I was alone in a small room, deep in the castle. Even though this was my childhood home everything felt twisted and different. I was waiting for him to return as I sat atop a plush bench, leaning deeply on a window ledge. I was dressed in my nightgown which was made of layers of white silk organza, the pieces always reminded me of flower petals. The fabric flowed and spilled across my legs and down onto the floor. I gazed lovingly at the moon, high in the night sky. No matter where I traveled, I could feel it's power and presence. I could draw strength from the moon and it calmed me.

I hummed softly to myself tracing the edges of the stones that surrounded the window's ledge. There was a clicking sound behind me as the door was unlocked. He's back! The door swung open and I turned to greet him. Suddenly there was a loud ringing noise.

The sharp trill of the school bell roused me from my slumber. My eyes flew around the room, searching for my grandfather or Casimir. I was lying down on a bed in the back of the Nurse's office. The lights were off but the sun filtering through the blinds illuminated my surroundings. The clock read twelve noon. The bell I heard was for the lunch break. I slid my legs off the bed to touch the floor. I couldn't believe I slept for almost three hours. I felt almost rested. Most of all, I wondered what this new dream was about. I almost never had new dreams. It was so clear, like a long-forgotten memory. I almost wished it had continued. As I pondered my new dream the nurse bounced into the room.

"Oh! You're awake, that's great," Nurse Johnson chirped. With a flick of her hand, she turned on the harsh fluorescent lights. I squinted as she walked up to me. "Wrist please."

I obeyed and raised up my arm so she could take my pulse. I waited until she had finished before opening my mouth. "How did I get here?"

"Oh, you passed out on the bench just outside," she replied. "That new boy carried you to the bed. Your pulse was a little fast, but nothing else seemed wrong with you." Nurse Johnson took out a notepad from her scrub pocket and scribbled a quick note. "Your grandfather said you hadn't been sleeping very well this past week. He seemed reluctant to take you home, said you've missed too much school already. So, I decided to watch you for a bit and call him if anything changed."

I was still stuck on the idea of Casimir carrying me to bed and I'm sure my cheeks had gone a little red as a result. I felt bad for worrying my grandfather. He was right to leave me here as I would have protested going home greatly if I was awake. I honestly didn't think I was that tired but apparently, I was wrong. I stretched my arms over my head and yawned deeply. The nausea I had experienced earlier seemed to have vanished so that was one good thing.

"May I return to class?" I asked, watching Nurse Johnson finish her notes. She pursed her lips together.

"How long have you been having problems sleeping?"

I knew she meant well, but I didn't want to discuss my insomnia with anyone at the moment. Long ago I had put my trust in the medical system, only to be greatly disappointed. I wasn't sure how much longer I could scrape by with my current routine as I knew lack of sleep did terrible things to my body. I just wasn't ready to start wasting my Grandfather's money on expensive scans and tests again. I plastered on a fake smile and stood up.

"I'm fine. I am working on it with my doctor," I said. This usually got people to leave me alone, but from the look Nurse Johnson gave me I'm not sure she believed me.

After a pause, she sighed and waved me off. "Okay, fine. You go back to class and I'll call your grandfather to let him know you are okay. If you need to go home early just let me know."

I was being dismissed so I politely thanked the nurse for her help and went on my way. I could hear the dull roar of students in the cafeteria coming from down the hall. I knew Zola and Sunita would be waiting at our regular table, worried no doubt, but I had to make a quick detour back upstairs before I could join them. I had left all my belongings back in the classroom during my rush to get to the nurse's office. I planned on snagging my stuff and shooting a quick text to my grandfather as soon as I rescued my phone from my backpack.

I only saw one other student on my trek to the second floor. Our elite private school was different from most schools in that it let the students stay in one room for every class except lab science, gym, art, and music. Everyone had an assigned locker in the hallway near their homeroom, but most of us just left our school bags by our desks.

I cracked open the door to my homeroom to find it empty, not a soul in sight. Briskly I walked over to my desk so I could grab my backpack and get down to the cafeteria and join my friends. I took the small makeup bag out of my front pocket in an attempt to do a quick bit of primping before I went downstairs. I was applying a thick layer of lemon-flavored moisturizer on my dry lips when I heard a loud voice outside the classroom door. I rushed to put away belongings and shrug my heavy backpack on my shoulder. I knew who the voice belonged to and I had no desire to be alone in a room with them.

Zachary flung the door open, his ear pressed firmly into his cell phone. "No, I told you to email me the pictures Sco-" He stopped mid-sentence when he saw me standing there. "I'll call you back," he said, clicking the phone off and shoving it in his pocket.

To me, Zachary always looked older than his eighteen years. He was one of the tallest kids in class, at least as tall as my Grandfather. He looked like he would be a great football player with his broad shoulders, large beefy arms, and a solid midsection. Although I heard he had no talent for the sport, much to the lament of our P.E. teachers. Zachary always had this look on his face like he was about to get away with something nasty or mean, which wasn't far from the truth. He was one of the richer kids at school, so most of his bad behavior was overlooked due to generous donations from his parents. I did my best to avoid or ignore him which only seemed to egg him on at times. Zachary ran his fingers through his blond hair, which he wore in a slicked-back fade style. I could see him scanning me up and down.

Great, I thought, avoiding eye contact.

"I thought you went home sick or something," he said, taking a step towards me.

"Excuse me, I need to get to lunch," I replied matter-of-factly. My eyes fell away from his and I made a dive to run past the blond bully and towards the door. Warning bells were going off in the back of my mind. I really hoped he wouldn't act on the emotions he was feeling at the moment. Suddenly his arm shot out in front of me and I narrowly missed being hit by stumbling backward. In my haste to get out of his way, I dropped my backpack, nearly tripping on it as I backpedaled. Zachary continued his advancement until I was pressed against the corkboard on the wall. I cried out in surprise, glaring angrily at him.

"Why are you being so damn rude?!" Zachary growled at me, his face inches from mine. My eyes widened in the wake of his sudden outburst. I knew Zachary was a jerk but I was caught off guard by his intensity. I could feel the heat from his breath on my skin as he spoke again. "Are you deaf? I asked you a question."

I took a moment to steady my nerves, flexing my fingers into a fist at my sides below. This guy was seriously a few seconds away from being decked. "Move," I demanded, my eyes meeting his. I was so glad my voice didn't wobble when I spoke. I was scared but also so very angry.

"Who are you to tell me what to do bitch? You're just dumb country trash," Zachary spat out, chuckling at his insult. He reached out to touch my cheek and I avoided his grasp huffing loudly at his insult. I clenched my teeth as I held back the string of insults running in the back of my mind. I knew that I would be the one who would get in trouble if I retaliated, it's what always happens when you defied Zachary.

His lips curled into a grin, knowing that he had gotten the reaction he wanted out of me. I could feel his amusement and hostility. I was seriously debating the consequences I would face if I fought back. I fantasized about disabling him with either a step on the inside of his foot or a kick at his knee when Zachary took a sudden step back, his phone beeping. He answered the call, still eyeing me as he spoke.

"What's up? No, I'm not busy," he responded. "I'll be down in a second." He clicked his phone and smirked at me. "See you around Massey." Zachary gave me one last look over before turning to head out the door, kicking my backpack out of his way as he laughed.

As quickly as it began, it was over. I stood there alone for a moment, shaken with what had just happened. Logically I knew there was no use getting worked up over a jerk like Zachary but I was having a hard time following my own advice. I stalked over to my backpack, checking the contents for damage. Upon inspection, everything seemed fine, although the apple in my lunch seemed a bit more bruised.

"Jerk," I muttered to myself. "Stupid, stupid jerk."

"Diana?"

My head shot up to see Casimir standing at the open door, a slightly confused look on his face.

"Are you okay?"

I sighed sharply, standing up as I did. "I'm fine, I just..." I wasn't sure if I wanted to tell this new boy about what just happened, he would probably tell Grandpa and I didn't want to add to my guardian's worries.

"Can I carry that for you?" he asked, his hand reaching for my backpack.

"No," I said sourly, throwing my arms through the straps. "I can carry my own stuff."

"Of course," Casimir responded, smiling slightly.

I realized I was taking out my irritation on this new boy when he wasn't the one who pushed me up against a wall. He's probably just worried because he saw you faint and then had to carry you to the nurse's office, Diana! I groaned internally.

"I'm sorry," I said quickly. "I just had a run-in with someone I don't particularly like and well, anyway, I'm heading down to lunch so..."

"Oh, me too," Casimir brightened. "Can I join you?"

I paused, staring into his face for a moment. "Sure thing."