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The first light of dawn drifting through my window roused me from my dream, the same dream I always had. Annabelle and I were playing outside when our mother ran up and grabbed us. I never saw my dad again, and my mom took us to where we live today. Shaking my head, I sat up. I wanted to roll over and go back to sleep, but I kept looking around my room instead. We lived in an old house, and the wooden floorboards creaked. I’d covered much of the wall with maps of mythical lands. Reminders of the life I’d once known.

It was a school morning, and I had special plans for the day. I’d turned fourteen the day before and, as a present to myself, I decided to put a stop to Troy’s bullying. Troy and his gang loved to use me as their punching bag, and there was nothing I could do about it. They were smart. They never hit me in the face. I never figured out how, but they had learned to cause pain without leaving many marks. The first day of school, after my first beating, I’d complained to one of my teachers. The next day, the entire gang followed Annabelle and me as we walked home from school. That day I got my second beating, and Troy made sure I understood that if I tattled again, Annabelle would be their next target.

Troy and his gang had been picking on me for several years now, and it had become annoying. I swung my legs over the side of the bed as I thought about my plan to make friends with Troy. One minute my idea seemed good and then I thought about what my mother would do to me if she found out and it scared the bejesus out of me. I kept reminding myself that I would always be a wimp if I worried about what my mother thought.

“Elwood!” Annabelle’s voice floated through my door as she knocked. “Breakfast is ready.”

Knowing there was no point in delaying my plans, I pushed myself off the bed, walked across the room, and opened the door. My younger sister, Annabelle, stood in the hallway. Her auburn hair shimmered in the morning sunlight that now poured through the window behind her. Her emerald eyes sparkled, and she grinned at me. Despite being a year apart in age, Annabelle is my best friend, and I felt I needed to tell her my plans. Our half-human, half-elf heritage cemented our unique connection. After all, we were the only two elves in this world. She had to understand that I had to do what I’d planned.

“Did you sleep well?” Annabelle asked, genuine concern lacing her words.

“Better than usual,” I replied, which was an outright lie. I’d been up most of the night trying to convince myself that my plan would work. Last night, I’d decided the only way I was going to make friends with Troy would be to teach him magic. Under normal circumstances, I would have told Annabelle what I planned, but I felt that was a burden I should carry alone. Besides, if I told her I planned to teach Troy how to do magic, she’d tell our mom.

We were both born in the Elven world of Elwrith, and magic runs through our veins. My magic is much stronger than my sisters, but that didn’t matter because mom forbade us from using magic outside of the house. Mom is from earth, and she never explained what happened to our father. Mom told us that a war broke out in our birth world of Elwrith when I was five and Annabelle was four. That’s when she brought us to Slocum, Minnesota. The only memories I have of my old world are my dreams of a castle and a war. Those dreams haunt me, and I’m not sure if they are real or spurts of my imagination.

Annabelle startled me out of my thoughts. “Come on, Elwood, Mom will wonder where we are. She’ll have breakfast ready by now.” She turned and skipped down the hallway, her laughter echoing behind her.

“Wait up,” I called out as I slipped on my shoes and followed her down the stairs. Mom must have gotten up early. The scent of warm bread made me smile as we entered the kitchen. I tried not to admit it, but I figured Mom would not approve of what I planned to do. If she found out, she would ground me forever. I was glad she wasn’t here this morning.

“Where’s Mom?” I asked.

“Mom left a note that she has some errands to run before work,” Annabelle said as we sat down at the table.

“Is she going to pick us up after school?” I asked.

“Why? Is it supposed to rain?”

“I don’t think so,” I said as I put my head down and started eating.

“Are you up to something, Elwood?”

“No, I’m not, Annabelle. You’ve just got a wild imagination.”

“You’re the one with a wild imagination, Elwood. What are you up to?”

I looked up and crossed my heart. “Nothing, nothing at all, Annabelle.”

We got dressed, and once we were ready for school, we stepped outside, where our small town stretched before us. Mom insisted that the quaint charm of the town made it beautiful, but I told her it looked a little old and run-down. I couldn’t admit it, but I didn’t think there was anything wrong with the town other than that it didn’t feel like home. The townspeople, at least the adults, must have agreed with my mom, because they always greeted one another with friendly waves and warm smiles. Me? I had nothing to smile about.

We had told no one in town we were elves. We always tucked our pointed ears under our hair, which was easier for Annabelle than for me. I was taller than Annabelle, and slender, and as much as we tried, the local kids seemed to know we were different. Most of the adults treated us okay, but I think it was because mom wasn’t different. But Troy seemed to know, and he didn’t hesitate to tell all the other kids in school.

“Elwood, are you ready for school?” Annabelle asked, her voice pulling me from my thoughts.

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” I replied with a forced smile as I tried not to dwell on what awaited me there. The thought of facing Troy filled me with nervousness. I could live with his cruel taunts and the relentless bullying, but I refused to keep being his punching bag.

As Annabelle and I walked along the road towards the schoolhouse, I tried to focus on my surroundings. I concentrated on the things I liked about Slocum. There weren’t many. I enjoyed walking on the dew-speckled grass and gazing at the wildflowers in the spring and summer but didn’t much care for winter. In the cold months, I preferred to cuddle in my bed and read a book.

“Hey, Elwood,” Annabelle said, placing a hand on my shoulder. “What’s bothering you?”

“Nothing.” I increased my pace, hoping Annabelle would take the hint that I didn’t want to talk about it.

I guess she got it because she matched my pace and didn’t say another word the rest of the way to the school.

“Thanks, Annabelle,” I whispered as we headed to our classroom. I did not know why my mother put us into the same grade when we first arrived in Slocum. Now I love my sister, but having to be in the same grade and classes as her was just one embarrassment too many that I had to live with.

The warning bell rang as we headed into the room, signaling the start of another horrendous school day. I took a deep breath as I entered my history class, which was filled with chatter and laughter. A sea of students surged toward their seats, but amid the crowd, there was one face I dreaded seeing: Troy.

“Hey, weirdo!” The sneer came from behind me, and the room went quiet. I turned to find Troy towering over me, surrounded by his three cronies, who were in the same room as us. I wasn’t sure who I hated more, Troy or his gangsters. Right then, I wasn’t sure why I wanted to be friends with Troy. Then I thought, oh yeah, I don’t want to be beat up anymore.

“Leave me alone, Troy,” I muttered, trying to sound brave even though my voice trembled.

“Aw, what’s the matter? Waiting for your sister to save you? You know she’s the number two weirdo in town, right?”

“Shut up, Troy,” I snapped, as my cheeks burned with anger.

“Or what? You want to fight with me?” Troy grabbed my wrist and twisted it so hard I had to bite my lip to keep from crying out.

“Let go of me,” I warned, struggling to break free. As he tightened his grip, something inside me snapped. A surge of power coursed through my veins, filling me with a sudden strength I’d never encountered before.

“Fine,” he said, releasing my wrist just after a short blast of energy shot from my fingertips, sending him stumbling backward. His friends stared at me in shock, their mouths hanging open as the entire gang hurried to their own seats.