Norwin BurritoEater

-I hope tomorrow will be better..Buzzinga managed to say, barely audible. Her brother had been picking on her again—almost beating her up—and there was nothing she could do about it.

Zinga fell asleep, and her dreams were wonderful. In them, she saw nature and beautiful cities, and even got to ride a train—something she had always dreamed of doing again, since she couldn't remember her previous train ride (which had taken place when she was very small). Morning came, and the alarm clock rang.

I'm getting up, I'm getting up—don't get your knickers in a twist... And Buzzinga got up, tidied herself up, and got ready. On the way to school, she ran into Galvana.

-Oh, hi there!

-Hi, Gal replied.

-How are things? How did last evening go? -Um... Good?... Buzzinga answered, sounding very unsure and insincere.

-Are you sure?.. Or do I just get the feeling you're lying?

-Actually, I had a problem again yesterday... My brother nearly beat me to hematomas... Buzz replied, her voice hollow and sad.

-Oh... Galvana answered in a flat, empty tone, then glanced at Zinga.

-Can I take a look at your bruises? I'm worried about you...

-Sure...Buzzinga rolled up her sleeves and held out her arms to Gal.

When Galvana saw and examined the bruises, she asked:

-Oh, did they hurt a lot?"

-Some of them did... really badly. But most of them are under my shirt...

-..Maybe we should head to school?

-Let's go.

The girls headed to school.

Upon arriving, they spotted Pentumbra and went to class.

Lessons flew by; during breaks, the three friends had fun, played mini-cards (which Pentumbra had brought along just for the occasion), and simply goofed around. When it was time to leave, Gal, Zinga, and Tumbra spent a little while hanging out on the school sports ground before going their separate ways.

A "surprise" awaited Buzz at home. Jacker (Buzzinga’s brother) was angry and slightly tipsy again—after all, he had bought two alcoholic drinks with his own money—and when Buzz got home and entered her room, she once again found two empty alcohol cans by her bed.

-Oh... again.?...Buzz whispered softly. It was painful for her to see this; she knew that, beyond just a drunk brother, she was in for a brutal beating—or something even worse. Hearing footsteps approaching, she hid under her desk.

-Hey, f°cker, you there? Jacker slurred.

Buzzinga froze; she didn't even dare to breathe at that moment, but it didn't save her.

Once Buzz fell into Jacker’s clutches, he threw her to the floor and began beating her severely. She could do nothing but flee to Lilla’s (her younger sister’s) bedroom and hide there. But Jacker found her there, too. Buzz hid once more and quickly called Galvana.

-Please, help me! Buzzinga whispered loudly through her tears, then tried to calm herself down (but without success).

-What happened? Vana replied, looking very worried.

-My brother is drunk and hitting me.

-....

-...?

-Wait. I'm coming over right now; I'll hold him off and call the police, Gal said—her tone very cool, yet caring.

-Okay.

And the phone call ended.

Galvana got ready very quickly and ran to Buzzinga’s building entrance.

The intercom had been tampered with; Gal forced the door open—neatly but quickly—and stepped inside.

When Jacker saw her, he didn't understand at first, but then decided to attack Gal as well. However, she tied him up, locked him in his own bedroom, and called the police.

A short while later, Jacker was already at the police station, while Gal took Buzzing outside.

-How are you doing?

-everything hurts... and I don't have a first-aid kit at home. the monster-bee replied in a quiet, trembling voice.

-Want to come over to my place for a sleepover? My parents can patch you up, and we can have some fun.

-Sure. :)

The girls headed to Galv’s building entrance and then into the apartment itself.

The rest of the evening went well. The two monsters had a great time, and everything was fine afterward.

And the night was perfect.

I am so very grateful to you, Galvana. You are the best friend of my life. © Buzzinga

It was a sunny day; everyone was cheerful and talking about all sorts of things—how their weekends had gone, where they’d been, and so on. Then, suddenly, the teacher announced that a new student had joined the class.

- wonder who it could be... Galvana muttered, sounding less than thrilled.

-Um... I don't know...Tumbra replied quietly and looked at Glaishur. Glai sighed quietly and walked into the classroom. The other kids followed, and once they had settled into their seats, a new student was brought in. -Meet your new classmate.

And then she walked in—the new student.

She was wearing stylish glasses cool uniform and carrying a nice backpack.

-Well, choose wherever you'd like to sit. said the teacher to Zinga.

-Well... She pointed to the desk where Galvana was sitting. A faint blush spread across Gal's cheeks; no one had wanted to sit with her since the seating reshuffle (Pentumbra had been moved away from Gal because they hadn't worked very well together at the same desk). Once the teacher gave the go-ahead, Buzz sat down next to Gal.

The lesson went by quickly (but for Galvana it was long and tedious because, due to her shyness and the strange feeling in her heart, she couldn't just sit quietly, and her head was full of thoughts.)

And when the kids had to go home, Galvana's other classmates took Galvana's backpack and started playing with it (a la "try to catch it").

Vana tried to catch it but failed—until suddenly, someone snatched the backpack just as it was flying toward someone else. It was Buzzinga.

-If you do this again... I’ll report you to the principal or make your lives a living hell—I’ll cause you the most god-awful trouble for the rest of your f°cking lives... Got it? Buzzinga said, her voice seething with rage and menace.

As if it were her own backpack. Then she handed the backpack back to Gal.

-Do you want me to walk you home? Buzzinga asked Galvana very gently.

-Sure, okay...

So Buzz took Galvana by the hand and led her toward the school exit. (And she kept a close watch to make sure no one bothered Gal.)

When the kids left school, they said goodbye to each other; but once Gal and Zinga were alone, Gal asked:

-You helped me... but why? I thought you’d just walk on by, or something like that...

-I just didn't like seeing that happen. Besides, you looked so scared and sad. I know exactly what it feels like to be mistreated... so I decided to fix the situation—to make you happy and help you feel better.

Tears began to stream down Galvana’s face. Apart from her friends, no one had ever protected or cared for her before.

-Thank you so much... Could we be friends, please?Gal whispered through her tears.

-Of course :) Buzz replied.

They talking for a while and then went their separate ways home.

Not all monsters are bad. It turns out there are good monsters, too. ©Galvana

*The entire narrative is told in the first person. The first person belongs to Galvana.*

Chapter 1: How I Got Here

Hi everyone, I'm Galvana, or just Gal. And today I'll tell you how I ended up on this terrible island.

It was daytime, and I was sitting in my room in the castle, scrolling through Monsternet on my laptop, when I suddenly came across an ad. When I looked closer, it read: Spending time in a boring house? Then buy a ticket for a wonderful trip to Sparkle Island! A fair, entertainment, a hotel, and more await you there! :) Well... I didn't believe it at first, but then I heard my friends there, or rather, their conversations about the island. They said Sparkle Island was the perfect place and we should go there again (← and it looks like they were lying about having been there). So, being curious, I packed everything I needed in my backpack, bought a ticket online, and went to bed.

The next day, I woke up, tidied myself up, changed my clothes, grabbed my backpack, and went to wait for the airship. When the airship arrived, I sat down in an empty seat and flew to the island. It seemed strange to me that the journey to the island was so long and long (after all, all the entertainment islands (or simply islands) were almost all nearby, so other monsters could fly in to visit each other or have fun), and it seems my thoughts were right.

When I exited the airship and entered the island complex itself (which was fenced in, but no one was there (strangely enough))

I realized the advertising was a lie (because the place turned out to be a creepy, abandoned place), and I tried to go back out, but the door was jammed, and now I had to stay here.