It's so easy to become just another sheep in the herd of teen society. Just do what others do; have crushes, go to parties, get intoxicated, and so on. Yet that idea never appealed to me. Despite wanting to be under the radar when it came to the notorious student body of the City of London Freemen's School, I just didn't have the resources to be able to fit in.

Fitting in required having a certain kind of clothes, an unearthly athletic ability, alien intelligence, or some other criteria that had to be fulfilled. Mind you, I was a straight A student due to the old habits appertaining to the previous chapter of my life, and my fashion sense wasn't that bad either, but in my opinion the thing that kept me away from the herd was my attitude. I wasn't one to bow my head when it came to confronting a person with an inflated ego, nor was I one to torment others. I just kept to the sidelines. Or tried to anyways.

Basically, I ended up becoming willfully isolated while standing out like a sore thumb amongst the crowd of shepherded teens. All this time I'd thought that I was content with being alone, but somehow, and that's a big somehow, I ended up attracting enough attention to find someone of my species; Evelyn Browne.

It being 7 a.m. I was already on my way to the bus stop for school. Mr. Zachary Owen had fallen asleep on his stomach; his feet resting on the crimson tiles slanting behind the terrace and his head facing the fields in front. 

We hadn't spoken much after his attempt on overthrowing me with his imagery. Just a few glances were exchanged and there were inquiries on what time it was. Nothing else. But that was fine by me.

As always, I was the first to get to the run down bus stop or something resembling one (it only had a creaking bench that could hardly support the weight of a mouse and a faded stop sign). Whilst waiting and not being able to listen to any music due to my lacking ability to pay for a mobile phone, my brain caught hold of all the delocalised thoughts shooting about in the different layers of my many realities and threw them back at me.

I had left him sleeping there on purpose. If he thought that I would trust him because he had followed me and had shown me a bit of himself, he was so wrong. There was only person I trusted at that moment; someone who nobody would've expected me to trust. Dr. Dan Richards had helped me do the one thing most teenagers spend years trying to do; find myself, find a home, find where I truly belonged. He had guided me through his many years of experience and showed me the many faces of human nature, the same human nature that had made me lose all hope of finding anyone trustworthy in this greed-driven world.

The dew still hadn't evaporated off the grassy plains parallel to the road and the individual drops sparkled in the Sun's light. I shifted on my feet impatiently, when a red dot next to my black shoes caught my eye. I crouched down and inspected the ladybug from closer. Just by looking at it, I was thrown back to the day I'd met Dr. Richards. 

Just before the authorities had found me, I was sitting on the grass behind the parking lot of Ashtead Station, where I'd been begging for a couple of hours. I'd had just finished the last piece of the loaf of bread the Hispanic woman had given me and was wondering what to do when I noticed a ladybug on my foot. Just as I reached to pick it up, I heard the police car sirens wailing in the near distance.

Grabbing my empty rusty tin and placing the ladybug into it, I scrambled to my feet and started running towards the station. My paranoia took over me. I just needed somewhere to hide; they couldn't find me. They couldn't take me back to her. 

But despite the myth of ladybugs being a symbol for luck, my feet didn't carry my weak body too far before the police car caught up to me. The last string that was holding my hopes together, binding them, gave in to the pressure. 

This is it. I'll be going back to her.

As the men in uniform grabbed me and pushed me into the car, I lost my ability to protest. It would be to no good.

"Station 5 this is Car 82, we have a homeless girl in custody which we are bringing into station. Over."

"Car 82 this is Station 5, we will be making the suitable arrangements for said child. Have you informed her of the regulations regarding her situation? Over."

"We're on it."

After that, everything was a blur. I got taken to a police station, where people in suits asked me far too many questions which I didn't answer. Then I was transferred to a plain room within the station where I was put to rest for a couple of hours. During all that time, I hadn't let go of my tin which held the ladybug inside; the last trace of my short-lived freedom.

I was left alone up until an older looking man opened the door to the room and told me to come out. He wasn't wearing any kind of uniform, just a black t-shirt and a pair of jeans, which made me even more suspicious of him. Wisdom emanated from his white hair and wrinkly smile, but there was no way I was going to open my mouth.

We walked into a cozy office with wooden furnishing and an archaic finish. There were a couple of large paintings hung behind the desk where the man set himself down.

"Here, have some water. I've been informed you've been living on the streets for a couple of days." The man started while offering me a glass cup.

I didn't take it.

"Okay, your loss." He shrugged and set the cup on the table. "I know you aren't a homeless girl, Neptune."

My eyes widened and I could feel my body start to tremble. My grasp around the tin tightened. This is it. This is it.

"But nobody else knows. And they don't need to."

I looked up at his face and knew he wasn't lying. His gray-green eyes held a spark of understanding that made me realise he was being sincere.

"You've travelled a long distance, though." He picked up a couple of papers from his desk and started shuffling through them. "Manchester Piccadilly to London Euston to Vauxhall to Ashtead... Why stop here?"

"I-" My mouth was parched and the back of my neck felt like sandpaper was rubbing against it. I made my right hand let go of the tin and grab the cup to soon gulp down its content in less than a second. I put the cup back on the table. "I didn't want to."

"Hmm..." The man looked pensive.

"Now that for some reason you know my name, mind introducing yourself?" I snapped, trying to put on a tough girl act.

"Of course," the man chuckled, "I'm Dr. Dan Richards and that tough cookie act? Don't need it, do you?"

"Whatever."

"Where were you going anyway?" He asked.

"I wanted to catch a ferry from Portsmouth to Le Havre."

 "Le Havre in France? Bu-Why?" He inquired, his confusion showing.

"Because."

His hearty laugh filled the room again. "Okay, but wouldn't you need an adult to accompany you on the trip across the Channel? Seeing that you are only fifteen years old?"

"I may be fifteen, but believe me, I don't think like those airheads that you envision when somebody tells you 'Oh I met this fifteen-year-old the other day and bla bla bla'." 

"That much is obvious to me, but how were you planning to get on the ferry if no adult was there with you?"

"I was going to meet up with someone, someone over the age of eighteen."

"Oh, so you had it all planned out but you got stuck here."

"No shit, Sherlock."

"Mugged, I'm guessing?" He concluded, ignoring my swearing completely.

 "Yup."

After a couple minutes of uncomfortable silence, Dr. Richards cleared his throat. "What do you have there?" 

I looked at the tin in my hand. "A ladybug."

Dr. Richards got up and walked towards one of the shelves to his right and picked up a crystal snowball. "Did you know," he said with a distant tone, "The name Ladybug originated in Europe during the Middle Ages, when insects were destroying the crops?" He strolled back to his desk with the crystal in his hand. "Catholic farmers were said to have prayed to the Virgin Mary for help. Soon after, Ladybugs appeared and began eating the pests and saved the crops from destruction. The farmers began to call the Ladybugs 'the Beetles of Our Lady' and eventually they were known as Lady Beetles." He paused and set the crystal snowball on the desk. "The Ladybug's red wings are said to represent the Virgin's cloak and the black spots her joys and sorrows."

"In France, it is said that if you are ill when one lands on you, it will fly away with your illness." I mumbled, looking back down at it.

"The general theory is that the Ladybug is a symbol of luck and is seen as a good omen when it comes calling." He said, "But that thing about curing illnesses, you don't have any negative medical reports..."

"It's not all about what meets the eye, Dr. Dan Richards. You should know that."

The screeching of the rickety vehicle's wheels stung my ears and brought me back to my surroundings. I climbed into the empty bus and waited for the other orphans to arrive.

It had been two years since the first time I'd met Dr. Richards, long enough for me to be on a first name basis with him. Call me weird, but it was as if King Triton had stepped out of 'The Little Mermaid' Disney movie for a while and become my Godfather (except he had shorter hair and legs instead of fins, but you know what I mean).

"Did you hear? Did you hear?" Evelyn nagged as soon as I'd reached the entrance of the school. "Julia was caught cheating on Beck in Anne's party last weekend and- 

I cut her off "Evelyn. You know full well that I don't care about that shit."

She rolled her eyes. "Just testing you. I swear, if I hear that string of conversation once more I'm going to be found guilty for mass murder."

I laughed. She really had a talent when exaggerating.

We walked to my locker, Evelyn going on about how her English Literature homework got lost in the void of her super sophisticated Mac whilst I just listened to her.

I opened my locker, chuckling at Evelyn's technological mishap when a green thing dropped to the floor from my locker. I frowned, not remembering having used any green card or paper recently.

Evelyn picked it up and inspected it.

"It's an origami frog. And it's green." Evelyn stated. She'd been really into that paper folding thing the first time I met her, so she must have known what it means. "The frog symbolises something like an assurance of a safe return from a journey, I'm not sure. And the green paper, it's pretty. I guess it could have been because it's a frog and frogs tend to be green but-

"You're rambling again, Eve."

"Oh sorry, uhm bottom line is that the green also symbolises healing in origami." She shrugged.

"Check if there's something written inside." I said to her as I reached into my locker to get the books I needed.

"I think the message is not going to be there." Evelyn said as she lifted her chin to point at the inside of the door of the locker.

I turned to look at it and felt a shiver run down my back. A piece of white paper was taped to it, two simple words written in sharp and thin handwriting.

I know.

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Author's Note:

Hey, first of all I owe you guys a deep and sincere apology. I haven't written in a long time and there is no excuse for it (other than GCSE's getting closer, but its not like I'm studying). I am really sorry for letting you guys down.

As for the story line, this chapter, though boring was necessary for you to get to know Neptune better and for the introduction of two vital characters; Dr. Richards and Evelyn.

Things will be picking up from here and I hope you guys want to continue.

To make it up to you guys I'm holding another contest:

+ I need to put up the cast for this story. I know who I want for Neptune and Zach but I'd like to know who you guys want for Evelyn and Dr. Richards. The best proposals will receive dedications on the following chapters :)

+ And just like in chapter 2, the first person to comment the meaning of this chapter's title will also receive a dedication!

Oh and Pandicorns or not? Any suggestions??

Sorry once again guys :/

- {Del}