Jermaine Deon Carter
April 4, 2022
Dragon Boy
On the morning of my thirteenth birthday, I woke up transformed into a dragon. I quite literally fell out of bed. I stumbled over to my mirror. I just stared at my reflection for a few minutes. I always believed in the existence of dragons. Now, I was one myself. I felt a mixture of different emotions.
My family heard the commotion and rushed in. There was a lot of cursing and screaming. They were still on edge even after I told them it was me.
"Jermaine?! What happened to you?!" my dad asked.
"I don't know! I just…woke up like this," I said.
"Do you think you'll be a dragon forever?" my little sister Jasmine asked.
"I don't know, but part of me thinks it'd be pretty cool if I was," I said.
"Don't worry, Jermaine. We'll figure this out," my mom said.
"I guess we better help you learn how to use your dragon powers, and fast," my big sister Nikki said.
We all went outside. I spread my wings and took off into the air. I kept bumping into roofs, streetlights, and trees. I tried to breathe fire, but the fire came out of my posterior instead and burned part of the sidewalk. I accidentally knocked vases and potted plants over with my tail. People passing by had varied reactions to seeing an actual dragon. After all of that, I involuntarily changed back to normal.
The following morning, my family and I were approached by a group of people calling themselves the World Dragon Council. They said there were people all over the world who could turn into dragons, the Council included. Every dragon was part of the Order of the Dragon, which had been around since the Middle Ages.
Dragons were the protectors of both magic and magical creatures. The existence of the magical world was originally kept secret from humans, with dragons upholding said secret. However, the technological advancements of the twenty-first century gradually made that impossible. Despite this, many magical creatures still chose to live isolated from humans.
The Council offered to help train me, which they called dragon training. I accepted. My family was arguably even more on board than I was because they knew how much I loved dragons and other magical creatures.
For the next month or so, I trained with the Council every week. I still struggled with adjusting to my new powers. I grew frustrated with myself. They said it was natural to feel this way. I just had to tackle things one step at a time.
"Even a young falcon must stand before it can fly," Councilor Andam said.
One day after school, I accidentally bumped into a girl as we passed by each other in the hallway. The books and papers she held fell on the floor. I felt ashamed and embarrassed.
"Oh, my bad. I'm sorry about running into you like that," I said as I helped her pick up her things.
"It's alright," she said. She had what appeared to be a dragon tattoo along her right arm.
"That's a really cool dragon tattoo!" I said with a smile.
"Thanks, but it's actually a birthmark," she said. "I'm Rose," she said as she held her hand out.
"I'm Jermaine," I said as I shook her hand.
"I'll, uh, see you around," she said.
"Yes! Most definitely," I said with a bigger smile.
The following day, she introduced me to her twin sister Daisy. The absence of a birthmark and the presence of a beauty mark below her left eye were the only ways to tell Daisy apart from Rose. I became fast friends with Daisy.
The week of Valentine's Day, our school announced they were holding a Love Cruise in the nearby harbor. Even though we'd only known each other for a few weeks, I planned on asking Rose to go on the cruise with me. To my surprise, she actually said yes.
I wore a black suit jacket over a green dress shirt and a beige tie. I also wore black slacks and black dress shoes. She wore a purple dress, black heels, and stockings that were a couple of shades darker than her skin. Daisy also went to the dance. She wore a magenta-pink dress, silver dangle earrings, silver bracelets, and brown heels. She wore her hair in a large, wavy ponytail.
The three of us had a blast at the dance. We took turns dancing with each other. We sampled the refreshments, which I didn't enjoy too much because it was mostly salads. At the end of the dance, we took pictures together.
After the dance, Daisy and Rose introduced me to their friends Kara and Sara. Sara and Kara were also twins. Their hairstyles and outfits were radically different from each other. Sara looked like the poster girl for spring and summer. I couldn't really describe Kara's attire, only that it was far more casual than Sara's.
"More twins?" I asked. "All right!" I said.
"They're not just twins. They're oracle twins," Rose said.
"Huh?" I asked.
"They're seers. As in, they can see the future," Daisy said.
"Wow. That's so cool!" I said.
"Hi! You're cute!" Sara said to me with a big smile. "Wanna know the exact time and day you're gonna die?" she asked as her eyes glowed gold.
"Uh…," I said.
"You're gonna get money and new video games for Christmas. Wooptie-tap-dancing-doo for you," Kara said as her eyes also glowed gold.
"Um…," I said.
"Here's the deal, Jermaine. Sara, little miss sunshine, can only see the bad stuff that's gonna happen," Rose said.
"Kara, miss doom-and-gloom, can only see the good stuff. Go figure," Daisy said.
"I get horrible, disturbing visions that haunt my every waking moment. Not to mention my nightmares. When you only see bad stuff, even the smallest bit of good news makes you happy! Life's too short to let a little bad news stop you from living," Sara said with a chipper giggle.
"My visions always seem to have cinnamon rainbows with jumping puppies in them. I hate puppies. When you only see good things, nothing is special anymore. All the pleasant surprises are taken out of life," Kara said.
"I have powers, too!" I said.
"You do?" Rose asked.
"Yes. Dragon up!" I said.
I changed into my dragon form. The transformation was accompanied by flames running across my body. I let out a small roar once the transformation was complete. The girls gaped and gasped.
"You're a dragon?!" Daisy asked.
"Yes, but I've only been one for about a month-and-a-half," I said.
"Whoa," Rose said.
One night, Andam and I took a stroll through the park. The full moon was out. We heard neighing and whinnying nearby. A small herd of unicorns galloped past us.
They were being chased by a man wearing a dragon skull on his head, a ninja-esque outfit, and a fur cape. Andam said this was the Huntsman. He was the leader of the Huntsclan, an evil organization dedicated to killing magical creatures, especially dragons. The Huntsclan had been around as long as the Order of the Dragon.
"What do we do, Andam?" I asked.
"Not we. You," he said.
"Me? As in, alone? Solo?" I asked.
"It's time to put your dragon training to the test," he said.
I dragoned up. I flew towards the Huntsman and tackled him to the ground. Before he could get back up, I breathed a wall of fire around him. He was forced to flee. The unicorns were safe, for now.
"This is not over, dragon!" the Huntsman said.
"Well done, young dragon," Andam said.
The following night, there was another dragon emergency. The Huntsclan were pursuing a mermaid named Silver and a water nymph named Brook along a river. I combined my firebreathing with Brook's water powers to drive the Huntsclan away. Afterwards, Silver gave me a hug as thanks for rescuing her and Brook.
For the next few months, I spent more time with Rose. We participated in an Easter egg hunt in the park, which got derailed because of the Huntsman trying to get his hands on a griffin egg. I managed to stop him by tricking him into thinking a random, broken Easter egg was the griffin egg.
Rose and I auditioned for the lead roles in our school's production of Antony and Cleopatra. We also later auditioned for the lead roles in our school's production of Romeo and Juliet. We landed the parts both times. We alternated between practicing our lines at her house and my house. Our drama teacher applauded our performances.
Rose and I went on a school-sponsored ski trip. Neither of us had any skiing experience, but we still enjoyed ourselves. At the end of the trip, we shared our first kiss. From that point on, we were dating. To say our family and friends were excited for us is an understatement.