Shift

~narration~

~Our story opens with on Earth. A city on Earth. It is now raining in the city, and through the rain walks a human. A human names Oz. Oz, called Ozzie by friends should there be any to speak of, was a boy of almost 16. He was average height with black hair styled with bangs. The bangs reflected silver, the color creeping up to the roots. He had sharp yet feminine features, a small slit in his eyebrow, and a pierced nose. Oz wore baggy clothes with a hood pulled over his head, cowering from the rain. He looked like an average teenage boy. Except for the fact that he was anything but average.~

"Shit" Oz thought as he walked through the school yard. "I forgot to bring an umbrella" It had rained earlier that morning, but since the downpour stopped before school, Oz didn't think to bring an umbrella. The only protection he had from the rain was his already soaked hood. "Well at least this means clubs are canceled today. I won't have to deal with the nuisance of avoiding people" Oz had barely though this when he felt his arm get pulled. The first time was a warning tug, but the second pull yanked him into the corner of the school yard behind the row of stairs leading to the roof. "Guess I was wrong" He thought with a sigh.

~He was getting bullied. Oz was used to this, it happened every day. Oz wasn't an ordinary boy. In fact, he wasn't a real boy at all.~

"Hey ugly." A loud voice rung out above Oz. With a thud, he landed on the ground. He looked up to see three girls, girls he had hoped to avoid today. "If you want to insult me, shouldn't you come up with something better Kayla?" He stared down the girl standing above him, which earned him a swift kick in the stomach. "Shut up Jana you ugly tranny. Or what was it again? Ozzie?" The girl laughed crudely, the others joining in. The girl on the right of Kayla, Annmarie, grabbed Oz by the hair. "Aw she still looks like a girl too!" "No Annie," The remaining girl, Carol, chimed in. "She wants to be a boy so bad because she doesn't look like a girl. She's too ugly. Fucking deformed or something." Annmarie dropped Ozzie's head, making sure it slammed against the red brick wall of the school. "Fuck you f*gg*t" Kayla flipped Oz off before walking away, Annmarie and Carol in tow.

~Oz was a weak boy. Perhaps this came from the fact that he wasn't born a boy. He was always very cold and could be taken advantage of easily. He was frail and pathetic as far as humans go. But he was turning 16 the next day. And so he hoped being older would bring him new strength.~

Oz stood up, wiping away and the scrapes on his knees and the spit on his mouth from being kicked. He pulled his hood over his head again. "At least I can go home in peace now." He lived on school property, at the dorms a few blocks away. His parents lived out of district and chose to send him to the school since his mother was an alumn. He took his phone out of the pocket of his cargo pants, a red phone with a clear case, and plugged his headphones in.

He trudged home in silence, rain falling on his hood, blood dribbling down his knee. He looked up. "The moon is out already. Its only 4:25. She's so beautiful today." Oz had his head stuck in the sky, looking directly at the pancake moon. His eyes were glued to the sky and he was oblivious to where he was going. Suddenly, he felt a sharp push. A harsh voice from above said "Watch where you're going young lady."

Ozzie shudder at the words, tugging at his already baggy shirt and slouching a little to cave his chest in. He went to unpause his music only to notice that his phone had fallen out of his pocket. He stopped in the middle of the crosswalk, kneeling down to pick it up. As he crouched, he saw a curious pair of shoes. Shoes he recognized. The shoes he gave to her for her birthday. He quickly looked up. He saw her, standing in the middle of the street just looking at him. Her chestnut-auburn curls moving lightly in the breeze, her honey eyes reflecting the rain like an amber stone, her coffee skin glowing agains the foggy rain of the city.

"Reena!" Ozzie lunged forward, but then stopped, remembering his phone. "Hold on Reena I'm coming let me just..." He grabbed his phone and jumped up, but in that split second, Reena had already vanished.

Suddenly, the world froze. Ozzie froze. Everything had turned an ugly hue of greenish purple. It felt like standing in jello. Oz passed out.

—~—~—~—~—~—~—~

Oz woke up in his room at the dorms He did not remember how are when he had gotten there. He picked up his phone from the table by his bed. It had just turned 11 PM. "Shit, my homework!"

He jumped out of bed and into the chair by his desk. Oz flipped open his laptop, and to his surprise, all his assignments had been done and turned in. "I've got nothing else to do and I can't sleep. Might as well watch anime," he thought to himself.

Oz had just started watching One Piece. His online friends told him to start watching, so he did. And it was good too. He opened his anime. After three or four episodes, Oz checks the time. It was five minutes to midnight.

Oz stood up, walking to the kitchenette that separated his bedroom from that of his roommate. He didn't really care if he bothered her sleep. He didn't like her much. Oz grabbed a bag of chips off the counter, as well as a candle from the cabinet, some matches, and the chocolate cupcake he had been saving for the past week.

Back at his desk, Oz puts the candle in his cupcake and lights it. It was another lonely birthday for him. He checks the time. "Almost there Oz!" He said to himself. It felt like the clock had chosen to stop at 11:59, not giving Ozzie peace of mind, keeping him at 15 forever. But it changed. Midnight hit, and Oz blew out his lone candle.

"Happy Birthday Ozzie!" He whispered with a little excitement. "16 is the year that everything changes, right? It always does in dumb high school flicks."

~Oz giggled to himself, but he didn't know how right he was.~

He finished the cupcake, licking his fingers clean of the chocolate frosting. He threw himself onto his bed, ready for sleep. But even as he drifted off, one thought unsettled him. One thing rattled around in his lonely mind. A name.

~Reena~