Chapter 1
Monday 24th November 2005.
"I'll see you this afternoon sweetie," Mom said when she dropped me off at the front of the show covered Moose Jaw Heights elementary.
"Bye Mom" I replied, the same way I do every day.
I closed the car door and she drove off, leaving me on the side of the street in front of the school. The red two story building of my school loomed in front of me. Snow covered the ground, and I was glad I'd worn my warm clothes. Being in the middle on November, snow was a common sight to see. I smiled. I love school, especially when it's snowing and today was going to be exceptionally great. I could already envision the snowball fights that my friends and I were going to get up to in lunch. An image of me throwing a snowball at Penelope's face filled my mind.
With my best friend Noah finally in on my secret, I felt like I didn't have to lie to him anymore. Around me, I could see kids of all ages being dropped off by their mom's or getting off the school bus. A snowball fight had already broken out on the front lawn, through nobody's fault but Duncan's, I assumed.
A crisp wind bit through the air as I looked around for my friends, Regeena, Noah and Paloma, until I realised that Paloma had sacrificed herself for the safety of our planet. I would never see her again.
A pang of loneliness entered my heart for my lost, half demon – half Sharbenian friend. Tears filled my eyes but I quickly wiped them away before Penelope saw my cry. Paloma wouldn't have wanted me to cry over her, especially not here, where everyone could see.
I turned, still looking for my friends. Regeena was just exiting the bus. She waved to me and started over. I shivered in my clothes. Even though I was wearing warm, snow clothes, I was starting to feel the cold.
I waved back to her encouraging her to hurry up. I wanted to go inside as soon as possible and I needed to find Noah. I was getting worried. He was normally here before me.
"Hi," Regeena greeted me.
"Hi," I greeted back. "Have you seen Noah?" I asked.
"No, I thought he was with you," she replied. "Oh, c'mon. You don't need him to have fun," Regeena said when my face fell at her reply.
This was so unusual, Noah was never late. The coldness of the air around me vanished as I was consumed in my deep thoughts on the whereabouts of my closest friend.
Suddenly, I was aware of my arm being pulled, like it was going to be pulled from its socket. I came back to reality and looked up, shaking all thoughts of Noah away and saw Regeena pulling on my arm.
I gave her a quizzical look and I felt the chilliness of the winter air enter my lungs.
"Come on!" she urged, "the bell will go soon, and you know what my dad will do to me if I get a tardy."
I smiled. "Yes, I'm sure being the principal's daughter means you have to set examples."
Regeena Peterson was daughter of the principal of the school, Principal Peterson. She came to Moose Jaw Heights soon after Paloma left. She could never replace Paloma to me but it's nice to have another girl around.
I allowed Regeena to drag me to class, hoping that Noah's absence was only the result of him being sick.