Chapter One: The Accident

Kataria was considered the strangest girl in school. Not by by her looks, no. Going by her looks, she was beautiful. She wasn't particularly tall, but nor was she short. Her skin was the color of cream. Her long wavy hair was the color of ebony ink. The long, silken mass seemed to float around her. Her eyes, however, were very strange. They were a metallic silver in color, but seemed to absorb the hues of the clothes that Kataria wore, changing them to a mystical blue or green. Except for when she wore black or red. Then her eyes were silver, but it seemed as if they were made of liquid fire.

What made her strange was that she was, to put it frankly, different. She couldn't care less if the football team went to championships. She never gave a second thought to attending pep rallies (which she never did). She was the complete and total opposite of every girl at the "country" (or redneck, however you want to put it) High School.

Another thing that made Kataria so different was that she liked to write. In a sense, she was a classical "bookworm", though no one would ever call her that to her face. She almost always had a book and notebook with her. But because of her dark demeanor and strange eyes, not many bothered to cross her.

Kataria loved anything to do with Tim Burton's work. She loved his movies, and practically worshiped his directing style. She especially loved his "twisted mind", as her mother had put it. His creativity was simply amazing to Kataria. Many times her teachers found her day dreaming, projecting herself into his movies. Most of her school assignments were based on him and his work. Her "obsession" with Tim Burton allowed even more ridicule towards Kataria. She didn't care. She was used to the teasing. She ignored it.

But sometimes, like at this particular instant, it was hard to ignore the ridicule being sent her way. Class had about twenty minutes left for the day, and the teacher had told them that they could talk quietly. Kataria sat in the front desk, her long hair pulled back into a braid. She was silently reading yet another thick novel.

All around her, other students were whispering. "She is suck a freak!" one girl, Melli, hissed. She was the head cheerleader, and, therefore, the most popular girl at school. "I mean, look at her! Who likes to wear black all the time? Talk about gross!"

The students around her laughed, trying to silent their snickers.

"All she ever does is read and write," pointed out Kyle, who was on the football team. "What a dork!"

Again, nearly everyone in the class laughed. Everyone, but Kataria, who was no longer reading.

Tears stung her eyes as she glared at the book. The back of her throat burned as she restrained from crying. Though she was used to their comments, they still hurt nonetheless.

"Hey, you guys, leave her alone," said a voice from the back of the room.

"God, Sean, I'd thought you would join in. Lighten up!" Melli snapped at him.

"Oh, shut up, Melli. Just because she has better grades than you doesn't mean you have to make her life Hell," Sean said to his ex.

Kataria took a deep breath, silently wiping the tears from her eyes. She hadn't heard Sean come to her defense.

"The only reason she does so well is 'cause she's a witch!" Melli hissed.

The bell rang for dismissal, and Kataria quickly packed her book bag and walked out of the room. Her tears were falling now, and she couldn't stop them. She made her was, half-blinded by tears, to the parking lot.

"God, I hate it here!" she thought as she was crossing the street. She thought she heard someone call her name, but then ignored it. "Who would call for me?"

Suddenly a horn honked, nearly deafening Kataria. She looked up and saw a car speeding towards her. Numbness filled her body, fear replacing every other emotion. Her feet felt rooted to the spot.

She felt something pull on her back, and herself fall backwards. She saw, in slow motion it seemed, the car swerve to miss her, her body falling backwards. She felt a sharp pain right above her neck and her vision started turning dark. She could hear voices around her, the squeal of tires coming to a stop, and could feel strong arms holding her.

"Kataria?" asked a familiar voice. It sounded worried.

She tried to move, but found that she couldn't. She felt the darkness begin to envelop her, bringing peace. The pain on her head and neck began to ebb away. The last thought she had before she slipped into the darkness was "This isn't so bad..."

A/N:

I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. The girl, Kataria, is based off of me. Yeah, I'm no beauty, and we look nothing alike, but her actions and everything are exactly like mine. So, like I said, I hope you enjoy.