Horned

• Samantha Wright, Grade 5
• Short Story
• 2022

Scared stiff, I opened the classroom door. Inside many kids my age stared at me with wonder. A few with smiles, but most with looks of pure disgust. I knew this was going to happen. It always does. Each and every school I’ve been to. For whatever reason, I actually had hope that maybe this once, it would change. But it hadn’t. The only ones who were smiling at me were probably the class weirdos or bullies that had no friends whatsoever. Okay, I really didn’t blame all the others for hating me on sight but why do looks matter anyway? I mean a unicorn horn sticking out of one's head is rather odd, but I don’t understand why anyone would care about it that much. My strange look could be rightly blamed on Sadaya the chief unicorn, and his spell of protection that went drastically wrong in that he became an everyday horse and I was now part unicorn. I now had both the powers of a unicorn, as well as a horn to add to the whole drama packaged deal. In spite of my inexplicable looks, mum and I took a plane back to the human world in Sydney and tried to find a school to accept me. Today’s was the last of five possible schools and now I didn’t think this school would be any better than the others we tried.
***
“Welcome Unia! Everyone, please give Unia a warm welcome and show her where to go! Also Unia - I don’t want to be rude sweetie, but school isn’t for dressing up so could you take your unicorn headband off please?” The teacher requested. Oh no! I had no clue how I was going to ‘take my horn off’. Trying to take my horn off is like trying to pull a nose off one’s face. Forced into being disrespectful I replied “No thank you miss!” as politely as possible. “You think you’re a smarty pants Unia! Well, this unicorn will now have to gallop away to the principal’s office with Olinda”. Everyone laughed at that last comment. I felt utterly embarrassed! I would have rather died on the spot. A sulky looking girl with shiny long black hair took me by my hand and started pulling me towards the door. “Stop that!” I cried. But Olinda wouldn’t listen. She yelled, “You silly spoiled brat, wanting to keep your unicorn headband on!”. Tears filled my eyes, but I wiped them away so Olinda didn’t notice. Pushing me into the office, she said to the principal “A new girl who isn’t respectful to the teacher is here for you miss!” And ran off. I cried freely, this was the worst day ever.

But what Olinda and the others didn’t know was that as a unicorn my tears have growing properties. As I was waiting, perilously close to a pot plant, a tear dropped in and without any warning a enormous forest started to grow around me…