Roxanne lowered her bright blue gaze as she walked through the halls, staring down at her books as she listened to the other kids. They were whispering, always, always whispering, about her, about where she had come from, sometimes even about her family. They were always mean things, nasty things, but at least the whispering was better than their open comments, when they yelled insults at her and flaunted their normality in her face. Sometimes they even threw things.
Roxanne wasn't a normal girl. Her skin was the color of the fruit of the bungdo tree, her lips were bright red, and her head was small. Even stranger, she had hair, like some sort of animal. It disgusted the others. Everyone knew that women shouldn't have hair! Only men had hair, and only facial hair, if they didn't shave. Roxanne though...She had hair on her head! How freaky was that!
And it wasn't just her head, either. It was on her arms, and her legs, and armpits, and once in the locker room, Deldja swore that she had seen hair covering her reproductive area. It was sickening, really, and frightening.
The only thing that was really normal about Roxanne was that she was physically the same as anyone else, and her eyes were a beautiful shade of bright blue-blue was a normal color, thank God, though there were a few nasty children who spread rumors about her taking pills to mask the fact that her eyes were actually red.
Roxanne shaved every night to try and rid herself of the hair, and it helped, but her mother refused to let her shave her head (she said the hair "added to her beauty"), and the occasional scabs that appeared on her arms and legs from mishaps while shaving gave some people reasons to spread rumors around that she cut herself (how barbaric!).
Roxanne was also a rather stupid child. Oh, she wasn't un-teachable or anything, and she learned well enough for having such a rather small head, but it sometimes took her as many as three repetitions of a lesson for her to grasp it completely. That was why she was a B (and sometimes C) student.
She was the omega of the school, of the entire society, really, and she was well aware of the fact. Even her clothes were different. She was one of the few children in school who wore clothes that weren't totally white, and while for the other kids it was a privilege and honor, a symbol of high rank, for Roxanne it was just another thing that made her different.
The silent whisperings of the hall were suddenly broken as someone called out, "Freak!" Everyone started laughing, and Roxanne picked up speed, wanting to get out of the halls as fast as possible. "Bungdo-skin!" "Small in the brain much?" "Oh, look, someone let the beast out of her cage again!" "Don't we have leash laws around here?" "Where's your minion-you didn't eat her, did you?" "Hey ugly, I heard you tried to kill yourself again! Too bad you failed!" "Oh my, you might want to get a higher prescription, Aida, the red is showing in your eyes!" A cup flew through the air and hit Roxanne in the back of the head. Then a spoon. And then the books started flying, knocking her to the floor as books of all sizes, colors, and shapes were thrown at the school freak.
Roxanne bent her head as she lay on the floor, arms going up to protect her head as the tears began to flow. She didn't want them to see her cry, but she couldn't help it. She was only Cerulean-or, at least, on the inside she was. On the outside she was human.
"What is wrong with you!" A voice cut through the laughter and taunting, and everyone was suddenly silent. Roxanne listened as boot steps clacked toward her through the pristine halls. "You should all be ashamed of yourselves!" His voice cried out, and Roxanne sensed someone beside her as a young man kneeled down at her side. Strong, nimble hands gripped her gently, and her eyes blinked open as he helped her up. She couldn't believe her eyes.
Mace Mind was helping her to her feet, looking shocked and disgusted as he did so. But not at her. At everyone else.
"There is absolutely nothing wrong with Aida being who she is!" he shouted at all of them, and some of the kids around her were lowering their heads in shame. "She can't help how she looks, no one can! Just because she's the last living remnant of her species is no reason to tease her, and to throw things at her-" He glared around at them all as Roxanne gained her feet. "It's times like these that I am loathe to call myself Cerulean! Are you alright?" he asked, turning to look at Roxanne. Dazed, Roxanne could only nod, and Mace continued to glare as he scooped up her books, took her by the arm, and walked her down the hall to her class. "I'm sorry," he apologized, glancing behind him at the crowded halls. "I can't believe they would do that! I wish you well," he added a little curtly, catching sight of the time and pressing his forehead briefly against hers. "It was pleasant to meet you, Aida."
Roxanne watched as Mace turned and disappeared down the hall, disappearing in a flurry of black as he caught up to his minion. Mace Mind had just talked to her. More than that, he had saved her! He had come to her rescue!
Roxanne stumbled to her seat and sat down hard, overcome with disbelief. Mace Mind was the most popular kid in school, and the smartest. He had personally developed the official bodysuit for minions, a robotic lendor suit (lendors being large, hairy creatures that looked a little like Ceruleans (the creatures from which they originally evolved) but actually bore a closer resemblance to Roxanne. That was another nickname. Aida, daughter of a lendor), had revolutionized transportation by figuring out the technology for flying bikes, worked out all of the bugs in jet-pack travel, and even created a new kind of minion using robotic technology, ones that flew and resembled a cross between a chiff and a worngall, which he called brainbots-and that was just by the time he was eight!
More than that, Mace came from one of the most prestigious families on the planet, famous scientists all of them-Mr. Macklnn Mind had actually been the scientist to examine her when she first came to the planet and set her up with an almost-as-prestigious adoptive family. He always wore black, and honestly it was a wonderful color on him.
Mace Mind. The most handsome, dashing, intelligent, wonderful, kind, popular kid for miles and miles and miles, and possibly the entire planet, Mace Mind had just helped her. She couldn't believe it! She covered her face with a hand as she blushed and looked down. She'd never admit it to anyone but maybe Gilda and Quicksilver, but she had had a huge crush on Mace Mind for the past four years. Not that he would ever speak to her again.
After all, who wanted a freak?