March 24th, 1987
I woke up to a muddy and overcast landscape outside my window. With a resigned sigh, I push my blankets back and start getting showered and dressed, which was quickly taken care of.
That settled, I set to gathering the books for school off of my desk. Each book went carefully into my back, spines down at the bottom of the messenger bag so the corners wouldn't get dog-eared. With a fond smile, I put my Brothers Grimm compilation in the bag as well, between my textbooks for Cell Biology and Health & Wellness. I'd read the faerie tales so much that I could probably recite a fair few from memory. There were times when they seemed more real than the book they were written in, but it was probably because most of the time that was late at night when I was reading to get to sleep.
Mum had gone to work early and left a bowl of oatmeal on the warmer with raisins and brown sugar set to the side. I wrote a note thanking her and used an old picture magnet to place it on the fridge.
At a quarter to eight, my dishes washed and set to dry, I headed out the door and towards school. My usual route took me from my house at the corner of Fourth Street East and Mayflower Way to the school on the corner of Second Street East and Mayflower Way. As I neared Third Street, a black blur raced along the corner of my vision, I tried to follow it, but it vanished into the Old Couple's garden again. It looked like a cat again. I figure it must be their cat and continue on.
After I crossed Third Street, a snowball impacted the back of my knee, driving it forward, causing me to stumble slightly. I sigh resignedly as I brush the dingy snow away from my pants.
"Heya bitch…" Andres' familiar voice sneers.
"Don't you ever come up with anything new?" I ask more to myself than anyone but he heard me say something in spite of this.
"What was that, bitch?" Andres asks, demanding. I continue to walk on, shaking my head. I shouldn't have said that. I'll just pretend I didn't say anything.
"I asked you a question, bitch!" Andres snaps, walking quickly to catch up to me. At this point, I usually try outrunning him, but that usually never worked.
So I wait until he's right behind me and couldn't stop if I did and then I stop and drive my left elbow backwards and up a bit. Andres is tall for our age group so I was just expecting to catch him by surprise in the gut and then take off running, but I lucked out. I heard him make an odd squeaking gasp and bend slightly over my elbow.
I'd knocked the wind out of him. I whip around to see him, backing away and out of reach, his face was turning purple from gasping for breath and his eyes held the familiar rage-burning look that seemed to be reserved solely for me.
I take off running after that moment of shock. I didn't need to be around when he caught his breath. It'd be bad enough I'd have two classes with him today.

Classes went deceptively quick. People gave me strange looks in the halls during passing time, but I largely ignore these since I've been getting them since early elementary school days. I was savoring my private victory. I thanked my lucky stars that Health class had assigned seating and I was in the opposite corner from Andres. His eyes still burned with rage and a promise of revenge. Gym, my last (and most useless) class, was also with Andres, but he wasn't there. I take a breath of relief. He was probably skipping.

After school let out, I decide to take a different route home. I see Mike leaning against the wall of the school. I didn't think much of it and went the two blocks north to King Road and turn east. I got across Third Street before I heard someone following me. I walk on calmly for a bit longer, my follower keeping pace with me.
I pick up my pace and the footsteps behind me quicken to match. I didn't have to look behind me to know that it was Andres or one of his followers. I start pelting away, and the footfalls behind me increase to match, even speeding up and gaining on me.
I quickly rounded the corner of Fourth Street and King Road. I noticed about half way through the block between King Road and Lowry Avenue there was an alley way. The plan forms to get there as quickly as possible and hopefully lose whoever was following me.
The impromptu plan seems to work as I put on a burst of speed, nimbly avoiding the slippery patches of lingering ice as I rounded the corner to the alley…

CRACK!

I hit the ground with a thud, hands going to my face to assess the damage that had obviously been done. My hands come back sticky with blood from my nose and mouth. My nose was broken again, I was pretty sure, and I'd bitten hard enough into my lower lip to draw blood.
Through my tearing eyes, I see Andres looming over me with Mike and Phil putting away something that looked like a handheld radios.
"Well hello Christy. Nice to see you, bitch." Andres' comment was punctuated with a kick to my stomach. I curl up, trying to protect against the next blow.
"I wish I could say the same…" I mutter quietly, but still they heard.
"What was that, bitch?" The question was followed by a swift kick again to my stomach, despite my defensive curl.
Heasks again and this time the blow is to my back. My eyes tear up again and the salty water streams down my dirty and bloody face, silently crying, but not giving them the pleasure of my voiced pain.
"I said… I wish… I could say… the same…" I grind out through clenched teeth, trying to regain some form of composure. The responding kick fell on my upper back. I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from gasping or crying out.
After a while, I try getting up, pushing myself weakly off the muddy alley blacktop, despite knowing that they hadn't left yet, not all three of them anyways.
A savage kick connected solidly with the side of my head, a hook on the shoe catching my cheek and drawing more blood, knocking me back down to the tarmac. I heard their laughing as they walked away.
I try again to get myself upright but fall to my hands and knees as soon as I tried to make my legs support my weight on their own. I use the wall as leverage to get myself vertical and hobble towards Lowry Avenue. I scanned up and down the hill to make sure there were no cars coming from the freeway or from further down the hill towards the coast before I slowly cross the street, somehow staying on my feet until I had another fence to support me.
I managed to make it in the back door without collapsing. However, the backdoor lead right to the kitchen… where my mother was waiting.
"Christyana Adyna Frank, what in the world happened to you!" Mum exclaims, pausing only long enough to make sure that whatever she was fixing wouldn't be ruined by her inattention for a little while. I feel a rush of blood to my cheeks warming them and causing the cut on my cheek to sting more.
"Andres…" I answer weakly, knowing that I didn't need to explain further than that one name.

"You know, you're going to have to start thinking about your actions before you follow through with them. I won't be here forever to clean you up, and don't even try to tell me you didn't provoke it. They only hurt you this badly when you've tried to get one over on them," Mum says, fussing, before handing me some paper towels that had been wetted down with warm water. "Go on to the bathroom and get the worst of it cleaned up. I'll be by in a moment to survey any possible severe damage."
I nod weakly and go to the nearby bathroom to clean myself up. One look in the mirror told me that there was at least some notable damage. My nose was at an angle it shouldn't be and one of my teeth felt loose. I scrubbed at my face, cleaning off the dirt and blood from my nose, mouth and cheek. The cut on my cheek had hydrogen peroxide in it and had an antibiotic ointment smoothed on it before Mum came in.
Mum fixed my nose, having learned to after the first time I came home with a broken nose, breaking the fragile scabs and sending a new gush of blood from my nostrils. She placed a gauze patch over the cut to make sure that scabs had a chance to form there. The dentist was called about the loose tooth and they said that if it was an adult tooth, then it would be back to normal soon. If it was a baby tooth, then it wouldn't and would eventually fall out anyways. All told, it took a good hour to survey and mend the damage.
I take my dinner up to my room and settle down with my books for the night. It was going to be a long night even before I wound up getting waylaid by Andres…
And I have a test in Creative Writing tomorrow… UGH!

March 25th, 1987
I wake up groggy and sore at six the next morning. My eyelids protest opening as I groan and push back the covers.
I quickly get clothes together, having stayed up too late with my homework to set out my outfit before bed. I staggered out of my room and to the bathroom. The hot water, thankfully, had had time to replenish since Mum had showered earlier and I spent probably longer than I should have trying to soak the aches out of my back and stomach. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror before I'd completely covered myself with a towel after the long shower, and the bruises were turning a nice attractive purple along my stomach, not to mention anything of the massive bruise that was my nose, mouth and cheek.
"I hate baseball bats…" I mutter resentfully.
My shoulders protest going over my head to get my shirt on and it hurt to bend to get my skirt and tights on.
I put all my books into my bag for classes and hoist it to my shoulder, causing me to wince. I allow myself a hiss of pain at the discomfort before slowly making my way down the stairs.
Mum was placing some bacon on a plate with paper towels and setting it next to the plate with a small stack of pancakes when I get to the kitchen. I set down my bag next to my chair, sighing with relief, and sit down. I think Mum caught my look of relief because she turns off the stove shortly after and ducks into the bathroom, returning shortly there after with her hand closed over something (probably aspirin or ibuprofen) and a glass of water.
"Here you go. It should start working by the time you leave for school," Mum says as she places the three small brown pills and the glass next to each other in front of me.
"Thanks Mum," I respond. I quickly take a gulp of water, toss the pills back and swallow.
"Now eat your breakfast. I'll be home a little later tonight so if you could start dinner, that'd be wonderful. Instructions are on the fridge for how to do that, and Dad will be home at five, like usual." Mum says all of this in a rush and then plants a kiss on my forehead. "Be good. I'll see you tonight. Do us both a favor and don't provoke Andres again," she adds and, grabbing her purse, is out the door.
I sigh and pick at the pancakes on my plate, idly pushing them around in the maple syrup before glancing at the clock. The clock read half past seven. I sigh again, resigned to being misunderstood and bullied, and finish my breakfast. I really shouldn't be late for my test in Creative Writing.

Author's Note: Many thanks to Peter for being my ST. This will be an ongoing bit, I think, just to keep track of how my Changeling game goes. Christyana Adyna Frank is of my own creation and I'm rather proud of her so please ask if you'd like to use her at all. Thank you muchly and please review!
Slytherin Shaman