Nadia’s Journey A Hybrid’s Awakening

Today is my 16th birthday. The day I have waited for all year. The milestone every girl dreams of, and it's finally here eek! I hurry to the bathroom, shower, and spend the next 45 minutes trying to pick an outfit. I heard my mother say, “Nadia, you’re going to be late!” “Coming Mom”, I called back. I walked downstairs to the kitchen for breakfast to find my mother and father standing there with flowers, balloons, and a banner that said “Happy Birthday.” On the island is a huge breakfast buffet. “Oh! Mom, Dad, thank you!” I grab a plate and hurriedly eat, so I won’t be late for school. “Thanks, Mom and Dad for breakfast. I love you both.” “Um Nadia, make sure you come straight home after school, please, sweetie. Your father and I have planned a birthday dinner for you and have something important we need to talk to you about.” I look at my parents with concern and nervously say, “OK Mom I will.” The whole bus ride to school I can’t stop wondering what my parents have to talk to me about. Did I do something wrong? Are they splitting up? So many thoughts run through my mind I barely notice that we’ve arrived at school until I hear, “Come on Nadia, we’re going to miss the first bell”, my best friend Charlotte says while tugging my jacket. “Oh sorry Char, my mind is elsewhere. My parents said they have something to talk to me about tonight, and it has my head spinning.” “I’m sure it’s nothing bad, Nadia, don’t worry about it too much”. Charlotte tries to cheer me up. We walk into first period right as the bell rings. “Well, ladies. Cutting it close, aren’t we?” Mrs. Abernathy says as we take our seats. Mrs. Abernathy is my science teacher. She is a short young woman with long black hair that almost hits the floor with light blue eyes. She is my favorite teacher here at Crest Academy, and science is my favorite subject. Our class is currently learning botany. It’s a fascinating subject for me. After science class is gym, I’ve always hated gym class. Lucky for me, my best friend Charlotte is in all my classes with me, so that makes it bearable. We change into our gym clothes and line up in the gym and wait for Mrs. Robinson, or “Coach” as she wants us to call her. She coaches our girl's volleyball, softball, and basketball teams. Coach Robinson is about 5’10”, with an athletic build, short blonde hair, and green eyes. “Alright, ladies, today we will be doing our fitness test. This test will consist of a rope climb, a quarter-mile sprint, push-ups, and pull-ups.” “Ugh, seriously?” I groan. I don’t consider myself very athletic; I usually do the bare minimum in gym class. “Come on Nadia, it isn’t that bad, it’ll be fun,” Charlotte says cheerfully. Of course, she would think it’s fun. She is athletic and captain of the girl's basketball team, after all. “First up is the rope climb, Charlotte, why don’t you go first?” Coach instructs. “Oh yeah!” Charlotte exclaims “I’ve got this, watch how it’s done.” Charlotte climbs and reaches the top to ring the bell in just under 20 seconds. “Nadia, you’re next,” Coach calls out. “OK, Nadia, just try your best and give it all you've got.” Coach encourages me as I step up to the rope. I grab the rope, take a deep breath, and begin to pull myself up. As I climb up, I feel something I never had before, and before I know it, I’m at the top. Confused, I looked down and then back up at the bell, I rang it and started my descent. ‘Weird I’m not sore, tired, or sweaty’ I think to myself on the way down. “We have a new record of 9.9 seconds, way to go Nadia” Coach congratulates me. “Wow, Nadia, have you been practicing behind my back?” Charlotte asked. “No, I haven’t. I don’t know what happened.” We go through the next couple of tests. Pull-ups and push-ups and I find myself feeling stronger than I ever felt before. What is happening here? Usually, I can only do a few of each. Today I was setting new records not just for myself but for the whole class. “Alright ladies, now it’s time for the quarter-mile run! Everyone, take your positions.” We all take our positions on the track, left foot front and right foot back on the starting lock. We squat and wait for the coach’s mark. “Ready, set, GO!” Coach yells and blows her whistle. I push off and next thing I know I’m already at the finish line. “Nadia, Nadia, what the heck was that?” Charlotte came running up to me, screaming. I saw Coach approaching with concern on her face. “Nadia, come with me, please,” Coach insists. “Where are we going, Coach?” I asked. “The headmaster needs to speak with you; you’re not in trouble, Nadia, it’s OK”, Coach assures me. I went to the headmaster’s office and knocked on the door. “Come in,” he said in such a deep horse bass voice. “You wanted to see me, Sir?” I asked as I creaked the door open. Headmaster Coolly was an intimidating man, 6 foot tall, muscular build, and with a gray beard that hung down to the end of his neck. “Yes, come in, Nadia,” Mr. Coolly replied. I walked in and sat on the tall Victorian-style chair sitting in front of his desk. His office had a very sophisticated Victorian style to it. A big wooden bookshelf that went to the ceiling and was filled with books was in the far corner next to a tall, cushioned paisley blue chair. Mr. Coolly’s desk was solid dark mahogany wood with the school emblem carved into the front. “Nadia, I would like to talk to you about your fitness test today. You come out on top of your class in each section, and in the quarter-mile run, you ran faster than anyone.” Mr. Coolly pauses, deep in thought. “To be honest, Nadia, you ran so fast some say you were just a blur, do you know why?” “No Mr. Coolly I don’t. To be honest, I have no idea what’s happening to me.” “Have your parents talked to you?” Mr. Coolly asks. “About what? What is going on with me?” I started to panic. “My Mother did say that my Father and she needed to talk to me tonight, but I don’t know what about.” “Why don’t you talk with your parents tonight and come see me again in the morning, OK Nadia?” Mr. Coolly suggests. “OK Sir” I replied nervously. Mr. Coolly dismisses me, and my head is spinning. What is going on here, it seems like everyone knows a secret or something about me, and I’m in the dark. Hopefully, the talk with Mom and Dad tonight will clear everything up. The bell rings for lunch, and I am so relieved to just have a break from everything for a moment. I walked into the cafeteria to look for Charlotte and Dimitri; we have always eaten together since grade school. “Hey girl, what happened to you today?” Charlotte spits out worriedly. “I don’t have a clue, Char, and to be honest I am scared” I replied. Honestly, I am scared. I don’t know what’s going on but right now, I just want to relax and chill with my besties. “Dimitri, how did you do on your math test?” I asked, trying to change the subject. “I aced it!” He answers excitedly. We spent the rest of lunch just talking and laughing. It helped keep my mind off everything else. The rest of the school day was pretty uneventful, and now it was time to get on the bus for home.