Hello, Kiko Lake

     The emotional and physical upheaval of the weekend taxed Divina, and she slept hard. Tired and unable to focus, she wanted nothing more than to hide away. Unfortunately, she could not do that. The very next day was her first day of school as the new kid.

      Being the new kid came with so much stigma. The other kids that had been there longer or all their lives had already developed their social structure, both good and bad. A new kid threw that all off, and the established kids were not going to give that up easily. Divina had never thought she would ever be on the outside looking in. Yet here she was.

      This first impression would set the tone for the rest of her life. She had to get this right. Too bad she had zero desire to be there. Mustering up the energy just to get out of bed that morning had felt impossible. Once she was up, things were not much better.

      Everything felt like it was in slow motion.

      Getting dressed, eating breakfast, and grabbing her bag all crawled by. The walk to school also felt like it took forever.

      “Hey, welcome to Kiko Lake! I’m Koki and this is Jo,” a Chokato Kiko said. “She is new too!”

      Divina was quite taken aback by the friendly Kiko, who seemed a few years younger than she was.

      She sized up the other new kid, Jo. She was a tall, scrawny Marble Techo. She would not make eye contact and shifted uncomfortably under the mild attention she was getting.

      Divina knew the other new kid was not a threat, but she also did not want to be lumped in with her. She had been used to a certain social status back home in Faerieland, and she was not about to change that if she could help it. She had not gotten a feel for what life was like at the lake yet; one friendly Kiko meant nothing. She was not about to fall in with the wrong crowd. There was only one thing to do.

      Divina cast both an indifferent glance before walking on, head high. She allowed herself to be swept along in the stream of Kikos. She was taller than them, and she immediately felt like a sore thumb. The Kikos were all friendly, smiling and greeting her with cheery hellos.

      Divina did not know what to make of any of it. The school was small, with only one class for each grade, so there was no getting lost. As she stood before the classroom door, she contemplated walking away. She dismissed the thought almost immediately as not only impractical but cowardly. She adjusted her bag, took a deep breath, and opened the door.

      She entered the classroom to find herself in a bright, cheery room. Including herself, there were only fifteen students in her class. She was the only non-Kiko. Not wanting to be stared at more than she already was, Divina took a seat at the back of the classroom.

      Mr. Edwards, the teacher, introduced her. “Class, as I am sure you have noticed, we have a new student with us. Divina Vaughn has just moved here from Faerieland, so please make her feel welcome.” The Eventide Kiko paused to look at her. “Is there anything you would like to share with the class?”

      There was nothing she wanted to say to these Kikos, so she shook her head no.

      “Very well,” Mr. Edwards said with a smile before moving on with the lesson.

      Class was simple, and Divina found it difficult to focus. It also did not take long to figure out her classmates’ dynamics, what little there was.

      There was a set of twins.

      The teacher had a son in the class.

      There was an Invisible Kiko!

      Despite there being a Royal and an Island Kiko, no one was socially higher or lower than anyone else. They all got along with everyone else. While some of them were clearly closer friends with some, no one was an outcast.

      Except for Divina.

      No one was rude or even remotely unkind to her. They included her in classroom discussions and activities with the same friendliness everyone had shown her that day. Even so, Divina could not begin to reciprocate. Her heart just was not in it. She was homesick for Faerieland.

      Things got worse at lunch. With things still in upheaval at home, Divina had to get lunch at school. The food was decent, if simple: sandwiches, fruit, and water or juice. That was not the problem. Now she had to find a place to sit.

      The other kids all sat in their own groups, almost all Kikos other than Jo from earlier. Koki even waved her over, but Divina ignored her. Her new classmates also tried to wave her over, but she ignored them too. At last, she found an empty table. Here she ate her lunch but not in peace.

      At least three separate Kikos tried to sit and talk with her, but she rebuffed their advances. After a while, they got the message and left her alone.

      The school day finally ended, and Divina went home.

      The next couple of weeks were extremely rough. Slowly, the Kikos left Divina alone, except for Koki. The Chokato was persistent, going out of her way to connect with Divina. No matter how the Blue Acara rebuffed her, she refused to give up. Yet, Divina could be just as stubborn.

      Her parents could see how much she struggled. Kiko Lake was too different. It was not, could never be, her home. Of course, at only thirteen, there was no way she could live without her parents. No matter how much she hated it, she was stuck.

      Valentine’s Day came, and it was a Saturday. Divina’s parents had a gift for her. Her father held his hands cupped and slowly opened them to reveal a Blue Eizzil. He was so small!

     Divina gasped at the cuteness. She had never been into Petpets before, but he was too adorable to resist with his berry bright eyes and button nose. She held the small, warm bundle in her hands. He was so soft!

     “We know how much you miss Faerieland and your friends. While we cannot go back to Faerieland, we wanted you to have a friend here. One that you can always have with you, her dad said.

     “Thank you.” Divina buried her face in the Eizzil’s fur and let the tears flow. “I am going to call you Blueberry,” she whispered.

     The worst part of the move had been her loneliness, but she did not have to worry about that anymore. Her new little friend would see to that.