"Hello, Miss Peregrine, It is good to finally meet you." I said, curtsying "I heard you could explain everything to me. Like, for instance WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?"

"Well, let's start with the fact that us people in this loop, are Peculiar, a subspecies of homo sapiens."

"There are peculiars all over the world," she said, "though our numbers are much diminished from what they once were. Those who remain live in hiding, as we was a time when we could mix openly with common folk. In some corners of the world we were regarded as shamans and mystics, consulted in times of trouble, but now we are persecuted."

"So why not just band together and live in a country?"

"If only it had been that simple," she said. "Peculiar traits often skip a generation, or ten. Peculiar children are not always, or even usually, born to peculiar parents, and peculiar parents do not always, or even usually, bear peculiar children. Can you imagine, in a world so afraid of otherness, why this would be a danger to all peculiar-kind?"

"Because you are different, you are persecuted, like me. No one wants to adopt the little Latino girl."

"Exactly, The peculiar offspring of common parents are often abused and neglected in the most horrific ways. It wasn't so many centuries ago that the parents of peculiar children simply assumed that their 'real' sons or daughters had been made off with and replaced with changelings—that is, enchanted and malevolent, not to mention entirely fictitious, lookalikes—which in darker times was considered a license to abandon the poor children, if not kill them outright."

"What? They had no right to do that to children!" My blood began to boil.

"Yes. Something had to be done, so people like myself created places where young peculiars could live apart from common folk—physically and temporally isolated enclaves like this one, of which I am not proud."

"Now I wish even more that I was invisible."

She gave me a knowing smile and continued, "Peculiars are gifted with skills that are infinite in combination and variety. Some skills are common, like reading thoughts, and others are rare, such as the way I can manipulate time."

"Time? That is so cool!"

"She can also turn into a bird!" A little girl with curly hair said "All birds can time travel!"

"Birds can manipulate time?" I asked

Miss Peregrine nodded soberly. "Most slip back and forth only occasionally, by accident. We who can manipulate time fields consciously are known as ymbrynes."

"Ymbryne. Okay." I said "So, Miss, why did the others come get me? I am normal, except for the fact that I'm allergic to cinnamon."

"You will see." She turned "Dinner is in a few minutes, you may wash up. Miss Bloom will take you to the water closet."

"Come on, Maya," Emma said.

"Your last name is Bloom? That's pretty." I said as we went to the Bathroom.

But Emma just smiled at me. I watched as she ran cold water into the tub and then warmed it with her bare hands, swirling them around until steam rose.

"Did I ever tell you how crazy that is?" I said "Thanks, Em, for everything."

She smiled and left me to my business. I remembered when I was small, And my dad would make sure the water was just right, before letting me go in. I turned the water brown, and I got out of the tub to see a dress from like, 1940. It was ankle length, at least.

I put my hair up in pigtails. I looked like a 3rd grader and didn't care. I smoothed my dress.

"What is her peculiarity?" I heard Enoch say, "She must have one, or else she wouldn't be able to enter the loop."

"Shut up, Enoch," Millard snapped "She'll learn her power later."

I walked out of the bathroom as if I didn't just hear the conversation.

"Hello Enoch. What is for dinner?"

"Goose."

"Never tasted that before."

"Well, you'll get used to that."

We walked to the dining room. There were my acquaintances from before, as well as new faces. There was a boy sitting under a mosquito net next to a girl with bush-like hair. There was also a little girl strapped into a chair and wearing a tiara, as well as the little golden haired girl I saw earlier. Finally there was a boy, dressed smartly and looking particularly proud of himself.

"Hello, everyone." I said shyly.

"Hi! I'm Olive! I can float!" The little girl who was strapped to the chair wore the biggest smile on her little face, with brown locks falling all over.

"I'm Claire! And I have a backmouth!" The girl with golden curls showed me that under her hair was a mouth with sharp teeth. I jumped back. The other laughed.

"I'm Hugh and this is Fiona. I have bees, and she can make plants grow." the boy under the mosquito net said.

The smartly dressed boy said "My name is Horace Sumnusson, And I am pleased to make your acquaintance. I have prophetic dreams"

"And you know Millard is invisible, Bronwyn is Strong, And Emma has fire."

"What do Enoch and Jacob do?"

"I can raise the dead, or make things that aren't alive come to life." Enoch said proudly.

"And I can see things others can't." Jacob said.

"Wow. Nice to meet you all." I ate slowly, and quietly. I could not understand why everyone was so loud during dinner. The thing was that if you talked during dinner at my old Foster home you didn't eat.

Millard had on some clothes. He sat right across from me. He kept on trying to make small talk.

"So, what is your favorite book?"

"Definitely Little Women." I said "How about you?"

"The Hobbit." He said without much of a thought.

"Cool." I said and looked down.

"What is your favorite thing to do?"

"Read. And write."

"Why are you so quiet?" Claire asked, her back mouth chewing on a goose led. "Are you like Fiona?"

"No, it's just I'm not used to talking to people while eating." I said

"Well, If Miss Barista does not want to talk, then don't make her." Miss Peregrine said stiffly.

Thankful for the break, I ate in silence and got up from the table and asked where I could find a place to sleep. This peculiarity stuff was too much to handle.

"My parents are on Vacation. You can stay in the guest bedroom." Jacob said.

"Oh, I wouldn't want to intrude on anyone!" I said. "I don't know if your parents would want a runaway living in their house!"

"Miss Peregrine can wipe their memories!" Olive said

I stared at Miss Peregrine. Could she actually do that? Could she wipe the memories of people who knew me?

"Noone's memories are being wiped." Miss Peregrine said sternly. She didn't deny it

"So it's settled. Amaya is staying at Jacob's."

"NO I am not. I'm more used to sleeping on the floor then a rich house. Just please, let me sleep here!"

Miss P. hesitated, then said "Children what do you think?"

"She can sleep in our room!" Claire said excitedly.

"What about the basement?" Enoch said. "There's an empty storage room that I didn't get around to cleaning."

"I'm okay with that!" I said.

"Just be careful to wear ear plugs. Enoch is up late at night."

"Does the door lock?" That wasn't a necessity but it still would make me feel more comfortable, especially after what happened with Smith.

"Yes." Enoch said

"Then I'm good."