Lexa was a tranquil child; she was conceived calmly by her parents, one lazy summer afternoon. She was delivered placidly by her doctor and her silent mother. She was raised in a hushed manner by her impenetrable grandmother—her mother was otherwise occupied. Lexa was an only child, ignored by the neighbor's kids, who found her too placid for their taste. So she made up imaginary friends, with whom she would ponder life and why it was so bland.

At an age where girls developed crushes and new body parts, she developed a sense of doom. She walked around feeling like an alien among humans, wishing she would get called back to the mother ship, or hoping that at least her people would send someone down to keep her company.

Her wish was granted at twelve years of age. On an uneventful autumn morning, she was playing with her imaginary dog Louie during recess—the dog's hyperactivity contrasted with her blasé attitude and made her weary, but she still loved him—when the imaginary boomerang slipped from her hand and fell at the feet of a tall, bony blonde. Looking up from the crouching position she was in, Lexa felt her heart do a funny thing in her chest. She felt a wave of relief wash over her, even while her heart was far from relieved. She thought back to all those nights she spent trying to listen to her heartbeat with the fake stethoscope her mother had given her for her eighth birthday—the demanding woman's subtle way of brainwashing her daughter into becoming a doctor—the panic she had felt when she couldn't hear anything, the conclusion she had come to that she wasn't alive; a conclusion seconded by her family, who always referred to her as lifeless. In that moment, with the blonde girl flashing her a sympathetic, albeit confused smile, Lexa felt anything but lifeless. For the first time in her short and tame life, she sensed that she was about to experience something important. She rose to her feet unsteadily, wanting to witness this moment as fully and as reverently as she could.

"Hey there! Not sure what you just threw at me, but it must have been light, because I didn't feel a thing!" Then the blonde burst into laughter, music to Lexa's ears.

Lexa's lips perked up in an almost there smile; she liked the sensation. She also liked this girl—the first non imaginary creature she tolerated since her grandmother. She was lost. What came next? What was she supposed to say? She wanted to tell the girl that she thought her hair was made of golden threads, that her voice sounded like home. But she had an inkling this wasn't appropriate first meeting conversation. So she remained quiet, her eyes alternating between the revelation in front of her and Louie, who was surprisingly staying still for once; maybe he was as enthralled with the vision before them as Lexa.

After a minute or so, the blonde abandoned all hope of having a normal conversation—any conversation—with the frail, wide-eyed girl staring intermittently at her. So with a shrug of her shoulders she admitted defeat and proceeded to retreat, but not before a final thought:

"Alright then, I guess I'll see you around. I'm available if you need company for any type of imaginary activity! Maybe an imaginary bike ride home?"

And a beat later: "Okay broody, until next time! Name's Clarke. If you're capable of speech, ask around for me. I'm kind of a big deal around here."

Lexa was at a loss for words, even when her best imaginary childhood friend Anya asked her what was wrong. She had been in this school her entire life, and never had she seen or even heard of that Clarke girl. And even though she was accustomed to people not noticing her, Lexa was very attentive to her surroundings. There was no way that the life-sized fairy had been walking among them in school, on earth, unbeknownst to Lexa. Then her friend of two years Lincoln suggested that maybe that girl was other-worldly. He meant it as a joke, he was always the one to lighten the mood. But not this time. This time, Lexa knew what had transpired was too big to laugh off. She may not have been capable of human feelings such as love and admiration, but she had a lot of curiosity in her and whoever that girl was, Lexa was going to figure her out. And who knows, maybe even turn her into one of her imaginary friends.