Alice's life was just a typical one, or at least that's what she thought. She was 13 and in the middle of New York City, she was smart and out going, with a caring mom. Her mom had gotten pregnant at 17 and had her the same year, one of those teen pregnancies that people don't hear about. Her dad had left her mom before she was born; her mother had always assured her he was a great guy. She had said he had to make a choice and he hadn't chosen the right one. But then again Alice didn't get it because her mom ad never told her what the choice had been. So she assumed he had left them because he cared, whatever that meant.

School was good (she was very smart), sports were great for her; she excelled in track, and was an amazing swimmer. Her coach had said it was like "she was a real fish" and she could breath under water. She was always getting trouble, and when she did she would just flash her mom with her sea-green eyes and her mom would only replay,

"Your so much like him." And just sad smile.

A couple of months earlier, she had, been attacked on her street by a crazy old man who had run out of his bushes yelling " You shall die very soon daughter of the Tidal one!" He had a huge rusty sword that looked like it was glowing. He had slashed it at her and made a long thin gash down her right leg. Suddenly the old man began to crumple to the floor in a mess out of nowhere, as if an invisible warrior was attacking him. But as he crumbled he managed to get out of the grasp of the grasp of her invisible hero and jump at her knocking her to the ground as she tried to run away

Alice didn't know what was wrong with the guy who had attacked her, that day but it had terrified her, so she had told her algebra teacher about it who had called the police and her mother. Now she had hesitated every time she walked to and from school, peering thought the window of the large olive green house on the corner franticly to see if the man was there. Her mother had said that the he was under some kind pill overdose. And that he didn't have a sword but a gun. She didn't get why she her mom knew or thought she knew these things, or had she been there. She didn't understand.

Things like that were always happing to her she didn't understand that too. When she was in kindergarten a student teacher and the teacher had suddenly grown fangs and had been chasing her. When her mother had come to pick her up, she freaked when she saw her daughter fainted on the floor and the teachers gone. A bus driver with long claws and she could have sworn her best friends mom had horns sticking out of her high red bun. Things like that weren't supposed to happed on regular basis.

But today she assumed it would be fine it was the second to last day of school, a sunny day in June and the sun was high in the sky. She had gone through school accordingly; PE, math, chemistry, English & history, they were reviewing the Greeks & Greek Myths for the Finals the next day. The last period of the day was her elective, which was a sport, swimming. She did track the rest of the year but she loved swimming. And she seemed to feel more confident and a lot stronger in the water.

After she changed in to her green and blue swim team uniform they started their warm-up laps and as they walked to the diving boards for their friendly Friday meet, one of meaner girls came up to her.

" Hey Chase, I'm having a beach party Saturday, but you're not invited, no freaks allowed. My mom doesn't want you there with your mom cause she doesn't want me to turn into a pregnant collage drop-out like your momma is."

" What did you just say about my mom, you moron?"

Alice lunged her fist but her friends Dana & Becky helps her back.

"Come one Alice she's not worth it. And besides you swim way better that she does."

She refrained; even though shed love to she René's head on the pavement.

The whistle blew, she jumped off the diving board, flashing through the first lap then the second like racecar going down a track. As she turned for the last lap she spotted René flipping for the lap just as she was, she felt a churning feeling in her stomach, mostly anger and something she didn't understand. And Whoosh! As she swam toward the finish line she heard a crash, it wasn't her but someone close by. She came in first, but was still wondering what had happened. She looked over and saw René head first against the bottom of the board wedged between the pavement and the board. She could believe it and she didn't know what had happened but she was sort of happy about.