I'm going to be honest with you here. I'm not good at starting stories.

Let me introduce myself. My name's Aria, although for a while I went by the Endergirl, since it is...or at least was so dangerous to look me in the eye.
The last few months have been pretty hectic, but things have finally started to blow over around here, and Atlas has been pressing me to get my thoughts down on paper to get things in order. 'You've gotta get the story straight for the history books!' He keeps telling me. Eon would never admit it himself, but I can tell he agrees with him.
Oh wait, who's Atlas? Who's Eon? I'm getting ahead of myself. I suppose the best place to start the story would be about...wow, 6 months ago. Has it really been that long?
Anyway, I'll start in the marketplace.

Notchton's marketplace was bustling with activity, even more so that particular day. Word was spreading like wildfire about the supply ship that had recently returned to Notchton. They were doing a routine supply run to an offshore project, something about space travel, not that that sort of thing would be unusual around here. There were so many crazy projects since the Forge exploded that it was hard to keep track of them all. As I walked through the market, wearing dark sunglasses, I heards bits of conversation like:
"Hey, you heard about Captain Daniels?"
"...one of the sharpest guys I know, and he came back a babbling wreck!"
"Him, and three other crew members! I saw them wheel them in!"
"...in the world happened?"
"I heard he saw circles!"
Then in a lower voice; "Uh oh, speak of the Nether."
That last one was about me, I could tell. I carefully angled myself away from them, and wove through the crowd, clutching my bag of food close.
As I finally broke away from the crowd, glances of worry and surprise following me, I took a look at my clock. It was almost sunset! I took off like a firework, nearly knocking off my sunglasses, but pushing them back on before they could fall off. I couldn't be late for my tutoring tonight, it was my last lesson! I had gotten the urge to prepare something for my teacher, maybe a cake or something, but It had gotten so late that unless I got lucky, I might run into-
"Whoops!" A familiar voice called as I tripped over an outstreched foot.
I hit the ground pretty solidly, the food in my bag flying across the ground as I instinctively grabbed my sunglasses, keeping them firmly on my head. I looked up at the eggs and wheat that were scattered across the ground. I reached for them, but all of a sudden, a foot came down and crushed some of the eggs. I looked around, and saw five more pairs of legs surround me, laughing. The Diamond Fraternity. I sighed. Who was I to ask for a bit of luck, anyway?
I looked up at the tall blonde boy in front of me. He wasn't quite as visible in the fading light, but I recognized him immediately. He looked down at me and grinned, saying,
"Well, well, well! Now what's a little Endergirl like you doing out so late?"
I started to stand, and said nervously,
"I was just going home, Harvard. Please, just leave me alone."
"Going for some more home schooling, huh?" Harvard asked, not moving. He glanced down at the groceries scattered across the ground, and chuckled,
"You got a cooking class too? What's all this for?"
"Nothing." I said shakily as I tried to go around him to pick up what I could.
"You know, I can't say I'm too much for eggs..." He said as he stomped on another one of the eggs.
"Hey! Stop!" I exclaimed. I tried to push him away, but the others held me back as he stomped on another two.
Shake them off! My mind screamed at me. Shake off your sunglasses! That'll get them away!
It took every ounce of restraint I had to not listen. Before long, I was thrown back into the mud. I felt a foot on my back pin me to the ground, and Harvard's voice said, with an edge of viciousness this time around,
"Remember the reason you have to homeschool? Because you're a freak. I'm surprised that Stevie even found a tutor crazy enough to be in the same room as you."
I squeezed my eyes shut behind my sunglasses, fighting back tears. My senses were still reeling from what was going on. Harvard was terrible, for sure, but he never got physical like this before.
He must have been having a really terrible day, to have gotten this violent.
Harvard's terrible day?! What about your terrible day?!
"Hey! What in the unholy Nether are you doing to my student?!"
Relief flooded through my veins. My tutor was here. I felt the foot lift off my back, and I stood up as the entire Diamond Fraternity quickly looked at the newcomer.
His green eyes were full of rage. His brown hair gleamed in the light of the redstone lamps that were illuminating all along the streets. He wore a blue shirt, dark blue pants, and grey shoes, as per his usual attire.
"P-Principal Bryan!" One of the kids stammered.
"You're...you're the Endergirl's..."
"Her name is Aria," Bryan snapped. "And yes. So...Harvard."
Bryan stepped forward, radiating authority. He stopped in front of Harvard, who stood with a serious, mildly arrogant expression.
"Explanation. Now."
Silence.
"Might I remind you..." Bryan said slowly, "That this is called assault? Punishable by prison?"
"I thought assault meant attacking a person." Harvard said calmly.
"It does, and she's a far better person than some people I know!" Bryan shouted.
That hit home, I could tell. The arrogance immediately left Harvard's face, replaced by anger.
Bryan squared his shoulders, and slowly walked over to my side.
"Every single one of you is going to be part of an extremely unpleasant conversation in my office tomorrow." He growled.
"You're lucky I don't expel all of you right now. And if I ever see anything like this happening again, I will. Now go home! All of you!"
As they left, and Bryan was turning to face me, Harvard muttered loudly enough for us to hear,
"Bryan befriending monsters. Talk about Deja' Vu."
Ouch.
Several emotions crossed Bryan's face in a split second as he froze. The first was shock, then anger, and then...
Guilt. Sadness.
It only lasted for a moment though, because he almost instantly regained his composure and looked at me.
"Are you hurt?" He asked gently.
I shook my head.
"I'm fine." I said.
"This isn't the first time this has happened, is it?" Bryan sighed.
"Well..." I said, "Well this specifically, no. Usually it's just... verbal."
"That stuck up, trust-fund -" Bryan growled under his breath. "Just like Harvard, picking on a girl half his size."
Bryan glanced around at the trampled wheat, eggs and sugar.
"What was all this for?" he asked.
"Oh, well, you know... since it's my last day of school and all, I thought I would... make something?"
Bryan sighed, and looked at me, smiling faintly.
"Come on." He said comfortingly. He put his hand on my shoulder, and said,
"Let's get you cleaned up."

After class that night, Bryan and I sat in the living room of my cabin, shooting the breeze.
"So then I said to Stevie..." Bryan chuckled as I laughed,
"I said, 'Wait, your classroom? I've been putting my paperwork in there for months!"
I laughed even harder as he finally broke down. After a few moments of hysterical laughter, Bryan said, wiping the tears from his eyes,
"Man, me and my bro. Night and Day."
We both were quiet for a moment.
"Well, Aria," Bryan said,
"It's been an honor being your teacher. I can see a pretty bright future for you around here."
I asked, puzzled.
"How so?"
Bryan cocked an eyebrow, and we both just looked at each other for a moment.
Then, he asked simply…
"Do you think… do you think I could see them? Your eyes?"
I opened and closed my mouth. Nobody had ever asked me that before.
"Bryan..." I said. "Are you sure? I mean, I don't want you to..."
"Oh, I have an Elliptical Tolerance of 32." Bryan said, waving his hand.
"It'll only be like… like looking at a torch."
I thought about this. I was never really clear on if 32 was a high Elliptical Tolerance, because I'd never had to worry about that before. I remembered the first person I seriously hurt with my eyes, I heard he had an ET of about 3. ET's varied pretty greatly, depending on who you are, so I never knew what would happen to a random person who did see my eyes.
"Well..." I said uncomfortably, "Okay...but at the first sign of pain, look away. Please."
Bryan nodded, and leaned forward eagerly. Slowly, I reached for my sunglasses, and took them off.
I could tell when Bryan made eye contact with me, because he blinked a couple of times, and started to squint, his forehead creasing. My eyes, although they were still in rectangular sockets, had chestnut brown circles in them, and unlike Bryan's eyes, which were just a solid square of green, in the center of each circle in my eye was a smaller black one. I had no idea what the black circles did, but I had noticed that they would shrink in bright light, and get bigger in the darkness.
"Wow." Bryan said, smiling in wonder. "Now that is beautiful."
Beautiful. I had never heard that word used to describe my eyes before. Freakish, unnatural, unfortunate, dangerous, those were the words I was used to hearing.
I quickly put my sunglasses back on, saying equally quickly,
"Well, you know, they don't really do me much good. All they can do is see circles, and there aren't any around here."
"Yeah, but I've caught glances of some of your paintings." Bryan said. "And it seems you can just make them yourself."
He chuckled.
"I can see why Stevie talks about you so much."
I tilted my head.
"Talks about...me?"
"Are you kidding?" Bryan exclaimed.
"'Man, that girl Aria is something else!'" He said, doing his best impression of his twin brother. He stood up, and started pacing around animatedly.
"'We may not be able to comprehend it, but 'smooth angles' are built in to the fabric of the universe! The orbits of planets, the swing of a sword, the shockwave of an explosion, everything, everything uses the principles of smooth angles, and this girl can process them!'"
Bryan turned to me, and said in his normal voice,
"And when it's not Stevie, it's Horatio! They'll go on for ten full minutes on the applications of what you can do!"
Seeing my expression, he added in a calming tone,
"So yeah… it's not a curse."
"Well, I know it has it's uses," I said, "But I just wish that it didn't make me a…you know..."
"I swear, if you say the word monster..." Bryan said, guessing the first word my mind had come up with, as he had a habit of doing.
"I was a monster once, and believe me, you're not even close to one."
"You weren't either." I said. "It was Herobrine that did all those things, not you."
He sighed. "Well, I still have all the wonderful memories."
We were quiet for a long moment. Suddenly, Bryan gave a dismissive wave, saying,
"Ah, but we're not here for my sob stories. But listen, take it from probably the world expert on people getting into your head… don't let those kids get into your's."
I smiled softly. He always had a way of making me feel better.
Suddenly, Bryan looked as if he had almost forgotten something.
He pulled out his clock and looked at it.
"I almost forgot! It's about time for your graduation ceremony!"
"What?" I asked. "Here? Now?"
Bryan nodded, glowing with excitement.
"Well, the now part at least, not exactly the here."
From behind me came a sharp PMF!
A flash of purple from behind me lit up the room. I froze in place, knowing instantly who had just appeared in the room, but still not quite believing it. Bryan was beaming as he said,
"And here's our ride."
I slowly turned around, holding my breath. The person standing behind me had jet black hair, just like mine. He wore a long white labcoat, and his purple eyes faintly glowed.
Councilman Horatio was in my house.
He smiled at me, which made me feel even closer to passing out than I already felt, and extended his hand toward me.
"Aria Wells!" He said in a friendly tone. "Wonderful to finally meet you in person. Ready to go?"

Horatio, Bryan and I reappeared in a large dark room, in a small circle of light cast by a block of glowstone above our heads. As we let go of each other's hands, Horatio disappeared for a moment, then reappeared in front of me. He held out a graduate's cap and robe to me, and said with a grin,
"And of course, we can't have a graduation without the hat, right?"
I said nothing. My head was spinning, but not from the teleportation. The feeling was incomparable, like… like a…
I can't even think of anything. See? Incomparable!
I took the cap and robe without a word, just standing there gaping. Horatio put his hand on Bryan's shoulder, and they both disappeared, leaving me standing there in the shaft of light, surrounded by darkness. I stared at the cap for a few seconds.
I had never expected to have one of my very own in my life. After my first real incident when I put somebody in the hospital, I had given up on even thinking of applying for the University. Stuck in a building, surrounded by people who were so afraid of me, and who I could so easily hurt? Not in any universe. But that was when Bryan had knocked on my door.
"Ms. Aria?" he had asked me. "Principal Bryan, University of Minecraft. We have an offer for you."
It had started out as strictly business. He wasn't rude or anything, just more… cautious. Wary. I honestly didn't blame him. The only thing him, Stevie, or the Council had ever known about me was that the blast from the Forge had left me deformed, and that I put somebody in the hospital with the results. But then, Bryan started to talk with me after class was done. It started as a few minutes, but that quickly stretched into hours, and before long…
Before long, Bryan was my first friendsince the Forge.
And even then, I had never expected a full ceremony for my graduation! I just thought that Bryan would hand me my diploma at my house and tell me I did a good job.
Speaking of which, where was I?
I put my cap on my head, and slipped my robe on. Almost immediately after I did, the rest of the lights turned on one by one, slowly revealing Notchton Castle's massive auditorium where the University's graduation ceremonies were held. As the last row of lights flickered to life, they revealed the wooden platform where the graduates would stand and receive their assignments, and right in front of that were the three massive platforms where the Council of Notchton stood. On the left platform stood Councilman Horatio, on the right stood Councilwoman Robin, and on the center platform stood Councilman Andrew.
The seats where the University students normally sat were empty, save for Stevie and Bryan in the front row, the long red carpet stretching out to the graduate's platform in front of me. Andrew was the first to speak, his golden staff glistening brilliantly in the room's light.
"Aria Wells, please step forward."
The walk down the carpet, up the steps, and onto the Graduate's platform felt like a dream. I wanted to pinch myself. I nearly floated up the stairs. I stood on the platform, gazing up into the welcoming faces of the council.
Andrew smiled down at me, and said,
"Welcome, Aria. You look excited to be here."
I looked at him, and stammered,
"It's… I'm just… I never expected to be here in my life!"
Robin said playfully,
"Well, you didn't think we were going to shortchange you, did you? Every University student graduates here, and you're no exception."
"Now, let's get this started." Andrew said. "I usually give a speech at graduation ceremonies, so here goes."
He cleared his throat.
"Aria Wells, you've gone well beyond any of our expectations. I'll admit that we found out about you under less than great circumstances, and we were a little… apprehensive when Stevie suggested tutoring you."
What? Stevie had suggested tutoring me?! Even after everything he had seen me do firsthand? Those horrible words from him rang in my head again;
What did you do to him?!
I still remembered the look of horror on Stevie's face as he was helping that man to his feet, and for a split second, looked me in the eye…
I shook the thought off.
This is a happy time. I thought to myself. Don't think about that.
Andrew continued,
"However, the conversation we had with Bryan after your first day of school was one I'll never forget. Of all the things we had expected you to be, we never expected what Bryan had seen. Instead of the delinquent we were expecting, we found one of the most calm, kind, creative, and empathetic girls we had ever seen. A girl with the qualities of a true Minecrafter. Qualities that we encourage everybody to strive towards. Even though every day, you face opposition because of your gift, you haven't let it make you bitter, and that's truly commendable… no, incredible.
So Aria, before you leave this Castle with your diploma, the Council would like you to know this: There are people in this world who may be afraid of you. There are people in this world who may not appreciate you. But believe us, we do. We know there's a place in the world for you, Aria. And we'll do whatever we can to help you find it."

I hadn't cried tears of joy in three years, ever since the Forge exploded. But as the Council smiled down at me, not like a pitiful, crippled little girl, but like their equal… no, their friend… I felt my chest swell with pride as my eyes fogged up. I laughed as I looked down, and wiped my eyes behind my sunglasses. I regained my composure and looked back up at Andrew.
"Thank you." I said from the bottom of my heart.
Andrew nodded, his smile growing wider.
"Aria Wells..." He announced,
"By the power invested in us, the Council of Notchton hereby proclaims you an honorary graduate of the University of Minecraft! May you Mine with fortune..."
"Craft in peace..." Robin continued,
"And Build in Freedom!" Horatio finished.
There were only five people in the room who were clapping for me, but it felt like all of Notchton was celebrating. I had done it. Despite the odds, despite my deformity, I had graduated!
Horatio disappeared for a moment, and reappeared on the platform with me, holding a rolled up scroll, and my diploma. He gave them both to me, and teleported back to his platform.
"Get a good night's rest, Aria." Andrew said. "You'll be briefed on your assignment tomorrow afternoon. The details are in the scroll. Council dismissed."
He winked at me, and he and Robin walked off their platforms as Horatio teleported away.
I stood motionless for a few moments.
Then, slowly, I turned to face Stevie and Bryan, sitting in the front row. I couldn't control the smile that was spreading across my face. Bryan beamed with pride, and Stevie sat next to him, an approving smile on his face. It was in that moment I knew.
My life had just changed. I no longer cared what the rest of Notchton thought of me, at least in that moment. I was ready to do whatever the Council asked of me, and do it with a smile on my face. I was ready to start searching for my place in the world.

Little did I know that I would find that place sooner rather than later.