So I'm writing a story on here. Please enjoy, I'll post chapters 4-6 later!
PART
ONE
THE
BEGINNING
The
day we moved to New York, it was raining. As we parked the car in the
driveway of our new apartment- Mom's so obsessed with “cheap
living” that she didn't buy plane tickets- I stared out of the
window and gawked. I had seen pictures of the inside before, when we
decided to move from our miniscule apartment to something a bit more
“spacious” (Mom's words, not mine- I never would have referred to
an apartment with only one bedroom and a pull-out coach spacious!)
But the big thing with the house was that it was painted all over,
even the roof, all the same color. Bright. Hot. Pink. Mom must have
seen my expression as we walked out of the car, because she turned to
me and said, “You may not love it now, but I sure do! Isn't it just
spectacular, darling?”
I groaned inside. Mom was never going to get it repainted. And I,
Gabby Sariha, was going to have to deal with it. This ruled out the
chance of me ever making friends here. Thanks a lot, Mom.
Two
hours later, with the help of all the movers, we had finally
transferred all of our furniture into the apartment. It really wasn't
that hard, considering that seven years ago, when I was still pretty
little, Mom had decided to “downsize” and had thrown away almost
everything that we owned. If this happened now, I could stop it.
Maybe. She had been on a Feng Shui kick last year, and I had to stop
her from wrecking the house. (“Mom, we can't put the bed on the
balcony, no matter what your magazine says!”) But the downsizing
urge seemed even more powerful then that.
I
was sitting cross-legged on my bed, looking at notes that my former
classmates had given me at my Goodbye party. I was tossing most of
them in the garbage. About to toss another pile, a shiny note caught
my eye. I grabbed it and pulled it closer to me. This card was
special. I read the words that Charlotte had written, about us always
being best friends and about how I could email her anytime. I felt my
eyes getting wet. Shaking my head furiously, I told myself not to
cry. It only made things worse. I would miss Charlotte, but I could
make new friends. At that minute, the doorbell rang.
“Who
could it be? We've only just moved in.” Mom said curiously. I
called out to her as she ran to get the door, “It's probably just
someone who wants to see Mrs. Badger or whoever you said lived here.”
Mom ignored me and threw open the door. 'Welcome!” I heard a voice
shout. Mom, confused at first but then warming up to this neighbor,
started chatting with her. “Gabby!” I heard Mom sing. “Will you
please come be social?” I hated it when Mom said that. It sounded
like I didn't have any friends at all.
Grudgingly,
I swung my feet over the side of the bed and walked to the doorway. A
tall women with very blond hair pulled up into a beehive hairdo
silhouetted the door. Behind her, almost hiding behind a potted
plant, stood a boy who looked like he was about my age. “So this is
Gabby!” The women said. “Welcome to the neighborhood. I'm Megan
McDonald. This is my son, Ethan.” She looked next to her, didn't
find him, and then spotted Ethan playing a video game behind the
potted plant. “ETHAN!” He looked up, startled. 'What, Mom?”
“Put away that video game and say hello to Gabby!” Ethan stood
up, and saw us standing in the doorway. “Hi, Ethan.” I said,
smiling. I might as well try to make some friends in New York. Ethan
stared at me, and I tried to resist the urge to laugh. Who's unsocial
now?
That
evening, when I was walking down the hall to take our clothes to the
laundromat, I saw Ethan staring at me. Trying to be friendly, I
waved, expecting him to ignore me again. But he didn't. Ethan walked
over to me and started talking. “Gabby, you can stop pretending
now. I know why you're here. I'm here to help you. There's a Council
Meeting tomorrow. Your attendance is mandatory. But you knew all this
before, right? That I'm your Protector? Please tell me he told you?”
He actually said all of this in one breath. 'I...You're...What is
going on? What is a protector? What is the Council? And who are you,
really?” I practically screamed. Either this guy was crazy, or I
was crazy. What was going on? Ethan smacked his head into his hands.
“So you don't know. Why did they give me this
queen?” “Wait, what? I'm a... a queen? Of what?” A few minutes
ago, my life had been normal. Now this guy was telling me that I was
a queen! “Listen.” Ethan said, “I know it seems crazy, but you
are... a queen. You're one of us. Your father was the king until...
you know.” I nodded as Ethan continued, even though I had no idea
what he was talking about. My dad was a real estate agent. “We come
from a land called Elcaine. But, we're... different. I'm a protector,
and you're a... never mind. The Council is a group of people who have
all the power in our land. Even over the queen. And that's you.” I
just stood there, mystified. It was a lot to take in, but if this guy
was telling the truth... then I was a queen. A real queen. I guess
then, I didn't know just how hard it was going to be.
MY
LIFE TURNS UPSIDE DOWN
When
I went to sleep that night, I wasn't as convinced. Me, a queen? I'm
not queenly or anything. I'm just Gabby. And, you know, there was
that whole made-up-country-thing. This was probably just some prank
that kids around here played on unsuspecting new girls. But still,
there was something inside me that wanted it to be true, for it all
to be true. I guess I just wanted to be special in some way. I had a
hard time going to sleep that night.
The
next morning was a blur. I was whizzing around, brushing my hair and
trying to eat some yogurt, while my mom was filling out some forms
and having a frantic phone conversation. Finally, Mom shoved me out
the door. I walked out of the apartment, shuddering at that pink
(Love it or List it would
have had a field day, that's for sure.) “Gabby!” I turned around,
and there was Ethan. Oh, great. “Hi.” I said as he walked next to
me. “H...Hello. Listen, did I tell you that the meetings at nine?
I'll take you there.” I sighed. I guessed that I should just play
along until he confesses. “Can I just find my own way-” “No.
That'll never work. Gabby, I'm your protector.”
Oh, great. This guy had
to be a good actor, too? “Gabby, we gotta go now! It's nine
already!”
We
got to school, and Ethan was whisked away by a couple of guys in
chess shirts that were staring at me. He glared and tried to talk to
me, but the other guys pulled him away. I got the feeling that Ethan
didn't hang out with a lot of girls. I headed to the office, to get
some kind of orientation. The principal was a confused girl who
looked like it was her first day, too. “Oh, are you Gabby? Welcome
to Oakridge! I'm Ms. Meyer. What grade are you in, Gabby?”
“Seventh.” “Oh, now isn't that just-” Suddenley, a giant
teacher wearing a pink poncho and heels burst into the room.
“Hurricane.”
She
breathed, panting. Ms. Meyer and I looked at each other, surprised. I
hadn't heard anything about a hurricane. “Isn't it a bit... uh,
sudden?” Ms. Meyer said. The teacher nodded. “Oh, but its coming.
Level Five. It's a freak of nature. It was only discovered two hours
ago, and it headed right for us. We gotta get the kids out. Now.”
Ms. Meyer was nodding when something small and hard hit the window.
Ping.
Two
more followed it.
Ping.
Ping
ping.
“What
is that?” yelled the big teacher. “A student throwing rocks at
the window? How disrespectful!” “Who cares about that? A student
is outside during a hurricane! Go get them, Mrs. Blasber!” A few
minutes later, she came back. With Ethan. He glanced around the room,
and then spotted me. I spent the next two minutes hearing Mrs.
Blasber chew Ethan out, while he sent me the sharpest eye-daggers I
had ever encountered. What on Earth did I do wrong?
And
then I remembered.
The
meeting.
Was
it real, or was I just jumping to conclusions. All I knew was that a
very dangerous storm was headed our way, and there was nothing we
could do to stop it. “They say that their calling it “Iris.” I
felt a shiver go down my back, even though I didn't know why. Ethan
caught my eye, and mouthed The council.
And I guess that's when I knew he was telling the truth.
Chapter
3
“We've
got to get the kids out. The hurricane won't hit for maybe ten hours,
but we need to be prepared in case the power goes out.” said Ms.
Meyer. She ran out of the room, probably to talk over the
loudspeaker. Mrs. Blasber ran after her. Ethan amd I sat in nervous
silence; he was spitting angry, and I was hating myself. Why hadn't
I listened to him? Too many years of being pranked, and tricked by
other kids, I guess. The new girl was always the target, and I was
always the new girl. “Ethan... you're right. I didn't believe you.”
“You should have. Look where we are now. A hurricane. Way to go,
Gabby.” I felt tears spring up in my eyes. Now we were possibly
going to die, and it was all my fault. Ethan saw me crying, and he
sighed. I could just see him thinking: Oh, great. The
Subject's crying. What do I do so I don't lose my job? “Listen,
Gabby, I'm sorry. It does sound crazy. I'm not mad... its okay,
Gabby.”
But
it wasn't okay.
Hope you guys like it!
Sincerely,
Awesome Addie
- Molly :3)
