Stellaluna's POV

Every fruit bat had to go to school. There was several locations in and around the cave where classes took place, and every one of them taught the same things: Flying through harsh weather, swimming, Fruit Bat heritage, all the leader's the fruit bat colony had throughout the years, migration, hibernation, different locations in the jungle..Just about everything a fruit bat would need to know.

My teacher is called Samson, or 'Sam' as we call him. He teaches the outside class, so we usually spend all our class time outside. When I first met him, I thought he was strange because of how thin and tall he was but he turned out to be very athletic and was even a lifeguard as well as a teacher. I quickly grew to like him shortly after my first day in his class.

Brandon was in my class, so we often sat together. Taiyah, thankfully was in a different class but one of her friends, Aliza, was in it and she always went out of her way to humiliate the other students in the class.

Other then Aliza, I really enjoyed the class!

A few nights after the grey bats arrived, school started up again. Mama said the classes would be extended now that the grey bats had come. It was decided that the fruit bat teachers should teach they grey bats the area and hunting spots so they could find bugs to eat.

I quickly realized it wasn't just the young grey bats being taught this, the adults and elderly grey bats were being taught the same things. I guess Goldrah really wanted to make sure Veneta and her grey bat colony were comfortable.

There was ten in my class originally, but today there ten extra kids and they were all grey bats.

I stood next to Brandon, anxiously waiting for something to happen.

But it seemed the grey bats were just as uneasy and nervous I felt. Most of them were looking down at the grassy floor, avoiding eye contact all together. Some were pretending to be preoccupied with looking at the trees and bushes all around us.

This close, I could see their features easier. There were two girls and eight boys in total, and all of them looked similar but different from each other. One of the girls was the girl Brandon and I saw that first night, and the other was looking down at the ground with that nervous expression most of the boys had.

There was three boys that stood together. Almost instantly, I knew they were trouble. One of them had a devious smirk on his face, trying to look superior then he really was. The second had eyes that looked as if they could look right through me. The last one was tall, but not nearly as tall as Sam. What scared me about him was his muscles and his empty eyes. What could he possibly do to me and Brandon?

"Settle down, everyone! Its time to meet our new students." Said Sam.

We all sat on the floor, except for the grey bats who stood awkwardly beside Sam.

"Now, as you all know, the grey bats will be staying with us for a while and that mean's they'll be joining our class for the session. I'm sure you all remember your first day of school and how hard and scary it was so I want you all to treat them as you would like to be treated." Sam then turned his attention to a leaf with some names on it. "When I call your name, I want you to say 'here' and say something about yourself." He said to the grey bats.

"Pete?"

"Here." Answered a gray bat with the fur on the top of his head sticking up like a mohawk. "I'm..Pete, and..And I like sleeping in." Everyone giggled nervously as he said that.

"Very good." Said Sam. He then called out another name. "Spot?"

A grey bat with a black spot on his eye and one black ear answered. "Here. I'm Spot and I like food!" He said, acting more bolder then Pete.

He mad us laugh, who doesn't like eating?

"Hahaha, good one Spot." Sam giggled at him. "Dale and Grace?

"Here." Said the boy with the devious smirk and the girl who's eyes were to the floor. Its only at that moment that I realized that they were twins. They looked exactly the same! Except, the boy, Dale? had intimidating and threatening eyes while his sister, Grace? had soft, but almost distant, eyes.

Dale spoke first. "I'm Dale and I like to hangout with my friends, Nathan and Rory." The tall boy and the boy with the see-through eyes, waved as Dale spoke. Grace was next to speak. "I'm Grace and I like to sing." She said. Even their voices were different.

Sam smiled at them. "Nice. And Nathan and Rory, since your both here, why don't the two of you go next?" He asked.

Rory shrugged. "Ok, well. I'm Rory, and he's Nathan." He said nudging Nathan's shoulder. Nathan waved. "Hi." He said. "We just like to hang with Dale."

"Alright, I like it." Said Sam. "Mindy."

It was her. "..Here.." She said, with no enthusiasm. She blinked, looking nervously from face to face. "..I..I'm Mindy…I don't know what I like.."

Something about how she said that made Sam concern. "Is something wrong, Mindy?" He asked gently. Which Mindy answered with a shake of the head. "No..I'm fine.." But her eyes told a different story.

Later that same day, during lunch, things took a turn for the worst.

Brandon and I were just looking for fruit, and just happen to over hear Taiyah and Aliza picking on someone.

"Oh you want it? Come and get it, Nora!" Taiyah teased.

"Your so pathetic, Nora! You can't get it even if you tried!" Added Aliza.

Taiyah and Aliza were teasing on poor Nora. Taiyah carrying her human toy with her feet, while Aliza held her down as she struggled to get it back.

Before I could even say anything, Brandon flew over to them and grabbed the toy out of Taiyah's claws. "Stop it!" He said, frowning at the two. "Leave her alone!"

Aliza giggled. "Oh please, Runt. You know we'r only playing with her." She said, shoving Nora to the floor.

Nora had tears in her eyes, and was crying in her claws. A sight that broke my heart.

I only knew Nora because of Brandon. She wasn't in our class, but we often hung out with her. She was Brandon's cousin, and was my second real friend in the fruit bat colony. She was also bullied by Taiyah and Aliza too but it seemed like they bullied her because they found it funny that she was in one of the Special Ed class's.

"Just get out of here, before I tell Sam and Madge what you did!" I said as I flew down to Nora and hugged her. She wrapped her wings around me and pulled me into a tight hug.

Taiyah looked disgusted with me. "Eww! Now you got her germs!"

Aliza grand. "Ugh, now your going to catch her stupidity!"

That did it…Brandon lost it…He threw the doll to the ground and practically cornered both girls to the tree. "Don't you dare call my cousin stupid!" He yelled at them.

Somehow, Taiyah and Aliza managed to slip out of Brandon's grip and they both flew away. If they knew any better, they'd fly out of the jungle for sure.

Brandon stands up for himself and for Nora and I, but he never gets physical with his enemies. He gets close, he yells at them. Sometimes giving them a warning shove, but thats as far as it usually goes.

He picked up the doll and walked over to Nora and I as we broke our embrace. "Here, Nor'." He said as he handed her the doll, which Nora immediately hugged.

That doll was very important to her. Brandon said her dad was the one who got the doll for her. He had found it when he was getting fruit for her and decided to give it to her since it appeared to be abandoned.

"Did they hurt you, Nora?" I asked her. Nora just shook her head. Like Flitter, she can't speak. But not exactly like Flitter. She can make sounds, but can't form words. She peered to communicate through head nods rather then with speaking.

Brandon gently hugged her, wrapping her in his small wings. "Don't listen to them, Nor'. Your not stupid. They just want to make themselves look good, that's all."

Nora bit her lip, a habit she had grown into recently. Brandon patted her to stop her from doing it. "Did you..Did you meet any of the grey bats?" He asked her.

A small smile appeared on Nora's face and she nodded happily. I love her smile, her face brightens up and her soft, light fur seems to shine when she smiles.

"Good." Said Brandon, smiling back at her.

"Did you make any new friends with them?" I asked her.

To my relief, she nodded. Looking happier as she did. Haha, typical Nora! Leave it her to find a friend in her class. She then pointed to Brandon and I, as if to ask. 'Did you?'

We both shook our heads. "No, but we at least know their names so thats a start." Said Brandon.

Suddenly, we heard it. A scream. Brandon, Nora and I looked all around us, but saw nothing…At least, not at first.

Mindy suddenly fell out of the bushes, landing on her back. She scrambled to get up, but wasn't quick enough. Another grey bat, Rory, sprang from the bushes and held her down. "Not so fast, Ninny!" He teased, grinning a dangerous grin.

One Brandon didn't like.

"Nora, get back to class." He said without looking at her. Nora quickly ran into the direction her class was in. Clutching her doll in her arms as she went.

"Brandon, maybe we should-" I was going to suggest we go get Sam for help, but Brandon had a different idea. Before I could stop him, he ran over to Rory and Mindy and stood in front of them.

"Hay! Whats going on here?! Get off of her!" Brandon boldly snapped at him. Mindy looked up at him with surprise in her eyes, while Rory just ironed at him. "Stay out of this, ya one eyed runt!" He then spat at Brandon, which splashed right on his leg. Making him back away.

Then, to my shock, he punched Mindy. Right in the face. "Aaaahhh!" She screamed as his fist came down on her.

At that moment, Brandon charged at him. Pushing him off of Mindy and they both hit a tree. So hard, I swear I heard the bark crack. Mindy quickly got to her feet and stood next to me. Her nose was bleeding, and one of her eyes was bruised and black.

She and I could only watch in terror as they fought. Rory punching Brandon's face and kicking him in the stomach, while Brandon desperately tried to bite him or scratch him. Anything that could get him off of him!

I knew I should get help. Sam could easily break this up, but my legs were like jello and my wings simply won't move. I opened my mouth to scream for help, but my throat couldn't even make a sound. I felt like I was frozen, and I wished I could melt into the bark of the trees around me and just hide there.

Just as Brandon finally managed to bite Rory's arm, an adult suddenly appeared. "what is going on here?!" She demanded. It was Callie, one of the teachers. She was the one who supervised the detention area. While Sam, Madge and the other teachers gave us lessons, she was the one who watched us when we get in trouble. She doesn't look much different then other fruit bats, but its her eyes that makes her distinctive. Her eyes are about as cold and cruel as ice.

"He started it!" Rory quickly claimed. Pointing at Brandon. Oh poor Brandon!

Brandon's lip was cut and bruises were all over his stomach. His only good eye was bruised shut. Blinding him.

I watched Callie's face. Hoping she would see past Rory's lies. She has to see it! Brandon has much more serious bruises then Rory does!

With a frown, she helped Brandon up and then grabbed Rory by his wing. "Both of you are coming with me. Now."

A/N:

Finally got that done!

Incase any of you are wondering, yes Nora is autistic. The reason why I did that is, I'v been in functional classes my entire life and I wanted to reflect that a little in the story. Those of you who may have concerns for that, please don't worry about that. Nora is only a miner character, and she'll only appear two or three times in the story. Her real purpose is to show more of Brandon's character.

In the next chapter, Stellaluna and Mindy will officially meet! XD

Hope you all liked this one and please review!