Hidden Life

Shayla May walked down the halls of HBH, HorseBreak High. It was her first day of high school, to be exact.

Suddenly, a horde of students, probably all of the student body, washed over her like water. But they weren’t heading for her.

They were heading for a girl who had just walked in. She had lovely blonde hair, and crystal blue eyes. They met eyes for a second, then the girl looked away quickly.

But then the girl walked over and stopped right next to Shayla’s locker. It looked like they were going to be having lockers next to each other.

She glared at her compact mirror and applied three layers of lip gloss. Chloe, another girl, came over and started giggling with her.

The girls didn’t notice her. Not yet. They walked off, when the bell rang, chattering and blabbering. She tried to rush off to the bathroom to change into her PE clothes, when a newspaper flew in her face and whipped her in the face.

She scowled as she shoved it into her backpack, and saw kids running around her. “Nerd!” They yelled, laughing into her panicking ears. Shayla realized her necklace was hanging loose. It slid off, and a cheerleader grabbed it.

No! It was her necklace that her grandma had given her before she had died! “Give it back!” Shayla yelled, lunging for it.

They played catch with it, laughing and yelling “Nerd!”

Before passing it to the others. Shayla found it in the dirt, out on the campus. She brushed the rust off of it and clipped it onto her neck back again, and rushed off to her next class.

“Ms. Shayla! You were late!” The PE teacher scowled. “Sorry, Mrs. MC.” Two girls waved her over as Mrs. MC got a dodgeball from the closet. They were doing indoor PE for the rest of the senior years.

“Hi, I’m Bea.” The first girl said. She had long, frumpy brown hair in a bun, with light blue clips. She had the prettiest green emerald eyes. When she smiled, she showed light pink braces.

“And hi. I’m Maya. It’s actually Mayalita, but Maya for short.” Maya said. She had blackish brownish, curly hair and had brown eyes.

“Hi. I’m Shayla May.” Shayla blushed, rubbing her arms shyly. She hoped they would be friends. Last year, she trudged along middle school, all alone. She didn’t want this year to be such a repeat.

After P.E, Bea and Maya walked over to Shayla. “Come sit with us!” Bea giggled, all jittery and sugary. Completely the opposite of Shayla. She wished she could be as bubbly as her.

Day after day, the same things happened in the freshman year. In the morning, jocks and cheerleaders ran around, playing catch with all the nerds’ books or papers or—Shayla May’s necklace.

At lunch, she decided to have some time to herself, reading the newspaper that had flown off of her face.

Breaking News: UFO Sighting!

Turret Corrie, the world famous scientist says so too!

Thousands of UFO portals have opened in South America!

Please contact 911 if seen.

Shayla scoffed, throwing her apple away, only halfway done. “Whatever. This is so lame.”

She reached for her diamond necklace. But it wasn’t there! Oh no—she had to get it! She must have forgotten it outside.

She dashed for the front door and ripped past pestering students. Shayla threw open the doors and closed them tightly. She found her necklace hidden in the dirt and brushed some dust off, clipping it back on.

Screeeeee.

Screeeeeee.

Screeeeeeee.

What’s that weird noise?

Shayla gripped her necklace tightly and looked up. Dozens—of weird, unidentified flying objects circled the sky.

Their glowing objects made the sky look ghostly and gray. Screeee. Screeee. Screeeeee. These were the UFO’s that the breaking news UFO sighting was talking about—especially with Turret, the world famous scientist.

Shayla whipped out her phone, but it wasn’t doing anything. Instead, it blared red, giving Shayla chills down her spine, the same color as the UFOs. It crumbled into pieces.

Shayla looked at the broken phone, and ran for the front bronze doors for HBH.

But it was locked.

“Help!” She screamed, and pushed for the doors. SCREEEE! SCREEEEE! SCREEEEE!

The noise turned ever more louder and alarmed.

“Help! HELP!”

The doors pushed open. Bea and Maya were there. “Shayla! What are you doing here?!” The girls told her.

“UFO SIGHTINGS—by the Turret Corrie.” Shayla said, breathlessly, clutching her chest like she was having a heart attack. Surely they could fix this problem together.

Shayla, gasping for breath, pointed to the sky. “What do you mean—the sky’s right out there.” Maya beamed and stepped into the sun.

“No.” Shayla looked at the sky, but there were no flying circles in the hazy blue mist.

“But my phone blared red and broke!”

“You’re holding your phone, Dork.” Addie, and Chloe, stepped through the doors and smirked at Shayla. They waved hall passes right in front of Shayla’s nose.

Shayla snatched it and ripped it into pieces. And she realized her phone was in her hand.

No—-this couldn’t be happening! It felt so real! It’s real!

No!

Shayla fell down on her behind as she shook her head like a maniac, as Maya and Bea helped her up.

It must have been a hallucination. It must.

“No…it’s….real.” Shayla said, closing her eyes tightly and shoving her phone into her purse. “Ugh. Another student?” Nurse McCayla groaned.

“Yes, I’m fine. You don’t need to waste your time.” Shayla muttered, walking out of the office.

When Shayla reached home, she stepped on the succulent plant on purpose, a foul mood lingering on her like a cloud.

screeeee. Screeeee. Screeeeeeee.

Shayla’s eyes blurred. It was especially creepy being alone. She cuddled Jelly. Then the door slammed open.

A short man with red eyes smiled at Shayla. “Hello. Hello. Hello.” The voice echoed. Shayla sucked in a deep breath, shaking her head. She was scared nearly to death.

Shayla bolted for the stairs, Jelly, her dog, following close behind her, and Shayla locked herself in her room, alongside Jelly.

She closed the shutters and locked herself in the bathroom, just in case.

“Where are you? Where are you? Where are you?”

The alien’s voice echoed loudly.

The door’s locked. He can’t get in. Besides. Mom and Dad will come home soon. Shayla was so scared.

Just then, the doorbell rang. “Who’s there? Who’s there? Who’s there?” The alien echoed, alarmed. “Uhhh. Shayla? It’s me. Bea. And it’s Maya.” Shayla could hear the creaking of the doors.

Bea and Maya came to her side, jumping up the stairs, two at a time, and creaking the doors open.

“Why are you hiding in the bathroom shower?”

“How did you get past the lock?” Shayla shot back, peeking her head out of the shower curtain.

Maya looked hurt, then a hairclip slowly slid out of her fingers. “I’m sorry to break in. We checked to see if you were okay, girl.” Bea added. Shayla sighed. “It’s okay.”

“Fix you a snack, guys? Did you see the alien?” Shayla said suddenly, more brightly trying to change the subject.

Bea sighed and hugged Shayla tight. “Girl. You must still be having hallucinations. I’m sorry. I didn’t see, Shayla.”

Shayla’s shoulders hunched up, defensively.

Since we—meaning Bea and Maya and me are together, the UFO’s will never show up. That means no aliens. Shayla thought, satisfied.

Morning

After getting up, Shayla yawned widely, brushing off her bedding and slipping into her HBH uniform.

Shayla was 100% sure that no aliens or UFOs would show up tonight. She would make sure.

At school Shayla met Bea and Maya.

“Hey—I know you aren’t feeling so well that we didn’t trust you. But it doesn’t mean that we don’t think of you as a true BFF!” Bea patted Shayla on the back. “Mmmhmm.” Shayla echoed, and Maya sighed.

“If you’re not going to talk to us, don’t mind us not being your friends.”

“Maya!” Bea scolded.

“Sorry. Maya overtalks like that. Don’t mind it. She says that to me, every time when I’m bummed out.” Bea grinned, fingering with her hair.

Shayla wiped the dust off her skirt, and scowled.

Did I really have a hallucination?

Shayla tore open her backpack and shaked the newspaper in front of her friends’ s faces. “Read it.”

Eventually Maya got annoyed and snatched the newspaper. “Maybe I will.” Maya snapped, reading it.

“So? This newspaper is probably a fake. Turret Corrie has to have proof. He’s a world famous scientist! Just a scrawny little picture isn’t proof.” Bea sighed and shook her head.

“Shayla May, if UFO sightings were this bad, and if it was from the Turret Corrie, then it would be on the news for everyone to see!” Bea explained.

“Since you guys aren’t believing me, again, maybe you aren’t such good friends after all.” Shayla spat, and stormed off, only to bump into the two perfect and popular girls,

Chloe and Addie. “Well, look who it is.”

“Little Miss Dork!”

The girls burst out laughing.

“Just leave me alone!” She yelled, tears streaming down her face. Then she ran for the big bronze doors of HBH.

But that was the last place she wanted to be.

__

A-zol, fortunately Shayla May’s grandmother, was an alien. She started off borne in ship #23132, and was banned from the ship due to a misunderstanding of human life chemicals in A-zol’s body.

She then fell from space to one parallel world, named World #2. It was the first parallel world ever made, after the world from the Milky Way Galaxy.

A foster family took her in and introduced her to the world around her.

Unfortunately, she was forced to hide her identity to make sense to the human eye.

A-zol’s fake name was Aldina, and she grew close to a friend from her school.

The one from her school, named Aztechio, built a relationship with A-zol. Soon after, he lived with A-zol. Aztechio and A-zol married and raised a young son named Aclahuma. He met a woman called Marina and married when he was a young adult.

They had a daughter called Shaylalina Mayan, but Shayla May for short. But, unexpectedly, Marina and Aclahuma had a second daughter named Kilanna Mayan, but soon lost her when she was 6 due to a flood.

After Shayla May became 10 years old, A-Zol lost her immortality powers and died.

No one knows where Kilanna went or washed up, but it was very clear she had died at such a young age.

They also had never broke the news of Kilanna Mayan to Shaylalina Mayan, so Shaylalina never thought of having a secret sister.

Flashback:

Kilanna was dressed in a swimsuit. While her older sister, Shayla, was at HorseBreak Elementary, Kilanna got to go to the beach with her parents, Aclahuma and Marina.

When they arrived, a weatherwoman dashed over to the unsuspecting family. “Didn’t you hear? Evacuate! Now! A tsunami is being expected! Here it comes… ahhhh!”

The woman dropped her microphone and belongings and ran for safety. A huge wave rose up, and pushed itself onto the sandy surroundings.

The parents ran to safety. Thankfully, they appeared safe on the wooden deck near the beach. It was only a small tsunami—but big when too close.

“Kilanna! Come! Please!” They begged, realizing that Kilanna was no longer at their side. Kilanna knelt on the sandy shore, reaching for something shiny on the water. “My two front teeth! They fell out!” Kilanna waved her hands, making a thorough attempt to grab the shiny treasures, but then another wave soaked her and coaxed Kilanna into the sea.

Aclahuma and Marina cried and yelled and screamed for their precious unexpected second daughter. But Kilanna Mayan was never to be seen—again.

Too afraid to break the news to Shaylalina Mayan, they uncovered a secret mind-erasing object from A-zol’s basement.

They used it on Shaylalina Mayan, where Shaylalina had never remembered Kilanna Mayan, the hidden second daughter.

——

Screeee. Screeeee. Screeeeee. Shayla awoke to the sound of UFO’s. “Not this again,” she muttered angrily, hoping that it was just the sound of her new alarm.

Shayla pushed the alarm’s handle down. Screeeee. Screeeeee. Screeeeeee. Shayla groaned. “Why am I the only one!”

She slipped on her uniform and brushed her hair, thoroughly, and put it into a ponytail. Clatter. Clink! A small device dropped from the AC vents and into her feet. “What’s this?” She asked.

It was a small unidentified object, a little bit like a tiny oval. It glittered and sparked electricity, and Shayla tapped the screen.

Shayla landed on a surface with a thump. It was white. Everything was blinding white. It was endless, filled with swirling purple portals. The ground was even white.

Shayla chose the first portal that she laid eyes on. Then, like a TV, it was brought closer to her observing eyes and mind, and it clicked on into motion. It was a picture of her grandma!

Shayla blinked back tears as she softly touched her necklace. Her grandma was and looked human, but Shayla noticed Aldina Mayan, her grandmother, had a small, silver-ish blue-ish outlining on her cheek. It was well hidden behind her brown, long hair.

Then Shayla noticed that the setting was when Aldina and Aztechio were just about married.

Aztechio, Shayla’s grandfather, stared at Aldina wide-eyed. “I am sorry, please, Aztechio, forgive me.” “How am I supposed to forgive you when you’ve hidden that you had alien powers for sixteen years!” Aztechio yelled.

“Grandpa?” Shayla stared. This wasn’t making any sense.

“I’m sorry, Aztechio.” Aldina blinked back tears, but they were streaming down her face. She held up the same UO as Shayla’s. A bright light shot out of it, and Aztechio’s body turned a silver blue. Then Aztechio disappeared. It all explained why Shayla had never seen Aztechio, her grandfather!

Shayla moved on to another memory bubble, where Aldina’s tears dripped onto the road, and the setting started changing-fast. Aldina muttered something like: “huh?” And wiped her tears.

The droplets of her tears streamed down the abandoned building around her, turning as new as could be.

Then Aldina rushed to the spot where her tears had first formed, where a small infant had appeared. It looked a lot like Shayla’s father. Shayla moved onto another bubble. This one had one where Aclahuma’s mind had been erased of having Aztechio dead. Another one—wait!

Aclahuma and Marina was at the beach with one little 6 year old girl—that girl looked very familiar. Why wasn’t Shayla there? “Kilanna! Please come back!”

Marina and Aclahuma pleaded, now at the deck. What had Shayla missed? And then there was the same girl—Kilanna! It all came back to her. Everything clicked into place.

Kilanna was her 6 year old sister, who had disappeared, and Aldina had used a disappearing and memory device for Aclahuma and Aztechio, and Aclahuma and Marina had used one on Shayla. Kilanna was her sister! Angry and bewildered, Shayla opened another portal back to the present day and stomped into it.

Strangely, it had only been a minute in this one. Shayla, in spite of everything clicking into place, still had about a million questions to ask. If only Aldina were here!

“Shayla! You’re here!” Addie and Chloe said, squealing. “Um, hello?” Shayla raised an eyebrow. “OMG, I just love your necklace! ‘Kay if I try it on?”

“No thanks. It’s from my grandmother.” Shayla clutched her necklace tightly.

The girls rolled their eyes, exchanging glances. They shrugged and said, “well, we just wanted to be nice because we thought you were having a hard time, but whatever.” Chloe sniffed, and they stalked away, whispering to each other.

Shayla alone, she wished that Bea and Maya were still there for her. But when she saw Bea and Maya walking down the halls, she ran over to say hi.

They just looked at her strangely and said hi, too. “Hi. What’s your name?”

“Haha. You know my name, Bea, Maya.”

“How do you know our name?” Bea said, alarmed.

“What? You know. Me. I’m Shayla. Remember?”

“Ohhh. The new kid without any friends. Sorry, but we’ve heard you’re obsessed with aliens and I’m not interested in befriending you.” Maya snarled. Bea laughed. “Ha! That’s so…cruel! But funny!”

Then they burst out laughing. Shayla blinked back tears and clutched her necklace. A huge lump formed in her throat. Ouch. That hurt.

“Well, I don’t know what’s wrong with you guys, but…I’m not interested in befriending you, either. Remember what happened.”

—

Kilanna is the keeper of the world. She is dying. Without her, we are most unlikely to exist. Save Kilanna. Save Kilanna. Save—“will you just shut it?!” Shayla screamed, throwing her pillow over her head. “I just want to enjoy the weekend!”

Her mind had been thrown off lately. And she couldn’t take it any more. Shayla went to the mirror, to brush her teeth, and when she looked at her reflection, it didn’t look like Shayla.

Instead, it was a girl who had the same curly, chocolate brown hair as Shayla and the same brown eyes. Freckles dotted her face and skin, and she had smooth lips. She was standing on an island with dozens of Palm trees, coconuts and leaves and all.

Water—probably the sea—splashed all around her. Squirt. Tooth paste fell out of the tube

. Shayla brushed her teeth some more, widening her eyes. Then her jaw went slack. It was Kilanna. “Kilanna.” Shayla whispered. The girl—Kilanna—was awfully pale and sure did look like she was dying.

“Shayla.” Kilanna whispered. A giant lump formed in Shayla’s throat. “How did you get here? I-I mean, h-how did y-you s-see—“ tears streamed down Shayla’s face and she burst into tears. “I’m alive. But…”

“Kilanna…”

“yes?”

“You’re dying.”

Kilanna looked away and coughed. “Yes.”

“Kilanna?”

“Yes?”

“I’ll save you.”