Phantasia rummaged through her wardrobe of clothes, trying on an assortment of mismatching garments until she found one that suited her mood. If she were to spend the day observing the humans as they wandered around town during their weekend break, she thought it best not to draw too much attention to her ethereal appearance. She settled on a thick coat, gloves, scarf and dark cap. By the time she was fully dressed, there was little sign of her elfin features or diamond white hair. No one would give her odd looks now! Proud of her achievement, she strode out into the summer sunlight.

From her nightly observations of the town from atop the church, Phantasia had a good idea of what streets led where, and the best route through to the town centre. Much to her agitation, people were giving her stranger looks than normal. She pulled the cap down to hide her eyes – wearing such dark clothes most certainly meant that her white eyes were more prominent than ever, and that was surely what people were noticing!

She was walking down an empty street, with an old abandoned block of flats marking the border of the ruined territory to the west, when she heard a deep rumble coming from behind. Moments later, a gleaming metallic object came hurtling around a corner. It shot past her, its wheels screeching across the dirt, and then spun into an effortless halt a few meters away. As the dust settled, a face appeared from the side of the device, the boy’s shimmering long hair looking as well-maintained as the metal monster he was locked inside.

“Somehow I figured it was the new girl,” said the boy, “As I’m sure you know by now, I’m Chris Shaw, and you look like you’re headed into town. Fancy a ride?”

Chris was one of the Topaz Second students whom, until now, had avoided her. According to Lysander and Angelo’s guidebook, Phantasia recalled him being described as ‘Captain Ego’ and ‘quite possibly the most underrated, unintentional comic genius of the 31^st Century’. He looked at her over the top of his dark glasses and Phantasia could feel his attention groping towards her like a dozen hungry tentacles. As he waited for a reply, his fingers caressed the shiny red metal.

Just another boy wanting my affection. Maybe I should give him a chance, though? Maybe he’s not as bad as he seems? I can’t go around judging people by first impressions after all, and I’ve got to prove Faye wrong!

“That’d be great!” she said. Chris nodded in contentment.

“Hop in the other side,” he said, thumbing back to the seat next to him, “This’ll be the best ride you’ll ever have,”

Phantasia walked around the car to be greeted by the sight of the door rising up of its own accord. This was human technology, a soulless machine. The result of trying to conquer nature rather than embrace it. The very antithesis of everything faeries stood for. Still, it was a learning experience, so she hopped into the darkened, plush exterior, paying little attention to the smug look on Chris’s face.

Chapter 7
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