"Do you really want to know where we come from?" she said. "In every century, in every country, they'll call us something different. They'll say we're ghosts, angels, demons, elemental spirits, and giving us a name doesn't help anybody. When did a name change what someone is?"

Witch!

WITCH!

Look at her; she's such a creep!

So ugly

What a weirdo.

Witch.

My name is Shiemi Moriyama. I'm a 15-year-old girl. That's really about it. I don't want to say anything else. There's no point in telling you about me, you probably have already heard all the rumours. About me, being a witch. That's what people tend to call me, along side seductress, enchantress, voodoo girl, she-devil, hag, and a lot of very rude names that I can't say. What was the other one? Oh yeah, Exorcist.

Ever since I was little, people have called me that. It's because of what my parents do. They are exorcists, which are people that fight demons. I'm no idiot, I know that demons aren't real, and I hate that my parents call this belief a 'job'. Because of them, people prefer to call me names and to bully me. No matter where I go, people will judge me…

"Shiemi?"

I woke with a jolt. I was in school. Great, I fell asleep. I looked up to see my teacher standing in front of me. He looked very angry. The class started laughing at me, and I could feel my cheeks going bright pink.

"Look, the witch feel asleep!"

"How funny, she was probably trying to work her demon killing powers into sleeping!"

Sir didn't even tell the other girls off for saying those things because he feels the same way. They all do.

"Knock it off!"

I looked behind me to see who was talking.

"She just fell asleep, no big deal."

Rin Okumura. I've known him since kinder garden. We've never really spoken before, but I've always had hunch that we could be good friends. That's because he's the one person in class who doesn't call me names or laugh at me. He noticed me looking at him, and glanced out the window. He had this look in his eye, which was so intriguing; I wanted to watch him more. But I quickly turned around, not wanting to seem like a creep. Luckily, the bell went at that moment. Maybe I should thank him for sticking up for me. He might become my friend. I stood up and started to walk towards his desk, but before I could reach him, he darted out of class. I guess not then.

"What are you doing here witch? I thought you were busy fighting fairies!"

"No, my parents don't fight fairies, they fight evil demons!"

"So? I asked you a question! Why are you here in the play ground witchy?"

"I wanted to come play with you guys, I hoped we could be friends!"

"Us friends with you? Don't make me laugh! I don't want to be friends with someone who is living a fairy tale…"

I closed my eyes, trying to block out all the memories. Don't think of them, think about the garden. I sat on the grass of my favourite place in the world. My grandma's garden is the one place I feel at home. Where I can be myself and have fun. Grandma passed away last summer, leaving me to look after it. I wish my grandma was here. She was my only friend, and now she's gone. I don't talk much with my parents because of this silly demon-killing thing. I felt my stomach rumble. Boy, I am hungry. Well seeing as mom and dad aren't back yet, I can go round the corner to the supermarket to get me a snack.

And that's exactly what I did. Now what should I get? Maybe some chocolate will make me feel better… No, I should be more sensible with my food. Oh well, I guess I'll just buy a sandwich.

I walked round the corner to the sandwich section, and right in front of me, was Rin Okumura, holding a basket full of food.

"Rin?"

"Shiemi?"

We said in unison. Rin scratched his head and smiled at me. I'd never seen him smile before, but it looked… familiar.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him, looking at all the food he was carrying.

"Buying some food for tomorrows lunch," he said, looking down.

"Why have you got so much food?" I asked again.

"It's for me and my brother," he answered, picking up a sandwich.

"Oh right! I forgot you had a twin brother," I said, embarrassed. "I'm just here to get a snack."

"Cool." He said.

We stood there for a minute, awkwardly silent.

"Thank you," I mumbled, looking at my feet.

"For what?"

"Standing up for me," I said, feeling myself go bright red. "Why did you? No one else does."

Rin didn't answer, instead he just walked off to pay for his food, leaving me standing there talking to myself. I sighed. Maybe we wouldn't be very good friends after all.

After I paid for my sandwich, I started to walk home. I wish I were able to make friends. I wish I had the courage to stand up for myself. I wish I could be more like…

"Shiemi!"

I turned around to see a running Rin towards me.

"You wanna know why I helped you? Its because I too was bullied like you."