Chapter Text
I love my school. It’s right next to a mountain where the Great Dragon rests. The Great Dragon had fought for our freedom time and time again. After her efforts to save us, she rested, and that’s when a group of travelers passing by her lair stole her one and only egg. She was devastated, and spent years weeping because of her loss. But, after she ran out of tears to cry, she fell back asleep. And rested. For thousands of years. No one has disturbed her, and everyone would like to keep it that way, to avoid the tragedies of the past. The only mention of humans traveling up to the Great Dragon’s lair is the tale of a girl who went there and never came back, but nothing really came of that. Sometimes I wonder what is happening up there. I wouldn't actually go up there and face a dragon, I'm smart enough to know that , but I’m still curious.
“Piper, let's play ball!” Claudia yells from across the playground.
“Coming!” I’m a little startled, but manage to grab all of my notes in time and start running towards her. Veronica and Claudia are waiting by the basketball court, Veronica’s electric blue hair and Claudia’s soft strawberry blonde curls existing as a living representation of all their differences. But they both have something in common that I can’t relate to. Basketball. I walk up to them and hastily tie my sand orange hair into a high ponytail as Veronica starts dribbling the ball. I hate basketball, but most of my friends love it, which makes no sense! All you do is dribble, pass, shoot, and then repeat. It’s so boring. I stand there, not knowing what to do while my two friends enter a fierce competition with each other.
“Watch out!” Claudia yells, alerting me to the ball plunging towards me. Ugh. Not again. I always get lost in my own thoughts, so I’m usually caught off guard when stuff like this happens. I brace myself for impact as the ball practically reaches out to me. But, I don’t feel anything. I look up and see that Veronica has caught the ball just in time.
“You seriously need to stop that,” Veronica laughs, her smile bright and cheerful. I’m grateful to have such a good friend around.
“Hehe, thanks,” I let out a little giggle as I get up and brush myself off.
“You in for another round?” Claudia asks. She looks at the ball in Veronica’s hand and back at me. “I'm guessing not…”
“I gotta show that new kid around today. I think her name was Estelle?” The name was pretty, reminding me of the stars far away from us.
“Yeah, I heard she’s a total dork,” Veronica speaks softly to ensure that others can’t hear. Veronica loves gossip like this, but after being caught one too many times she’s been infinitely more careful about who hears her.
“That doesn't matter right now, Piper has to go and we're gonna make her late!” Claudia rolls her eyes at Veronica as she snickers.
I wave goodbye as I sprint inside, my notebook still a mess and a couple pages are even torn out. When I arrive at the cafeteria, Estelle is nowhere to be found, so I study the photo of her as I sit down. She looks very… divine. She wears a small sun halo crown, which is already pretty weird (and probably super expensive), but I’m not gonna question it. I’m not that kind of person. She also has a starry veil that makes her kind of look like a nun, and she only wears a corset with pendants dangling from all over. Not a shirt in sight. Wait, is that even allowed by the dress code? Well, layers of linen is basically the only thing covering most of my torso, so I guess a corset isn’t the worst thing in this school. Her shoes are probably the most normal item in the entire attire, just a simple pair of fold over boots. She has baggy pants that seems so out of place compared to everything else, but she still manages to pull it off (I don’t know how, don’t ask me). Her black hair is short and straight, and she seems to have a couple of tattoos that look like scales scattered around her body. She also has small elf ears, which actually isn't unusual here contrary to popular belief. My sclera was orange, and my irises were just a darker shade of orange. Along with that, I had small stripe-shaped scars on my body, and no one questions it. Not just that, but I wear pretty unusual clothing, too: mummy-like clothing that also shows a lot of skin that I like to pair with beige cargo pants and sandals with socks. In our village, it's pretty normal. After staring at the picture for a solid five minutes, I’m feeling pretty confident in my ability to find Estelle within the sea of people. Sure enough, I find someone with the same oddness as the person in the photo.
“Hey there!” I smile as I walk up to her, trying to make myself seem friendly and welcoming. “Are you Estelle? I'm Piper!”
“Oh, uh…n-nice to meet you…” Estelle slightly stammers, her eyes darting left and right at record breaking paces. It’s hard to keep up and be able to hear her at the same time.
She seems somewhat sad as she looks from one miserable kid to another. In my experience, every new kid seemed to ignore the other kids and just focus on themselves, but for some reason Estelle doesn’t fit within this well-researched box.
“Sooooooooo…” I’m trying to break the awkward silence, but it’s mostly in vain. “I'll just…give you a tour right now! And after school we can go to my house or something so I can catch you up on the work you missed!” I grab her hand to lead her out of the cafeteria, leaving her no room for objection.
“Sure, sounds good,” Estelle smiles shakily, yelping as I drag her away from the table.
I let go of Estelle’s hand and beckon for her to keep following me as I begin to head towards our math class. Every once in a while, I notice her touching some of the air above her head, and then immediately putting them back to her side. Must be some weird habit. Habit or not, though, my mind still makes note of it. She’s just a bit too weird for me to write this off as a coincidence just yet. As we arrive at our math class, I throw my bag on an empty desk and take out my schedule.
“Our schedule at this school is a little weird,” I explain. “Right now we have recess and lunch, which is the keyword for doing anything. We have the same classes, so I can help you adjust to our school. You're not from this town, are you?”
“I am, it's just…well, it’s complicated,” it seems to take Estelle a second to find the right words as she fidgets absentmindedly with her pendants, staring straight at the floor to her side.
“How so?” I ask, genuinely intrigued. I sit down on the closest chair and make myself comfortable, ready to hear about this weird girl’s probably even weirder backstory.
Estelle doesn't respond for a minute, just staring at her boots and letting her hands fall back at her sides. “It's a long story.”
“That's fine, I still have to introduce you to everything in this school anyways!” I quickly sling my bag back on and walk out of the classroom, Estelle getting the hint and following not too far behind.
Estelle looks with awe at the people who are doing improv inside of the drama room, her eyes lighting up with a little spark I haven't seen yet, not even in her school photo. She must like acting! I’m keeping mental notes on everything I notice about her (as I said before), partially because I am extremely curious, and partially because I really want her to like me. Estelle looks back at me and adjusts the pendants on her corset, probably embarrassed that I saw that.
“My apologies, you may continue,” Estelle clears her throat for a second. I smile at her, happy that I found something I could connect with her over. I check our schedule quickly and start to run up the stairs. Estelle follows, a little slowly but still there, which is becoming a trend.
Once I reach the top floor, I stop to catch my breath. I’m not really an athletic person, so I’m pretty out of shape. Estelle appears right next to me, doing completely fine...which is totally unfair considering she’s literally wearing a corset! I point towards our Social Science class all the way down the hall, too out of breath to even utter a single word. Estelle hesitates before reaching out to lend me a hand. When I reach to grab it, the warmth of her hand surprises me, but welcomes me at the same time.
“Thanks,” I huff, barely able to say anything even with her help. “I guess I’ll never get used to these stairs.”
“Yeah, lots of classes, lots of stairs,” Estelle speaks in quick sentences. I regain my breath and start to walk towards the Social Science class with her. Ms. Cassie is lecturing a group of freshmen that were running in the hall, a common occurrence.
“Hi Ms. Cassie!” I wave, and then beckon Estelle to come closer. She slowly walks up next to me and slightly bows her head towards Ms. Cassie.
“Hello, my name is Estelle,” Estelle nervously adjusts her small sun halo. “I think I’ll be in your class from now on?”
“Oh, hello there!” Ms. Cassie shoos away the group of students to focus on us.
“Well, um, nice to meet you…” Estelle trails off a little, giving a blank expression, but then quickly snapping out of it and straightening herself up.
“Well, I’ll see you soon then, won’t I!” Ms. Cassie is concerned for a second, but then hears her name being called from inside and darts back into her room.
Estelle turns to look at me, a little sad, but her voice is still soft and smooth, like a little melody.
“Is she the teacher for our Social Science class?” Estelle asks me.
“No, she’s the assistant teach-” The loud blow of a whistle outside cuts me off before I can finish. “Shoot, we have to get to ELA before we’re properly late!” I grab Estelle’s wrist, which is burning hot for some reason, but I don’t give it much more thought as we flee downstairs. When we arrive, a lot of the class is already seated.
“Definitely not the latest you’ve been, mummy,” Mr. Jeremy scowls.
I roll my eyes and sit down at my desk, telling Estelle to sit at the empty spot beside me. Mr. Jeremy hates me for some really weird reason and I still have no clue as to what it could be. Most teachers like me, but not because I’m a teacher’s pet or anything. I guess I’m just really fun to be around, yeah? I stare at the layers of linen I have wrapped around my neck. I have a feeling Mr. Jeremy just hates me for no reason.
Throughout the whole class, I found myself having to catch Estelle up on what she had missed beforehand a lot more than I expected. All the classwork we had done in class today was now my homework. During the class period, Estelle seemed to open up a little, so I had learned a couple things about her. For instance, she wasn’t actually born here, she just moved to our town when she was really young. The class after English Language Arts is Drama class, which Estelle is really excited for. She said something about being friends with a goat that played violin for years. When she talked about the goat, I could tell she was holding back a waterfall of tears, so I kept myself from asking any questions.
After the bell rings, I don’t even have to ask Estelle to follow me, she just does. Claudia and Veronica are gathering on the basketball court outside as usual, so we make our way out there and wave at them. Veronica waves back, but Claudia is too busy making the teams with her fellow jocks. I lead Estelle through a couple side streets and we eventually arrive at my house. Immediately, Marisol bounds towards the two of us.
“Hey sis!” Marisol cheerfully smiles, but when her gaze falls on Estelle, her tone changes immediately. “Hey…” Her tone sends a shiver down my spine. It’s a tone she’s never used before, but I guess Estelle is a special case.. Marisol studies her tattoos and then looks at her choice of clothes. Estelle nervously fidgets with her pendants until Marisol holds out one hand.
“Nice to meet you…” Marisol shakes Estelle's trembling hand, shaking the rest of Estelle’s body in the process
“Oh, nice to meet you too, Ms…” Estelle glances at me for help.
“I’m Marisol,” she says as she releases her hand. “Anyways, Piper, I'm going to dinner with Selene soon, so I should be on my way. You two have fun!” I laugh when her tone softens as she mentions Selene. Marisol obviously has a crush on Selene, but she doesn't want to admit her feelings. It’s really fun to watch.
I show Estelle into our house. It’s a pretty small place compared to others, but it has enough room to fit my family. It’s just my parents, Enzo and Bri, my Auncle XIX, Marisol, and me. I barely remember my younger sister Haizea, who went missing when I was six. She was only three. Selene, Marisol’s girlfriend , visits sometimes. Wait, no, scratch that. Not sometimes, very often. She’s practically my babysitter, except I, of course, am too old to be babysat. Dad is on the couch, reading over the puzzle on the back of a newspaper, while Mom is chatting with her friend on a Zoom call. Her friend lives really far away and could never visit because she is always working on her farm. I try to listen in on their conversation, only getting a brief second of their talk.
“...are Zhuri and Xavier doing well on the farm?” Mom asks Amara–the one she is calling.
“Welcome home,” Dad says as he looks up from his newspaper. “Most of the family's gonna be out tonight. Just you and I and maybe XIX and…” Estelle slowly waves, adjusting her heavy backpack to be more comfortable.
“Estelle,” she says as she fidgets with her hands. “My name’s Estelle-” I feel like she is going to add more to her sentence, but I guess not. Mom turns toward us. Her call is done and Amara has left to go run errands.
“Welp, Zhuri and Xavier still won't talk to any of my other friends,” Mom chuckles to herself.
“Will they talk to anyone in town?” I ask, just now realizing that Estelle and I haven't put down our backpacks yet. She is kind of just standing around awkwardly, probably waiting for my instructions. She’s way too polite for her own good.
“Zhuri will; Xavier will only come above water if I’m there,” Mom sighs and slumps into the couch. “I sure do miss them…”
I tell Estelle to sit down as I begin to boil water for tea. She eyes the tea leaves nervously, but doesn't object. I shrug it off, though I am worried about how she is so cautious of everything and everyone. I can't blame her. She seems really sad on the inside, but it is weird how she was so anxious around everyone.
“So, what are your parents like?” I ask as I let the tea sit.
“Oh… my parents,” Estelle closes her eyes, clearly trying to remember something. “Well my dad abandoned me when I was young, and I was eventually pushed out of the closest part of the family. My mom… she homeschooled me for a while, until she…died…last year. Now I have to attend your school.”
Auncle XIX sleepily walks inside from the backyard. They had probably fallen asleep in the hammock again. During winter, Auncle XIX sleeps a lot more, so most of their days are spent sleeping or showering. They are still in their pajamas, and they’re walking around barefoot. The angel wing covering their right eye twitches when they notice Estelle’s presence.
“Hello, Nineteen,” Estelle bows her head in respect. What.
“Hello, Estelle,” XIX dips their head too. “Also, I prefer going by XIX now. Thanks by the way.” Really, how do they know each other? Are they just gonna do this in front of me without explaining anything?
“Pleasure to help a friend, XIX,” Estelle smiles lightly, some of her nerves dissipated. I want to ask any of them about what’s going on, but in my experience, neither of them like talking about their past all too much. Oh well, I guess. We all have our secrets.
I realize that the water is ready, so I quickly place the tea bag in the cup of boiling water. I sit down at the table and take out my math notebook, thinking about Auncle XIX and Estelle's greeting instead of doing my actual work. Estelle joins me soon after, bringing out her math book too.
“How do you know Auncle XIX?” I blurt out. Stupid, stupid, stupid . I want to be a good friend to Estelle, not some prying, nosy jerk.
“I saved their life a couple of years back,” Estelle quickly explains. At least she’s taking it well? I think? “It's also complicated.”
I can't help but let out a small giggle. I’ve just completely given up on controlling myself. “Your life sure is complicated, huh?” Estelle looks at me and smiles. She grabs a pencil and her math book, and I do the same “You’re lucky you joined the school right after we finished the other math book,” I sigh. “Now you just have to do numbers three, six, thirteen, and sixty-six for homework. I already finished it in class, so if you have any questions, feel free to ask!” Estelle slowly nods her head and begins flipping through the pages. My eyes drift to the window,, and to my surprise, I can see a very worn down missing sign barely hanging on to a tree.
MISSING PERSON
FIELDER
DATE OF BIRTH: 8/10
AGE: 14
GENDER: FEMALE
RACE: GOAT-HUMAN HYBRID
IDENTIFYING CHARACTERISTICS: GOAT-LIKE FEATURES SUCH AS GOAT HORNS, EARS, TAIL, PUPILS
Because of the worn down words next to the last name, I’ve concluded that her first name has slowly peeled off over time. There is a very faded picture next to all the text, the phone number also being indecipherable. She’s probably been missing for a couple weeks or so, which makes me wonder why I haven’t seen it until now. I read it over and over again, and the only thing I can think about is how I had never seen or heard of a goat-like girl going to the one and only school in this town, my school. This place isn’t exactly small; I should’ve at least heard of her or something! I hear the timer for my tea go off, so I rush over to the mug and take the tea bag out.
“Done!” Estelle exclaims excitedly.
“Already? That was quick,” I say before taking the first sip of my tea. The calming warmth of the green tea slid down my throat. Maybe I should start taking tea to school?
“It's been like, five minutes, and the questions were pretty easy,” Estelle shrugs. She closes her math book and stuffs it back in her bag, returning the pencil to her pencil case. Auncle XIX has drifted back to sleep again, Mom has gone out to go grocery shopping, and Dad is napping. (like a mini XIX, huh?) I glance back at the missing person alert, with Estelle following my gaze. I turn back to look at her, and she seems even shakier than before as she packs up her bag and smiles at me. Has she lost someone before? I mean, not like her mom, but someone who went missing.
“Thanks for having me over. I'd love to come again!” Estelle shoves a scone that is sitting on the counter into her mouth and swallows it just as soon as she puts it in her mouth.
“Anytime! In fact, you could totally come over after-school tomorrow!” I suggest. It’d be nice to see her again, especially since we have all of our classes together.
“Hm…I might be visiting a friend tomorrow. I'll see how it turns out!” Estelle calls as she walks out of the door. “Goodbye!”
Dang, was that really the quiet, nervous girl I had seen this morning? I look at her outfit and examine her… everything . Starry veil, small sun halo. Fold over boots, and corset pendants. It makes her look like a deity, like she belongs on a throne. Yet, here she is, a girl with a unique fashion sense and a somewhat quiet personality, who I am showing around my home. This feels so weird. Especially because she said she had moved here when she was young, but I have never heard of her before. I have attended this school since kindergarten and I have never seen or heard of anyone or anything like that. Like her. Something feels off, like singing in the wrong key. She feels off, but I can't quite put my finger on it. Eh, she seems normal enough to me. At least she seemed to feel more comfortable around me now. Who knows? Maybe we are destined to be best friends!