'Damn, what a shitty day to not have a coat on.' Krystal thought, getting onto her crowded bus. It was a usual cold and bitter day for March, being only 30 degrees outside. She at least had a thick sweatshirt on, which helped. She was somewhat grateful for the undesirable weather, because she had grown to hate hot days. Often, certain boys would whistle and stare at her, well, features. They didn't even know that she wasn't even attracted to them. Even if they did, Krystal reasoned, they would still harass her.

This aside, she sat down in her normal spot, and looked out the window at the beautiful country scene laid before her. She hoped to live in a nice, lonesome place like this one day. No one to bother her, no one to talk to, only peaceful tranquility, the one thing she desired most. She grabbed out a little yellow notepad, which was filled with drawings and sketches, and began to scribble down some drawings of the rising sun. The drawings were nothing to be proud of, but it made the empty hours that often filled Krystal's day pass quite quickly.

Blocking out the loud noises and laughter that swirled around her, Krystal closed her piercing eyes, and hoped for the ride to end. She greatly enjoyed school, although she wasn't an exceptional student by any means. She got the job done, which, by her standards, was perfectly satisfactory. The bus pulled into the school faster than Krystal thought it would, and the students began to file out of the bus. Krystal stood up, waiting her turn to join the slow line. Just as she found a spot to sneak into, she was shoved back into her seat.

"Learn, your place, bitch!"

This surprised her greatly. No one had ever said something like this to her. Something that pierced her skin, and reached down to her soul itself. She just sat there, shocked and hurt. A lump formed in her throat, and a tear found its way down her cheek. She sat there, dejected, until she was the only student left, whereupon she exited the bus.

Eventually, she got into school, and walked down the hallway towards her first period class, French. She greatly enjoyed this class, as she spoke (and was fluent in) French long before she even got to high school. Her grandparents were French immigrants from Normandy, and taught her parents and herself how to speak the language. Because she was taught both English and French as she grew, she had a slight French accent when speaking to her peers, which was mocked or admired, depending on who she spoke to.

"Bonjour, mon professeur. Comment vas-tu ce matin?" She said to her teacher in her usual cheery voice.

"Je vais bien, Mademoiselle Harfleur. Merci!"

Krystal smiled, and then walked to her seat, slightly cheered up from the bus incident earlier. She pulled out her notes - which she didn't really need - and began to draw little figures on them. She rested her head on her hand, and watched as the teacher, Mrs. Lavigne, spoke with her usual loud tone and energy. Krystal looked around the classroom, analyzing every minute detail around her. Her eyes darted from person to person, before finally resting upon a beautiful panther, who looked bored and disinterested in her surroundings. She couldn't get an amazing look at her, but could tell that she had long, black hair. Krystal rested her head on her hand, and looked longingly at the new girl. Before she knew it, class was over, and Krystal left the classroom with her head full of thoughts.

She walked over to her favorite spot, a nest of chairs nestled under a staircase leading to the second floor, and sat down. It was free of people (most of the time, at least) and was the perfect space to relax and think. She stared at the ceiling, thinking and thinking about that panther girl. Krystal just couldn't get her out of her head. Right after sitting down a minute before, she sat up and darted to the bathroom. She splashed water into her face, trying to snap herself back to reality. The cold water made her shiver, but it did the trick. She was calmed down, and headed back to her seat. She sat back and rested her eyes for a while, until she heard the shattering sound of the bell. Krystal headed to her next classes, which passed slowly without the presence of her new friend.

Lunch was boring, but she sat with her two friends, Jackie and Judy, a red-haired swift vixen and an energetic gray-haired raven, who talked her ears off about softball, and a cute dude that they had met. Krystal felt uncomfortable, and it must have shown.

"Krys, what's wrong, love?" Judy asked, lovingly.

"I do not like it when you two talk about guys." Krystal said, sadly.

"Why not?"

"Do not worry about it! Just listen to me, ok?"

"Alright! Alright. Just wanted to know that you were ok, that's all."

"I am ok, you do not have to worry!" Krystal said, cheerily.

"Fine. Just tell me if you're feeling down, ok?" Judy responded.

"Ok!"

Krystal finished her food, some peaches, milk, and a slice of pizza, and went to dump her tray. She noticed Judy and Jackie nodding in agreement about something, and she felt embarrassed. She decided to confront them about it.

"What are you two chacals conniving about this time?" Krystal said, snickering.

Jackie and Judy both had wide smiles across their faces, but didn't say a word.

"What is it?" Krystal said, this time in a more demanding tone.

"Hehehe. Krystal.. do you.. like girls?" Jackie asked, holding back a chuckle.

Krystal was shocked by this question, but regardless, knew the answer right away. She was just reluctant to share.

"Uh, well..."

"Come on! It's not hard! Girls, or guys?"

The question burned in Krystal's mind and heart like a flame, and she was reluctant to even acknowledge it. But, looking at the two girls' faces, she knew that she had to answer.

"Ugh.. Fine, I will tell you. I like girls, ok?"

Jackie and Judy both seemed very surprised at this answer. They had asked the question as a joke, and didn't know what to say. Krystal just nodded, and walked out of the lunchroom, leaving the two girls alone to think about what they had just heard.

The rest of the school day was a blur, and passed without excitement. She thought that she was stupid for telling people about her sexuality, but there was no turning back now. Krystal was also worried that the panther girl had noticed her stares. These worries plagued her throughout the day, affecting her ability to do anything during school. She decided to just take her work home and work on it there. The final bell rang not after this decision was reached, and Krystal raced out of school with a speed that surprised the many people she nearly toppled along the way.

The bus ride went smoother this time. All of the problem kids went home with their friends after school, leaving mostly quiet people on the afternoon route. She drew someone sitting next to her. He was sitting in a relaxed position. Perfect! It took her about 15 minutes, but the rough sketch was finished. This quick scribble was quite good by Krystal's standards, and she was excited to show it to her family when she arrived home.

Krystal had a fairly standard family; a mother, father, and three siblings; two brothers, Thomas and Clement, and one sister, Jeanne. They were all pretty close in age, with Clement being the youngest (12 years old) and Krystal being the oldest (at 17 years old). She showed her drawings to her sister, who was very impressed, and recommended that Krystal enter it into a local art competition. This boosted Krystal's normally low confidence levels, and made her night fairly enjoyable. But, the memories of the bullying caught up to her quickly, and she felt demoralized and beaten.

Krystal decided to go up to her room, and close herself off from the world that only seemed to want to topple any semblance of delight or control she had over her own life. She checked her phone, and found an unanswered message from Judy. With nothing else to do, Krystal nervously checked the contents.

'Krys, u there? I just wanted 2 talk to u about lunch today. Y did u leave so soon? Did we say something wrong? Are u ok?'

'Everything is ok! I just felt embarrassed about telling you my secret.'

'U scared me there fur a second! I thought that we offended u in some way! Well, I'm glad that that's not what happened!'

'I took no offense to what you said, silly.'

'I'm glad. And, speaking of ur secret, guess wat?'

Krystal blushed, and shoved a pillow in her face. However, she was curious nonetheless.

'What?'

'Ur little friend from French noticed us talking to u, and came over to our table after u left. She wanted to know why u were staring at her the entire period lol!'

'Oh my goodness! Why did she tell you..?'

'Well, if sum random gurl was staring at me fur 45 minutes, I'd be curious, too!'

'That is understandable. What did you tell her?'

'Well.. I told her that u were lez.. did u not want me 2 tell anyone?'

'She can know, it is fine. Just do not tell anybody else, d'accord?

'Okay, okay. Do you want to know what she said?'

Krystal was more nervous than she'd ever been. What if the panther girl thought she was weird? Or a creep? Had she overstepped her boundaries?

'Yes, I would like to know.'

'Well, unbelievably, she thought that your staring was really sweet! She wanted to ask you for your number, but you scampered off before she could!'

'You are not messing with me, are you? She thought it was sweet? Did you give her my number?'

'Yep. That was the word she used, at least! No, I didn't give her your number for you! That's what you're supposed to do, girl! Go get 'er tomorrow!'

'What if I mess up and scare her? What if she thinks I'm weird??'

'If she thought you were going to be or do any of those things, she wouldn't have asked for your number, would she?'

'No..'

'So, rest those pretty eyes of yours, and practice talking to her!'

Judy always gave these little compliments to people, and though she didn't think they helped much, Krystal always welcomed them. It always made her day a little better.

'Alright.. thank you for helping me! I appreciate it!'

'No problem, girlfriend! Oh wait, I'm not your girlfriend.. you know who that is heheheheh.'

'Stop it!! I am going to bed now!'

'Okay, okay haha.'

Krystal put her phone down. She shuddered for a moment, and stared at her ceiling, as if it would provide all the answers to her. Obviously, it didn't, and she was forced to snap out of her trance and process what had just been shared with her. Her staring had unknowingly welcomed a new person into her life. But, the doubts were still very real. Was she ready to have a girlfriend? Did she need one? What would her parents say? Her siblings? Her stomach began to hurt slightly, and she felt feverish. Her tired nerves were suddenly overloaded with emotion and anticipation, and some feelings that she had never even felt before. She closed her eyes, and breathed heavily, in and out, for a few moments. Her eyes raced around her room, and she felt a rush of energy like she had never felt. But suddenly, out of nowhere, new, positive thoughts entered her mind. What if she and this girl hit it off? What if she became her girlfriend? What moments would they share? Where would they go?

The rush of new, hopeful thoughts thoroughly drowned out the early doubtful thoughts, and she slowly began to feel calm. It took around 30 minutes for her to feel 100% again, but once it happened, she felt a strange peace that she hadn't felt in a while. All of the sudden, for a moment, everything seemed like it was ok. Krystal felt tired, though, and started to change into some comfier clothes. Once she was finished, she laid back down, and covered herself up. A warm and happy feeling swept over her like a torrent, and her mind drifted off into dreams.