I want to fly (Like a dragon)

The cafeteria is full of chatter and laughing. I am not having lunch there. The hallways are full of friends and couples. I am not eating here either. I finally find a peaceful place to eat on the roof. The school rooftop has a beautiful view of azure skies dotted with clouds.

"Excuse me."

I turn to see who is interrupting my lunch. It's Katori.

"Do you mind if I…sit with you?"

"I guess not."

She smiles and sits next to me.

"Thank you so much for last time," she gobbled down her rice and curry.

Though she didn't say much, I could tell she was more than just grateful. She sees me as a good friend, if not, her only friend. I look at the clouds while I quietly eat from my bento box.

"The sky is beautiful, isn't it?"

I nod.

"Shiro. Have you ever dreamt of flying in the sky?"

"I do."

The school bell rang. I clean up my things and make my way to the stairway.

"Shiro. Could I ask you something before you go?"

"Ask."

"Could we maybe walk home together? This assignment I have looks really hard and I heard from your classmates that you're a prodigy."

"Meet me at the gates when school is over."

Her face is elated. She wrapped her arms around and gave me a big squeeze.

Like I promised. I met her at the gates.

"Thank you for helping me!"

"It's nothing."

I brought her to my front door steps.

Knock knock

"Come in," my grandmother swung the door open".

She showed me the assignment she was stuck on. She watched me like a hawk as I explained to her how to solve the problems for her assignment. An hour barely passed, despite this, she fell asleep.

I gently closed the door to my bedroom.

"Is your friend already asleep? I don't remember school being THAT boring when I was her age."

"It can't be helped. I'll just wait for her to wake up."

"Don't worry. I'll watch her."

I opened the door to the front porch.

The next ten minutes I put my drone to work. It hovers for five minutes before running out of batteries.

"Hmm…," I look at the chip's coding, checked the parts.

"Ahh…The propellers need to be replaced."

"Wow. You really are a genius," Katori sits and looks at my drone.

"Thanks…It's from my mother."

"Oh…I'm sorry to hear that."

Silence. I force myself to speak, "It… It was a long time ago. She wanted to make a flying machine."

She nods then focuses her eyes somewhere else. She tries not to look at me directly. Her shoulders tense up.

"Shiro. Remember when those bullies picked on me?"

"Yes. The horns are a strange form of cosplay. It makes you stick out. Still…I wonder why they were so hostile to you. Your sense of fashion isn't that bad."

Katori chuckles, but shake her head.

"No. That's not why. Haven't you heard the rumors?"

"What rumors?" I scratch my head in confusion.

"I'm not interested in gossip. Most of its false information spread by petty students."

"The students think I'm a dragon."

"Dragon?" I smirk, "People have such wild imaginations."

"It's true," Katori said without a hint of sarcasm.

I look at her baffled, but nod my head.

"Can you prove it?"

"Yes. But not here."

She held my hand and whisked me away. I wanted to tell her to let go. I wanted to say she was crazy. Dragons don't exist. They're a myth. Yet…Why do I believe her? I had this strange feeling that everything she is telling me is the truth.

We were at the front of the school.

"I'll show you on the roof."

"Katori…We can't get to the roof. The doors are locked."

"We don't need to. Wait," she took a deep breath.

"It's late. Maybe we should-

She shape-shifted into a huge creature with golden skin and two wide wings each the length of a football field.

I stood dumb-founded. My mind raced for a logical explanation. I pinched myself. I close my eyes.

"Do you believe me now?"

I nod.

"She really is a beast," someone scoffed.

Three men in black jackets approached the two of us. They carry baseball bats on their shoulders.

"The freak is a dragon. Let's teach her a lesson."

"Are you three stupid?!" I pointed at them, "You can't hurt her."

"Why not?"

"Even if you wanted to… you wouldn't be able to scratch her."

"Want to see us try?" the leader hissed while rattling his bat.

"No. I don't want to see three corpses on the floor. Go home before she gets violent."

Katori pulled me aside.

"It's okay, Shiro," she changed back into her human form and cast a spell on the three,

"I want you three to go home. When you come back to school, apologize to the principal and accept whatever punishment he gives you."
Their eyes flashed green. Without a single complaint, they disappeared into the night.

"Katori," a stern voice called. It was the same woman who visited my mother's grave.

"Did you reveal your identity to him?"

"Mom. I can expla-" She interrupts her, "Do you have any idea the danger we could be in? Do you know what will happen if they find us?"

Katori nods.

The woman glares at me, "If you tell anyone what happened here I will make sure you regret it."

I shake my head, "No one would believe me. Still…You never told me who you are. If you're my aunt…Why didn't you take me in?"

"Shiro-"

Katori gave me a mortified expression as if I said something I would regret for the rest of my life. I don't care. This woman knew my mom. Yet never took me in. My grandmother this whole time raised me herself while having to work as a store owner. She abandoned me. Now she is threatening me. Why? Why is she treating me like a stranger? What did I ever do to her?

The thought really pisses me off.

"I will tell you the truth. I used to live with your mother a long time ago. We were very close, but we parted ways."

"…Was it something mom said? Is that why you hate me?"

"No…It was for other reasons…I- I don't hate you. You're a child. And whenever I see you…I'm reminded of miss Kobayashi. Just looking at you fills me with grief."

"I see…I'm sorry. I won't tell anyone what happened. I promise."

I turned around and walked home. I wanted to say something to Kotori, but it was clear that her mother…Tohru, wanted nothing to do with me.

I arrived at the front door of my home.

Knock knock.

There was no response.

"Grandma?"

I knocked again…this time much louder.

Knock Knock
"Grandma!?" I swung open the door.

Everything went by so fast. I was holding her frail body in my hands. I cried. A lot. The ambulance didn't make it to my home on time. The ER team wrapped a blanket around me.

They were talking to themselves.

"What do you mean he doesn't have any other family members? What am I supposed to do with him?"

With no living family members left that would make me an orphan. With no home or anyone to turn to. I could live in a foster family. I would be able to graduate and find work like anyone else.

I didn't want to go. Tohru. Katori. They know my mother. I had so many questions to ask them.

I wondered if they would take me in. I suppose I had no other choice. The ambulance drivers and officers were busy with my grandmother. Now is my chance. I snuck past them and as soon as I was out of sight I ran. Where would two dragons live? Somewhere quiet and empty. Tohru said that she was very close to my mother. I had a feeling that she also meant that literally. The one place she could live in peace was…My mother's apartment.