Chapter 1
I was only eight when I discovered what I could do. I just woke up one morning and something was different. I didn't understand what though, the girls in the foster house with me woke up and started pointing at me and stuttering about how my eyes changed. I only rolled my eyes and got up and ready for the school day. I was washing my hands after using the loo when I finally looked up saw that my eyes had in fact changed. They were no longer grey, but now they were the sharp yellow color of a cats eyes. Along with the slit and everything!
I gave a shriek of surprise and stumbled back into the tub. When I managed to get back on my feet and slowly pulled myself back up to the mirror, I was surprised to see that my eyes were back to my original grey color. I thought that I just imagined the changing of my eyes so I carried on with brushing my teeth and brushing my plain muddy brown hair and left the bathroom before anyone came knocking.
Later that day, at school, I was attempting read a book. The Brothers Grimm version of Snow White. Disney made everything seem like sunshine and daisies, when in reality… It wasn't. Granted, Cinderella was definitely my favorite princess; she didn't want to get married to the prince. Cinderella just wanted to go to the ball and dance.
"Look at the little Baby!" A nasally voice called from across the school yard.
I rolled my eyes and put my book away before standing up, "yes Gertrude?"
Gertrude was an eleven year old girl who was on the wider side of the scale. I kept hearing that she was going through puberty, but I don't know what that is.
"Now is that anyway to talk to your elders?" Gertrude sneered, twisting a hand through my hair and giving it a yank.
"No, I'm sorry Gertrude." I bowed my head, ignoring the little sting my scalp was giving me.
"You better be." Gertrude put a stubby hand under my chin and forced my grey eyes to look into her brown ones.
I gave a slight not with the hope of this being the only interaction today. Thankfully, it would turn out to be.
"You'll never get a home, Baby." Gertrude jeered, her crooked teeth showing as she gave me an awful smile.
"I know." I whispered, tears blearing in my eyes.
"You'll be stuck in the orphanage for the rest of your life." She continued to taunt me, but this time letting my face go and walking around me in circles.
"Yes Gertrude." I sighed, letting tears well up in my eyes.
"What kind of a name is Cassiopeia anyway?" She tried to push me.
"One that doesn't belong to an old lady." I whispered to myself.
I felt the pain before I heard the sound of skin hitting skin. My cheek was starting to sting when it registered in my head that I was on the ground. Then the kicking started.
"HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT TO ME?! I WAS NAMED after my grandmother…" The kicking paused and I quickly got back on my feet and ran.
I pushed through the crowd that had formed and grabbed my bag before taking off into the school, I can't believe that I managed to get away from her. That was a first time for me. Once I was safely in the school I paused and started taking deep breaths to slow down my beating heart and to look at the damage that was done. I gave a quick look around and went into the bathroom nearby and I checked every stall before locking the door.
I looked at my reflection and took a deep breath before pulling my shirt up to see the faint red marks on my torso. I gave another sigh, knowing that I was going to get bruises the next week. I let my shirt fall back down and looked at myself in the mirror and just sighed. I had chunky cheeks due to the baby fat I still had. My hair was a long disgusting muddy brown color and my eyes were my only saving grace. They were as grey as the stormy skies that covered London quite often.
I love the color grey, not to dark or light, it was perfect for me.
One particularly boring afternoon, I managed to snag a bag of powdered sugar. I balanced it perfectly on top of the door I knew Gertrude would be coming through any second. I knew that with both ends closed, there would be a mess everywhere. I hurried down the step stool I had and scurried out the other door without making a noise. I gave the stool back to Robert, another kid in the orphanage. He had let me borrow it, but he didn't know what for.
As I started to calmly walk up the stairs, I heard the door open and the sound of a bag ripping. It was a few seconds before a screech resounded through the hallways. Stifling my laughter, I followed the crowd to the living room where Gertrude was covered from head to foot in powdered sugar. I heard snickers from everyone before Charlotte came down the stairs to see what the fuss was about. She observed the situation, and gave a sigh.
"Don't tell me," She held a hand up to the crowd that had gathered, "It was the 'Not Me Monster' wasn't it?" She asked, looking each of us in the eyes.
As one all of the kids nodded their heads.
"I thought as much, since that's the case everyone will have to be grounded to their bedrooms for the remainder of the week." Charlotte gave me a pointed look.
I looked up at her and smiled innocently.
Over the years, I managed to survive Gertrude the Bully and school for a while. Playing little pranks that not only helped me get my revenge on her, but also justice the rest of the foster kids deserved.
It wasn't until the day before my eleventh birthday that I discovered that I could actually change my appearance. I was so angry, Gertrude had managed to push my temper to the limit that I had it trained up too. I was in the bathroom at the orphanage and I was just so mad at what she had said and called me that I was so focused on my breathing that I failed to notice that my hair changed. It was no longer the muddy color, but now a bright cherry red. I gasped and tugged at my hair when I finally noticed. I tried to find the cause of it, but just couldn't.
Once I was over my initial shock, I took a deep breath and looked in the mirror again and focused on my hair like it was before, the ugly brown color that I grew up knowing. I had to scrunch my eyes to focus and when I opened up my eyes, I smiled so big my cheeks were actually starting to hurt.
I managed to get my hair the proper color it was before!
I gave a quiet squeal of joy and focused on my eyes, remembering that one time they were like a cats. It took a lot of concentration on my part, but I managed to finally see my eyes turn back into a cats, like they did when I was eight. I did a victory dance and I ended up in staying in the bathroom all day just changing my appearance.
I managed to change everything about me! I tried different shades of different colors for my hair, and I left my eyes alone since I really didn't want to change my favorite part of myself. I even found that I could change parts of my face into an animal; I just couldn't fully transform into an animal.
That was kind of disappointing but I guess I could live with that because I COULD CHANGE WHAT I LOOKED LIKE AT WILL!
Over the day, there was a lot of banging on the door but there were more bathrooms in the house than possible so they could managed to find another one to use. I was in the bathroom all day, just playing around with my appearance. By the time dinner call was made, I had to get something to eat. I rushed out of the bathroom and down the stairs with a smile on my face.
"Cassiopeia, are you alright?" Charlotte asked when she saw me.
"I'm fine, I just thought I had an upset stomach but I think I'm fine now." I lied with a slight grimace to make it a little more believable.
"Well if you're up to it, I made some lasagna with a salad." She said it more as a question than as an offer.
"I think I'll just have a glass of milk for now." I smiled, sighing internally.
I had to act as if I was sick, even though I really wanted to stuff my face with the delicious smelling lasagna.
"Little Baby is sick. Does Baby need a doctor?" I felt Gertrude's fingers dig into my shoulder.
I smirked, but quickly wiped it off my face before turning to face her. I turned around with my mouth opened and gave a cough in her face.
"I'm sure I'll be fine in the morning." I said quietly.
"DID YOU SEE WHAT SHE JUST DID?" Gertrude shrieked, stepping back and wiping her face.
"Well, if you weren't in her personal space that wouldn't have happened." Charlotte raised a blonde eyebrow as she scooped up some salad for a little boy.
"I'm sorry, I would've covered my mouth but I didn't have the room." I said as I coughed again, this time into my arm.
"I'm sure it was an accident." Charlotte nodded as Stefanie, a sixteen year old, followed with a pitcher of milk.
"If Gertrude wasn't such a bully, I wouldn't have done it on purpose." I whispered under my breath to the six year old next to me.
Sally gave a tinkle of a giggle and nodded.
Sally was going to get adopted tomorrow, she was just too cute to keep around apparently. I was happy for her, she was one of the few girls who didn't avoid me like I had the plague. Then again, she was only six; but that's okay, she didn't deserve to be in a house like this one. The little ball of bouncing chocolate was lucky to get adopted so soon. It was little saddening that she was leaving on my birthday; but I wasn't too hurt by it.
I wasn't able to eat as much as I would have liked, but I did get to a little bit and use the excuse that I needed something to keep in my stomach. When I was finally in my room I pulled out my little hand mirror and I was up until eleven fifty five playing with my new found ability. When I finally saw the time on my alarm clock, I put the mirror down and smiled in glee that I was special in my way. I was dozing off when I saw the clock click from eleven fifty nine on February thirteenth, to twelve o'clock on February fourteenth. Valentine's Day, also the day of my birthday. I was now officially eleven years old.
