, who had quickly lost interest in the conversation and was watching a fly fly around the room.

“Yeah, it seems so,” she replied, watching the Mesi as she balanced a pencil on her nose¹².

“I know French, Arabic, and Spanish so it’s not too hard for me to understand her.”

“Hontōni?!¹³” exclaimed Babe-Sensei.

“Yes…” Marcella said hesitantly.

“And Japanese too! Nē, nē, can I count on you to help your classmates? Mesi-chan and Kaage-kun don’t speak English very well,” requested Babe-Sensei, clasping her hands together.

“Don’t they have ESL classes for that?”

“Yes, but you all have five classes together. Having a friend to help them would really make things easier,” pleaded Babe-Sensei.

“But-“

“Kaage-kun, Mesi-chan, if you guys need any help, ask Marcella-chan over here.”

Marcella grimaced but gave Kaage a curt nod of acknowledgement.

“Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu¹⁴,” he said politely.

“Very good,” said Babe-Sensei before turning her attention to her other students. “They’ll be calling for us in fifteen minutes so if you guys have some last minute adjustments you need to make, do it now. You’re allowed to go to the bathroom if you need to.”

A couple kids walked out of the room while others began going about their own business.

“Can someone wake up Kol please?”

Chase stood and cocked his shotgun¹⁵.

“Not like that! Elodie, would you please?”

Elodie, the bunny girl whom Kol was always with got up from her seat next to him and gently patted his head.

“Come on Kol, it’s time to wake up,” she said in a gentle voice.

“Ermph…” The mess of shaggy hair shifted and a wolf’s snout poked out.

“Come on Kol, it’s Picture Day and your hair’s a mess. Get up so I can fix it,” she continued, this time in a more authoritative tone.

The wolf lifted its head from the desk and yawned before shaking itself and receding back behind the dark curtain of hair.

“Kol, we may have been in a rush today but you could’ve at least brushed your hair…” Elodie complained as she pulled out a comb and brush and fought with his hair. “Do you expect me to do this everyday?”

“I wouldn’t mind it,” he replied with a sleepy smile.

Elodie gave him a look before cracking a small smile. “Maybe I should see how you look with pigtails then…” in a voice quiet enough for only him to hear.

“No….” he said despite being too tired to really resist.

“Fine, I’ll just keep your bangs back with a headband then.” She pulled out a black headband and pulled back his hair revealing the sleepy face of a teenage boy with a bandage over his nose.

“There,” said Elodie as she put the comb and brush away.

“Thanks Lodie…”

“No problem.”

“Guys line up, it’s time to head to the auditorium,” called Babe-Sensei, standing by the door. “Go down to the hall in an orderly fashion and wait for me to direct you to the auditorium.”

Babe-Sensei watched as her students filed past her, surveying their appearances for any faults there may be.

‘Charmant? Good. Marcella? Good. CRAI? Good. Damien? Good. Aerith?’

“Aerith-chan, are you sure the sword and gauntlets are necessary for your picture?” Babe-Sensei asked out loud before Aerith could pass through the door.

“These are necessary if I am to fulfill my duties to the Prince. I will not go anywhere without them,” she replied.

“Oh well, doesn’t really make a huge difference,” she replied with a slight shrug as she allowed the girl to pass by.

‘Wait, Prince? Who-?’

Babe-Sensei’s eyes then turned to the next person on their way out.

“Raph-kun if you don’t have your tie with you, at the very least button up your shirt all the way. The camera doesn’t need to see your pectoral muscles,” she said in an annoyed tone of voice.

“You on the other hand seem to enjoy looking at them considering you keep mentioning it,” replied Raphael slyly.

Babe-SenseI pursed her lips before opening her mouth to speak again. “That’s because you still haven’t done it.The other boys at least wear an undershirt under their shirt whenever they have it as unbuttoned as you do. Nobody needs to see your man cleavage,” she said as she fastened three buttons on his school shirt before shewing him out.

“Speaking of cleavage…” she murmured as another one of her students was about to walk past. She leaned down and buttoned up Mesi’s school shirt.

She stepped back to let the rest through only to have to stop them once more.

“Allen, Henry, and Chase, are you sure you three don’t want to leave your capes and cloaks behind?”

“Yes,” said Chase, clasping the part of his cape that went around his neck.

“At least pull the hood off your head,” she conceded.

“I BELIEVE IT IS IMPORTANT TO, IF POSSIBLE, DRESS FOR THE ROLE YOU WANT IN LIFE. THIS CAPE IS REPRESENTATIVE OF THE ROLE I WANT IN LIFE,” shouted Allen.

“Okay,” said Babe-Sensei, flinching and rubbing her ear; she definitely had to teach this boy about inside voices. She looked at Henry waiting for his response.

“I just like my wizarding robe; I think I’ll keep it on,” he responded, pushing up his glasses.

Babe-Sensei waved them through.

“You keepin’ your hat, partner?” she asked in a fake country accent.

Annabelle towered over her teacher as she walked past. “You bet!” she replied, tilting her old, brown cowboy hat on her head with a smile. “Wish I had remembered about the pictures today though. I would have worn a more proper skirt.”

Babe-Sensei glanced down at her student’s uniform. What was usually a proper, knee length skirt on most female students only went a little bit past Annabelle’s mid thigh, exposing her long legs.

“Showing that much leg is against the rules Anna-chan.”

“I know, I know but if I don’t know how to ride side saddle and I can’t ride normally with the long skirt,” she explained.

“Ride?” Babe-Sensei asked, raising an eyebrow before shaking her head and ushering Annabelle through the door. “Never mind, we’ve already wasted too much time. I’ll try to help you later.”

More students walked passed. Babe-Sensei gave them a quick look over.

“Naptali, you might want to pin your bangs back. The pictures will come out better that way.”

Naptali blushed and shifted nervously. “I would Miss but I don’t think I can.”

“Nonsense…” Babe-Sensei took out a bobby pin and leaned towards him. She reached for a lock of hair only for her hand to phase right through it.

It took her a moment to realize her mistake.

“Oh right, you’re a ghost.”

“Yes…” Naptali said quietly as floated a few inches above the ground and glowed a soft blue light.

“You’re free to go. Push your hair out of your face the best you can.”

“Okay.”

Babe-Sensei allowed the rest of her students through the door, the last of which was Arcene.

The girl walked passed her with with brown eyes staring straight forward. Babe-Sensei watched her as she passed.

“Not going to show your eyes,huh,” Babe-Sensei murmured under her breath before slapping her hand to her mouth. She had said her thoughts out loud by mistake.

Arcene froze just outside the door before stiffly speed walking down the corridor.

“Whoops…” she murmured as she closed the door behind her.

………………..

Arcene counted herself lucky today. Once again she sat crouched outside of the music room listening to the red haired girl play the piano. This time the girl was playing a lively tune. Arcene couldn’t identify what song it was. As she continued to listen, she started to feel like she wouldn’t know the song at all, like the notes she played were totally original, composed by her own, dexterous hands.

Arcene was almost overwhelmed with a desire to be friends with Lyra. Something about her just seemed incredibly magnetizing. Oh how Arcene was tempted to open that door up and make herself known to the girl but just as these thoughts were put in her head, her anxieties were quick to shoo them away.

If she did go in there, would she be able to find anything important to say? Would she just be a bother to the her? Would it interrupt her flow and make her lose the song that could cause such a pleasant feeling within Arcene? How would she keep the Lyra’s interest if she is okay with it?

Arcene pulled her knees closer to her body and rested her head on her knees. She internally moaned.

The music suddenly stopped. Arcene looked up.

“You’re back again.”

Arcene stiffened. Did the girl, Lyra know she had been listening to her song.

“Your name’s Naptali right?” Lyra asked.

There was silence. Arcene assumed that he nodded.

“You don’t talk much, huh? That’s okay. You don’t have to force yourself. I’ll stick to yes or no questions.”

Arcene got up and peeked through the window into the classroom. She knew it was rude to listen in on their conversation, but she was curious. The girl was still sitting at the piano but instead of playing she was looking at the young phantom standing across the room from her. He shifted nervously under her gaze.

“Are you haunting the school? Like, did you used to go here but died on campus?” she asked.

He shook his head no.

“Are you haunting a specific person?”

He shook his head no.

“Is your soul bound to something?”

Naptali paused for a moment before he took off his headphones and extended his hands toward her.

“Oh! So you must’ve really liked music while you were alive. Do you know how to play an instrument?”

He nodded and murmured,”Piano…”

“Really? Then hop onto the bench! Let’s see what you’ve got!” She grinned and slid to one side of the piano bench, patting the spot next to her.

Naptali seemed to panic a bit at this and his image began to flicker nervously until he disappeared.

Arcene knew exactly how he felt. She didn’t know if she would be able to handle having to sit next to and perform for a musician like Lyra. It would be like playing for her sister; she would want to disappear too.

But Lyra was having not of that. She pouted. “Aw…don’t be like that. I don’t bite…Well, maybe a little,” she said suggestively to herself. “Anyway,” she said out loud,” You show up almost every time I play in this room. You get to hear me so it’s only fair that I get to hear you. Now sit.”

Lyra sat at the piano bench alone. Arcene thought that Naptali had already left but she was proven wrong when she saw Lyra shiver just before the keys on the piano started to play by themselves.

Lyra placed her hands in her lap, closed her eyes, and smiled.

The music that came from the piano was beautiful to say the least. The notes were were slow and leisurely, Adante if Arcene remembered correctly. It was like a peacefully stroll through the park, not too loud, not too soft, and not too wild either. Arcene could listen to it all afternoon but just as she was about to settle down again, another pair of hands hit the keys of the piano.

‘Sforzando…’¹⁶ thought Arcene as Lyra pressed down hard on the keys before going into a slow, syncopated beat. Little by little the repeating beat became faster before it suddenly stopped. Lyra turned to where Naptali sat on the bench and gave him a kittenish smile.

Naptali, no longer invisible, looked at her, pierced his lips and put his hands back on the keys. Without missing a beat the two of them engaged in a fast paced and playful harmony. Their fingers chased each other up and down the keys, stretching and condensing swiftly to keep up with the other’s notes. Neither of them knew what song they were playing. Every note was a spontaneous act of creativity chosen because instinct told them it was right.

To Arcene, their secret listener, the song and its individual parts were an encounter with a dear friend in the park. One walks alone peacefully only to be surprised when their friend runs up behind them and greets them by jumping onto their back. The two fall over before the friend hops up and sprints away, gleefully challenging the other to catch them if they can. The one once alone gets up and gives chase and the two cheerfully chase each other between the trees, over the hills, and through the grass.

The image in her head was so vibrant. Before she could really think Arcene already had a sketchbook out and was drawing out the happy scene.

The music continued on for a little more than five minutes without stop and Arcene sketched furiously, hoping to get the scene on paper before her inspiration left her. She just barely had time to finish drawing the rough sketch when the music stopped. Arcene put her sketchbook on the ground and peeked through the window.

Lyra took several deep breathes ,her verdant eyes wide with excitement. She lifted her head, closed her eyes, and clutched her chest.

Her heart was racing. Something was happening here, something that she hadn’t felt in  more than a year. The thought of feeling it again for someone new saddened her but at the same time made her scared and excited all at once.

The two barely knew each other but sitting at that bench together, playing music together, Lyra and Naptali had become totally in sync. Lyra could feel it: the musical intimacy, the perfect harmony, the way the music had just flowed out of her and naturally mixed with his. This was something she couldn’t let pass her by.

“Um…are you okay?” asked Naptali worriedly. The girl next to him had been sitting on the bench with her eyes closed for awhile now.

Lyra’s eyes snapped open and her head whipped around to him, her emeralds staring at him with incredible intensity. It took Naptali all his willpower not to turn himself invisible.

“Naptali?” she said with a serious expression.

“Y-yes?”

“I’m going to make you mine.”¹⁷

“…”

“…”

“What.”

Naptali and Lyra turned towards the door surprised to hear another voice coming from behind it.

Before either of them could get up and check who was there, the sound of pounding feet could be heard running away from the door.

“Nosy…” murmured Lyra before turning her attention back to Naptali

“………………………………!”

Naptali’s face turned a dark shade of teal as the realization of what Lyra had told him hit him. It took all his willpower not to disappear from the spot.

“D-don’t play with me like that!” he stammered.

“Think what you want but I don’t think I’m playing. I mean, it’s not like I don’t get a kick out of messing with people but I don’t think I was just kidding¹⁸,” she said with a shrug. “Anyway,” she looked at the clock on the wall and got up, “I’ve got to go.”

She grabbed her book bag and went to the door but before walking out the door turned back to Naptali. “Hey, let’s make some more music together again one of these days,” she said with a wink before leaving the room.

………………..

Arcene stood to the side and watched as a girl with seriously scaly skin and an alien tried to cross a busy intersection.

All Arcene wanted to do was grab a snack from the bodega¹⁹ and head to the park to finish her sketch. Hearing Naptali and Lyra play had given her a rare spark of inspiration and she didn’t want the image in her head to disappear before she had it completely down on paper. However, her rumbling stomach required sustenance and she had a terrible craving for junk food. However, while walking she happened to come across two of her classmates trying to cross the street.

Arcene watched as the two stepped off the sidewalk only to jump back onto it as a car raced pass, honking loudly. Arcene glanced at the caution light above the street. The road was constantly busy as many of the cars came directly off of the highway. She personally thought having a regular three color traffic light would work better but hey, she wasn’t a city planner.²⁰ What did she know?

She knew that she would have to cross this intersection if she wanted to get to her favorite bodega.

She watched her two classmates for a moment longer. Mesi Bahr, the one with the gills and the scaly skin, and Zupilee, a short girl with pink hair and green skin continued to try to cross the street, only step back onto the sidewalk and stare in amazement as another car raced by.

‘It’s either they’ve never seen a busy street before or they’re mentally challenged. Either way, you can’t really just leave them there,’ thought Arcene.²¹

Arcene took a deep breath and braced herself. She speed walked to where both the girls were standing and came up between the two. She quickly looked both ways, grabbed their hands, and rushed across the street, not letting go until the three of them were safely across the street.

Without bothering with pleasantries Arcene continued to race down the street before either of the girls could say anything to her. She slowed down after going around a corner and walked a few businesses down to the bodega. She went in, grabbed some snacks and made a beeline for the park near her house.

As soon as she got there, she plopped down under her favorite tree, an old willow with leaves hanging so low that they hid anyone who sat under it. She had her junk food, her sketchbook, and the perfect atmosphere.

She could still hear Naptali and Lyra’s music playing in her head as her picture was brought to life on paper. She was so absorbed with her work that she didn’t notice a green creature hanging on the branches of the willow tree by the tentacles on her back. She also didn’t notice the girl with the dark blue wavy hair slowly leaning closer to her to get a better look at her drawing.

That is, until she reached with her left hand to take a sip of her Sprite and her hand hit The girl while the can was in her hand. This startled Arcene and caused her to spill some of her drink.

Arcene whipped around. Sitting next to her was Mesi.

Mesi smiled at her, exposing her somewhat sharp teeth. “He-o!” she said in greeting.

“Uh, hi,” replied Arcene.

“Arcene,” she said, pointing at Arcene.

Arcene nodded her head slowly. “Yes.”

“Tesekkür Ederim.” (Thank you)

Arcene gave her a confused look. She couldn’t understand the language she was using.

“I think she’s trying to thank you,” a voice said from above Arcene.

Arcene looked up and saw Zupilee hanging from the branches of the willow tree.

“Whatcha drawin?’ she asked as she descended from the tree.

Arcene stared at the tentacles coming out of her back. This was her first time seeing them up close. They were green like the rest of Zupilee’s skin and speckled with darker green spots. On the underside was what must have been thousands of tiny little suction cups.²² Zupilee was certainly something out of this world.

“Wow, that’s a great drawing,” said Zupilee, looking down at Arcene’s sketchbook.

‘It’s not that good. It’s not very detailed. The trees are lacking texture. Their “leaves” look like poofs. The characters’ faces aren’t aligned correctly and their hands look wonky. The flowers are all generic looking and some of the stuff in the park are slanted too far to one side…’ Arcene thought.

The more Arcene looked at her drawing, the more flaws she could find in it. A bad choice of design here, a messed up detail there… By time she finished surveying her work, she wanted to crumple it up and never look at it again.

“Thanks,” she said flatly. She hoped that her classmates didn’t notice her crestfallen tone and if they did, didn’t say anything about it.

She got up and began gathering her stuff.

“Where are you going?” asked Zupilee.

“Home,” replied Arcene with her back to them.

“We’ll walk you there!”

Arcene broke into a cold sweat. 5 blocks of her classmates, whom she barely knew, awkwardly trying to make conversation with her as she awkwardly failed to say anything of value. She wasn’t feeling it.

“Don’t you guys have somewhere to go?” Arcene asked stiffly.

“Nope!” replied Zupilee with a smile.

Mesi tugged on Zupilee’s skirt. “Bus!” she exclaimed.

“Oh right! We have to catch the bus back home!” said Zupilee, hitting her head with the base of her palm. “Hey do you happen to know where-“

Arcene was already halfway across the park.

“Rude much?” said Zupilee putting a hand on her hip.

“Bus, Bus,” said Mesi now standing beside Zupilee and tugging her arm.

“I’m coming, I’m coming,” she let the scaly girl lead her towards the bus stop they were supposed to go to.

“You’d think making friends with her would be just as easy as it was with Lyra and Azlyn,” continued Zupilee, frustrated. “I mean, she helps us then runs away and then when we try to talk to her she runs away! What’s with that?!” She turned to Mesi, waiting for a response.

Mesi made a few clicking sounds in response.

“What?” asked Zupilee.

“Tal vez ella es una tortuga?”(Maybe she is a turtle?) Mesi repeated, this time not in her native language but in Spanish.

Zupilee sighed. “Why do you Earthlings have to have so many different languages?” she complained. “Why can’t you people be like other planets and have one central language?”

1.I decided to keep the author’s note from the original posting.

2. Honestly, I’m not sure about his first name anymore

3. I’m pretty sure I missed one when I went back and edited the chapters.

4. I really like writing in bilingual characters and characters from other cultures. Liked it back then and I still like it now. It gives me an excuse to research different cultures and what unique reactions a character may have because they’re not fully Americanized.

5. I used to love fedoras. I thought they were so cool, but now I can’t help but associate them with the neckbeard stereotype.

6. I wanted to create romantic undertones in Arcene and Dinari’s friendship, but I never intended them to actually get together at the end of the story.

7. I imagine the world she created looking a bit rough and sketchy as if drawn with an artist’s pencil.

8. Lots of color symbolism in this story.

9. I intended to make Mesi a polyglot. She’s supposed to be a mermaid that lives in the Mediterranean so I wanted to make her speak languages associated with countries located there.

10. Fun fact: At the time I originally wrote this, I was actually taking Turkish classes!…I only remember the words Merhaba and Mavi now.

11. Of the languages Mesi speaks, I can only personally verify whether her Spanish is correct and that is only at an intermediate level.

12. I intended Mesi to be the ditzy one

13. I wasn’t always consistent with how I translated the characters speaking different languages.

14. It literally means “I’m looking forward to having good relations with you.”

15. A little bit of black humor. Still would change his weapon to a crossbow.

16. I had planned for Arcene to have previously taken music lessons in an attempt to keep up with her older sister and earn her parents’ affection. She has since quit.

17. I wanted Lyra to be a flirty, popular girl that makes friends with everyone but also dates casually a lot.

18. Napsta (Naptali’s nickname) and Lyra were going to be one of four pairings within the class.

19. I call corner stores bodegas because I come from an urban, predominantly Latino community, but would Arcene do the same if she lives in a middle-class suburb and goes to a fancy private school?

20. This was directly inspired by an intersection in my neighborhood that for the longest time only had a caution light and was thus dangerous to cross. It has stop signs now.

21. For all Arcene’s issues, I definitely wanted her to at least be kind.

22. I eventually reused this alien design concept in a future story.