Invisible

Chapter One

Luna

"Luna, honey, we have to talk to you." Luna's mom said, pushing open the creaky door to Luna's room. Luna looked up from her book, A Good Girl's Guide to Murder-she was in the middle of re-reading her favorite series for what had to be the hundredth time.

Her mom sat down next to Luna, who was lying on her bed, bundled up in her covers. The blankets were tattered, and so worn that all the color had leached out of them. It was March, but in the evenings, Luna's house got really cold.

Luna's dad pulled out the desk chair and sat down, exchanging a glance with Luna's mom. Luna reluctantly slipped a purple-blue bookmark into the book and closed it, setting it aside. Clearly, her parents wanted her full attention. 

"So...what's up?" Luna asked, twisting a strand of her raven black hair. Her parents were acting very strangely. 

"Luna," her father began. "You know how you're homeschooled?"

"Yeah..." Luna responded warily, drawing out the word. She had a sinking feeling in her stomach that she knew what her parents were going to say.

She used to go to regular school, but when she was six, her parents lost their jobs. They decided to homeschool her to save money while they found new jobs. Luna liked being homeschooled, but lately she'd just been reading all day. She didn't mind-she loved reading. Her parents were just too busy with work to teach her. Her dad worked from home, and was a writer for a newspaper. He was always typing away on his computer so he didn't miss any deadlines. And her mom was an architect or something, and she was also constantly looking at houses or blueprints. 

"Well, we've decided that you're.." her mom hesitated. "You're going to regular school." Luna froze, even though she had predicted it. Somehow hearing it out loud was so much worse. 

Luna had always been an introvert, partly because she was homeschooled for a long time and didn't interact with people. She also preferred to read instead of talk. Would this make everybody hate her?      

A flood of worries rushed through her. What if she couldn't make any friends? What if she was the weird new kid? What if everybody bullied her? What if she got publicly embarrassed? What if she flunked all the tests and had to be held back? Then something dawned on her and she laughed. 

"It's March!" Luna exclaimed. "School started in September! So I'll have to wait until next year to go to regular school!" She would still have to go to school, of course, but she would have a whole year until she had to worry about that! Relief melted all her worries away, and she embraced the warm feeling. Until she saw the looks her parents were giving each other.

"Luna," her dad said gently. "You're going to school this year." The relief disappeared as quickly as it had come, replaced by a deep, dark hole. Despair. And another feeling, one that was slippery and cold and that made Luna shiver. Fear. 

"But I can't just join in the middle of the year!" Luna cried, her vision starting to blur. Her mom reached out, placing a hand on Luna's shoulder to steady her. "It's okay. A lot of people join in the middle of the year. Knowing you, you'll catch up with the class in no time!" Her mom assured her, smiling warmly.

"And you'll make lots of new friends! You can't do that when you're homeschooled." her dad added. Luna tugged on a strand of her hair. She was losing the argument. "I have friends-in my books!" Luna protested weakly, holding up A Good Girl's Guide to Murder. Her dad raised an eyebrow. 

Luna sighed. She knew going to school was inevitable. She just didn't want to admit it. But that would get her nowhere. Luna took a deep breath and forced herself to say, "Okay, when does school start?" 

Her parents exchanged a glance. "Monday," her mom admitted, reaching out to tuck Luna's bangs behind her ear. Luna swatted her hand away. "This Monday?" Her eyes widened with panic when her parents nodded. 

"You're telling me now? Today's Sunday!" Luna shot a desperate look at her mom. "Please, can't I just start next week? You can't just spring something this huge on me the night before I go to school!" Her mom shook her head. "I'm sorry, Luna. There's nothing we can do. We just...well, in work, your dad and I recently received a big pile of things to do, so we can't homeschool you anymore." Luna slumped back in her bed.

Her dad tried to comfort her. "I know this seems new and difficult, but you should still have enough time to pack this backpack." He held up a purple backpack that Luna hadn't even noticed he was holding. Her eyebrows scrunched together. "Wait, is that Mom's old backpack from when she was in sixth grade?" Luna inquired. Her mom laughed and turned to face Luna, her green eyes twinkling with laughter in an obvious attempt to cheer her up. "It is my old backpack!" 

"Okay, it's 7:45, so we'll let you get ready. Pick out an outfit for tomorrow! School starts at 8:15, and you're walking there so you'll need to be out of here by 8:00." Her dad said. Her mom kissed Luna's forehead as she got up and crossed to the door–not giving her time to ask the many questions she now had. 

Luna started to fidget nervously, but she forced her fingers to stop shaking and ordered herself to put on a brave face for her parents. 

"Don't stay up late reading!" her dad teased, winking at her and tousling her already-messy hair playfully. He tossed the purple backpack to a startled Luna, who barely caught it. Her dad pulled her in for a hug, and Luna melted into his arms. 

She hadn't realized how badly she'd needed a hug until she was being hugged. "Love you, Dad," she whispered into her dad's shoulder. He finally released her and walked to the doorway. "Good night, my little moonbeam," he whispered, using his nickname for Luna. 

Her dad left the room and closed the door gently behind him, leaving Luna staring at the backpack. She bit her lip. It did sound nice to make friends...but there were so many what-ifs. What if the kids made fun of her? What if they teased her mercilessly? She fussed with her blanket, imagining a million different scenarios.

After about half an hour of worrying, Luna glanced out the window and realized that the sun was beginning to set. She untangled herself from her blanket cocoon and hopped out of bed,  shivering as her feet hit the cold floor. 

She wished she had worn socks–oh, maybe the pair with the hamburgers and french fries on them, or the Kidz Bop socks she had gotten when she was five. Even though she didn't have a vast wardrobe and most of her clothes were old, she took pride in her socks. Luna crossed to her closet, shaking her head to chase away any random thoughts. She needed to figure out what to wear tomorrow.

Luna pulled open the door to the closet, wincing as it creaked loudly. She hung some of her clothes, but she also had drawers in her closet. She yanked them open and rifled through the drawers. Most of her clothes were old and most of her pants were torn at the knees. Luna sighed.

It had been a while since her mom had taken her shopping, because they couldn't afford new clothes. The last time Luna had gone shopping was two years ago, on her tenth birthday. Her mom had given her some money and told Luna she could go shopping. Luna had only used some of the money to buy a pair of jeans, and given back the rest.

Since the jeans were new-compared to her other clothes-Luna decided to wear them to school tomorrow. After a few moments of digging, she found the jeans and set them aside. Luna opened her top drawer, which was where she kept her T-shirts, and pulled out a slightly faded purple T-shirt. It was mid-March, so just in case it was a chilly day tomorrow, Luna grabbed a black hoodie and arranged her clothes on her desk chair so she would have them ready for tomorrow.

Luna crawled into her bed and got her book, deciding to read a few chapters before bed. Her pale-furred cat, Ghost–she had found him wandering on the streets when she was seven and had decided to keep him–meowed loudly and leapt onto the bed next to her. Luna stroked his silky fur as he settled down. 

She devoured page after page, and then blinked as she realized how dark it was. Luna put her book away and flipped the switch for the lights. They flickered then went out. Luna stared at the peeling flecks of gray paint on her ceiling until her eyes grew heavy and she drifted off into a deep sleep.