• The coach sat in the center of the tidy, green field typing away on his fancy cell phone. The class he had that period was aimlessly walking around the track ringing the field. Because of his laziness, that's all they ever really did.
    Vim walked to the beat of the rave music pumping through her poor headphones. She mouthed the words and tapped her fingers on her thighs as she squinted at the sun.
    Something whizzed past Vim's ear making her jump. A sharp laugh pierced through her music from the tiny fairy as it zoomed up to join the group of 15 or 20 others that had gathered in the air 20 feet above the oblivious coach's head. Fairies were scarce in the suburb outside Chicago, where Vim had lived before she moved to Lament, because of all the iron. Here in the country there wasn't much of it.
    The fairies split into two teams of 12. Vim watched as the two groups surged at each other trying to get a hold of the golf ball they'd magicked to float in the air. It seemed like they were playing a fey version of football.
    Vim watched as they played, using her hand to shield her eyes from the sun while she walked. She'd been staring at the sky all day, trying to avoid awkward eye contact with the other students so no one thought anything of it. The fey twirled and jerked through the air trying to attack the poor soul with possession of the ball. Maybe it was more like capture-the-flag than football.
    One of the fairies pretended to scratch his feet like a bull about to charge and flew as fast as it could at the smallest fey who was also desperately clutching the ball to his tiny chest. They collided with a dull crack and fell to the ground with a thump right in front of where the coach sat and began to fight each other. Vim giggled at the scene then clapped a hand over her mouth and looked nervously over her shoulder. No one seemed to be paying any attention. Not even the coach saw the vicious brawl going on right in front of him.
    Nervously, Vim took her headphones out of her ears, wrapped them around her iPod and shoved it in one of her pants pockets. She continued to walk the track, her eyes on the fighting fey in the middle of the field. They were kicking and scratching and biting and squealing but no one but Vim would ever notice.
    "Excuse me." A boy's voice said from behind her. She jumped and turned to see a tall Hispanic boy smiling at her politely. She had seen him in the gym earlier but hadn't the courage to approach him. He was wearing a full Victorian suit complete with a blood red velvet vest and silver cuff links. A shock of shiny black hair peeked out from under a black velvet top hat and covered part of his face.
    "Um… Hi." Vim said, feeling her ears turn red at her dorkiness and plain appearance. His smile stretched wider and his hazel eyes sparkled with mischievousness. He held out his hand, palm up.
    "Would you like to dance?" he asked, bowing with his hand still held in the air. His shining eyes peeked out from behind a fringe of thick black lashes.
    "Uh…" Vim eyed him then too his hand. "Sure." The boy stood and pulled Vim to his chest, placing his other hand on her side. She put her free hand on his narrow shoulder as they spun around and around. They danced in sweeping circles down the track, drawing stares and scoffs from other students. Vim laughed with he head thrown back, blood rushing to her cheeks. She surprised herself by remembering the years of dance lessons she'd taken in her childhood. Her feet moved as if they were used to it. Like a second nature. She hadn't danced in so long.
    The boy slowed to a stop but Vim continued to laugh. "Marco Iglesias, at your service." he said and bowed deeply. "You're a wonderful dancer."
    "Vim Carteen." she replied. "You aren't bad yourself. That was so much fun, I haven't danced like that since I was 10." They smiled at each other.
    "Marco," a female voice said behind them. Vim saw a girl in a long, layered, black skirt and a tight corset over a fishnet shirt. Tall, leather boots poked out from under her skirt. "You're lucky you didn't scare her away." The pale girl grinned and held a white hand out to Vim. "You'll have to pardon his enthusiasm. My name's Emily."
    Vim shook Emily's tiny hand. "I'm Vim."
    Emily cocked her head to the side making part of her chocolate colored hair cover her heavily made up eyes. "That's a strange name.
    "Well." Vim launched into her rehearsed story, "My initials are V.M. A friend of mine sounded it out as 'Vmm" and it just hung with me."
    Of course, that wasn't the truth. She'd been taught never to tell anyone her real name, so she'd shortened Victoria Marissa to Vim by herself.
    "Cool." Marco said, his eyes on the sky where the two fey had settled their fight and were joining the rest of them to resume their violent game. Vim felt her heart rate quicken. Can he see them too? No, Vim was the only one who could see them. She'd lived 16 years and never met anyone else who could see through fairy glamour. Should I ask him? But what if they thought she was a freak?
    "I love your eyes!" Emily squealed. They had began to circle the track again. Vim saw the corners of Marcos mouth turn up at Emily's compliment. "Are they contacts?"
    "Yes." Vim lied. She had been born with naturally chrome silver eyes. The color seemed to flow around her pupil like molten rock. She'd always had these eyes and they were always the first thing that people noticed about her. Some superstitious people even feared her strange, wise eyes. Vim had started saying they were contacts when she was 11.
    "Cool." Emily said. "I'd never be able to poke my eye." Vim laughed.
    "So, are you like goth, or punk, or grunge or what?" she gestured to Vim's clothes. She was wearing a plain gray shirt with the title of her favorite black and white horror film. Her pants were plaid patterned with zippers and pockets down the sides and sat low on her hips. Long, plain colored blonde hair framed her face and hung in her kohl rimmed eyes in chunky layers. Vim had two rings through the right side of her bottom lip and one stud through the right side of her top. A bull ring hung from her nose. The piercings helped to draw attention away from her abnormal eyes. "Nah, just me."
    Emily nodded her approval and continued to ask her questions. Marco just smiled and nodded with his hands laced behind his back as Vim explained to her how her mother had wanted to move to the country and she had been forced to come with her. She spoke of how it had been just her and her mom for as long as she could remember. Her dad had run out on her mom while she was pregnant with Vim.
    They continued to walk and chat until the coach blew his whistle for signal the class that it was time for them to go back inside. According to Vim's schedule card there was still ten minutes left until the next bell.
    Even the school was laced with fey. Tiny people with iridescent, fluttering wings jutting from their backs whizzed about completely unnoticed by anyone but Vim. Two giggled as they floated above the entrance into the boys locker room. Vim shot them a scathing look when they turned their heads her way but that only made them laugh harder. Fey like those two give the others a bad reputation. Vim thought.
    "What are you looking at?" Marco whispered in her ear making her jump again. He winked at her then walked into the locker room, tapping his hand on the top of the door frame. He hit one of the fairies as he swung his hand back down to his side and they both stuck their tiny green tongues out at the back of his head. Vim's heart raced again. Marco definitely sees them. He just has too. Vim thought to herself. She turned to see Emily smiling at her, clearly bursting with more questions.
    "So what class do you have next?" she asked as they trudged up the stairs to sit in the bleachers overlooking the gym floor where kids were bouncing balls off of the walls and each other. Vim winced as she watched a group of jock looking guys pelt a small boy with glasses with volleyballs. There were still 10 minutes until the bell would ring for the next class.
    "I'm not sure." Vim said then rummaged through her army green messenger bag to find the light blue piece of paper her new schedule was printed on. Emily snatched it out of her hand and examined it with interest.
    "You have me in your next period class and in 8th, so that's cool." she said, handing the paper back to Vim. "But you only have Marc in lunch." As she spoke his name he plopped down on the bench beside her stretching his long legs across two rows of seats in front of him.
    "Are you enjoying the country life?" he asked, picking at the chipping black paint on his fingernails.
    Vim shook her head vigorously, making her hair fly. "It's too quiet." she said "And I miss being able to walk to where I want to go." He nodded his head in understanding and Emily launched into another question.

    xxx

    Vim's day passed unbearably slow as she shuffled from class to class. The day seemed to take forever to end and she almost jumped for joy when the final bell sounded. Emily walked her to the bus stop on the back side of the school. Vim was to ride bus #31 to and from school every day. Marco was there already, leaning against the brick of the school with his arms crossed lazily in front of him. People stopped to gawk but he only tipped his hat at them. When he saw his friends he straitened and gave Emily a peck on the cheek then pulled Vim into a tight hug. "It's been ages, hasn't it?" he drawled.
    Vim laughed "Oh, indeed! How I've missed you, so!"
    "As have I, my love." Emily added looking up into his hazel eyes. He nodded.
    "Would you like to know a secret?" he asked, leaning down to Vim's eye level. Their faces were only centimeters apart and Vim could smell the mint on Marco's breath. She nodded, looking into his hazel eyes. They danced with mischief and joy. Fey were the only creatures she'd seen with that look in their eyes. He leaned his head forward and put his lips near Vim's ear.
    "We can see them too." he whispered.