I sat in the principals waiting for him to say something.He just suspended Jacob and Nathan for what they did.

"Mathew,you are what we call a-Caroline,ugh,what are we saying instead of spazoid these days?",he asked as he looked through a door behind him.

"Ugh,normally challenged sir",she said.

"Do they make a pill for that?",he asked.

"No sir",Caroline responded.

He wrote something on a sheet of paper and handed it to me.

"Apparently, there's
nothing we can do for you.
This acting out needs to stop",He said.

"But, sir..."

"We have a no fighting
policy at this school.
Zero tolerance. You
fight, you're suspended",He said as he stood up.

"Getting beat up counts as fighting?",I asked.

"A fist can't punch without
a face to receive it.No fighting means no fighting,"he said as he walked me out of his office.

"Oh, and, Matthew?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Try not to pick anymore fights",he said.

I nodded and left the room.

I left school and dragged my feet all the way home.Half way there,Jacob was on his bike along with Nathan.

"Hey, Lake , you got me suspended!",Jacob yelled.

"You should be happy. You hate school",I replied as I avoided his eyes.

"My dad's going to kill me.
He's got a 10 strikes policy,
and this is strike 10",Jacob said as he rode his bike around me.

"Well maybe you shouldn't act like such a butt",I said.

"What did you say?",he sneered.

"You heard Principal
Jones. He said no fighting",I said.

"He said no fighting on school property",Nathan said as he laughed.

"Come on, let's get him!",Jacob said.

They chased me all the way to my house.I ran inside and locked the door behind me.

I sighed in relief and looked out the blinds.

Nathan and Jacob were on their bikes starring at the house.

"You gotta come out sometime",Nathan yelled.

"Yeah, and when you do, we'll be waiting",Jacob yelled.

"It's Friday.He could be in there all weekend.Are we really gonna
wait here for three days?",Nathan asked.

"Nah. Forget him.Let's go bug the goats at the petting zoo",Jacob said as they rode off.

I sighed and closed the blinds.

All of a sudden,a rock comes through the window.The boys laughed as they rode off on their bikes.

I groaned and looked down at all the glass in the floor."Moms going to kill me"

I looked down at the rock and saw that the top of the air vent was moved.

I sat down next to the air vent and picked up the rock.When I picked it up,a piece of glass fell in the air vent.

"Uh?"

I looked down in the vent and saw a box.I moved the lid of the vent and reached into the vent to grab the box.

I sat down with the box in my hand.I shook the box before opening it and seeing an address on wood.

I sat the address down and picked up and piece of paper that was in the box.

It's said,"Dear Claire,I'm sorry that there has been some issues with Mathew.Im sure everything will turn out fine like always.I really miss seeing the gang and I'm sorry that I couldn't be there to help Mathew.I hope one day,I will be able to see you guys again without the danger of Morgana"

I continued to read letters for about three hours till mom arrived.

"Were you ever going to tell me?",I asked as I held the letter.

She jumped and turned around in a slight fighting stance."Oh!Mathew,you startled me"

"You said Dad was dead!",I yelled.

"Mathew.."

"If he's dead, why is he writing letters to you?This one is from one week ago!",I said.

"Dear Claire,I'm sorry to hear that Mathew is having trouble with kids at the school.Really?",I asked.

"It's not what you think",she said as she looked down.

"You didn't think I'd want to meet him?
You thought you could keep him to yourself?",I asked as I threw the letter down.

"Mathew, your dad is alive.That's all I can tell you",She said.

"Are you serious!",I asked.

"I know it's hard,
but you've got to trust me.It was for your safety!",She said.

"Trust you! You're a liar!
You've been lying to me
every day of my whole life!",I said.

"Mathew,stop.It was for your safety",She said.

"From what,life?I thought you were the
one person I could trust,but you're just like everybody else",I said.

"No Mathew!You don't understand",she said.

"Oh I understand alright!I hate you!,I yelled as I ran up the stairs

I ran to my room and closed my door.My life sucks!Why couldn't I know about dad!

I sighed and looked in the mirror to see small horns on my head."What the?!"

I looked around and stuck a hat on my head.Then,I pulled out the piece of wood from my pocket.

I looked down at the address and grabbed a bag.Maybe if I find dad,I might find out why all this crap is happening.

I opened my window and jumped out.Not having a care in the world about what my mom thinks.

———

I continued to walk down the highway,sticking my thumb up for a ride.It was freezing rain out side,All I had was a hat to keep me warm.

A truck pulled up and the window was rolled down.

"Hey, kid. You okay?",he asked.

"Just trying to get home",I said.

"Ain't you a little young to be hitchhiking?",he asked.

"I'm a little young to be stranded at the side of the road,catching a cold in the pouring rain",I said.

"Yeah. I guess so. How far you goin'?",he asked.

"Uh, Route 89",I said.

"What? Are you kidding?That's 100 miles from here",he said.

"So can you take me?",I asked.

"It's gettingawfully cold out here",I commented.

"I don't know...",he said as I opened the door.

"Thanks, I really appreciate it",I said as I sat down.

"Hey, I don't remember sayin' I'd take you",He said.

"Oh, come on. You'd hate yourself
if I died of pneumonia and it was all your fault",I said.

"All right! Close the door",he said.

I smiled in success as we drove off.

———
Claire's POV

"Mathew?Mathew, are you awake?
Can we talk about this?",I asked as I knocked on his door.

"Mathew?",I asked as I opened the door.

Matthew was gone along with his bag.His window was wide open,giving me a hint to where he was going.

"Oh fudge knuckle",I muttered under my breath.

I called Toby.

"We have a problem!"

"Alright,be there in five",he said.

Right on time,Toby and Blinky came through the door.

"What's the problem?",Blinky asked.

"Mathew is the problem!He found the letters and ran away to find Jim!",I said.

"Does he know?"

"That Jim is a troll?No,not yet",I said.

AAARRRGGHH busted through the door at full speed and stopped when he came face to face with me.

"AAARRRGGHH?Whats wrong?",I asked.

"Morgana,free",He said breathless.

"Oh no!This is bad.With Mathew being out there,he's sure to get killed if Morgana finds him",I said.

"How has she even escaped?",Toby asked.

"No clue",Blinky said.

"We need to find Mathew",I said.
———
Mathews POV

"Well, you don't see many
forests like this anymore",the driver said.

"Huh",I asked.

"You walk two weeks in any
direction, and all you'd see is trees.
I'm telling you, you wouldn't want
to get turned around out here, kid",he said.

"No, you wouldn't",I muttered.

"Well, it looks like-"

"Yes, it's here! This is it!",I said as I spotted a small mailbox.

"This is it?I didn't know people
actually lived out here",he said.

"Yep, uh, home sweet home",I said as I stepped out of the truck.

"Home sweet home? Where's your house?",he asked.

"My House... My house is over there... Back a ways",I said.

He made an unsure look before closing the door.

"Anyway, thanks. See ya",I said.

"Okay. Take care of yourself, kid",he said as he drove off.

As I walked up to the mailbox,something closed the lid from the inside.

"Hello?Hello?",I yelled.

Out of no where,a little thing came out and stood on top of the mailbox.

I yelped as It showed his teeth and ran away.It looked like one of those gnome you find in a yard.

I ran after the nome."Where'd you go? Little gnome dude?"

"Hey, wait! Come back!
That's not fair!",I yelled as he ran into a hole in the ground.

"Walk two weeks in any direction
and all you'll see is trees",I muttered.I climbed up a hill and onto a huge rock.

"Wow",I breathed as I looked at the view.

All of a sudden,I heard a clanking noise.

"Hello? Somebody there?This isn't funny. Who's there?",I asked as I walked up to a bush.

I moved the bush and saw a blue person behind it with stone for skin.He had horns and metal armor on.

"Ugh"

I screamed and ran down the hill.I continued to run down the hill until I tripped.I hit my head on the ground and everything went black.