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Chapter One

Dandorstien stands back and watches the grass laden center of the grove from a distance.  The darkness dissipates slowly as the sun rises from the east ushering in the new day.  Brilliant sparkles of radiant light erupt from each droplet covering the long bladed grass and dotting the low leaves of the trees.  Seventeen years have passed since he met Lillithea and learned of what he may be—a dragon as she stoutly claimed—and still there was considerable lingering doubt and yet at the same time there is mounting evidence confirming the claims put forward by Lillithea.  If only he knew where she had departed to, if only he had chosen to listen to what she was trying to say to him then maybe then the drive to find the few others she eluded too would not exist.  For too long Dandorstien assumed he was some unique creation without any comparative form of life on the planet and in one instant the truth had been thrust upon him and in ignorance he refused the most likely resolution to the ever lingering quandary: was he alone in the world?  And now he was faced with the question of how long he would search for the others; he was after all, for what he knew, immortal. 

Perpetually his body would thrive always appearing to be about the age of a young man; and with a little effort he could easily appear young enough to belong in modern high school.  Over the several thousands of years he has wandered across the world with a trudging demeanor fighting in wars, acting as the astute artist, playing the diplomatic role, dancing about the stage of Europe and Asia and Africa, and learning the secrets of ages long now past into memory.  The vast puzzles of humanities rise to domination over the globe are well marked in his superlative memory and still the mystery of who Dandorstien was refuses to become perceivable.  And what a marvel it is for him to walk through the doors and step onto the campus as an apparently normal high school student and learn what he himself lived through.  He had a sense of irony and enjoyed the historical courses which always seemed to be slanted and tainted by the authors through the years to favor the opinions and view so the superior authorities during that age.  Language too changed with each generation and developed slowly over the years.  At least mathematics remained constant and deductively reliable.  And here Dandorstien who had done so much and learned along his travels now is taking basic courses; he smiles with the irony fate imposes. 

Dandorstien shifts his foot twisting his torso as he departed the grove so he could watch the sunlight striking the droplets for an instant longer.  The new day had arrived and the early bell would be tolling in little less than half of an hour.  There is the doubt that he would be missed if he failed to show up for class.  He would get the absent Mark on his card, but would that really alter the course of his life?  This was high school after all and as most other classmates would chant silently to themselves assuring themselves of absolute supremacy and immortality Dandorstien lived the immortal life.  Where others had only a chance or a few chances to get things in order and to accomplish what they desired and dreamed of Dandorstien knew he had an approximate eternity to complete any goals he set.  So the goal of another high school graduation was insignificant and more a passing of time than a required accomplishment dictating success. 

The grove was within a small forest bordering the high school property granting Dandorstien quick and easy access to school and allowed him to slip away to his solitude when needed.  It was well laid with tall and sturdy pine trees stretching ever upward as well as with trident maple, star magnolia, hawthorn, holly, dogwood, the ever magnificent oak and several others.  The most striking feature of this particular small wood was the woodlet within the midst of the tangled and unchecked forest surrounding.  The woodlet was of great interest to Dandorstien because of the eight concentric rings of different species of trees around a single massive oak.  And instead of the wild floor of the wood there was a tidy carpet of dark green grass here.  A calm peace presided over the area. 

He could linger no longer at the grove and he departs winding his way through the forest to the open field and then across it to the high school beyond.  To avoid too many complications Dandorstien uses the name Dan most often and had entered the school in the middle of the year because his father moved from up north the Florida for work.  In these days you go to where the work is and so suffer the children.  This thought gave him a little extra wiggle room with the teachers and in some cases they would seem to take pity on him.   In a way Dandorstien understood why they felt a little sorry for him: he had no apparent friends and remained alone most of the time; he never really seemed to smile or participate in the classroom activities; and when they would corner him and ask him how things were at home he would only shrug and say, "Everything is going perfectly at the home front." 

This isolation did not mean Dandorstien never spoke to anyone.  There were the very select few with whom he chose to converse on a semi regular basis to exchange pleasantries and engage in generalized conversation.  And there were always the few girls who would watch him from a safe distance with an interested look, but they always seemed a little too worried by his withdrawn nature to approach him and attempt to initiate any communication.  This long term of isolation and inability to relate to anyone created an aching loneliness which ate at him from within and pained him, but how could anyone ever understand him or relate to him.  He was over 6,000 years old. 

The driving hope for staying here is the unnatural grove in the small forest.  The oak and trees had an alluring property about them and drew him in.  Dandorstien hoped this same drawing power would pull the others that Lillithea had spoken over years ago to the same place or that Lillithea would show up looking and waiting for the others herself.  And so he would put himself through the high school routine again. 

He silently slips through the closing door into the chemistry lab as Ken walked in without noticing Dandorstien following.  Chemistry is the first class of the day and to him it is one of the more creative classes—not all text book and theory—there is a little hands-on and experimentation.  Though the formulas and routine projects offer no new profound insight they still are different from the doldrums of the other monotonous courses.  And with a little tweak here or there in the proscribed experimentations small puffs of smoke or odd colored flame can be produced—to the general alarm of Mrs. Karns the instructor in the lab.  The alterations were mild and minor but we as students are not allowed the luxury of undirected deviation from the proscribed processes.  

As a direct and predictable result of his wild embrace of apparently chaotic mixing and burning of seemingly random elements at his disposal, Dandorstien normally was left without a partner.  When the time would come to pair up for an assignment most students would flee from him.  And if someone did manage to get paired with him Mrs. Karns was always astute enough to make an adjustment so Dandorstien would be working alone or put him in a group with specific instruction to not touch anything.  Either case ostracized Danderstien further from his supposed peers. 

Without paying any attention to the surrounding children Dandorstien quietly sits down at his usual spot along the slate table of the lab and slides his backpack underneath.  As is his custom he crosses his arms and lays his head down on the cool slate.  There is no reason he should pay attention to what he already knew more about than the professor instructing the class.  In the past Mrs. Karns would call upon him in a vain effort to catch him off guard and have him blurt out some absurdly wrong answer.  After a few attempts she finally gave up calling on him to humiliate him as he always has the perfect answer for whatever problem, calculation, or question posed to him, no matter how much he appears to be paying no attention.  This situation causes most of the students to shy away, always leaving a few empty spaces around Dandorstien.  At times the solitude is an excellent reprieve from the bustle of ignorance and noise; and then at other times the conversation with a companion is a break from the utter boredom of the routine. 

The dull thump of a heavy text book dropping gently onto the table next to Dandorstien makes him glance half-heartedly from the crook at his elbow.  He is startled to discover someone sitting in the seat directly at his side, despite there being several other open seats scattered around the lab.  The girl quickly looked away and her round face and olive skin is unfamiliar and her dark eyes avoid him and the other students equally.  Was she a new student to the high school?  He watched her straight black shimmering hair hang down to her mid-back— it was dark as the moonless night.  While he takes the moment to look her over she shifts her head back and catches a glimpse of his eyeing but Dandorstien holds the gaze unwaveringly.  After a second she looked back down at where her laces should have been and did not make any other moves. 

Dandorstien ascertained her embarrassment.  The girl had no laces threaded through her faded plaid and well worn left shoe.  The shoe has a hole in the front near the big toe and her dirty sock—also tattered—stuck out with frizzy threads.  And though the right shoe had a lace the overall condition was as deteriorated as the left one.  Upon further observation Dandorstien noticed her jeans are stained and her shirt was faded and more than a few years out of date. 

"And Dan you will be partnered with Cindy; she is a new student from California," says Mrs. Karns. 

"Who?" asks Dandorstien?  The statement startles him and his head jerks up to see Mrs. Karns standing at the end of the row staring at him.

"You and Cindy are partners," says Mrs. Karns.  "She is the new girl who is sitting next to you."

"Oh," nods Dandorstien.  He turns to the girl sitting next to him who still is looking at the floor.  "I'm Dan and it looks like you and I are going to be partners."

"Good," says Mrs. Karns.  "Looks like you finally have a partner Dan."

Dandorstien sees the subtle smile at the corner of the teachers lip.  She is enjoying this situation and knows she is placing him with a girl that no one in the class would ever want to be paired with.  He also catches the snickering from the other side of the table and watches as the girls across from them whisper blatantly.  There is no doubt they are making fun of Cindy.  The poor girl never even had a chance with this group; she was already judged and discarded.  Despite Dandorstien's—at times—cold exterior seemingly emotionless demeanor, and strange nature he has a strong sense of justice and fairness rooted within his iron-like core beliefs.

"I'm Cindy," says Cindy.  She does not look up as she softly utters the words with a crack in her voice.

"It's nice to meet you."  Dandorstien extends a hand with the expectation of shaking hers in a traditional greeting.

The greeting and offered hand seems to spark something in Cindy's eyes and a feeble smile nips at the edges of her mouth.  Slowly with a careful deliberation she raised her head and looked at him squarely and gingerly took his hand with a firm shake.  A moment of silence settles between them.  Dandorstien watches her as she seems to be thinking of how to start a conversation with a complete stranger.

"Most people only stare at me," says Cindy.  "I guess it's because we are poor and my mother tells me it's because others don't know how to relate to us."

"Others don't understand me either," Dandorstien says.  "I guess we're both different from them in different ways and they don't know how to understand either of us."

"I hate it."

"I do too," says Dandorstien.  "Do you mind if I ask why did you move from California?  That's where Mrs. Karns said you're from right?"

Cindy nods.  "Yes, I am from southern California.  My father used to work for a company out there but when the economy fell apart he was laid off.  He finally got a job offer over here so we packed up and moved.  Mother said it was for the best that we moved, but I miss my friends and old school.  Everyone's so mean here.  They stare at me and I feel them talking about me."

There are a few things Dandorstien shared in common with Cindy.  The most obvious at the moment was the reactions of others to them.  But with the long life he has already lived he had obtained a thick hide to ward of the painful words and sharp glances thrust out by impatient and by people who did not understand the situation.  This ability to ignore the painful actions of others was not easily acquired and he understood all too well what she may be feeling now.  And if he can be a friend to her now she would be an addition to his eclectic collection of companions.  Another friend will not hurt he concluded.

Mrs. Karns walked around the lab desks passing out the experiment.  The handout was on an experiment to illustrate the differences in chemical and physical changes of a substance: melting wax, burning paper, heating iron and sulfur, and a list of others.  Cindy did not hesitate and pulls out the Bunsen burner, mortar and pestle, and the other equipment listed on the instructions. 

"You're different from them," says Dandorstien to Cindy.  "And people don't like different.  I guess that's why I tend to keep to myself instead of associating with the general populous—here."  He hands Cindy the test tube rack “People are used to conformity and anything which doesn't fit within their preconceived expectation is considered null and inferior.  I guess that's something you and I have in common."

"You're different," Cindy says with a meek smile.

"I take that as a compliment," says Dandorstien.  "I'm not one to leap into conformity for the sake of comfort."

"I thought no one would accept me," says Cindy.

"I thought that for a long time myself.  Each time I thought someone had approved of who I was they would abandon me; which makes it all the harder for the next person to come along.  Eventually I just assumed everyone was the same.  But as time went on I found that there are still a few genuine people in the world.  You just have to work to weed them out."

Cindy smiles brightly for the first time since she walked into the room and dropped the book helplessly on the counter.  "Thanks for not thinking less of me and for talking with me."

Dandorstien shakes his head in agreement.  "It's a good conversation."

At that instant Trisha, a cheerleader, calls aloud from the far corner of the room, directing her voice at Dandorstien and Cindy.  "Looks like the weird one has found a little lost shoe to tote around!"

Normally Dandorstien ignores comments like this allowing them to glance off his hardened hide, but this was directed at Cindy who does not deserve to be taunted.  He stands and walks directly across the room.  Trisha leans over to her gathered friends and whispers to them as Dandorstien approaches.  And each of them snickers vividly. 

"Coming to defend your newfound friend?" laughs Trisha. 

"Don't speak of Cindy like that," Dandorstien snarled perfectly.  "Just because she doesn't have as much money as your parents doesn't alter the value of her as a person."

"What—" giggled Trisha, "of course it does!  She can't even buy a pair of shoes!"

Dandorstien shakes his head.  "You don't understand what value is or what the word friendship means.  And I've come to realize your nothing but a tart acting like a girl wanting to be a woman she can never be and because of that gnawing sense of worthlessness you choose to prey on those less fortunate—financially speaking—in a vain effort to offset your sense of internal putrid nature." 

Trisha's face reddens.  "You asshole!" she snarls.  Quickly she slaps at him wildly.

With a subtle shift of his hand Dandorstien catches her by the wrist.  "Just because I am a man doesn't mean you can freely strike at me."

"Let go of me!" screams Trisha.

"Watch out!" yells Cindy to Dandorstien.

The warning from Cindy is a second too late as a fist slams into Dandorstien’s lower right back.  Despite the powerful swing the blow did not hurt him at all and he slowly turns to face Ryan who steps back realizing the hit did not do much of anything.  The hint of fear in Ryan's eyes is clearly evident to Dandorstien’s keen senses and to tilt the situation further in his favor Dandorstien takes a solid stride forward.  In reaction to the step forward, Ryan stumbles swiftly back. 

"What," says Dandorstien, "you want to hit me in the back and then run?"

"You don't have to do this!" Cindy pleads from across the room.

"Yes I do," mutters Dandorstien.

Ryan grits his teeth.  "I'm not running from you!  There ain't nothing you can do and if you want to do this you're gonna get hurt!"

"Just because you’re bigger than me makes you think you can handle me?" says Dandorstien.  "You're poorly mistaken."

"Please don't," whispers Cindy.

Trisha cuts harshly in drowning out Cindy's gently plea.  "Didn't you hear what he said to me and then he grabbed my arm!  Beat his ass Ryan!"

Ryan cocks his arm back and throws his entire weight into the swing.  Prepared for the blow, Dandorstien easily leans back allowing the fist to pass in front of his face leaving Ryan horribly off balance.  To take full advantage of the situation Dandorstien steps swiftly in behind the reckless arching punch and pushes Ryan hard from behind the overextended arm sending him stumbling into the nearby desks. 

"Just stop now," Dandorstien states bluntly.

Red with hate Ryan struggles to regain his footing, knocking over Trisha in the process and sending her books sprawling across the floor.  "I'll get you Dan!  I will get you!"  With staggering steps he stalked past Dandorstien and out the door, pushing his way through gathered crowd of students outside. 

Without a word to Trisha, Dandorstien walked back to where he left his books, picks them up, and with a nod to Cindy, turns and walks out of the classroom with her on his heels.  The students outside silently part allowing him an unobstructed pathway as he leaves without a word. 

"Thank you," Cindy says softly.

Dandorstien does not answer her with words, but instead simply nods his head acknowledging he heard her and accepts her thanks.  The first class of the day had been a tragedy and he did not want to spend any more time around the high school.  He is halfway across the football field, heading toward the woods, when the first bell for the second period rang out.  He needs to be alone for a bit and so without paying heed to Cindy who still followed him he walks swiftly into the woods.

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