A Sense of Belonging

Stace looked around at the classroom full of unfamiliar faces. Another move to another town meant trying to make new friends all over again. Moving at the beginning of the year usually meant other new kids in the same situation but this move was mid year. Last time that happened she'd spent the remaining few months of the school year as a bit of a loner. Not that it bothered her too much. She didn't mind her own space most of the time but she sometimes missed having someone to hang out with.

The class started, the teacher wasting no time with introductions as he began to drone on about the Napoleonic War. Stace was bored almost immediately. Normally she loved history but this teacher had no flare for presentation. She'd just grab a book from the library or find something online and read up on it later. She was taking another look around the room at her classmates when the door suddenly burst open and in walked the most gorgeous, beautifully dressed girl that Stace had probably ever seen. Her long, blonde hair seemed to be permanently blown by a non-existent breeze, her face could have been the face of a model with ruby red lips, a perfect aquiline nose and deep blue eyes framed by long, luscious eye lashes. She was dressed in a flowery sun dress, wearing enormous high heels and carrying some sort of designer handbag. Stace immediately disliked her. Maybe she was stereotyping but this was usually the type of girl that made life hell for girls like Stace.

The girl's entry into the room immediately broke the monotony for the whole class. One of the guys behind Stace wolf-whistled while another called out, "Looking good, Jade." This earned him a punch in the arm from what Stace guessed was his girlfriend sitting next to him.

Jade paused just inside the doorway and gave the room a small wave and an enormous grin.

"Settle down class. You're late, Miss Willock."

Jade's full attention swivelled to the teacher. "Good morning, Mr Jenkins. I'm so sorry I'm late. Its just not easy getting myself looking this good," she smiled, striking a flamboyant pose. The classroom erupted in laughter with more hoots and wolf-whistles from a few of the guys. "Take a seat Miss Willock. Let's not make this a habit."

Jade turned towards the classroom, looking for an empty seat. There were a few of them around, one of which was next to Stace. She started moving towards another seat though, next to a good looking, well built guy, probably a footballer. Typical for her sort, Stace thought, the cheerleader and the jock was a cliche anywhere she went. He was scrambling to move his books and laptop out of the way with a goofy grin on his face. It was obvious that she was popular with the guys.

Jade was just about to sit when she spotted Stace. She paused in mid-motion. A strange look of surprise crossed her face and Stace swore she saw a flash of fire in her eyes. Pivoting quickly, as if she was never going to sit next to the footballer, Jade headed for Stace. For a moment her gaze left Stace as she looked towards the back of the class. Stace turned to see a boy make eye contact with Jade before he too looked in Stace's direction. She saw the same look of surprise in his eyes. Before she could take it in, Jade was right beside her. Stace prepared herself for some sort of snide comment or catty remark. She'd had it happen before. But as she looked up at Jade she couldn't help but be drawn in by that smile. It seemed genuine and just for her. Not at all what she expected.

Jade gracefully slid into the seat next to Stace and leaned in close. "Hey, I don't think I've seen you here before. I'm Jade."

"I'm Stacy. Stace. I'm new."

"You're going to love it here Stace. You're going to fit right in."

"Okay?" Jade's confident assurance was unexpected, leaving Stace unsure how to respond. She hadn't been in this situation before. Jade was staring at her intently and again Stace noticed a flash of fire in her eyes. It was disconcerting and Stace looked away. She tried to listen to Mr Jenkins as he took up where he left off earlier but she could tell Jade was still watching her.

"Can you sense me Stace?" Jade asked her quietly. It was a weird question and Stace wasn't sure how to respond.

"Um. No."

"Hmm. Strange." Jade pulled out her phone and began texting. 

The rest of the lesson passed quickly but Stace took none of it in. She couldn't stop wondering what was going on here. A pretty girl, obviously popular with both boys and girls in the class, chose to sit with her, making her welcome when she didn't need to. The strange look between Jade and the boy at the back of the class and the surprised looks on both of their faces when they first saw her. The weird question about whether she could sense Jade. She still didn't know what that meant. Lastly there was that flicker of fire she'd seen in Jade's eyes. Maybe it was just the light but it all added up to something strange.

The bell signifying the end of the lesson caught Stace by surprise and she jumped slightly. Jade was already moving, putting her laptop away and standing. "Find us at lunch, okay?" she asked, although it wasn't really a question. Stace had the feeling that people didn't say no to Jade very often. She nodded. She wondered who "us" was but she didn't have a chance to ask before Jade left to talk to the boy at the back of the room. Maybe he was part of the "us". Stace saw him looking at her and he smiled as their eyes met. A warm, genuine smile, just like Jade's had been. So confusing.

As Jade left by the back door of the classroom the boy headed in Stace's direction. He was handsome, in a gothic sort of way, with black hair hanging down over half of his face. He was tall and thin but not lanky in an awkward way. Stace slung her satchel over her shoulder and turned to leave but he was next to her already.

"Hey, I'm Tyler. You're Stace?"

"Mmhmm," Stace mumbled with a small nod.

"Cool. See you at lunch then. We'll introduce you to the others." Then he left, but just before he did, Stace caught a glimpse of something in his eyes. It was as though clouds were shifting in the whites of his eyes. What was she getting herself into? Or maybe the stress of her first day at a new school had her imagining things.

The next couple of classes flew by quickly and thankfully Jade and Tyler weren't in either of them. No more weird looks or freaky eyes. Then it was lunch time. Stace headed nervously towards the cafeteria, still not sure what she was going to do when she got there. Maybe she'd made some friends already but they both struck her as being a bit odd. She might be better off hanging out by herself.

It wasn't to be. Jade must have been waiting for because she saw Stace as soon as she walked into the room and headed straight for her.

"Do you need to grab some lunch?" she asked.

"No, I brought lunch with me."

"Great. Come with me then." Surprisingly Jade steered her back out of the cafeteria and down a couple of hallways to the admin block. When they reached a door marked Counsellor she pushed straight in without knocking.

The room was full. A man sat behind the desk, Stace presumed he was the school counsellor. Sitting cross-legged on the desk was a young girl, maybe 13. Her hair was in pigtails, her cheeks were covered in freckles, her clothing was bright and she was in the middle of blowing a huge bubble-gum bubble. Tyler sat on the couch with another boy. He was a couple of years younger than Stace, overweight, with messy hair and bad acne. Lastly leaning up against the wall beside the door stood another younger kid. He looked Asian, or maybe Hispanic. It was hard to tell. He wore glasses and his clothes looked as though they were three sizes too big but he smiled at Stace as genuinely as the others did. As Stace fully entered the room he reached across and swung the door shut behind her.

The room was quiet for a moment as all eyes were on Stace, but the silence was soon interrupted by the popping of the freckle-faced girl's bubble. As she peeled the gum off her face the counsellor spoke.

"Welcome Stacy, I'm Brian. Or Mr Tomkin if you prefer. This is Sonja." he said pointing to the girl sitting on the desk. "Tyler you've met. That's Ben next to him and by the door is Juan."

Stace gave a shy wave, wondering at this disparate group of people. In her experience people seemed to stick to their age or social groups, especially kids at school. So far this group made no sense. She sat on the remaining couch next to Jade and waited for what came next.

Mr Tomkin started. "Stace, these kids here have something special in common. So do I for that matter and we believe you do to."

""Okay?" Stace was confused already.

"Back in class Jade asked you if you could sense her. Do you know what she's talking about?"

Stace shook her head. She had no words for this situation yet.

Mr Tomkin continued. "This is going to be hard to explain. Usually by your age people like us have an understanding that we're different. We're attracted to others like us and we can sense when they're nearby."

Stace could sense panic starting to rise in her. This guy was talking like a lunatic.

"I don't know why this is different for you but we'd like to help you understand who you really are." Stace could feel all their eyes on her, waiting for some sort of reply.

"Um. I, uh, I don't really know what this is all about but I think I might go." As she got up to leave she felt Jade's hand rest gently on her forearm. Stace pulled away and stood.

"Stace please, give us a chance to explain," Jade pleaded.

"I want to go." But she couldn't leave. Juan was standing in front of the door blocking her. Jade had stood up beside her but the rest stayed seated where they were.

"Please Stace. Give me five minutes and if you don't like what you hear you can go." Mr Tomkin stood then, but remained behind his desk. He didn't seem threatening. He looked sincere and Stace hesitated.

"We should just show her," said Sonja with a mischievous grin. "Get this over and done with."

"Don't you dare," said Jade, turning towards Sonja.

Sonja cocked her head to one side, her grin turned to a smile, then she jumped up from her cross legged position to crouch on the table.

"Sonja!" Mr Tomkin was looking at her disapprovingly. But Sonja took no notice of his objections. Stace almost didn't notice the transformation at first. It was the furry tail that caught her eye, rising up from behind Sonja's back. Then she noticed the hands, long thin fingers with the thumb at a weird angle. She gasped then as she took in Sonja's face. She saw some sort of weird cross between human and monkey then the transformation was complete. A monkey perched on the desk in front of her. Still wearing Sonja's clothes but no longer a little girl. The grin was still there and there were patches of lighter fur across her nose and cheeks where the freckles had once been.

Stace gasped and backed up a step, running into Juan by the door.

"Let me out," she yelled hysterically. She felt hands grab her and she turned and pushed, sending Jade back onto the couch. Again she noticed that flash of fire in Jade's eyes.

"Stace, please." But Stace was beyond listening. She ran towards Juan and the door, intending to push him away but he was bigger now, his clothes now pulled taut against his muscled arms and chest. His form blocking the door completely. She tried to pull up but she stumbled towards him. Expecting to run into him she was surprised when she felt nothing blocking her path. She continued forward reaching out for the door but she was falling now. She closed her eyes as she fell forward, waiting for her head to hit the door in front of her but again she felt nothing until she landed on the floor in the hallway outside the room.

She was freaking out completely now, not understanding the series of events that had just taken place. She looked back towards the door and the realisation that it was still closed hit her.  She didn't understand how she'd managed to get passed Juan and out into the hallway, although in the back of her mind there was a vague understanding that she'd gone through both. As she sat on the floor, staring at the door she began to see smoke streaming through the crack below it. As she began to back away the smoke solidified into a human form and seconds later Tyler was standing above her.

"Its okay Stace. I'm sorry that was so weird. Sonja's an idiot. Please don't freak out."

She sensed something then. She could sense Tyler in front of her. Not just see him, there was something else about him, some sort of strange connection. As the door opened behind Tyler she saw Jade standing in the doorway. There was something about her too. Something new but somehow familiar. It calmed her as she sat there on the floor and her trembling started to ease. Tyler's hand was reaching down to her, this strangely attractive boy that had just recently been nothing but smoke. A minute ago she'd been fleeing these weirdos but now, now everything was different. Now they almost felt like family. She took Tyler's hand, got to her feet and walked with him back into the room.