Chapter Text
In a little suburban neighborhood a little ways from Norfolk, the cul de sac held a number of seemingly normal households. It was a nice little part of the state of Virginia, where Danika “DJ” Spencer had spent most of her life that she could remember. Virginia was home to her, she could hardly imagine anything else. She had been raised by her grandparents who were both retired and apparently well off enough to raise her. Only recently, her grandmother had gone back to work as a nurse at a little doctor’s clinic.
DJ was thrilled to learn this because she knew it meant that it was likely that she would get the chance to stay home alone, to be treated like a soon to be teenager and not a little kid anymore. She wanted to prove to her grandparents that she could take care of herself on her own. After all, she wasn’t a kid anymore. She was almost done with elementary school.
She would be in middle school soon, leaving her little elementary school behind, as some new districting had her going to middle school in a new area. Hopefully the kids there were nicer.
After tangling with her hair, she set the brush down. Her hair was so tricky to deal with, always getting wildly tangled and such a hassle. It seemed like the stuff that worked for her grandparents just didn’t work for her. DJ looked at herself in the mirror. It was honestly hard to believe she was related to her grandparents sometimes. She was lighter skinned, not looking as…well as black as they did but… she certainly didn’t pass as white either. Maybe if she knew her parents and the other side of her family she could understand where she came from.
She chewed her lower lip, thinking. Why didn’t she know anything about her birth parents? Her grandparents kept saying they’d explain things when she was older. Maybe that’s why she wanted them to think she was mature. So they’d finally tell her everything. It must be something heavy if they kept waiting but…she could handle it. After all, not knowing anything about herself was driving her crazy.
Was it tragic? She could deal with that. Probably not near as bad as what her overactive imagination could come up with.
Reaching in the drawer she grabbed a few barrettes and pinned them in her hair. Good enough.
She walked into the kitchen as her grandpa was serving up pancakes. "What took you so long in there?" He asked, amused. "You already turnin’ to a teenager on me?"
DJ sighed. "Grandpa!. My hair's just so…it's impossible . I hate it so much!"
He chuckled. "Well they say the bald look is comin' in style nowadays.."
DJ felt a near physical shudder go through her body as she tried to imagine herself without hair. "No! I can't do that!”
“Why not? You say you hate it, just cut it all off then” He teased.
“Nana make him stop!" DJ looked to her grandmother for help. Nana gave a stern look to her husband.
"Darrel, leave the poor girl alone." She said sipping a mug of steaming coffee.
DJ gave him a glowering look but all it took for her to get over it was for him to place a plate of pancakes in front of her. "Thank you!"
Since she had trouble on the bus, she'd been getting rides to school . It wasn't because she started trouble of course but she couldn't just sit by seeing how the mean kids went after the shy kids, the poor kids , or the kids in the special needs class.
Well the other special needs kids.. Technically she was in the special needs class too. She knew better than anyone how it made you even more of a target. A lot of the teachers didn't seem to notice when a kid in their class was being harassed. Only when they defended themselves.
Bus drivers did too, it seemed.
Another reason DJ couldn't wait to be out of this school district. After breakfast, DJ rifled through the pantry, her treasured Lisa Frank rainbow unicorn lunch box in hand to make herself a lunch. She noticed a few of the odd goodies that her grandmother sometimes had in her pantry, foods that DJ had never seen in stores but her grandparents always seemed to be able to find. Packages of those leaf shaped cakes, in autumn colored packaging, the cake itself was some kind of spice cake, with a sweet and spiced nuts and sweet syrup mixture inside. She grabbed one of them and put it in her box.
Some deep fried treats in American flag wrappers called “Dallas Treats” She grabbed one of those, and some odd chips (maybe from some health food gourmet store) that tasted like kinds of meat, almost perfectly. She grabbed some bacon flavored chips. She finished off her lunch with some Cheetos and a packet of the cute Caramel Owl treats her grandmother claimed came from some little Halloween themed shop.
DJ had never been able to find some of these special treats anywhere else but she loved them. Not even Little Debbie snacks had anything on these. With lunch made she grabbed her bookbag, slinging it over her shoulder and somewhat grudgingly let her grandfather ruffle her hair and give her a kiss before heading out the door with Nana.
—----------
“You need to be careful” Nana told her as they drove to school “I know it’s been rough but you’ll be in a new area soon, try not to get in anymore fights you’re gonna get in some serious trouble if you keep it up.”
DJ sighed resting her head against the window. “I know but-” She didn’t know how to explain that she just couldn’t ignore the bullying and teasing that the other kids in her class got from the rest of the school She could brush off teasing towards her most of the time but… those other kids were too nice sometimes just plain defenseless most of the time. Some of them were the type to just smile and pretend it was okay, but DJ could tell how much it hurt. She knew after all.
And a lot of the other kids who picked on them knew what to pick at by now.. Where they were most sensitive .
“Look I know those kids are nasty to you but… it’s not worth the trouble.”
DJ sighed. Easy for her to say. She didn’t have to go to this big ol’ prison near everyday. They stopped in front of the school and her heart sank as she said goodbye to Nana and got out of the car.
‘ Only a few more months. ’ She told herself. Once they did the EOG tests it would be smooth sailing. She could probably get away with staying home more after that, if she already knew she’d passed the fifth grade.
As she walked through the halls to her classroom the other fifth grade kids , the “normal” ones, snickered and whispered. She glared at the ones she overheard saying nasty stuff about her. Like that she had a made-up “hood” sounding name or that she didn’t know who her parents were. Rumors they drank and did drugs and were criminals or in prison and couldn’t raise her. In the past she looked up the origins of her first name and tried to tell people but they didn’t care. It became easier to just go by “DJ” instead of dealing with the teasing. But sometimes some dumb substitute teacher would say it out loud and she’d be teased for a week after that by some of the worst offenders in her grade.
She was relieved to make it to her class where she was greeted fondly by Mrs. Hansen and her fellow classmates. The actual learning part of school was fun in this class and as she went through the day things seemed to get better. Drawing and writing in her journal, talking about cartoons and Disney movies, made her almost forget her dread.
Recess however was when it all came crashing down. They were let out into the main playground of the school where some of the other classes were at the time . DJ and her classmates kept to themselves though DJ occasionally found a few okay kids from other classes who let her play.
Some of the boys weren’t either bullies or stupidly allergic to having a girl play with them, and some that had been, got over it after DJ showed her knowledge of Transformers. She sat with a couple boys playing with Transformers toys when DJ tensed seeing Bruce Austin and his followers coming over to some of the kids in the special needs class. Oh no.
Bruce Austin was a huge bully and his parents were popular in the community and known for their service with the local church so everyone claimed they were such nice people. One time at a community picnic about a year ago, Mrs. Austin had seen DJ talking with her younger daughter Susie about a new doll she had gotten. Susie Austin was nice enough back then. But her mother came over and pulled her away , and DJ remembered seeing the woman glaring down at her and yelling at her to stay away. Mrs. Austin pulled Susie away and DJ later saw her and her husband saying something with some other ladies.
Bruce approached some of the kids surrounding them and DJ felt her heartbeat racing and she forgot everything else as she tossed down the toy in her hand. She saw one of Bruce’s friends pluck the little ball on a girl’s hairtie and snap it back as the girl started crying.
“HEY” DJ ran over,fists balled. “Don’t ya know how much that hurts!”
“Then why do you girls wear ‘em anyway?” Bruce said, “They look stupid”
“You should know better than to touch other people’s hair by now, you’re what.. Like …almost ten now?” DJ said,
“I’m 11, tard!” Bruce shot back. Always trying to look like a big man, but that only made him look worse.
“Well that’s even worse!” DJ said. “Do you pull your sister’s hair too?” She felt a warmth in her fingers and perhaps somewhere in the back of her head there was a prick of worry. That feeling always came before something happened.
Since she was a little kid DJ had discovered she could do these little… tricks? She wasn’t sure where they came from but some of them could be fun and harmless, as long as adults didn’t find out. Because when a kid told their parents they had seen her do one of her tricks like changing the color of her Barbie doll’s hair or turning some lame McDonald’s toy into something cooler, well she never saw them again, or they would tell her they couldn’t play with her anymore.
But they also came out when she got mad or was scared. At a playground, there was a man who said… something she couldn’t remember but it made her feel scared and upset, like he was going to hurt her. She couldn’t think of what it was anymore because she was so scared but the toy in her hand caught fire and it hurt so she threw it at the man to make him go away She could only remember the pain and fear, and the realization she had lost a toy she liked and started crying. A woman who saw it happen came up to her while she was crying and started yelling at her saying she was a witch, and was evil. She was even more scared as the lady told her she was going to hell.
Nana came over and defended her angrily . Who said that kind of thing to an already crying kid?
But she had learned to dread the feel of hot energy coursing through her. At least she did when her mind wasn’t already short circuited by anger. She curled her hand into a fist and moved forward punching his face. A bunch of people noticed and came over. Bruce held his hand to his face looking at her in shock.
“...ow… that.. You burnt me!”
“...what.. Don’t be dumb I just punched you!” She said . although her brain was coursing with fear racing at a hundred miles an hour. She’d done it again. Used her weird energy to hurt someone.
One teacher started telling her off but DJ didn’t hear her. She was too busy freaking out… If he saw…
“I knew you were bad news!” Bruce said. “She’s a WITCH”
“No I’m not!”” DJ stammered. “W-witches aren’t real…”
“Yeah they are. They’re full of demons!” He said.
DJ felt numb as she was taken to the office. She stared down at her lap as her heart was racing. It was all a big blur, but she knew she’d done it again. She’d gotten upset , or angry and acted without thinking things through. Nana would be so mad. A teacher called and she waited there for her Grandpa to come pick her up.
“What did you do?” Another woman said. “Bruce said you burned him”
“I …I don’t know what he’s talking about” DJ said, starting to feel shaky , and tears in her eyes . She was crying and that made her sound all whiny. “I don’t have any matches…h-how can I burn someone without matches?”
Nobody could answer that and so she was just sent home early for a few days. She got a stern talking to from her grandpa and Nana “Can’t you just behave yourself til the end of school? Please.. Just make it til your end of grade tests are done?“
“Okay…” DJ said quietly. Neither of them said anything about the claims she’d somehow burned Bruce Austin. She was grounded for a week after that even when she went back to school . She was even more determined to stay away from any of the ‘normal’ kids . She kept to herself, keeping her head down as they got to the start of the end of grade tests. She still burned with anger when she saw Bruce bullying the kids in her class, and she tried to lead them in the playground a ways away from where the other kids were. She focused on talking to the kids who were picked on rather than confront the ones bullying.
It was hard though. One time she panicked when a leaf in her hand smoldered in her grip. She tossed the ashes away and scraped some sand over them til they were properly hidden. She was going to make it to the end of fifth grade. She had to.
Things were going well until she was stuck at the afterschool program because her grandpa had a thing to go to. At afterschool a lot of the wilder kids liked to play outside where there were less teachers on duty. DJ resolved to keep to herself inside. She found a little table with some markers, art supplies and paper and just started sketching. This was nice. Peaceful. But after some time , DJ broke out of her dreamy reverie- something that typically took a lot of effort- when one of her classmates in the special class , a sweet redhead girl named Caya, tearfully looked around for help. She looked shaky and nobody seemed to be paying attention to her pleas for help.
DJ’s resolve to ignore trouble was out the window seeing the poor girl so upset She dropped her markers and headed over. “Caya! Caya!” She made her way over to her. The girl was very distressed and her trembling hands clawed at her arms, a common thing she did when upset.
“DJ! I- I’m sorry.. I don’t want you to get in trouble b-but .. he’s doing it again” She said .
“Caya what,.. Who? Don’t worry about me” DJ said. “Who’s doing what?”
“Bruce has Carlos in the.. That shed he calls the .. the you know” DJ narrowed her eyes. She knew . Some time ago Bruce and his friends had been loudly ‘joking’ on the bus about a shed out in the field, which he called the “retard jail” . “They’re throwing rocks at the door…and he’s afraid of spaces like that.”
“....oh HELL no” DJ clenched her fists. “Show me”
“But won’t you…”
“Doesn’t matter,” DJ said quickly. “He cannot get away with this” She nodded and started leading out of the school. In the back of her mind she perhaps knew this might be bait. Bruce didn’t get over the punching incident that easily. But she couldn’t just let Carlos and her other classmates suffer because Bruce wanted to mess with her.
A ways behind the school a bunch of boys, Bruce and some other 5th grade kids and a few teenagers from the middle school nearby were in front of the shed hurling rocks-not pebbles but rocks at the door laughing and yelling . There were some construction tools nearby and as DJ felt the energy coursing in her hands she grabbed one of the thin pipes and rushed over swinging it at the boys. “HEY HEY JERKS!"
They turned around to face her and she saw the delight in Bruce’s little rat eyes. This was a trap. But who cared? She was going to make him sorry this time.
“Hey it’s the witch!”
“Heyyy loook"
“Voodoo Princess is gonna mess us up! ” One boy said laughing.
DJ tried swinging at all the boys before setting her attention on Bruce. “What the HELL is wrong with you?”
“You’re gonna pay for what you did! I’m gonna send you straight to hell with your crackhead parents ”
OH! OH NO!
OH noooo he did not .
It was like furious fog clouded her head and her fading sane mind was panicking in the background when her mind went weird.
It was like she was watching what was going on from a distance. Her body almost radiated visible static as her eyes glowed. The grin slid off Bruce’s face like slime as he watched her float upwards. Furious eyes fixed on him
“Oh shit man”
“She’s possessed!” “She’s a DEMON or somethin’”
The older boys were panicking, staring at her, a girl who wasn’t even middle school age, floating over them like a furious angel of judgment. “No YOU’RE the demons. All of you are nothin’ but monsters and you’ve been pickin’ on the ONLY kids in the whole DAMN school that can’t fight back.. Austin, your parents may be good white church folks but you’re the WORST of em all!. If you don’t stop bein’ stupid and thinkin’ you can get away with EVERYTHING, …someone else , someone who’s meaner than me, they’re gonna go Carrie White on your butt, and everyone will know you had it comin’!”
DJ had never seen the other boy be anything other than cocky and malicious but he stood screaming , and truly afraid for possibly the first time in his life. There were even tears in his eyes. She saw adults running over in the corner of her eyes but her vision went dark before she saw what happened.
—-----------------------------------
DJ wasn’t sure how much time had passed before she was awake again in a doctor’s office with her grandparents over her. She blinked a few times wondering if it had been a dream. But no.. why else would she be like this? She felt tears sting her eyes,and started sobbing in frustration with herself. She had been just about to take her end of grade tests. She didn’t even make it to finishing the EOGs!
One of the Principals was there. “Danika… Can you tell us what happened?”
DJ swallowed, wiping her tears. “I.. I dunno. …I just.. I lost it. I can’t even… I can’t really remember… everything just went dark” She sobbed into the sheets of the bed. “I’m sorry Nana… I tried.. I tried but.. I couldn’t let ‘em just.. They were throwin’ rocks!”
Nana came over to her and hugged her “Oh baby I understand. I’m sorry”. The Principal lady watched. “Bruce and his parents are being talked to , and we’re taking action to address -”
“You shoulda done somethin about him before it got to this!” Nana stood up facing the woman with a visible aura of fury. “That boy was throwing rocks at other students and there were no teachers in sight!”
“Yes and we will look into it. But Mrs. Spencer, this isn’t the first time Danika has fought other students-”
“Because she and the other kids in her class are always being tormented by the other kids. DJ is rash, she’s passionate but she’s been defending herself and the other kids. Why isn’t anybody in this place doing more to protect them?” DJ watched in awe as her grandmother tore into the woman. “Ma’am you tell me why it’s fallin’ on a ten year old lil girl to protect some of the most vulnerable students!”
The door opened and DJ felt dread wash over as Mr. and Mrs. Austin stormed in, equally angry. “Why is that little monster being treated like a victim? She attacked our son!” Nana turned to her sharply. “Brenda, your son had a lil boy in a shed throwing rocks at him! If you think he’s blameless then I think you need to spend a lil more time in church readin’ that book of yours!”
Mrs Austin looked scandalized. “That little girl of yours is a witch! I don’t know how you’ve been raising her but somebody needs to lock her up where she can’t put curses on other kids!”
Nana looked at her coolly before turning. “Danika, did you put a curse on Bruce Austin?”
DJ shook her head , completely dumbfounded. . “What? N-No. Magic ain’t real .. curses ain’t real”
“O-of course she would lie !” Mrs. Austin sputtered. “My son said she floated into the air , eyes all glowin’ and put a curse on him. If that’s not the work of somethin’ evil I don’t know what is”
“Your son has an overactive imagination” Nana said plainly.
The Principal sighed. “Mrs. Austin,... the only people making these frankly wild claims are your son and his friends who were caught with rocks in front of a boy locked in a shed.” The color faded out of Mrs Austin’s face. Or at least the color that wasn’t concealed by frankly unnecessary and ridiculous amounts of makeup. “I.. he.. Well”
“However we did find a pipe near where Danika had been found…. If that’s true…” Nana gave her an exasperated look and DJ gulped saying “...I .. I mighta done that”
“I see” the Principal sighed. “Seeing as this is a repeated issue, and the Austins can seek legal action -”
“Oh you better believe we will!”
The Principal cleared her throat “ Danika Spencer I’m afraid you’re expelled from Jameson Elementary School”
DJ’s stomach felt as if it had been hurled into a bottomless pit.