I leaned against the school's brick wall, listening to my Ipod. My English class had been cancelled, and instead of working on the many projects I had to eventually do, I had decided on taking the time to relax. Just, recharge for a bit.

Knowing that the school yard was empty because everyone else was in class, under my breath I sang softly to the music.

"If I die young, burry me in satin. Lay me down on a bed of roses. Sink me in the river, at dawn. Send me away with the words of a-" I cut myself off abruptly when I felt a shaky hand grasp my shoulder. "Ow! What-"

I looked up to see a girl in my year, Lana…something, clamped onto my shoulder. She looked bad. She couldn't stop shivering, but she was also sweating. She was unhealthily pale. Her pupils were dilated, which I could see because her eyes were wide in fear. Her mouth was open, as if in a silent scream.

"Lana?" I took out my earphones, when she dropped to the ground. I moved to catch her before she hit, and I was just fast enough to get her before she smacked the ground. I lowered her. "Lana, what's happening? Did you take something? Any drugs? Is this an allergic reaction?"

"I-I-I, it-hurts. Bad." Lana struggled to say.

"I'll get a teacher, my mom can-"

"No! No one! My, hand…it…" Lana stuttered.

I looked down, expecting to see her holding drugs, which would explain why she wouldn't want a teacher to know. What I saw was…unexpected. Her hand was green and scaly. Her nails were black and thick, long and curved. I stared opened mouthed at it before I could get myself under control.

"Uh, right, well." I said, struggling to remain calm. I had an irritating instinct that screamed at me to run and not look back. I was pretty sure what was happening to Lana (ruling out an overdose or allergic reaction). She was a mutant, and was changing. I really didn't know much about mutants. Our towns so small, there might be one living here in secret. On tv I hear about how they're abominations, evil, dangerous. I didn't have much of an opinion about them, one way or the other. My parents never talked about them and my teachers avoided the topic. What if Lana became dangerous?

I unconsciously withdrew from her for a moment. Then she wrapped her not yet changed hand around me, and looked at me pleadingly. That's when my humanity come rushing back. I took her hand in my and said reassuring things to her softly. Just because she's a mutant, doesn't mean she's not human. She must be a gazillion times more scared than I was, and I couldn't be selfish and make her go through this alone.

Ten minutes later, a much different Lana was before me. She pushed herself up into a sitting position and wrapped her arms around her legs. She looked at me and asked in a quiet voice. "Isssss-issss it bad?"

"Oh…no, it's not that bad." I replied in what I hoped was a convincing voice.

Lana looked down. "That bad, huh?"

Lana is French Native, Métis. She had coppery tanned skin, and black eyes. Her silky black hair straightened and down. She had incredibly white teeth and thin red lips. But now, all those features were gone. Her skin was pebbled scales, coloured different shades of green. Her eyes were like a crocodiles, yellow, brown and green with a black slit for a pupil. They were also wider. Her lips were hard and yellow. Her hair had fallen out, but her skull had grown out in an oriental structure out the back. Her facial structures were still human, as was her body figure. Her fingers were longer. When she opened her mouth, I noticed that she had tongue that was more snake than human. She looked like something I saw on Doctor Who once.

She reached down behind her and sighed in relief. "That God, no tail."

The school bell rang and I heard voices and foot steps.

"Alright, we'd better get you out of here." Lana looked at me frightened. I raised an eyebrow. "Unless you want the entire student population to see you right now?"

Lana shook her head.

"Then let's go." I pulled off my hoodie and helped Lana get it on quickly. I pulled the hood over her curved skull features and hurried her towards the forest behind the school's soccer field.

xXx

I called home and left a message saying that I'd be home late to work on a project with a friend. I had to leave Lana to find reception, when I went back to her, I found her using my IPod to look at herself. Seeing me, she quickly put it down.

"Sorry, I was just-"

"No, it's okay, I get it." I said.

"It's…weird." Lana said. "I don't look like myself at all, but I still feel the same. I thought, if I was a mutant, I wouldn't feel the same. Like maybe I would hate humans and feel like destroying the world or something."

I stayed quiet, not sure what to say.

"I, um, don't know if I have any super powers." Lana continued. "Wouldn't that suck? To look like this and not even have cool super powers? That would, that would just be too much."

"I think I'm cold blooded though, that sucks right?" Lana added when I still didn't speak. I rummaged through my school bag and pulled out a togue and a pair of gloves I had in case of freak Canadian snow storms, and handed them to her. "Thanks Leah. Thanks for, all of this."

"Its no problem."

"Yes, it is. I know you probably don't want to be caught helping a mutant." Lana said, her reptilian eyes staring at me without blinking.

"Hey, I'd feel worse leaving you then being seen with you." I replied, wondering if I really meant it. I would feel guilty about leaving Lana to deal with this by herself, but I really didn't want to be seen as a mutant supporter in a biased town. "So, um, do you know what you're going to do? Can you tell your parents?"

"No, I can't. I can't even go back to the reserve. I mean, Mom's a cop. I know she loves me and wouldn't hurt me, but I'm not so sure about my dad. He's really into the old ways, believing that there are demons and stuff." Lana answered quietly.

This is going to be hard. She couldn't go home, but she couldn't just hang out in the woods for the rest of her life. I looked up to see that the sky look grey with storm clouds that promised precipitate of some kind falling soon. I inwardly sighed.

"Alright, well, let's go to my house." I offered. "We can hide you in my garage for awhile, then sneak you into the house when my parents are busy. It's not a great solution, but at least you'll have a roof over your head and you can get some food."

Lana nodded to me, her eyes grateful. We began our long walk to my house, taking the way through the woods instead of walking on the road's shoulder.

If we get caught, I really hope Mum and Dad don't hate mutants. I thought with a grim smile.