I'm not going into much detail of my time at home, because in all honesty, there is too much to talk about. We were there for weeks, maybe even months, living our lives like any normal kid would. I definitely lost track of time. It also didn't help that there were no attacks, no ITex goons, nothing. At first I was anxious, like it was the quiet before the storm, but as time passed the feeling depleted, and the more comfortable I got with my new home.

We got new clothes, and the more I debated on how I hated stripes, Mom kept saying I looked good in them. My favorite shirt ended up being blue and aqua striped and side-tied just above my left hip. Speck got more t-shirts than anything, many of them with unique catchphrases, and really wanted to see the rest of the area. Since both Mom and Dad worked, it was mostly Speck and I that wandered around, taking in the sights and sounds of the world around us. Speck managed to make a few friends that went to a park up the road from our house. At first, I was hesitant, so I talked to her about what we would say to others to avoid standing out too much, but she was already thinking ahead. She told others she was just recently adopted with her older sister (me), always wanted to go to school since she was homeschooled all the time, never really stayed in one place until now, etc. Mom and Dad took the ideas to heart and got the papers to legally address us as their children. I couldn't stop hugging them after they got the all clear and government stamped documents saying we were theirs. They finally got around to addressing me as Amber but put my legal name as Amber Jenna Griffiths. Speck got to choose her name, deciding on Specah, which she made up with the aid of me convincing Mom and Dad to like it. She was ecstatic, feeling right at home. We went by the park everyday so she could hang out with her friends. She would wave to them as they jumped off the school bus then running over to hug her.

Myself, on the other hand, only met one girl a year younger than me that I considered an acquaintance. She had curly blonde hair and green eyes and felt that it was her job to show me up. When I first met her, she turned her nose up at me and I immediately disliked her. The more I got to know her though, the more I understood her. She came from a large family of seven, was a middle child, and had to take care of herself and younger siblings. She was the oldest in the house, as her older siblings were off at college or living out of state. She was always at the park because the kids always begged to go. I told her I never got adopted until now because people didn't like my birth marks, like Speck. She stated they were really weird but cool because you could really tell Speck and I were sisters, despite the only thing we really shared was a somewhat similar mutation. She was nice enough for me to tolerate her, but there were several times I let out a deep breath once she headed home with her siblings.

Into about two months into our stay, I was sitting under a tree at the park when Mom called us to head back home. Yeah, she gave me a cell phone! I rarely used it though, only to call Mom and Dad when we needed to. Once we got back she and Dad sat us down and discussed school options. It was nearing the end of summer, and I did overhear the local kids talking about it. Speck jumped out of her seat to hug them at the offer of attending a local private school nearby. As much as I wanted to say no, I didn't want to disappoint them nor ruin Speck's spirits, so I went with it. I pulled Dad aside to ask him about the school and if it really was a safe place for us. He managed to convince me it was. A few days later we got our uniforms, and two weeks later we stood waiting for the bus.

I pulled at the collar as I waited for Speck to come downstairs. Mom kept adjusting my shirt that I continuously tugged at, so she slapped my hands to stop. I chuckled and yelled for Speck to hurry. Her footsteps thundered down the steps and reached me.

"Sorry, I couldn't find my tie," she gagged, trying to wrap it properly but failing.

"I got it sweetie," Mom went to work on Speck's tie while I grabbed our bags. We also got new backpacks, capable to hold more books than supplies, but were fairly empty since it was our first day. I handed Speck hers and she smiled up at me. Her hair was evenly cut now, in layers sprouting from her hair line and kissing her ears. She adjusted her skirt and smiled up at Mom. She was finally getting everything she ever wanted. A place to call home, a loving family, good friends, she was having a normal life. Going to school was the cherry on top.

My ears turned towards the sound of brakes in the distance under my plaid head piece. That was the only thing that I could find to work. It looked like a bandana but was more like a headband that kept my hair out of my face. I tried to keep my baby bangs back again by applying saliva and pressing them down.

"Okay you two," I turned to look at mom. She was smiling ear to ear, "You have fun on your first day! And remember-"

"No shenanigans," Speck finished for her. She beamed up at mom who wrapped her into a hug with a giggle.

"Right, you two behave," she pulled me close to join in. That was definitely something we had a knack for. Despite me being on edge the first few weeks into our stay, Speck managed to lighten the mood by subtly pulling pranks on me. The first time it happened I thought ITex found us and started taking our things one by one. Turns out they were all shoved under Speck's bed. She assured me it was just her pulling a prank, though I really wanted to strangle her for doing it. The longer the days passed, the more intense the pranks got. Just the other day she decided to put a red dye in the shower head before I hopped in. Thankfully it wasn't really noticeable on my wings, but every now and then the water would run a faint pink. It definitely clung to my hair, making it more strawberry than ever.

The bus creeped up to the house and my heart skipped a beat. Speck squealed a bit and started skipping out, waving goodbye towards mom and urging me to hurry. I felt frozen on the spot for a second, not for sure how I felt about this. With my wings pressed tight against my back, my tail shoved down my pants, ears anxiously twitching under the headband, I wanted to stay home. I really didn't want to get on a crowded bus full of kids. I felt mom nudge me from behind.

"Go on hon," she gave a small push and I stuttered in my step, making me stumble out the door. I glanced back just as she closed it, betrayed for being pushed out the house. As much as I wanted to say no school, since we could learn stuff on our own with the laptop, she said it was a legal thing since they adopted us. I was going into Sophomore year of high school, and Speck into second grade, though she really wanted to start in fifth grade. She was really smart for her age, mostly in cleverness and street smarts though. I told her the education system was different than what ITex taught her, though she seemed confident enough she'll be fine.

I walked up to the bus and the driver opened the door, gently smiling at Speck bopping up and down.

"I.D.s please," he asked. I went digging into my backpack, my hands shaking. We handed them to him and he checked them off on his little clipboard. "You two are clear, have a good first day!" The tone was stretched, as if he was getting tired of being chipper for all the kids in the morning. Speck climbed on first, me pausing then nervously following her up the steps into the condensed bus.

Once in, the bus went quiet at the sight of newcomers. The kids eyes stared at us, but more importantly, at our scales. My face went hot as I shuffled down the walkway with Speck, looking for seats. The bus started moving and I clung to a seat back, heart racing from being suddenly jerked around. The kid sitting there raised an eyebrow as I used the seats to aid myself back to an open seat. Speck was already sitting down and staring out the window. I slid in next to her and placed my bag between my legs. The mood changed from excited and anxious to hushed and curious. I felt like the world was closing in around me with all the whispers I was hearing. My ears tingled from all the voices I was picking up.

"Who are they?"

"Did you see those weird spots on them?"

"Are they related?"

"Doesn't one of them look like-"

I froze at those words and stared in the direction of the kid who said them. I peeked around the aisle to see a fairly tall kid with perfectly blonde hair and well-defined cheekbones. He glanced back at me with suspicion in his eyes, squinted, then shook his head. He went back to sitting and gossiping with the kid next to him. I leaned back and closed my eyes while calming my racing heart. I had to focus on what he was saying, though my ears struggled under my headpiece to listen.

"She does, doesn't she?" the guy said.

"Yeah, but that's got to be a coincidence. He never mentioned having a sister," another said.

"Well, you never know, they did have a big family," a girl jumped in. She was fairly tall and had tawny brown hair. Her tone changed, causing me to scooch closer to Speck. She looked up at me with a raised eyebrow.

"You okay?" Speck asked.

I wrapped my fingers around hers and lightly squeezed. I continued focusing on their conversation, wondering what they meant. Who did I look like? Were they part of ITex? Were they going to do something to us? What were they really thinking?

"Yeah, well it was their fault for ruining the school Tess. You should know."

"That was a year ago Brandon, it's not like they will be coming back," the girl sounded defeated.

"Well I hope not, they were freaks."

"I don't know, those wings were pretty cool."

My eyes flared open and Speck stared up at me, her mouth open in dismay. She could hear them too; they weren't being really discreet. I felt all the blood leave my head, my vision fuzzy as I tried to understand what I just heard.

It was them. My brother and those winged kids; they went to this same school.