3

I would soon find out it would be anything but as far as school went. Abuse from my first-grade teacher only made the trauma from my pre-K years worse. One day during recess, though, something happened that would make me feel better through my trauma. A black dragon landed near me and a girl I was playing with on the playground. We hid under the playground, but the dragon had us cornered. I then saw it close its eyes and poke around its hand to grab one of us randomly. To protect her, I got in front of her and let the dragon grab me. It then flew off with me into a clearing in the nearby woods.

"What got into me there? What was I thinking?" I said to myself. "Well, at least I..." I soon realized I was still on Earth. The black dragon was merely holding me in comfort. It started to lick my back, and it made me feel like I was loved. "Who are you? I'm taken," I said. I soon saw the girl dragon I knew smiling back at me as she curled up around me. "He's with you?" She nodded yes in response. I proceeded to hold onto her arm. "Take me, take me with you. I can't handle the abuse from the teachers easily. I promise you; I'll stay by your side. I just want to be away from those darn teachers." She let me hold onto her arm for about ten more minutes before, who I figured was her mate, dropped me back at where he took me.

"Nathan, are you ok?" One of the teachers asked me.

"Yeah, if anything, I feel much better now," I replied. Over the next few days, I was able to calm myself with the thought of the dragon one day taking me to their world for a time. Once that died down, though, It wasn't easy to live it down. It was Friday, and I was waiting with someone else for our bus. A kid just a grade above me when I noticed a dragon going for him. "Get down!" I shouted at him as I got him out of the way. As we got up, a good feeling rushed through me, and I'd soon find out it'd be my way to cope with my trauma. Because for the rest of that school year, other than her and that black dragon who comforted me on the weekly, I'd be having a very rough ride. The last day of school, though, would be my saving grace. Since my grandma pulled me out, I had less worry. When I got home that evening, I was ready to kick back and relax for the day. I ate dinner then laid down in my bed to catch my breath after running from a dragon that tried to grab me, and it wasn't the one that comforted me. "Hey Carol," I said to her. "Do you think a dragon turning me into a shifter would help me? As in helping me with what's wrong with me?"

"You know I've been beginning to wonder the same, but then again, saving all those kids seems to help you cope." She then looked like she was considering something. The look on her face suggested that she was about to do something that was tough for her. "You know what you decide because even then, it's something I can't completely prevent."

"I've already decided that the one who's been loving on me as much as our dog is the one to comfort me into their world."

"What about the orange one that your teachers told me about?

"It's the same one. She can change colors. A rarity among both dragons and the like." She closed the door.

At night, a dream brought me into an emotional stir. It involved the dragon I dreamt would one day be my captor. Looking at my body, I was covered from the neck down in scales. The dragon was holding me close in her arms; I hugged her back. Then I heard her say something that would make me wake up in tears.