I fluttered my tiny wings, mortified as Papa yelled at my new Principal. I saw a red-gold aura leaking under the door as I looked down, my face feeling hot.

"I don't care if she's half-human! After her parents passed away we raised her! Yes, she's 'different,' but she has every right to enroll!"

I didn't hear what was said next, but the aura intensified under the door before Papa slammed it open, face strawberry-red. "Come on, duckling, we're going home."

/. /. /. /. /. /

It was a month before I started high school there, and my first day filled me with nerves. I pushed through the horde of teens gently, feeling (and seeing) the tension in the school. I was being stared at, from both up close and afar, as I went up the stair to my homeroom.

The intensity of the tension thinned out as I entered the room and the other kids saw me walk in. The teacher, a brown-skinned woman with fine lines and straightened gray hair waved me to a desk at the back; I noted the dull gray aura that signified apathy and boredom.

The goth girl and the jock sat at either side of me glared at each other for a full minute while I sat down between them. I held my hands out to bother them, noting the combination of green, red and pink aura catching me in the middle; green signifying growth, red for competition and anger, and pink for attachment.

'Hi, I'm Lexi,' I said to them, shrugging my jacket off and revealing my tank top and wings, unfolding them and catching some of the membrane of my left wing on the chair as I sat. I winced.

I smiled softly as both of them reached out, hesitant. "Go ahead, they don't bite...well, except for me." I settled the wings out a little, and they planted their hands inside the feathers, as their amber of shock turned to the soft blonde light of awe. I preened a little, the feeling of their fingers bringing a sense of joy.

I felt a sharp pull and winced again, as one of the feathers broke off in the goth's hand. "Shit, I'm sorry," she said, the blonde light turning to a wintry blue as she pulled her hand away.

The feather caught the attention of the rest of the class, and they turned to look at me. I paled as the bright purple of curiosity wafted across the room, and then I was crowded as more people wanted to touch the wings. I let them, and asked goth girl for the feather back. "I need to get it stitched back in tonight so that there's no lasting damage." She handed it back to me reluctantly, as the jock just laughed.

"Damn it, Lynsey, you broke the angel already! Now where am I going get my fun?"

Goth girl, (Lynsey), just rolled her eyes. "Can it, Josh. I beat you last week in the Mathlete tryouts, and I'll do it again today!"

I think it's not going to be boring here.