My name is Tina Wilson, I am 12 years old and I attend Eastern Middle School. This is my story.

 

“Wake up, Tina! You’re going to miss the bus!” my mom yelled. Drearily, I got out of bed and got dressed. As I opened my door, my twin brother Mark ran out of his bedroom and slid partway down the bannister. I groaned and walked down the stairs.

“Mark Wilson, we have told you not to slide down the bannister!” my dad scolded, glaring beneath his wire framed glasses. I laughed, and Mark winked at me, wearing a foolish grin.

“Sorry Dad, can’t help it. It’s one of my quirky traits.” he said, pushing his brown hair away from his bright green eyes. Just then, my mom entered gracefully. She has auburn hair, and blue eyes. Seeing her beauty reminded me how dull I am, and how different we were. I have brown wavy hair that hangs down to my waist, and brown eyes.

“Oh, there’s the bus!” my mom exclaimed, pushing us towards the door. The bus was yellow, and had peeling paint. Mark climbed in, with me close behind.

“Tina, over here!” my best friend Rachel yelled, from the far back of the bus. I smiled and walked towards her, and I slid into the polyester seat. Rachel was short, but fierce, and had blonde hair that hung down to her shoulders, and blue eyes. “How was your weekend?” she asked, pulling her hair into a low ponytail.

“Low key, as always.” I said, shrugging. Rachel laughed, and looked out the window.

 

Soon, the bus pulled up in front of the school, so I grabbed my backpack and joined the crowd bustling toward the door. Eastern Middle School was a brick building, with five floors. As I climbed down the steps and onto the sidewalk with Rachel, Isabella Lawrence and Bianca Gibson, the queen bees of EMS, shoved their way past us and sashayed toward the doors. Isabella had long blonde hair that hung down to her waist, and Bianca had curly brown hair. All of them always wore ponytails.

“Ugh, can’t they see we’re walking here?!” Rachel protested, as we entered the school. I laughed and playfully punched her on the shoulder.

“See you soon!” I said as we split up for 1st period, which, in my case, was Science.

 

The Science room had 8 tables in four rows, and was on the topmost level, with a balcony.

“Today, we will be doing the egg drop that you were hopefully working on over the weekend.” Mr. Rasche said. “I will take each of you separately to see what device you made, that will, hopefully, prevent the egg from cracking.” He started calling out names, and I started doodling in my notebook. “Tina Wilson, can you hear me?” Mr Rasche asked. I jerked my head up and blushed. I could hear Isabella and Bianca laughing behind me.

“Sorry.” I mumbled, as I grabbed my device and followed him out onto the balcony. Once I stepped onto the balcony, I was blasted by the San Francisco sun. It’s radiant rays were touching every part of my body.  Iit felt good. I took my device, which was a basket with a parachute, and walked toward the railing. Just as I was about to drop my contraption, a strong gust of wind ruffled my hair, and before I knew what I was doing, I jumped off the balcony.

 

I’m going to die! I thought, as I plummeted toward the ground. Then everything seemed to stand still. I was no longer nearing the ground, but soaring above it. I could not believe it, I was flying! At first, it was bumpy, as I veered and turned amongst the clouds. Then, just as I was getting used to my newfound ability, a figure carried me up further into the clouds.

“Hey!” I yelled, as I struggled against my kidnapper. But, despite my rabid struggles, the grasp on my waist never loosened. As soon as I was released, I stood up to confront whoever had abducted me. Before I could get a closer look though, he flew away, leaving a trail of dust.

 

“Hello, we have been expecting you, Tina. I am Headmistress Brown, Welcome to Fast Flyers Academy, a school for the ones with special abilities, especially flying. I expect you got your calling letter?” came a melodic voice from behind me. I spun around and gasped, she had long brown hair that hung down to her waist, and a black business suit. She motioned for me to follow her, and we ventured further into the clouds. I did a double take, Fast Flyers Academy was a long castle like building , with a drawbridge. “So, this is where you will have your classes. And, since it is a academy, you will also be given a dorm.” Headmistress Brown explained. We were now in crowded hallways bustling with students.

“Hold on,” I said, “I never got a letter, this guy dropped me off.” I said, my brain foggy. Headmistress Brown laughed,

“That was probably Mr. Simpson, he sometimes likes to give the students a scare.”

“Oh. Um, what about my family?” I asked, “Will I visit them?” I questioned, looking around.

“Well, we strictly forbid visits to the outside world.  It creates a risk of being discovered.” Headmistress Brown explained, as we stopped in front of a door marked ‘35’. I nodded, fighting back tears, my family…. “So, I will leave you here, classes start at 10:00, your schedule will be inside your dorm.” she said, gesturing towards the door.

“Oh, Headmistress, what will my family think?” I asked, trying to imagine them, scared, frightened.

“Everybody who knew you will just believe you are dead.” she responded over her shoulder as she walked away.

 

I closed the door and looked around, there were two beds on either side of the room, with trunks at the end. There were two dressers on each side, also. I sighed and flopped onto the bed with the lavender comforter and white pillows. Just then, the door creaked open and a girl poked her head in.

“Hi, I’m Amy, you must be Tina, my ROOMIE!” Amy squealed, as she sat down on the bed with the blue comforter. She had green eyes and straight red hair, that hung down to her chest. Then, I noticed that she had a suitcase.

“Um, am I supposed to have clothes?” I asked, feeling awkward. Amy laughed and followed my gaze.

“No silly, they give you uniforms, and I don’t have clothes in here, just Topaz.” she said, opening her suitcase. Before I could say anything, a small white Pomeranian jumped onto my face, holding me down. I laughed and sat up, the dog falling onto my lap.

“Topaz is so cute!” I said, as I rubbed her ears.  Amy grinned and laid back on her bedspread, gazing up at the ceiling.

“This your first year?” Amy asked, propping herself up on one elbow. Her question reminded me of my family and how I was never going to see them again. The reality of all this sank in, and I burst out crying. Topaz looked up at me and whimpered. “Tina, are you okay?” Amy asked, getting off of her bed and rubbing my shoulder. I forced a smile and explained,

“Yeah, it’s just that I was at school, and I fell out the window. Then, I realized I could fly. Now, here I am, and, according to Headmistress Brown, everybody who ever knew me will think I’m dead.” Once I finished saying this, Amy nodded, and patted me again.

“I can also fly, and I totally feel you. Five years ago, when I first started at this school, my parents died trying to find me, along with my sisters.” she said. I gasped and looked up at her.

“Oh, Amy i’m so sorry.” I said, feeling bad for my new friend. She shrugged and looked at the clock, which read 9:50.

“Holy guacamole! We’re going to be late!” she said, as she got off my bed. “Where’s your schedule?” she added, as she quickly braided her hair and went into the bathroom with her uniform. I gently set Topaz down and found my schedule on top of my dresser. I grabbed it and opened up the top drawer with my other hand. There was a backpack, and five pairs of the uniform, a navy blue blouse, a collared white shirt, and a blue and white plaid skirt.

“Wow!” I whispered, as I grabbed the clothes and backpack, and laid them on my bed. First, I folded my schedule up, and put it in the skirt pocket. Then, I waited for Amy to come out.

 

When she came out, she grinned and gestured for me to go in.

“Your Grace.” she joked, as I laughed and walked into the bathroom. It had white walls, and a shelve with a porcelain vase and two extra rolls of toilet paper. I quickly stripped and put on the uniform. I opened the door and walked out, then I spinned in a circle. Amy clapped, grinning. “Now, let’s go.” she said, as she rushed me out the door. While we were walking, she examined my schedule. “Cool! We have all the same classes together!” she squealed, handing me back my schedule. Soon, we were standing in front of a door with the word ‘Levitation’ carved into it.

“But, I can only fly…” I protested, as we entered the room.

“Yeah, that's your major power, the thing you’re the best at.” she explained patiently, as she sat down at a table. I sat in the chair next to her and nodded.

“Then why is it called ‘Fast Flyers Academy’, if there are tons of abilities?” I wondered, as we waited for the teacher.

“Oh, that’s just because the original head of school was the first to discover this school, and he had great flying abilities.” Amy said, and I could tell she did not approve of this past decision. Just then, a tall man entered the room, and walked to the front.

“Hello, class. I am Mr. Devaney, your levitation teacher this year.” he said, in a loud, booming voice, “Before we begin, I would like to introduce a new classmate, Tina Wilson.”

I looked up, startled, did he want me to come up? He motioned towards me, as if to answer. I clumsily got up and walked to the front. “Please welcome her as you would want to be welcomed.” he said to the class. Then, to me, he said, “You may sit down now.” I blushed and stumbled to my seat next to Amy. She smiled and patted my back.

“You did great!” she whispered, as I groaned and sank my head into my hand

 

By the time the day was over, I felt drained of all my energy. I had learned to levitate a towel, and had managed to set Mrs. Anya’s, the potions teacher, cape on fire. Amy was still laughing as we walked to our dorm. I glared at her,

“It’s not funny! I set a teacher's’ cape on fire!” I protested, remembering the moment. Mrs. Anya had taught us a fire potion.

“Ok, now Tina, repeat after me, boil boil, boil brew, flames of hearth and heat. I call upon the flames from below.” she had said, setting a goblet in front of me. I had repeated the words, making sure not to mess up. Sure enough, I had summoned up the flame, and was now holding a ball of flame. Of course, I panicked and ended up throwing the flame at her black cape. I now blushed at the memory, and Amy playfully punched me as we entered our room. Topaz jumped up, placing her small paws on my knees. I grinned, forgetting about the day, and bent down to rub her small head. Then I got ready for bed.

I had been at the academy for a month and a half, and was getting used to the roll of things. That night, I dreamt about my family, and woke up with my face wet with tears. I glanced at the clock, midnight. I closed my eyes and saw my mom’s face, her beautiful smile, and slipped out of bed. I dug through my dresser, and found my blue top and sweatpants. My only memory of my past. I quickly stripped and slid on the familiar clothes. I smiled and tugged on my sneakers, quickly tying them. Then I opened the door and stepped into the dark hallway. Groping along the walls, I felt my way to the door. WIth one quick glance behind me, I flew out of the building and soared towards Mayflower Drive, my home. I shook my head, it wasn’t my home anymore, and I had to face that. As I neared the ground, I arched backwards, as Mrs. Stevens, my flying tutor, had taught me. Then, just as I was about to hit the ground, I curled into a ball and rolled, smiling as I inhaled the grass tickling my nose. Sitting up, I brushed the grass from my pants and looked around. It looked the same as a month ago.

“Tina, is that you?” a male voice asked. I turned my head. It was Mark. His hair was tousled and longer, and he looked taller. I nodded and stood up, approaching him. “But, you're, you're dead…” he stammered, swaying. My smile dissipated as I remembered, everyone thought I was dead.

“No, i’m not. Here, feel me,” I said, reaching towards him. He bit his lip, as if in deep thought, and hesitantly touched my arm. I forced a smile. “See, i’m fine.” I soothed, touching his cheek. He held my hand on grinned, sitting on a nearby bench. I removed my hand and followed, sitting down next to him.

“But, you look different..” he said, looking me in the eye. I nodded. There had been a lot of gym and strength classes, and I had cut my hair to my collarbone. I also had newfound muscles over my body.

“Have you seen mom and dad left?” Mark asked, standing up. I shook my head and stood up as well. “I was on my way.” I said, as we walked towards my former home.

 

“Tina?” my mom stammered, dropping her plate, which shattered as it hit the floor. She enveloped me in a tight hug, sobbing. I sighed, and hugged her back. Then, my dad came into the room, and he and my brother joined in the hug. After many questions, I sat them down and decided to tell them the truth, from the day I jumped out the window. They all couldn’t believe I could fly, so I went into the back to show them. Once I had finished showing off, I landed, and grinned at them. My dad’s mouth was agape, and my mother was just staring. Mark, however, was sharing my same smile.

 

After two hours of catching up, I finally hugged my parents goodbye.

“Honey, I will miss you so much!” my mom said, her cheeks damp with tears. She smiled and stepped back. My dad then stepped up and knelt down to my eye level.

“Tina, be careful and remember you will always be my little girl.” he said, serious. I nodded, blinking back tears. All of a sudden, two black daggers hurtled down from the sky and planted themselves in my parent’s chests. I was too stunned to do anything at first, but then crumpled to the ground, sobbing. My parents had died right before my eyes.Mark staggered and collapsed, silent tears rolling down his cheek. Looking up at the sky I saw a object descend towards the ground.

“You killed my parents, you jerk!” I yelled, standing up and facing him.

“No, Tina. It was not me.” he said, smiling. I looked closer, he was the guy who had brought me to Fast Flyers Academy.

“Who are you? I asked, looking him over. Mark was now up and stood next to me, arms folded.

“That’s for me to know and for you to find out.” He said.