Greendale is a place that has seen its fair share of crazy happenings. You can walk down the street and see all kinds of people of all different backgrounds and colors. Some with more limbs than others and some may be hiding fangs but they are all a part of this town that I call home. Despite the craziness that is Greendale, we also have ordinary everyday people, like me. While the wild and scary things may stick out and capture people’s attention the world is made up primarily of the mundane and ordinary and Greendale is no exception. These ordinary people exist alongside the abnormal, sometimes in harmony sometimes not. Some seek out excitement and want to be extraordinary while others are content as they are. Greendale is a place unlike any other and you never know what is going to happen next.

Going to school every day is a struggle. Sitting through classes, hearing the teachers drone on and on about whatever topic, while your classmates whisper around you is the most boring thing a person can be subjected to. The only things that make coming to this torture chamber bearable are my friends. I don’t know what I would do without them. The other thing that makes coming to this prison worthwhile is that I get to see Daniel Winters, the most wonderful and amazing guy I have ever met. He does not stand out much in the sea of faces, preferring to just stand back and let the louder voices speak. He is, however, incredibly kind and has the prettiest blue eyes I have ever seen. But most importantly Daniel’s a normie like me. In the sea of crazy that is this town; Daniel and I are both plain and ordinary people, not destined for anything extraordinary or fantastic. As much as I love my friends and the rest of this crazy town, it’s nice to know that someone is just as boring as I am.

Today is the day. I am finally going to go up to him and tell him how I feel. We do not talk much but we have been in the same class since pre-k. The only time in my life that I can remember him not being there was when he disappeared to his Aunt Sylvia’s house for a few months this last summer. Other than that his presence has been a constant in my life. I know what his voice sounds like as it travels over a crowded cafeteria. I know the path he takes to school every day and where he likes to go on the weekends. I know his birthday and his favorite type of cake. I know everything about him and it just makes me love him even more. Today, I am going to tell him that. My friends have been building up my confidence lately. I mean if I can face off against a super villain or a vampire, how hard can it be to talk to a boy?

Very hard apparently. I have tried to approach him a total of seven times throughout the school day and every time something happens! The first three times were my fault because I kept chickening out, but the other four times were infuriating! Why is his friend chuck always with him? Doesn’t he have classes to get to? And why did today have to be spirit day? I finally got him alone and had actually asked if I could speak to him in private when the entire marching band and cheer squad started marching down the hallway. I tried to speak over them but he couldn’t hear me and then Eliza, being full of pep and cheer, grabbed my hand and forced me into the crowd as it made its way to the gym. I hate football season.

So now I’m stuck standing in the bleachers at some lame pep rally instead of telling the boy of my dreams how I feel and running off into the sunset. Well maybe not the sunset, it is only 3 o’clock after all. Eliza is out there cheering with her squad as the football players get pumped for yet another Friday night. I have to remember to ask her how she hides her wings when she’s wearing her uniform. The cheers and shouts of the assembled students ring in my ears as my failure settles in and eats at me. Well, at least I tried.

The pep rally finally ends and all of the students are dismissed. I walk out dejectedly with Matt trailing behind me talking about his date with Evan tonight. I wish I had a date tonight but the universe decided it was not to be.

“Hey Annie, look who it is!” Matt says knowingly, pointing to Daniel. Maybe the universe is giving me another chance.

“Hey Matty, listen, I’ve gotta go. It was nice talking to you and I’m sure you and Evan will have oodles of fun on your date. Talk to you later. Bye!” I say as I rush after Daniel’s retreating form. He seems to be going back in to the school instead of leaving like the rest of us. Weird. I follow him quietly, waiting for him to stop so I can talk to him properly. He finally does and I take a deep breath to prepare myself, but when I open my mouth to call out to him he walks into a nearby broom closet. Even weirder.

I walk up to the door and listen to the sound of his voice as it travels through the wood. He seems to be talking to himself. I decide that it would be best to announce my presence, so I open the door. “Hey, Daniel we didn’t get a chance to talk earlier,” I say as I poke my head inside, just in time to see his blue eyes go wide and a green light emanate from the stick he is holding before it begins to envelop him. I close my eyes against the brightness and when I open them Daniel is gone.

I sat on the floor of that broom closet for a while just thinking of all of the possibilities. Is Daniel a mutant? A vampire? Something else? Why is everyone around me something else? I thought I knew him. I thought he was like me. Normal. But normal people don’t have magic wands or vanish in a flash of light! The janitor eventually came along and kicked me out but I was not ready to go home. I took a detour through Emery Park where I have been pacing back and forth for the past two hours. I thought I knew him. I thought I knew everything about him. I know his class schedule, who his friends are, where he lives. I know that he often smells like lavender from his mom’s flower shop. I know that he likes to go to the arcade every Saturday and what games he favors. But I did not know this. I did not know that he has some kind of magical powers. Did I ever actually know anything about him?

A pair of hands suddenly grabs me from behind as I’m surrounded by that same green light from earlier. I close my eyes tight and feel myself floating for a moment. When my feet hit solid ground once more I yank myself away, falling to the floor in the process. I look up and see Daniel looking down at me, his face unreadable. “You weren’t supposed to see that,” he says in a tired-sounding voice. I’ve discovered his biggest secret and now he has to deal with me. He begins pacing the room, rubbing the back of his neck and running his hand through his hair. I just stay where I am on the ground and take in the vial filled room around us. Is that a cauldron? I really hope he doesn’t decide to put me in there. I’m too young to become soup!

He finally stops his pacing and muttering and heaves a big sigh. As he turns to look at me I hold my breath, scared of what he will say next. “I’m sorry” he says, as he comes over to me,” I should not have abducted you like that, but I really needed to talk to you about what you saw today. It’s kind of a big secret and no one is supposed to know.” He stoops down and offers me his hand. As he helps me to my feet I realize how ridiculous I was being. I may not know him as well as I thought, but I do know that he would never try and cook me. He’s too nice for that.

“I’m the one who should be sorry. I should not have followed you into the closet like that. I promise I won’t tell anyone!”

“Thank you. If my Parents found out that someone had figured me out I would be sent to live with my Aunt. Not exactly a pleasant thought.” He says with a laugh in his voice. The atmosphere is suddenly tense as both of us avoid eye contact. His hand has found its way to his neck again.

“So I forgot to ask earlier, but what was it that you wanted to talk to me about earlier today?” He says as he looks at me again. For a second I lose my train of thought as my eyes catch his. His words sink in and I remember my quest from earlier today. It seems like so long ago now. I feel my face heating up and I know I’m blushing. This is my chance! We are finally alone together and his attention is solely on me.

“It was nothing worth talking about,” I find myself saying. The truth is I can’t bring myself to tell him knowing what I know now. I thought I was in love with him, but I knew nothing about him. We hardly even spoke to each other and now I’ve gone and forced my way into his life. Telling him how I feel would be selfish at this point.

“Are you sure?” he asks. I just nod and give him a reassuring smile. That is a conversation for another day.

I ended up staying at his house until after the sun had gone down. He had not had anyone his own age to talk to about his powers and was excited to finally have a friend to discuss it with. He showed me around his workroom and let me flip through his spellbook. It was the most I had ever spoken to him. I went home with a smile on my face, realizing that we are actually friends now and that this meant I might actually get to spend time with him. I feel guilty about walking in on him like that but some good came out of it. I also think that if he spends some time with me then maybe he will grow to like me just as much as I like him. I could not wait to see him again the next day. I went home and got ready for bed. I went to sleep that night dreaming of blue eyes and magic potions.

The next day I woke up early so I could get ready to go over to Daniel’s house again. He asked me to come back because he wanted to show me some big project he is working on. He seemed really excited about it and said he wanted my opinion on it. He actually wants my opinion on something! I spent the morning trying on everything in my closet. It may not be a date but I still want to look my best. Maybe he’ll see me all dressed up and realize that he wants to be more than friends. It’s unlikely, but a girl can still hope.