Lena woke up with a start, looking around. She was in her bedroom. The early morning sunlight filtered in through the window. Tiny pieces of dust drifted in the air currents like flecks of gold. It had all just been a dream. Lena stretched and rolled out of bed. As her feet hit the carpet, she stopped short. She slowly turned back to the window. It was open. She was sure it had been closed last night. She walked to the window and peered down at the lawn below. It was normal.

A flash of movement caught her eye and she looked farther away from her window. Someone was leaning casually against a tree a short distance away. This in itself wasn't unusual, it was probably just one of the other people who lived in the dorm Lena did. Still, something felt off about that person. Lena couldn't quite place it. But it was unnerving.

Lena glanced at her wall clock. 7:34. It was later than she thought. Throwing open her closet, she grabbed a plain white T-shirt, black jeans, and a plaid button-up shirt. It was as she began getting dressed that she happened to glance in the mirror. Her mouth fell open in shock. A streak of dried mud ran across her calf, and her hair was filled with leaves and pine needles. She had showered last night. It made no sense. She ran to her bed and flung back the covers. They were clean except for a few small leaves.

It made no sense. She didn't have time to try to figure it out now anyway. Lena finished pulling on her jeans and T-shirt and tied the other shirt securely around her waist. Grabbing a hairbrush, she began to try to untangle the mess of leaves and pine needles from her black hair.

It took nearly five minutes, but finally, Lena was satisfied that she had removed most of the debris. The jeans she wore covered the dirt on her leg. It was getting late. She grabbed her bag, slung it over one shoulder, and left the room. She walked quickly down the hallway of the dorm and leaped down the stairs two at a time. Lena walked out across the sprawling lawn. It was a beautiful day, the sun was warm. The trees that surrounded the Humanities building were in full bloom, scattering fragrant petals across the ground.

Lena slid into her seat just as the clock read 8:00. She sighed. At least she wasn't late. The professor wasn't even there yet, she noticed with some surprise. Usually, Myths and Legends of the World was the one class that she could not be late for. The professor was never late. Well, never late until today.

Lena glanced around the classroom. Other people had also noticed their teacher's absence and low conversation filled the room as people speculated as to where he might be. Several students had pulled out their laptops or phones, some working on homework, others texting. Lena pulled out a book and began to read. She had lost herself to the world of fantasy for about two pages when the door of their classroom opened, and in walked the professor. All eyes turned to the door, especially since a stranger stood beside the teacher.

She held herself with an air of confidence. Auburn hair cascaded over her shoulder. Half her hair was shaved. A silver spike hung from her ear, and the half of her face that could be seen through her hair was painted in intricate symbols. Her hands, nearly hidden in the sleeves of the black leather jacket she wore, were also covered in designs.

"Everyone, this is Etna. She will be joining our class today." The professor sounded falsely enthusiastic, as though he found this whole situation annoying.

"Take any available seat Etna."

Etna walked to a seat in the far back without saying a word to anyone or acknowledging the twenty pairs of eyes that followed her. She folded her arms across her chest and looked out the window, oblivious to the people who still stared.

Lena stared for a completely different reason than most of her classmates. Some of the attention of the class was pulled away from Etna by the teacher beginning the class. Still, many people glanced back at her from time to time.

Two hours later the class ended. Everyone filed out of the classroom, and immediately conversations began. It was uncommon for a student to transfer in at this time of the semester. As such, Etna was the subject of many conversations. Not only was the transfer time unusual, but many people also found Etna herself to be an oddity.

"Lena!" Lena suddenly felt someone throw an arm over her shoulder and turned to see her friend Aleta standing there, staring at Etna who was down the hall, surrounded by no less than five guys. Etna looked amused as they all tried to win her attention. She looked completely uninterested in them, apart from the fact that their obsession with her was amusing. Etna turned and walked down the hallway, many other students trailing after her.

"Let's go." Lena turned and walked away from the crowds and headed out across the lawn toward the dining hall.

Aleta followed, watching Lena's crossed arms and distant expression.

"Oh my gosh, Lena! Are you jealous of the new girl?"

"No. I'm not jealous of her. I don't need men to make me happy. You should know this by now. I'm NOT jealous of her." Lena walked faster.

"Wait! You're trying to avoid the conversation! You are jealous!" Aleta sped up her pace as well.

"No, I am not jealous of her. I'm..." Lena began to say something but then changed her mind. She wished she could tell Aleta, but she was afraid. "I just feel like I've seen her somewhere, but I don't know where. That's all."

"Really? But didn't she only start today?" Aleta asked.

"Yeah, apparently, but I still feel like I have seen her. I know that sounds weird." Lena sighed

"I wonder why she would go here of all places. This school isn't cheap. We live in dorms on campus and everything, even though it's a high school." Aleta looked thoughtful for a long moment. "Speaking of that, why did you decide to go to this school? I don't think I ever asked before." Aleta said.

"I wanted to get a good education. My parents, well... they're actually my adoptive parents, but still, they both had good jobs and they had enough money to live comfortably. When I first heard about the school, I wasn't sure about it. I toured it and just fell in love with the campus I guess. Now that I'm here, I like it even more. Especially because now I have an amazing friend." Lena smiled at Aleta.

"Wait, you were adopted? I never knew that before. That's cool! How old were you when you got adopted?" said Aleta.

"About a month. I'm not really sure," Lena said, opening the door for Aleta as they reached the dining hall. They found an empty table in a corner and made their way over to it. They set down their bags and Aleta left to go get lunch for them both. They would alternate who would get the food and who would watch the bags.

Lena sat down and pulled out her laptop. She knew she should start on homework, but something made her search for something else. She glanced around and angled her computer so none of the other students could see the screen.

She wasn't sure why, but she didn't want anyone else to see her screen. She typed in the search. 'Dream meanings.'

Almost immediately, hundreds of articles came up. Lena clicked on one that looked promising. She began to read. She was startled out of her thoughts by a voice.

"Mind if I join you? If I'm bothering you or your friend I can go somewhere else."

Lena looked up to see Etna. She quickly shut her laptop and moved her bag off the table to make a space.

"Uh... yeah... Yes. You can. You're not bothering us. Here." Lena gestured to the seat opposite her and mentally scolded herself. Stop talking! You sound like an idiot!

"Thank you." Etna set down her bag and sat across from Lena. Lena's eyes traveled over Etna's hands looking at the designs that covered her hands and wrapped around her fingers and up her wrists. She looked at Etna's beautiful figure and her eyes moved up to Etna's silky hair and then came to stare into Etna's deep green eyes. It was only when Aleta came back that Lena realized she'd been staring. She quickly looked away and felt her cheeks flush.

"This is my friend Aleta. Aleta this is Etna." Lena said, trying to look anywhere at Etna.

"Nice to meet you." Etna said, offering her hand to Aleta to shake.

"Likewise," Aleta took Etna's hand and shook it. Aleta pushed one of the food trays she had brought over to Lena. Lena picked up her fork, but she didn't eat. She picked at her food and seemed extremely interested in a piece of lettuce.

Out of the corner of her eye, Lena watched Etna as she stared out of the window toward the spreading campus lawn while absently eating her salad.

Lena could feel Aleta staring at her. She ignored it.

After a while, Etna got up and smiled at Lena and Aleta.

"Thanks for letting me sit with you. I'd better go." Etna waved and turned and walked away. As Etna left, Lena felt incredibly relieved, and yet also she was sad that Etna wasn't there anymore.

That afternoon Lena tried to focus on school work, but it was useless. Her mind kept drifting to something else.