The universe is full of opposites. For every fairy of music, there is a fairy of silence. For every fairy of light, there is a fairy of darkness. For every fairy of fire, there is a fairy of water.

No matter where you go, what realm, what dimension, what city or town or country, you will always find opposites. I've always known this, of course, but it never really sunk in. I never really realized it, like I realize a lot of things. Addition is the opposite of subtraction, don't eat the dirt, you have to know how to speak at least two languages to be successful.

By the time I realized this it was too late. I was the goddess of the light, and I didn't realize I could possibly have an opponent to match me in power. The god of darkness reached towards me and-

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

I blearily blinked open my eyes. Six in the morning on a Monday. Wonderful.

I rushed to pull on a top and some shorts, seeing as the weather was finally warm after what seemed like years of snow, grabbed an apple and my backpack and ran to my bus stop.

The bus picked me up and I sat in my seat, drumming my fingers against the window. We were going to have a guest speaker in my Social Studies class today, and I had to get out of it. I hated guest speakers. They always rambled on and on about how 'you can't do anything worse than this' or 'you'll destroy the planet if you do that.'

The bus rolled up to the school and I entered the building. I walked in a straight line towards the girls bathroom. I locked myself in a handicap stall, pulled out my headphones and a notebook, and began to scribble.

I don't really have any artistic talent, so the paper was a graveyard for lopsided hearts, squiggly lines, and snails. I'm not sure why I enjoy drawing snails so much, I suppose they're just easy.

I was contemplating skipping school and going home so I could dream some more when the door to the bathroom opened. I had my headphones on, so I didn't notice it, but the stall door was shaken back and forth. I pulled off my headphones, shoved everything in my backpack, and opened the stall door.

"Yes?" I asked. The woman standing in front of me seemed to be old, but at the same time, young. She had white hair and a really odd way of dressing.

"What are you doing in there? You shouldn't be skipping class, young lady." The woman lectured me.

"Excuse me, who are you? You don't even work here, you can't berate me on that." I said, grabbing my backpack and going to check myself in the mirror.

"How rude! My name is Mrs. Faragonda, and I am the headmistress of Alfea College. I was the guest speaker of Mr. Hamilton's class." She introduced herself, then continued. "I suppose you'd be Bethari Perdita?"

I turned around in shock. "How do you know my name?"

She chuckled warmly. "Your teacher said it during roll call."

I sighed, then began to wash my hands. "Oh, alright. You said you were from some college?"

She nodded and walked closer. "Yes, I'm from Alfea College. I'm here testing students for eligibility. It's a very special school."

I lifted an eyebrow as I dried off my hands. "Maybe you should test me."

She reached into a bag I hadn't noticed earlier and pulled out a ball, seemingly crystal. "Put your hands on this." She instructed, holding it out to me.

I laid my hands on it. The surface was smooth and surprisingly warm. The moment my hands touched it, it began to glow a dark grey. "What does that mean?" I asked.

She looked peculiarly at me as she slid the ball back into the bag. "It means I might just have to offer you a full scholarship."

My eyes widened. "Really? Wicked! What do I have to do?"

She pulled out a form, seemingly written on parchment. I looked at it and read it over. "You have to get your parents to sign it. When you do, I'll find you."

I looked up from the parchment to thank her, but she had disappeared.

I shrugged my shoulders and left the school to go show the paper to my parents. So what if I miss a few classes? I'm getting a scholarship to another school!