Hidden Queen

                                                                                    POV: Nova    "You're such a waste of space. Can't you do anything right," Willow says, pushing me to the ground. I look up at her as she rips my assignment to shreds. Tears stream down my face. "Aw, is little Nova crying. Why don't you just go kill yourself," Sebastian, Willow's boyfriend mocks. I stand up and push my way past, trying running for the school exit. Willow grabs me by the hair and pulls me back. "I didn't say you could go anywhere. You think I'll let you get off easily after you got me in trouble in class? You told the teacher I was cheating on the test. I failed because of you," she sneers.         I try to pull away from her but she slaps me hard. Willow laughs as I fall to my knees. She kicks me hard in the ribs, making me fall onto my side. I curl into a ball and protect my head. Willow and Sebastian laughs as they continue to kick me and spit on me. When they stop, Willow growls. "Next time, I won't go easy on you." I stay in the fetal position for another few minutes after they leave. "Are you okay?" Someone asks. I look up and see a girl leaning over me. Slowly sitting up, I look at the girl in suspicion.         "You're talking to me? No one talks to me. Be careful no one sees you. You'll become a target if students think you're friends with me," I whisper. The girl shrugs. "I don't care what others think of me. I saw what those kids did to you and I think its wrong. My name is Aymara. I'm new here. Wanna be friends?" She asks. Biting my lip, I look around. "Sure," I say. Aymara squeals in excitement. "Come on. Lets go eat something. I don't want to go home yet," she says, helping me up. We head towards the exit, but before we could leave someone calls out. "There you are Aymara. I was looking for you. Mom wired me the money for us to go get the new VR game. Oh, who is she?" A boy asks, running up to us.         Aymara smiles. "This is my new friend. We were going to go eat. Wanna come with us?" She explains to the boy. The boys reaches out his hand. "Hi, I'm Roman. Aymara's twin," he says. I shake his hand. "hi. I'm Nova," I say. Roman smiles. "So, where are we eating? I hear there's a cafe that sells really good crepes down the street," he says. Aymara and I shrug. We run off campus and head towards the cafe. For the first time in a really long time, I feel happy. Aymara, Roman, and I reach the cafe and we practically run into Willow and Sebastian. Willow scoffs at the sight of me with Aymara and Roman. "Well, look at that. Nova found some friends," she says with a sneer on her face. Roman stepped forward, looking angry. "What's your problem? Why are you picking on her?" He asks. Willow laughs. "You don't know Nova. She's a snitch and loner. If you knows whats best for you, I would leave her. She will only drag you down with her," she says.         Aymara growls. "I would rather be friends with her than with you. I saw what you and your boyfriend did to her earlier. If I ever see you touch or talk to Nova again, you and your boyfriend will regret it." Willow laughs nervously. I look back at Aymara and smile. "Thanks Aymara. No one ever stuck up for me before," I say. Roman links arms with me and leads me to a booth. "Don't listen to them. They are just jealous. You're smart and pretty," he says, blushing. Aymara slides into the booth next to me and grabs the menu. "Order what you want Nova, I'll pay for you," she tells me. I look down at the order screen and pick a orange cream crepe with chocolate drizzle. Roman looks at my order in disgust. "That is the grossest. Sounds utterly disgusting." I give him a small shrug. "Don't knock it till you try it buddy. It is delicious," I tell him, indignantly. Once our crepes arrive, we just sit around and talk.         Roman leans over the table and takes a bite of my crepe. "Hey!" I cry out, laughing. He looks at me as he chews. "Its not bad. Give me another bite," he tells me,reaching for my crepe. I pull it away from his reach with a laugh. "Nope. You have a crepe of your own. Aymara tell him," I say, looking to her for help. She leans away from me, looking guilty. "Hey! You took a bite too, didn't you? That's not fair," I laugh. Aymara laughs. "Well, Roman said it was good so I had to try it too," she explains. We all laugh together as we finish our snacks.         Once we are all done, we start walking out of the cafe. "Hey, this weekend, do you guys wanna hang out at my place? I have a pool," I say. Roman looks at his sister. "Do you hear this? She has a pool. We have to go now," he says in excitement. Aymara turns to me. "Your parents won't mind?" She asks. I shake my head. "My parents are gone. I live on my own. My aunt and uncle sends me an allowance from my inheritance every two weeks," I tell them. They look at each other before throwing their arms around me. "Of course we'll come. And if you want, you can always come visit us," Roman says. Aymara hits him in the side and he grunts. "We would have to talk to our family first," she says.         I smile at my new friends before pulling out my phone. "Here, put your numbers in my phone so that we can talk later," I say. The twins enter their numbers and I turn to go. "We'll see you tomorrow Nova. Be careful getting home and if you have any problems, call one of us," Roman tells me. I wave to the two of them and start heading home. I put in my headphones and start my music. Today started out bad, but ended on an awesome note. I walk up to my door and scan my eye. The door opens and before I can step in, a small body hits me square in the chest. "Nova, I've been waiting forever for you to get home," the small being says. I sit up and look down. "Bean, what are you doing here? Where is Auntie Em?" I ask, looking around. My aunt comes out of the dining room with a smile on her face. "Welcome home Nova. I hope you don't mind our sudden visit." I smile and stand up with Bean in my arms. "Of course not Auntie. You know you are always welcome here," I say.