The Hero Chronicles
By
Christine E. Schulze
Smashwords Edition
The Hero Chronicles
Copyright © 2012 Christine E. Schulze
Cover Art Copyright © 2012 Christine E. Schulze
Drawings Copyright © 2009-2012 Christine E. Schulze
Edited by Joshua R. Shinn
Formatted by Laura Shinn
License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this ebook with other people, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you are reading this ebook without purchasing it and it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
The Hero Chronicles is a work of fiction. Though the names of actual locations may be included, they are used in a fictitious manner and the events and occurrences were invented in the mind and imagination of the author, except where actual historical facts are related. Similarities of characters within to any person, past, present, or future, are coincidental, except for the inclusion of actual historical figures.
To read more of Christine’s work and view her artwork, visit:
http://thegoldenhealer.blogspot.com
The Mystery of Dristann and Tiffany
Original Art from Christine E. Schulze
The Stregoni Sequence (Four-book collection)
The Chronicles of the Mira
The Hero Chronicles (Five-book collection)
The Gailean Quartet (Four-book collection)
Loz (Three-book collection)
The Legends of Surprisers Series (Three-book collection)
The Pirates of Meleeon
The Crystal Rings
Bloodmaiden
Lily in the Snow and Other Elemental Tales
Chimes, La Mariposa: Two Tales of Emreal
The Last Star
StarChild
Follow Me
Black Lace
The Boy Who Fell From the Sky
Tears of a Vampire Prince: the First Krystine (A companion to The Stregoni Sequence)
Carousel in the Clouds
By now, in my stories, many readers will have noticed that my stories take place in many different worlds—including our own. Places such as Loz and the Lynn Lectim Academy and the Surpriser kingdoms root their history and settings in our world of Earth. But there are other worlds, such as Sulaimon from Bloodmaiden and Bienvinette from Golden Healer, Dark Enchantress.
What are these worlds? Do they have a set number, or are they limitless?
It is said that when Amiel, great Lord and Creator of all worlds, crafted the worlds, He created eight Macroworlds. These worlds are all accessible to each other, all interconnected. They are known as Earth, Novalight, Allyslies, Sulaimon, Bienvinette, Emreal, Fairie, and Etymology (the last of which is better known simply as the “Elemental World”). Each world has its own races, history, and dynamic, even its own powers. For example, the world of Fairie is a phoenix world. It dies in ash and flame every 500 years, only to be resurrected anew; thus shall it do until the end of time.
As for the MicroWorlds, they are often much smaller, containing a single race of people or two. A MicroWorld can only be reached through the MacroWorld in which it is housed. For example, in The Gailean Quartet, readers discover the Cheebish world. This world is a part of Earth and can only be reached through Earth. One could not find the Cheebish world from Novalight or one of the other Macroworlds.
Well, there it is. A bit of lore on the many worlds, amongst which ours plays only a small part. Perhaps you may find yourself stumbling into one of these other realms someday. In the mean time, please continue to enjoy their stories, which, as you will see in the end, are just as much a part of your story as you are.
Dedication:
To Aaron, the Hero. To Rachel and Hailey for providing many brilliant ideas. Also to our friends Nathan, Sam, Josh, Krystal, and Tiffany, and our beloved Mrs. Daniels and Mrs. Labrier, as well as everyone else at Berean for being my inspiration.
Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath.
(Ephesians 4:26)
And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as Amiel for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.
(Ephesians 4: 32)
PROLOGUE
Aaron jumped as one of the large, glass windows swung open wide of its own accord, as though some invisible sprite carried on the wind had reached out and pushed it open. A soft breeze gently fluttered the curtains, carrying a pleading whisper, “Please come...please help me...”
Leaning over the window-sill, Aaron saw a faint light shimmering from the garden far below. The voice seemed to emanate from that direction, and though the voice did not call his name, he felt its tug on his heart; it beckoned him and only him. Stepping away from the window, he slipped quickly down the halls, the garden his only purpose, his singular and, for whatever reason, most important focus.
As an unusual white glow illuminated the garden’s trees and flowers, Aaron thought the full moon must be uncannily bright this evening—until he stepped into the clearing where the phoenix nest rested.
There, he stumbled to a freezing halt and stared in mingled awe and fear. There, the true source of the light glowed. Between two trees and hovering in mid-air, a swirling circle of white light. A soft breeze blew from its core.
Then, from deep within, the voice called to him again; only this time, it radiated clearer and more desperate than before, “Please, please come...save us...”
CHAPTER 1
Chasmira, a junior in middle school, felt a little nervous as the carriage approached her new school. Being uprooted in the very midst of the school year didn’t help matters either, especially at her age. Magic did not, as normal humans believed, simplify things. It made everything far too complicated—at least in the opinion of a twelve-year old transfer student, such as herself. Twelve was such an awkward age, with emerging hormones, peer pressures, opposite-sex shyness...at least for Chasmira. Not the choice age to leave her comfort zone and start afresh.
Still, despite all these misgivings, the prospect of seeing old friends coupled with the hope of making new friends excited her. The Lynn Lectim Amielian Academy for Fairies and Elves was the largest of its kind in the United States—even the largest in the world—hosting five buildings on campus; an elementary school, a middle school, a high school, a college, and an Amielian chapel. Best of all it was located on beautiful, sunny Hawaii. At least, that’s what the non-magical folks had unknowingly dubbed Loz, the largest, most magical, and most ancient of Hawaii’s islands.
At any rate, it would prove quite a change from the twenty-student, one-room school house she came from. At that school, all the grades were lumped together, but here she would be a true senior—er, no, she would be a true Celestial. The ranks of students were named after the old ranks of the Fury thieves, friends of the great Lynn Lectim who had founded the school. Thus, the middle school students, as well as the high school students, were named Skylars, Lunars, Solars, and Celestials respectively.
As the carriage rolled through the wooded path, Chasmira enjoyed the clopping of the horses’ hooves. Despite technology’s many modern conveniences, the school chose to maintain this and other old traditions.
As they rounded a bend, the school buildings loomed into view. Chasmira focused on the old mansion that had stood for over a thousand years, the legendary Willard’s Mansion still housing the middle school. Except for a few add-on renovations made some years back, it had remained unchanged all these years. A thrill rippled through her as she considered the deep magic embedded within its walls.
Chasmira’s mother also stared wonderingly out the window.
“Isn’t it cool?”
Chasmira glanced at her mother. They were both part Scintillate and thus possessed long, straight, flowing, blonde hair that glistened in the sunlight. Chasmira shared the perfect smile her mother flashed at her.
Then, without further reply, Chasmira returned her wondrous gaze to the mansion.
As the carriage rolled to a halt before the mansion’s great, stone stairs, Mr. Root, the current principle, a Forest-footer elf with brown hair and bespectacled eyes, hopped cheerily down the steps to greet Chasmira and her mother and to help with Chasmira’s suitcases.
“Good morning, Mrs. Eriz, Miss Eriz.” He smiled and nodded to each of them in turn, hefting two of the four suitcases.
“Good morning, Mr. Root,” greeted Mrs. Eriz. “Sorry we’re late.”
“That’s all right. They’ve just started math class, but we’ll get Chasmira settled, and she can join the English class.”
Chasmira smiled brightly. “That would be great.” Being spared from suffering through Algebra was the best surprise she could have been offered on her first day.
“I have to go now, honey. I have to catch my flight.”
Chasmira turned back to her mom. Tears shone in her eyes, and Chasmira suddenly wanted to cry too, realizing how long she would be parted from her mother for the first time ever.
She hugged her mom close. “I love you. Thanks for everything.”
Her mom could only manage, “I love you too,” choking on a sob as she squeezed her daughter tightly then jumped back into the carriage.
Mrs. Eriz told the driver she was ready, and as the carriage started back along the trail, she leaned out the window and called, “Do your best! Have fun! Call if you need anything!”
“Don’t worry about me! Just have a safe flight! I’ll write and call when I can!”
As Chasmira watched the carriage spin out of sight, she prayed her mom would have a safe flight home.
She jumped as Mr. Root jarred her back to reality with, “You ready?” Instantly, her nervous excitement returned. Taking a deep breath, she grabbed the two, remaining suitcases, following him into the mansion.
As they wound through the quiet halls, several staff members nodded, smiling as they passed by in the hallway.
Mr. Root showed Chasmira where the English class was, handed her a map of the school, and then led her to the second floor dorm rooms. Escorting her to her room, he told her to unpack then arrive in the English room by ten o’clock, giving her nearly an hour to settle in.
He then apologized that he must leave so suddenly but said an appointment forced his departure. If she needed any help, she could head down to the teacher’s lobby.
As Mr. Root disappeared down the hallway, Chasmira realized with a small frown that the lobby was nowhere on the map; at least the English room was written in, though in a tiny, almosy illegible scrawl. Perhaps being in such an ancient place did have some downfalls.
Walking into her dorm room, she took in her breath. The whole room was so very elegant, with lacy curtains, five canopy beds, two spacious wardrobes, a small table and desk, and a fireplace. All the furniture was rich mahogany and intricately carved, antique along with many other odds and ends. A bathroom had also been added to each dorm room since the house was built.
By the plaque outside the door, Chasmira noticed she shared the room with four other girls—Tiffany, Krystal, Hailey, and Rachel.
After unpacking, Chasmira took the map Mr. Root had handed her, along with a swirly gel pen and notebook, and made her way to English class. It was only 9:45 a.m. and the first hour class was still inside, so she leaned against the wall, patiently waiting.
After a little while, the clomping of footsteps and the onrush of whispering voices flooded her ears. The next moment, the Celestial class rounded the corner, Tiffany, a beautiful Carmella with unmistakable caramel skin and hair, in the lead.
“Tiff!” Chasmira waved.
“Hey, Chasmira,” greeted Tiffany as the Celestials stopped in the hallway. “I thought you weren’t coming until next week.”
“Change in plans.”
“That’s cool. I see you made it in one piece.”
“Yeah, it was a nice ride.”
“Figures.” Another girl rolled her eyes, flipping her straight, light brown, perfectly layered hair over her shoulders. She carefully reached up to adjust her silver hoop earrings, then smoothed her blouse with a scowl. Chasmira guessed she was a Forest-footer. “We always get the carriage with the broken wheel.”
“Or the stubborn horse,” added a girl who was, to Chasmira’s utter surprise, even more petite than herself. Her vibrant red hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and a bandana framed her small, pointed face. Wide-framed glasses framed her bright, blue eyes. Her bell-bottoms covered her feet, and her shirt was several inches too long for her short torso. Necklaces strung with wooden beads and peace symbols dangled from her small neck.
“Or we get the carriage with the mule because the stupid horse ran off,” smirked a girl sporting a single blonde braid and glasses. Catching a glance at hers and the red-headed girls’ green thumbs, Chasmira confirmed her suspicion that they too were Forest-footers.
“Oh, the mule,” groaned Tiff, “I remember that. It took us two hours to get to school that day.”
“But at least we missed math class,” said the brown-haired girl, still scoffing at the wrinkle in her blouse which refused to be tamed.
“True…” agreed Tiffany.
“So, are you new here?” asked the red-headed girl.
“Yeah, I’m Chasmira.”
“Oo, coolio name. I’m Rachel. This is Krystal and Hailey—” She nodded to the brown-haired girl and the girl with the blonde braid respectively. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“You too. I think we all have the same room—”
“Cassy?”
Chasmira smiled as she heard her nickname called in a voice slightly deeper than she last remembered it, yet still warm with its familiar friendship.
She turned.
“Yes?”
“Hello.”
Chasmira beamed warmly. Aaron Ruiz strode towards her. His black hair and tall, slim form, as well as his dark, sparkling eyes revealed his father was a Spanino. His fair skin and the slight, silver glimmer in his hair told his mother was a Velori. He wore a crisp, white shirt and dark jeans, clad simply yet strikingly. His eyes twinkled and his deep dimples showed as he flashed an amazing smile. He looked much the same as he did upon transferring from her elementary school four years ago, except now he stood much taller and had traded glasses for contacts. Like Chasmira, he was also a fairy, though neither of them could fly yet.
His smile broadened a little as he stopped before her. “I didn’t know you were coming to school here.”
“First day.”
Aaron nodded. “Lucky you missed math class—it’s a total waste of time.”
Chasmira snorted, remembering how Aaron always despised Math.
She suddenly found her eyes straying to a blonde Forest-footer boy with smiley-face stickers stuck all over his face.
“Who’s that?”
Aaron glanced over at the boy. “Him? That’s Josh White. Hey, Josh, looks like you caught the ‘sticken pox’ again. What happened?”
Walking over, Josh replied, “Well, my little cousin stuck stickers on herself, and, well, obviously attacked me with happy faces—again. Then Tony dared me to wear them all day to school, but I’ve already, like, got two marks. Hope I don’t get detention—again. Of course, it helps that my sis is out of town, like, so she can’t—oh, hello.” He suddenly noticed Chasmira. “I’m Josh. And you are…?”
“Chasmira. Chasmira Eriz.”
“Nice meeting you.”
“You too.”
Chasmira looked at her watch. “Umm...does anyone know why we’ve been standing here so long? Shouldn’t class have started by now?”
“Well,” said Josh, “my older sister usually teaches English, but she’s out of town so this is the second week we’ve had a sub. Not like, a sub sandwich—which by the way we had for lunch yesterday—but, like, a substitute teacher. You’ll see why it takes so long. Just wait.”
Ten more minutes slipped past in which three people decided to use the bathroom, one girl craved lemonade and returned with an extra-large from the dining common, and Armond, a Limonion boy with bright green hair, drew a game of tic-tac-toe on the wall, landing himself in detention as a teacher passed.
Finally, the classroom door opened, and the Lunars filed out sluggishly, yawning and stretching. The Celestials entered the classroom, taking their alphabetically-arranged seats. Chasmira breathed an elated sigh as Aaron sat in front of her and Tiff behind.
The substitute teacher himself sported a mess of unkempt, blonde hair and crooked glasses, one of the lens cracked. An old tee shirt bore the words “Get free car insurance today!” and old blue jeans appeared as though they might fall apart any second. It was an altogether very unprofessional look, as if he still half-slept, having just crawled from bed.
He droned in a low, drawling voice, “Welcome, class. Turn to page 160—subject/verb agreement. Subject...verb...agreement...” With a snort, his eyelids fluttered, his head dropping onto the desk as he began snoring very loudly.
All around Chasmira, students began writing and passing notes, or rather throwing them, most of them bouncing off people’s heads.
“What’s going on?” Chasmira ogled in disbelief.
“This happens all the time,” Rachel, sitting on Chasmira’s left, explained.
“It’s best just to save English for homework,” added Tiffany.
“Or stuff cotton in your ears to keep out the noise.” Aaron offered a bit of the fluffy stuff. Chasmira gently declined.
“Doesn’t help with getting hit though.” Rachel turned back to her English book as a paper airplane zoomed into her ear.
Mr. Slump, for that was most appropriately his name, remained in his state of slumber for twenty minutes, mumbling things like, “Chicken soup...batteries...caught a big fish...underpants...” With this stately departure, he fell silent.
Overall, the class period stretched as the longest forty-five minutes of Chasmira’s life. When 10:45 struck, someone threw a pencil at Mr. Slump’s head to awaken him. He was obviously quite used to this treatment, for he promptly mumbled, “Class dismissed.”
Hardly anyone heard him make this announcement for all their noise, but as Josh yelled, “Class dismissed!” everyone promptly jumped up and filed out, relieved.
As they passed the Skylars, already groaning at the thought of wasting forty-five minutes of their life, Chasmira asked, “So, where do we go next?”
“Ancient Lozolian—our mandatory foreign language,” moaned Aaron and another boy with black hair.
“That sounds fun, actually. What’s wrong with Lozolian?”
“Well…” Rachel rolled her eyes. “Let’s just say Aaron failed his last two tests.”
“And I got a lowly eighty-three,” announced the black-haired boy now walking beside Aaron.
“Wow, such encouragement,” muttered Chasmira.
“I got a ninety-eight-point-five,” Tiffany announced, staring at the boys with mock-surprise as if she simply couldn’t understand how they achieved such crummy grades.
“And me and Hailey both got a ninety-six,” quipped Krystal.
Hailey nodded. “I mean, the test wasn’t that difficult.”
The other boy sniffed. “For you maybe, but Mr. Pero gives us a thousand rules of grammar, a million vocabulary words, then all of a sudden he’s like, ‘by the way, there’s a test next week.’ It’s impossible to remember all that information!”
“Wait.” Chasmira frowned skeptically. “The teacher gives you a week to study and you still can’t pass?”
Rachel snorted. “They don’t believe in studying any further in advance than two nights before the test. That’s the problem.”
“Anyhow,” Aaron interrupted loudly, a sign they should change the subject, “Nathan, you haven’t met Chasmira yet, have you?”
“Who’s Chasmira?” asked the black-haired boy.
“I am. Nice to meet you, Nathan.”
“Oh. You too.”
They reached Lozolian class. Mr. Pero was a much better teacher than Mr. Slump. At least he was awake, which in itself proved a major improvement. He even made a point of welcoming Chasmira on her first day of school. While he covered a lot in the lesson, Chasmira had taken some Ancient Lozolian at her other school and felt glad to discover she wasn’t far behind.
After Lozolian class, they all filed into the hall and Aaron announced lunch as the next stop.
“Is the food any good?” asked Chasmira as everyone hurried down the hall towards the dining common.
Aaron smiled with a playful twinkle in his eye. “Let’s just say that...lunch is an experience.”
Entering the dining common certainly was an experience. Madness swirled on all sides—shouting, talking, a variety of smells mixing—and not all of them pleasantly so—while several people accidentally dropped apple sauce and mashed potatoes on each other.
Managing to find the end of the buffet line, the seven teenagers took their positions.
“A bit like rush hour traffic,” Chasmira noted.
“Yep,” agreed Tiffany, “every day at the same time and everything.”
After a few moments, they noticed that the tall boy in front of them wasn’t moving. In fact, he stood stock still.
“Umm, excuse me, sir,” said Nathan.
Rachel stuck out her neck, trying to peer around him. “What gives, dude? There’s no one in front of you for miles.
Krystal sighed irritably. “It’s the sleeping dude.”
“Who?” asked Chasmira.
“Caleb,” groaned Aaron.
Josh smiled proudly. “My brother.”
“We call him ‘sleeping dude’ because the only class he’s awake for is Ancient Lozolian. Can’t even stay awake for lunch.” Rachel shook her head as if this notion was both unfathomable and unforgivable. “And the amazing thing is that he graduates this year—even though he’s a year younger than us, he’s a year ahead. You’d think he’d be behind…”
“Just go around him,” sighed Nathan. “We could be here a while otherwise—”
“Whoa, look!” Aaron shouted, pointing.
Their gaze drifted towards what held him suddenly spellbound, and Chasmira gasped. A Carmella boy walked straight up the wall, body perfectly parallel to the floor he’d steadily left behind, eyes closed, lips moving.
“Is he really..?” Chasmira breathed.
“Yup, there’s Sleeping Dude Junior,” Josh announced.
“That’s new,” Hailey mused. “He’s never sleep-walked on the wall before…”
They stared harder as the boy dropped from the ceiling. A girl squealed loudly as he plummeted towards her and as her bowl of chocolate pudding caught his fall. As he blinked, dazed, she glared sharply at him before sauntering off with a harrumph.
“Hmm,” mused Aaron, “That was interesting—”
“What are you staring at with those muddy eyes of yours? Nothing, perhaps? Maybe Lynn Lectim has adopted a second ‘Sleeping Dude,’ as the lesser students so creatively dub our dear Caleb over there?”
Aaron groaned, clenching his fists, while everyone else in the group sighed, rolled their eyes, or made some other gesture of annoyance. After glancing uncertainly at Hailey who made a motion between fake gagging and a pirouette, Chasmira turned with the others to gaze at the source of the sudden dread descending upon the atmosphere.
Several feet from them stood a young man about their age. His skin, a snowy white, and his hair, gleaming even snowier, marvelously contrasted against the jet black of the preppy suit he wore. Hands hanging loosely to his sides, the fingers extended like long icicles. In fact, everything about him—arms, legs, body—was long, but not awkwardly so. Rather, an uncanny sleekness clung to him, a strange grace. It was this grace as well as the stark contrast of black and white that made him seem...alluring. Yes, that seemed the right word to Chasmira, the word that summed him up. Alluring. Not handsome, neither cute. Those words didn’t quite suit the brooding, snow-white features of his face. But alluring, yes. Despite his apparent rudeness, even his abrupt words carried a smoothness, a cunning. And his eyes, soft yet powerful, drew her in by the mere curiosity of their opposite qualities.
Even as he walked towards them, his steps seemed to float. Before he could utter another word though, Tiffany stepped forward, ever so slightly, defensively. Her eyes locked on his, and he froze a moment as if considering. Then, he stormed off, scowling as he glided down the hall.
“Scum,” Aaron muttered beneath his breath, but Chasmira caught the remark and elbowed him roughly.
“Hey! That’s not very nice…”
“Neither is what you just said.”
“Trust me,” said Rachel, “that’s just good ol’ Drizzle. He deserves an insult now and then what with all the ones he dishes out.”
“Drizzle?”
“Name is Dristann Malloy.” Krystal stared at him half-dreamily, half-disgustedly. “Elegant name and a total hottie, but such a jerkface. No wonder he’s never had a girl. Worse than this one here…” She jerked her thumb at Josh who stared absent-mindedly at a table teeming with giggling girls.
“Whoa, did someone just point at me?” he asked, jolting back into the conversation.
“Hey, where’d Tiff go?” Chasmira frowned, scanning the crowds. “She was just here, staring Dristann down.”
“Hm?” Aaron said. “Oh, she always gets ticked off at the mere mention of Dristann. Clams up, snaps at us, or just plain leaves.”
“Yup,” said Hailey, “she disappears randomly from time to time. We think she goes to calm her temperature in the lady’s room.”
Chasmira searched the crowds for some sign of either Tiffany or the mysterious, snowy stranger, wanting to ask more questions. A growl from her stomach soon reminded her of a more imminent need.
Finally, they reached the beginning of the buffet. Green beans and sprouts were the first delicacy, but as Chasmira reached for the greens, Krystal advised against, whispering, “No one ever eats them, and who knows how old they are, and why does no one ever throw them out…?”
As Tiffany presently returned, looking completely calm, she cut into the line with Krystal. Together they heaped mashed potatoes on their plates, ignoring the irritated snarls of the Skylars behind them, and Tiffany said to Chasmira, “I forgot to mention that Krystal and I have to sit at the teacher’s table this week, so we can’t eat with you.”
“Why?”
“Oh, detention—talking in class.” Krystal shrugged nonchalantly as she studied her nails with furrowed brow.
“You can eat with me and Hailey,” said Rachel.
“Okay.” Chasmira turned to Aaron. “And what about you?”
Aaron shrugged. “I’m in trouble as well.”
“Shock,” muttered Rachel, tapping her foot impatiently as she piled more food onto her plate than Chasmira would have considered possible.
“You?” Chasmira stared at him in disbelief. He had always been such a perfect student when she knew him—maybe too perfect. “What did you do?”
“Well, Mr. Pero said I was talking again in class the other day, but it was really Nathan.”
“Oh, sure, blame it on him,” mumbled Rachel.
As Mr. Root called Aaron, Tiffany, and Krystal to the teacher’s table, Rachel grabbed Chasmira’s arm and began dragging her to a table, Hailey following.
“Finally,” hissed Rachel. “I can only be nice to him for so long. Do you realize who that annoying creep that’s been following us around all day was?”
“I—”
“Aaron Ruiz, my arch-nemesis.”
Rachel banged her tray down on the table rather roughly and adjusted her bandana with an irritated twitch. Chasmira glanced uncertainly at Hailey who only continued to smile.
“So…why is he your arch-nemesis?”
“Well, you know Nathan, the other black-haired guy you met this morning?”
Glancing up, Chasmira found Nathan still in line, debating between fruit punch and grape juice. He didn’t look like any kind of elf Chasmira had ever seen, so she figured he must be a fairy. This was proven when a Forest-footer spilled fruit punch all over the floor and Nathan merely hovered in the air to avoid the drink getting on his shoes. No race of elves could fly, only fairies.
“Nathan used to be my best friend,” continued Rachel, “but then he decided to ditch me for Aaron and Sam—” Chasmira followed Rachel’s gaze as a Forest-footer boy with curly reddish hair joined Nathan— “Of course, I would be more than glad to make peace with Aaron, but he’s always teasing me about what I’m reading, or taking my books and putting them up where I can’t reach them, or telling me he doesn’t like me with that—that impish grin of his. I mean, I don’t mind being teased if it’s all in fun, but what really bothers me is that whenever we play four-square, he always tries to hit me in the head with the ball.
“See, I got hit once by someone else, and he says he thinks it would be funny if it happened again. Of course, he’s been trying to knock me out since before I got hit that time, but whatever. And he’s even got Nathan against me. Bribed him into hitting me in the face with the ball once.”
“Oh. Well, Aaron used to go to my school, you know.” Chasmira didn’t know how else to reply. Aaron trying to smash a girl in the face with a ball? So bizarre…
“Boy, do I feel sorry for you. And now you have to go to school with him again.”
“Actually, I’m sure he’d never really try to hurt you. He was always so sweet when he went to my school.”
“Sweet, huh?” huffed Rachel, taking a big bite out of her turkey sandwich and chomping aggressively. “Yeah, probably when he was five. He’s annoying now. You’ll see after lunch—
“Jeepers! They’ve just put out the cookies-n-cream cake. That’s a rare delicacy around here. Better go grab some before it disappears. Catch you in a minute, peeps!”
As Rachel rushed off, Chasmira stifled a laugh and turned to Hailey, debating on whether she should ask the question tugging with merciless curiosity at her mind. Was it mean to ask…?
“Um…Hailey?”
“Yeah?” Hailey intently studied her broccoli, prying apart each tiny stalk with careful preciseness.
Chasmira hesitated again, almost feeling she interrupted some important discovery. But curiosity soon triumphed, and she ventured, “So, um, what’s up with Rachel? You know, all the…well…”
“You mean her strangely out-dated lingo, her disregard for modern-day tween slang and wardrobe choices?”
As Hailey continued to dissect her broccoli, Chasmira said slowly, “Well…not that I might have put it so bluntly—”
“It’s all right. Rachel knows. She’d explain it herself, but she’ll be away at the desert bar a good while, bartering for sufficiently-portioned cake slices. And this broccoli is giving me a fit, so I suppose I can tell you myself…
“See, you really can’t mind Rachel. She’s Forest-footer, yes, but only half. She’s also half Cheebite, a race of the eternally young. Not eternally young like fairies—and Scintillates like yourself—who are young forever only in age. Cheebites are also eternally young in spirit, child-like, slow to mature. Explains not only her small size, but also her occasional, random temper tantrums.
“Anyhoo, this is about her third time going through middle school and then high school, and she’s always talking about how she’s always behind on teen slang and whatnot. Takes her a while to drop old habits and adjust. Hence her current hippy fad and her obsession with all the ‘jikes’ and ‘coolios’ and ‘jiminy crickets.’”
“Cool-i-o! Cake, man!”
Chasmira grinned as she watched Josh return to the detention table with a wide smile, a large slice of cake in tow.
“What’s his excuse?” she mused.
Hailey shrugged. “He’s just Josh. He picks up everyone’s bad habits.”
She returned her attention to her broccoli, focusing with a menacing, fiery stare upon a fresh stalk. As she began ripping it to shreds as well, she glanced up and said, “I’m going to be an herbologist someday.”
After giving Chasmira a very frank stare, as though this fact alone should explain away any of her quirky behaviors, she turned full attention to her broccoli experiment and fell silent.
Thankfully, Rachel slid into her seat moments later, a giant piece of cookies-n-cream cake in tow.
“Score!” she shouted. “Groovy, guys—I totally swiped this from Josh, and made him think he still got the bigger slice…
“Uh…what’s Hailey doing…?”
“Herbology experiment,” Chasmira said quickly, still imagining the burn of Hailey’s eyes. “Um, so let’s talk about you. Hailey told me about you being part Cheebite. But why go through school all those times.
Rachel rolled her eyes and shoved a big bite of cake into her mouth. “Well, it was quite the scandal at the time…actually, it’s really a good story, should be a book someday…
“At the time my folks got together, they were only fifteen. There was this big feud at the time over Cheebites and Forest-footers being allowed to get married and stuff. It was a forbidden romance type of thing on their part.
“Now all that’s finally over and settled, we can stop hiding out and moving all the time. Which means I can finally finish school once and for all and be done with it.”
“Too…much…talking,” growled Hailey who’d lifted two tiny particles of broccoli into her palm and studied them so closely that, had she powers of fire, Chasmira was sure she’d burn a hole straight through her hand.
“Not…conducive…to herbology research…”
Chasmira glanced at Rachel who just rolled her eyes and continued to munch her cake.
After lunch they were granted a half-hour break. Everyone piled into the game room, a massive room where most students gathered to play games, hang out, and, for those who could concentrate past the noise, work on assignments together.
The old ping-pong table that stood since Willard himself dwelt in the house still inhabited the room. As Caleb and a fairy named Tony, as well as Josh, occupied the table and began a heated game, they soon seemed more interested in trying to bounce the ping-pong balls off each others’ heads.
A fairy girl with red hair and a blonde Forest-footer sat on the sofas trying to read, but all in vain, for ping-pong balls flew at them every five minutes.
The checker and chess boards with their intricately carved oak and mahoghany pieces were still in use as well. Two Spaninos poured over one of the boards, brows knit deep in concentration.
For Chasmira, it was like stepping into the history book she’d read about this, her favorite room of the mansion. She found it hard to take in all the details, especially as Rachel continued to spout off the names of each random passer-by.
The game room also contained a new addition, a larger, very open area like a gym only smaller and carpeted and used for playing games like dodge ball or four-square. Rachel explained that four-square was the most popular game of choice. Chasmira voiced this seemed a very elementary game, and Rachel admitted this was so, but it carried over as such a favorite from grade school that now only the “uncoolio” students dared to openly mar the name of four-square. And after all, she added, at Lynn Lectim, it could prove a very violent game.
Chasmira determined to watch intently to decipher if it was really worth playing…and soon found herself fascinated. No one played four-square quite like this at her old school. Not only did they play with what was surely the most humongous yoga ball ever made, but the students who already possessed their magic powers soon stirred things up, luring Chasmira’s attention.
Things quickly grew interesting as Anyta, an Icean girl whose eyes were truly as sharp as ice, joined the game, accidentally changing Nathan into an ice statue. The most interesting aspect of this was that he managed to stay in the game, since the ball continued to bounce off his head. Eventually, he even got Krystal out. As she could shoot fire, she vented her anger by kindly unthawing him.
Then Rachel and Aaron stepped into the square. Chasmira couldn’t help smiling as they bounced the ball back and forth aggressively. However, Aaron hit the huge, yellow sphere so hard that it did truly seem as though he was trying to knock Rachel unconscious rather than attempting to get her out of the game, just like she’d said.
Finally, after about five minutes, Krystal yelled, “C’mon, you two. This is four-square, not two-square!” With a frustrated cry, she shot a stream of fire at the ball, melting it into a shapeless blob.
Everyone groaned as the game came to a sudden halt.
Aaron made a face at Krystal. “Aww, shoot. That’s the third one you’ve destroyed this week.”
Chasmira too felt disappointed at not being able to join the game, but she settled with talking to Rachel about the latest books she was reading instead.
After break ended, everyone headed over to history class, taught by Mrs. Labrier, a very elegant Prismatic elf. Chasmira had read much of Prismatics and was humbled to meet such a beautiful lady and have her as a teacher. Prismatics could possess hair any color of the rainbow’s spectrum, and Mrs. Labrier’s shimmered a soft, sage green, flowing calm and gentle like her eyes. Her cheeks were rosy, and a crown of sage and pink leaves hung about her neck. She wore a crisp, white blouse with an elegantly embroidered collar and a black skirt, simple yet stunning. As she introduced herself and welcomed Chasmira, Chasmira smiled warmly.
As everyone took their seats, Rachel in front of Chasmira, Aaron behind, Tiffany and Hailey on either side, Aaron leaned forward and whispered, “She’s the best teacher ever.”
“Besides Mrs. Daniels,” hissed Rachel.
Since Chasmira had not met Mrs. Daniels, she couldn’t contribute to the argument, but she soon agreed that Mrs. Labrier was one of the best teachers she ever had. She actually made history interesting, which was a stunning feat for Chasmira who had never favored the subject. Of course, it might’ve helped that instead of learning about Lewis and Clark—the teacher at her old school was crazy about them, that was all he ever talked about—they discussed the evil fairy clan known as the Mass, how they were defeated, how the Lectim Academy came to be founded, and how Tristann, niece of Willard, along with the three Wood sisters, ultimately donated Willard’s Mansion for the use of the school. Finally, they learned how Amy and Christobel Wood, two of the first students to attend school at the mansion, had saved the school from an enemy who tried to revive the Mass powers. Those two girls, along with Chryselda Sofia the Red, a great queen of old, had then created the Kalvyrie, a group of the most skilled, magical healers in all the world.
At any rate, she proves a much better teacher than Mr. Slump, Chasmira thought, if you could even call him a teacher.
Next they all filed to Science where Mrs. White, whose golden, Scintillate curls showed faint hints of silver, greeted Chasmira with a sweet smile.
“That’s Mrs. Daniels’ mom,” whispered Rachel to Chasmira as they took their seats.
Chasmira nodded, thinking that if Mrs. Daniels looked anything like her mother, she must be very exquisite indeed.
“All right, class. Today we shall conduct some star-gazing and learn about the constellations.”
The class answered with blank looks and confused faces.
“Umm...Mrs. White?” said Krystal. “It’s still day-time.”
“Very observant, Krystal,” Aaron teased, and several muffled laughs coursed through the room.
Mrs. White continued to smile, undaunted. “Well, it is daylight still, Miss Smith. However, we shall be using—”
Mrs. White donned a pair of what appeared to be sunglasses, and everyone was startled when Caleb, who had been sleeping—or at least appearing to be—jumped up shouting, “Anti-glasses! I love those things!”
Mrs. White nodded. “Thank you, Mr. White, you may be seated.”
Caleb collapsed, only to slip into a deep slumber again.
“Now,” continued Mrs. White, “the purpose of anti-glasses is to change the appearance of the sky as you look through them. If I looked out the window right now, I would see a night sky—the stars and moon instead of the sun.
“Who wants to give them a try?”
Almost all at once, everyone popped up from their seats to don the new contraptions. Mrs. White led them outside—Josh all the while boasted how flashy they all looked in their glasses, especially him—and handed them each a paper containing names of constellations. Using the guide of their textbooks, they were to locate the constellations in the sky and draw each beneath its name.
Rachel’s pencil flew so fast that Aaron warned her to, “Watch out—might catch on fire.”
“Why can’t you catch on fire...?”
Rachel cast him a blazing glare, but her spirits soon brightened as two of the Limonion girls, Glory and Shanika, came asking for help, to which she enthusiastically agreed.
Others though, such as Aaron, Sam, Nathan, and Josh, couldn’t seem to find any constellations. Joining together, they decided to chart random stars then connect the dots, hoping they looked realistic. They were having great fun, snickering amusedly amongst themselves, until Mrs. White walked over, inquiring what was so funny. Examining Josh’s paper, she just shook her head at the pictures of turtles, unicorns, pizza, and other ‘new’ constellations. Sensing disaster, Aaron revealed his charming smile. “We can name one after you if you like, Mrs. White.”
Mrs. White handed the paper back to Josh and walked away, her lips twitching as she stifled a laugh.
The last class of the day was Music. Rachel told Chasmira they took an elective at the end of each day except Wednesday, on which they attended chapel. Tomorrow they would have Art, and on Thursday and Friday they would have P.E. Chasmira muttered irritably that it would prove far more beneficial to attend Music two days a week instead of P.E.
Music class was taught by another lady named Mrs. White, more commonly called Mrs. K. White to prevent confusion; she was apparently one of Mrs. White’s daughters-in-law.
As Mrs. K. White handed her a music book and announced she was glad she had joined the school, hoping she enjoyed her stay, Chasmira began to feel very at home indeed. Everyone, except Mr. Slump, had welcomed her, and he didn’t even really count, being a sub.
The choir was slow to work together, especially as it took the boys a good half hour to review their part, a part Rachel whispered they were to have learned last week. There was also the constant interruption by snores from Caleb, until Mrs. K. White sternly threatened that if he couldn’t stay awake, she would find something to keep his eyelids pried open with. This would have sounded harsh, but, Chasmira supposed, he was her brother-in-law, not just her student. That granted her certain rights.
Except for a girl singing an octave too high, and a tenor singing totally off key, and yet another tenor who kept trilling his R’s, music class flowed quite smoothly.
The last business of the day was supper, doing homework, and hanging out. Krystal and Tiffany decided to meet in the library while Aaron and Rachel insisted on playing four-square. When Chasmira finally grew tired of watching them try to hit each other in the head, she followed Hailey back to their dorm room.
“I’m gonna have to ask for your undivided silence,” announced Hailey as she plopped on one of the canopy beds with a huge book. “I wanna get in some study on Egyptian herbs before lights out.”
“Okay.” Chasmira took a seat at the desk. She wondered what to do for a minute and then took out a piece of paper, a pen, and carefully began to write,
Dear Mom,
What a fascinating day...
After finishing the letter, she prepared for bed, silently thanking Amiel for the blessing to attend such an interesting school and make so many new friends already, inwardly hoping that tomorrow would hold just as much intrigue.
CHAPTER 2
The next day, Aaron proved right about Math class—it literally was a waste of time.
Mr. Will would work the same problem over and over again on the board. Oh, sure, a few of the numbers would be different in each problem, but it was still the same problem the whole hour, and the greater issue was he didn’t explain how to work the problem. So when Nathan tried to raise his hand, Mr. Will kindly told him not to interrupt while he taught class and that Nathan should just pay more attention if he wanted to understand the problems presented.
Chasmira sighed relief as they departed to English class, especially considering Mr. Slump’s departure. In Chasmira’s opinion, a single day in his class was more than enough torture for one school career.
Chasmira liked Mrs. Daniels at once. Even if the only difference between her and Mr. Slump was that she looked much tidier, Chasmira would’ve been easily satisfied.
By her golden curls etched with rosy high-lights and fair, flawless skin, Chasmira could tell she was pure Scintillate. But her beautiful, blue-violet eyes could flash stern and powerful if someone forgot their homework or talked in class or chewed gum, all of which seemed to be some of Josh’s favorite hobbies. Since Mrs. Daniels was his sister, he delighted in tormenting her, disrupting class using all of the above.
After she had greeted Chasmira, welcoming her to school—Chasmira suddenly realized Mr. Will was the only real teacher who didn’t welcome her, though this did not overly surprise or disgruntle her—she asked the class what they learned under Mr. Slump’s tutorage.
When no one replied, she repeated the question a bit more ardently. Krystal shyly raised her hand, announcing they had skimmed over the first half of one of the poems, but no one could remember which poem.
Mrs. Daniels shook her head, muttering, “I knew he was a mistake...”
Then, to the class, “Well, it appears we’re a bit behind, so let’s get started. Page ten, please…”
After they finished reading and discussing the poetry, Mrs. Daniels proclaimed their assignment—to write a lyric poem of their own on any subject they wanted.
A few minutes remained before class let out, so everyone took out paper and pen and began composing. Chasmira loved writing and studied her first lines in a pleased sort of way,
“Who flies on wings of silence across the crescent moon,
“Who’s hunter during midnight, and takes her naps at noon?”
While Chasmira scribbled about owls, Rachel glared at Aaron whose pen also flew across the page. Then, she stared at her paper, muttering, “What to write, what to write, I hate writing poetry....”
Chasmira tensed as a shadow passed over her and a silky voice crooned,
“There was no moon that fateful night,
The stars lay all concealed, save one,
And this thought, fear, into people’s hearts did strike:
The work of Silent Death had begun…”
Her eyes scrolled up. Dristann smirked as he towered over Aaron who clenched his pen so tightly his knuckles faded to as ghastly a white as Dristann’s skin. Aaron turned his head to glare at him, slowly, as if restraining himself from launching at the snowy figure.
“What’s that you have, Mr. Ruiz?” he sneered. “Writing about bunnies again? Is that for your new little girlfriend?”
As his eyes fell upon Chasmira, she blushed profusely beneath the strong pull of his stare.
“Or,” his gaze swerved back to Aaron, “perhaps a secret boyfriend would be more suiting…”
With a growl, Aaron flew from his seat, but in one swift step, Dristann glided back, leaving Aaron to crash hard, sprawling on the rough wooden floor.
“Ruiz, Malloy,” Mrs. Daniels hissed sharply, glaring over her half-spectacles as quiet snickers echoed through the room.
With a slight bow, Dristann crooned, “Forgive me, my lady, for my foolish words…”
Mrs. Daniels’ mouth gaped just a bit. Even she stood rendered speechless as he slipped back to his seat, a pink flush brushing her cheeks.
“You okay?” Chasmira asked as Aaron scrambled back to his desk.
“Yeah,” he muttered, “stupid Drizzle…at least my poem’s meter isn’t sickeningly awful. And I write about rabbits, not bunnies…”
After several more minutes of writing, Chasmira paused and looked up to see Josh carefully folding a paper airplane. She nudged Aaron to get his attention. He nudged Hailey, who nudged Rachel, until all the room was nudged and focused on Josh.
Mrs. Daniels was rapidly writing something at her desk when a paper airplane bounced off her head.
She paused, pinching her lips very tightly together as if stifling a great explosion, then cast Josh such a very sharp look that Chasmira felt extremely relieved she did not throw the airplane herself.
“Josh,” began Mrs. Daniels.
“Uhh, it was Krystal.”
“Krystal is in the very back of the room.”
Josh turned around, spotted Krystal who smiled in impish pleasure, then turned back, mumbling, “Aww, man…”
“Two marks, Josh. Any more, and you will be having lunch with Mr. Root. Everyone back to work, please...”
As everyone turned their attention once again to writing, Rachel sighed, “Ahh, I love sibling rivalry...”
The remainder of the class continued in silence, until right before dismissal when Josh cried, “Ouch! She hurt me...!” in a very high, almost girlish voice.
“What now, Josh?” Mrs. Daniels sighed.
“She slapped me.”
“He was pulling my hair,” Kelsey, a Forest-footer girl snapped.
Mrs. Daniels only smiled. “Well, then, Josh, I’m sure you deserved it.”
As Josh stared at her with a look that said he thought Kelsey was worthy of at least twenty marks, Mrs. Daniels cheerily announced, “All right, class dismissed. Have a good afternoon...”
It seemed Kelsey had quite made her day.
* * *
The day passed smoothly, with the exception of Aaron knocking Rachel off her feet with the four-square ball and plunging headlong into a fight with Dristann Malloy as he snickered that Aaron threw the ball like a half-lame girl. Aaron miserably lost the scuffle, especially when Dristann suspended him in the air, rendering him powerless to rejoin either game or fight, cursing all the while beneath his breath his lack of magical skill. Chasmira still hadn’t gotten the chance to play, but she kept Aaron’s hovering form company anyways.
“It’s okay,” he murmured. “Just wait ’til I receive my powers….
“Sure you don’t wanna play? You have full permission to pummel Drizzle for me….”
“No,” she muttered, watching Dristann’s sleek, black-clad, snow-white form half-dreamily as did all the other girls clustered about the four-square match. Never had she seen such a crowd. He was such an arrogant, self-centered brat, what on earth drew them all to him so powerfully?
Shaking her head to break from her own trance, she smiled up at Aaron. “What does he have against you, anyways?”
“Dunno,” he sighed. “He’s hated me from the time he transferred in, first time he laid eyes on me. Bit of a psychotic wack, if you ask me…”
Thankfully, by the time Art rolled around, Dristann released Aaron’s bonds, though none too gently. Aaron crashed to the ground, landing half on Chasmira, half on Josh who squealed, “Oww! My ankle!”
Chasmira curiously followed her crowd to Art, intrigued as Tiffany appeared abruptly at her side, announcing that today they would learn to mold clay and create pottery.
The class was taught by Mrs. Enzweiler, a cheerful Washandzee lady. The girls whispered enviously over her gorgeous blue-black curls which trailed her short four-feet frame all the way down to her toes. The boys listened enraptured as she showed them how to work the potter’s wheel, gave them some molding tips, and set them to work.
Chasmira soon thought that perhaps the class required more than a ten-minute session as disaster began to quickily creep in.
Sam was trying to mold a bowl that kept turning out as a shapeless blob. Nathan spun the wheel so fast that clay flew about the room; some landed in Krystal’s hair and she shrieked in frustration, already too dirty for her liking. Aaron mumbled to the handle on his tea pot, which wasn’t turning out how he wanted, casting occasional, annoyed glances at Rachel who’d already made four perfect little cups ready to be baked.
But the real trouble began when Josh offered Daniel, a Forest-footer with fiery red hair, a cookie containing peanut butter, knowing full well Daniel was allergic to peanuts. This sent him into a sneezing frenzy, and he was promptly excused to the nurse.
As Mrs. Enzweiler was distracted scolding Josh, Caleb slipped over and turned the stove in which Daniel’s pot was baking up high. After several minutes, Daniel returned and Josh apologized, though he winked at Caleb at the same time.
After a few more minutes passed, a sudden, loud bang sounded. Everyone jumped in surprise, including Nathan who lost all control of the potter’s wheel and clay sputtered everywhere, most of it hitting Caleb and Josh, serving them right as Daniel’s pot continued to explode in the oven.
Needless to say, sweet, cheery Mrs. Enzweiler also exploded, telling Josh and Caleb they would clean every inch of the room before leaving class to head to supper.
To the girls’ surprise and much to Rachel’s displeasure, Nathan, Aaron, and Sam sat at the table right next to theirs that night.
Aaron turned around to tell Rachel, “I wanted to ask you a question about math.”
Rachel stared skeptically, suspiciously. “You’re asking me for help?”
“Why shouldn’t I?”
“Because…” Rachel looked on the verge of mentioning something about how he always tried to kill her with the four-square ball, but as Mr. Root stood up, everyone drew silent.
“Finally,” sighed Nathan, plate overflowing with mashed potatoes. “I’m starved...”
“Before we pray and eat,” Mr. Root said, “I have an announcement to make.”
“Oh, no,” groaned Aaron. “This better not be another ‘don’t throw eggs at the teachers’ speech. The last one was a half hour long—”
“Shh!” hissed Rachel.
“As you know,” Mr. Root continued, “next week is Fall Break—” A loud onrush of deafening cheers ensued. “—and the following Monday is the annual ball, which always follows our week of Fall vacation.”
“Actually, it usually follows Christmas break,” Aaron whispered to Chasmira. “They only changed it last year.”
“This year, we’re having a special theme. We are to have a costume ball—” He paused as more cheers overwhelmed his voice. “—and you may dress as characters from movies, books, cartoons, video games, whatever, so long as they do not violate any school policies—” He paused to stare at Josh and Caleb as they entered, caked in clay. They glanced about in innocent confusion as everyone stared at them accusingly, as if they’d already jinxed the ball.
Mr. Root vainly tried to stifle a chuckle, turning it into an awkward grunt as he muttered, “All right, then, I will ask for grace and dinner may begin.”
As soon as Mr. Root asked the blessing over the food, more talking than eating proceeded.
“This is so coolio!” Rachel exclaimed. “Does anyone have any ideas for costumes?”
“I do,” said Aaron.
Rachel turned around and glared at him. “You’re not a part of this. Be quiet.”
While he made a face, she stuck her tongue out and swiveled back around.
“Oh, c’mon,” quipped Krystal. “We gotta have some guys in our group.”
“Ooo…fine. But if they cause any trouble, they’re out.”
Aaron cast the girls a hopeful half-smirk. “So…we’re in?”
“Yes,” Rachel admitted.
“Yay.” He and Nathan hopped over to the girls’ table, on either side of Rachel and Chasmira.
“I say we all dress up as giant moose,” suggested Hailey with a grin.
“Moose?” echoed Tiff.
“Yeah. Moose are so cool with their huge antlers—”
“No,” said Rachel firmly.
“But—”
“No.”
“Oh, fine.” Hailey wrinkled her nose.
“I say we go with a SpongeBob Squarepants theme,” said Aaron.
“Absolutely not,” snapped Chasmira. “I can hardly stand that ignorant cartoon.”
“Really? That’s just un-American...not to mention harsh…”
“Your girl’s got some sense in taste, Ruiz,” crooned Dristann, gliding past. “Or rather, distaste. How’d you trick her into being with you.?”
He swept out of sight so quickly that Aaron could only glare menacingly at him. A thrill rippled through Chasmira as Aaron at least didn’t deny her as his girlfriend, and not for the first time that week either.
“Tiff?” said Krystal, and then scowled. “Oh, where’d she disappear to again…”
“Man, he must really irritate her,” Chasmira said.
“Doesn’t he irritate us all?” Aaron muttered.
“Next idea,” said Rachel quickly.
Nathan’s face contorted into what looked like a very painful knot.
“Nathan?”
“Well, I was thinking...”
“Too much thinking can hurt your brain you know,” Aaron began, but Rachel elbowed him roughly.
“Well,” said Nathan, “we all like video games, right? What if we all dress up as characters from that new game—‘Loz: Final Quest?’”
Rachel’s mouth flew open. “That is such a coolio idea!”
Everyone offered comments of agreement.
“I wanna be Olwen,” said Krystal.
“And I’m Zorya,” said Tiffany, suddenly popping back at their table, making Chasmira jump and stare in surprise.
“Can I be that one king dude—Hikari?” asked Nathan.
“Sure,” said Rachel. “But we need a Chryselda.”
“What about you?” Nathan asked Rachel.
“Nah, I wanna be Adelyn, the fairy with the neat-o blue hair.”
“Isn’t she supposed to be pretty?” Aaron smirked.
Rachel ignored him and turned to Chasmira. “What about you?”
“Can I be Liv?”
“Sure…but who’s gonna be—oh no, we can’t let Aaron be Hashim.”
“Why not?” asked Aaron.
“Because,” grinned Rachel, “isn’t he supposed to be nice?”
“Nice one, Rache…”
“Well, I guess that’s it then,” said Krystal.
“Hey, what about me?” The curly-headed Sam slid in to sit by Nathan.
“Oh, sorry Sam,” said Rachel. “Uhh…you can be the other prince dude.”
“The one who dies?” Hailey frowned in disapproval. “Well, that’s friendly of you, Rachel…”
“Oh. Forgot that minor detail. Well, he can be Aiden, the fire sword dude then.”
“Ooo, the vampire,” Sam agreed. “By the way, Hailey that looks like a most fabulous work on Egyptian herbs. May I?”
“With pleasure...”
As Hailey and Sam began a deep conversation on Egyptian herbs, and as the rest of the group chattered about potential costume ideas, Chasmira’s mind wandered as one word stuck out in her mind.
Vampire...