Emerald 3

Trainer rushed into the projectionroom to find either Tidus or Yuna. Tidus was there, speaking to Emerald in a strong, but considerate voice.

"I know these are hard hard times, and many people's faith are going. But believe in our our army. We are doing everything to stop Safari's invading. Stay calm."

"Your Majesty!" Trainer breathed.

Tidus looked up at her. "That's it. I must go now. Bye."

He stood up and walked over to her. "Yes, Edna? Is something wrong?" He stared into her eyes warmly, waiting for her to speak.

"Ethan," she gasped, "he-he-"

"What happened to Ethan?" He asked quickly.

"He-he hasn't returned from Safari yet. I tried contacting him through telepathy, but he appears to be unconscious."

"Do Fira or Aqua know anything about what he might be doing?" Tidus asked, struggling to keep his voice calm.

"If anyone would, Fira would be the one. She is too desperate to get started, and she is quick at figuring things out. Aqua on the other hand, would be totally clueless on what's going on."

"Summon Fira then," he said dismissively.

"But-"

"Is there a problem?" He began to get irritated.

"N-no, Your Highness."

"Go then." Tidus walked to his seat. He sat up straight, like a strong leader, not wanting to show his weakness. But as Edna teleported away, she saw him put his head down on the desk as if he believed they had been defeated.

Chapter 13

Well, the next morning is a school day of course, and though our whole lives have changed, it's not like school will change, too. So, most likely it will be a normal school day. 

Thankfully.

I hope I can just study today without having to think of anything else, such as Emerald. Well, I guess Eric will be at school, but most likely I think he'll just avoid me. I mean why, even if he knows about Emerald, would he come and talk to me more than once. If he does, though, I'll admit that I don't know a thing about popularity. Which I don't care about anyway.

I quickly get ready and walk towards the exit. But as I do, I see Savannah trudge out the door, as if she didn't want to. Well, she never wants to, so oh well. But the problem is that she is the main reason that I can't have a single normal day at school. Not even once now, can I feel normal.

Maybe I can convince her to talk with me and then I can find out what's bothering her so much. Although I have a feeling I already know.
I see Sav stretch out. She looks happy in the sun.
"Hi, Sav," I say, coolly walking up to her.

"Hi," she says. Oh, I hope she doesn't run away. "I should go." 

"Oh, I was thinking since the sun's out, we could walk together to school now. You could meet your friends after." Maybe that will make her realize she can't get away.

She doesn't look happy. She looks as if she would like to just scream and run away. "It's okay. We can go separately."

She begins to go next door. By the tense way she is walking, I can tell, she is trying to get rid of me.

"No, Sav. Whichever way you go, I'm coming with you." I catch her arm before she can get away.

"Fine," she say. "Let's walk." 

"Okay," I says, suddenly cheerful.

Ugh.

We walk about halfway to school when she starts talking. "Sav, why are you always alone these days?"

Chapter 12

I should probably get to school. I mean nothing different happened in the past few days, did it?

Even then, for some reason I'm keeping to myself these days. I don't much want to be near anyone. Like I said, I don't know why. Well, maybe I do, but I don't want to think about that. That was in the past. Everything is the same except Ethan/Spencer avoiding us- well, mostly me. 

Hm... I wonder why. 

I'm also keeping away from everyone because of Sabrina. Why do I always have to be near her? Especially 'cause I have a big test today I have to go to her. You know, I have to talk to her about everything, right? I don't have a choice, do I? Do I have any choices?

Well, I guess I do, but still!

I wish I didn't have to follow directions. I wish I could be my own ruler, one that rules over others. And I'm not being selfish or anything, because many other people have done it. At least I'll get my wish when Tidus and Yuna retire from ruling Emerald.

Emerald. What was Eric saying about Emerald? Never mind, I don't want to think about that.

But, you know, it's kind of hard. That's been the main event for 4 days.

Now that I think of it, I barely ever saw Ethan/Spencer in those 4 days. maybe something will change today.

Anyway, no mater how much I hate school, I have to go like everyday so far.

"Ahhh" I say once I step outside. The spring sun feels so nice after those long winter days.

"Hi, Sav." Sabrina walks up to me. Hm, if I were a ruler, she would be the enemy.

"Hi," I say, trying to get rid of her. "I should go." 

"Oh, I was thinking since the sun's out, we could walk together to school now. You could meet your friends after."

Now I'm stuck with her. Although it probably won't work, I say, "It's okay. We can go separately."

I start walking next door.

"No, Sav. Whichever way you go, I'm coming with you." She grabs my arm and gives me a hard stare.

"Fine," I say. "Let's walk." 

"Okay," she says, suddenly cheerful.

Ugh.

We walk about halfway to school when she starts talking. "Sav, why are you always alone these days?"

Great, people noticed. I guess I'm going to have to be more lively if I'm supposed to keep my position at the top.

But I still don't want to talk. I look into Sabrina's eyes and see they are filled with nothing but concern. Still, I want to leave. I think the teleport spell hard in my mind and do the arm movement and end up behind the school.

Chapter 11

"What?!" She exclaims.

"I don't know, Sav. But I can tell he knows."

"Maybe we should talk to Ethan or Old Lady."

"You think they'll know what's going on?" I feel myself raise my eyebrow. Well, I don't have a reason not to.

"I'm pretty sure," she says. She seems upset that I questioned her.
I look at her face a little more, deep in thoughts. I don't even realize that I'm looking at her. She can't be evil. She doesn't have a clue even about danger. Of course, that can lead others to danger. I have to make sure she doesn't become a bad person. I'll have to watch her carefully.
And with that thought fresh in my mind, I turn to leave for my first class.

I'm leaving school myself today, I don't feel like walking with my friends. Like I said many times before, being alone gives a sense of something you don't get anywhere else. It also gives you time to think about your problems, when you are overwhelmed by them.
Right now, I kind of am.
I remember how, just a few days ago, Sav came and asked me for my French notes. Then, later, we went to Emerald for the first time. I relied so much on her then, and we were so cool with each other. Why does everything have to be different?
I relied on her then, now I don't even know if I can trust her. She's done nothing to break my trust but the driver has.
I have a feeling Sav isn't going to wait for me today. Maybe I should call Driver and let him know I'll be walking today.
I go to the shop anyway, after I call him, because maybe Sav will be there. I can't rely on feelings, I need to rely on proof, and truth.
Sav isn't there. I guess I was right. But I'm not going to trust my feelings anyway.
As I walk home, I think of what happened in the woods today. Am I in trouble? I hope not. But what was going on, anyway? Why was Ethan running into those woods, and how could he disappear so suddenly? Never mind, I know how he could disappear suddenly, but I still don't get why.
Suddenly, Old Lady appears in front of me. "Hello, Sabrina," she says in respect (why?), ""I believe you are thinking about what happened today on your walk to school?"
I just stand there, slightly bewildered.
She goes on. "I wanted to come to you earlier, but you had to go to school. That was a test, to see if you would know how to react in that type of situation." She looks uncertain for a moment. "You passed." She teleports away.
So that was Ethan running to get my attention and make me lose my way to school? Wow.


As I open the door back home, I see Fira sitting on the couch. "Why didn't you wait for me?"
She looks away. "I forgot. Let's go to Emerald now."

"They have to call us, remember? How about we start our homework until then?"

"How is she going to call us? Did she say? No. Fine, you can stay. But I'm going now." She goes away, mad at me for some reason. I don't get what I did wrong! "Elevatistransportatisanywheris-"She stops, and I wonder if she's changed her mind. I hope she does. "trainingcenter," she concludes. 

Well, that was smart of her. I was just going to say Emerald and walk there again. And I guess, she isn't entirely mad at me, because she said the spell in front of me, obviously meaning for me to hear her.

But she's just a 15 year old girl. She might have just forgotten that she shouldn't say in front of me if she didn't want to give me any favors.

I start on my homework, but those details are kind of boring. So while I'm doing that, I suddenly think, how exactly is Old Lady going to call us? I decide to go, just to find out what the call is, to go there.

I think these are some things I should probably know.
So I teleprot to trainingcenter and just as I get there, I see Fira asking if I had the test yet. I'm surprised she knows about the tests. "You know about the test?"
"I had mine before you." I look at her, and all my misgivings flood over me again. Can I really trust her? She looks at me, almost as if she knows what I'm thinking, and I look down. Does she know what I'm thinking about? Is that why she's so mad at me?

We do some boring training exercises that I don't feel like explaining, except that it is really hard.
Then we go home and do our homework. Well, I do. Not Sav. Instead, she goes to some other corner of the house. Well, mansion.

Chapter 10

"What!?" How could Eric know that we weren't human?

"I don't know, Sav. But I can tell he knows."

Okay, the same way she can tell he knows, the same way I can tell  that the people in Emerald know something about this. "Maybe we should talk to Ethan or Old Lady."

"You think they'll know what's going on?" She raises her eyebrow.

"I'm pretty sure." Sabrina stares at me a few seconds longer and then leaves for class.

I can't forget that look she was giving me. As if she knew something that I don't. As if I'm some bad person. I'm not, Eric is. She sees something in me, I just know that she does. And I'm not very happy about it. I look at her one more time before I head to class.

"See you, Van, Nat!" I call over my shoulder. I'm just leaving Nat's house and walking over to the spot where the driver picks us up. I don't feel like waiting for Sabrina today.

The car is already there waiting for us. "I'm guessing Sabrina wants to walk today, like she usually does." I say to the driver.

"Yeah, she called me up and told me not to wait for her." Does she know I left her? Whatever.

"Let's go quick. It's cold out." I hurry inside and the driver starts the car right away.

Once we reach home, I hurry in quickly, excited. Today is going to be our first training session. I suddenly realize that I'm going to have to do it with Sabrina. I mean Aqua. I guess I don't have a problem with Aqua, it's with Sabrina. Maybe it will be different.

I guess I have to wait for Sabrina to come home now before I can go. Sigh. I go and sit down on the small couch and wait.

Soon after, Sabrina walks in. "Hey, why didn't you wait for me at the shop?"

I turn away. "I forgot. Let's go to Emerald now."

"They have to call us, remember? How about we start our homework until then?"

"How is she going to call us? Did she say? No. Fine, you can stay. But I'm going now." I walk a few steps away. "Elevatistransportatisanywheris-" I think again. Maybe I should just say training center instead of Emerald. "trainingcenter."

As I predicted, I'm in the big white room with two TV screen types of things. And, now that I look around more, there is a white sofa at one corner. I go there and wait.

I get kind of bored so in the end I fall asleep. I dream of a girl with sparkling emerald eyes, red hair, an icy face, and absolutely no color in her skin. She speaks to me powerfully but softly. "Something will happen, something you won't like. Remember: Water can quench fire."

I suddenly wake up. Water can quench fire. What does that mean? And who was that?

Before I can think more about the weird dream, I hear footsteps just outside the training center. For a second I just think it's Old Lady, but then I realize it probably isn't time yet, and that it would make more sense for her to just teleport in.

I immediately get up, all tense. Who could it be? I hold my hands out, though I don't know why. Then suddenly someone I've never seen before walks into the room. I don't know why, but I put all my energy into my hands before me. And suddenly fire shoots out of my hands. I concentrate harder and it turns into lava.

I stop for a second and see Ethan standing there instead of the person who walked in. He doesn't seem hurt by the fire.

He must have seen my confused expression because he laughs and says, “I'm earth, remember? This is my power too.”

“Right,” I say. “And what's going on this time?” I put my hands on my hips.

“Another test. This was to see how difficult it will be when we start training you.”

“We?”

“We. Trainer will teach you new things. I'll be making sure you're doing them right at home and answering any questions you have if you can't come here.” He looks around, indicating the trainingcenter.

“Has Aqua had her test yet?”

“You know about the test?” I look over my shoulder. Aqua's here. Trainer must have called her.

“I had mine before you,” I explain.

“Oh.” She just nods. I can tell she's thinking of something. Possibly whatever she was thinking of earlier? About me? She looks down. Although she's clearly trying to hide it, I can see the mistrust in her eyes.

Just then, Old Lady walks in. “Let's start. Do you have your spell books?” I'm about to say no, but then Aqua reaches into a bag and pulls it out.

“Here.”

“Good. Did you both study it?” Aqua nods her head vigorously. I didn't, but maybe she won't find out. So I nod my head as well. “Fira, what is the first spell?”

I shrug. “I don't memorize things, I just look at them.” Old Lady almost looks satisfied with my explanation.

Before I can think more on that, she goes on. “I like Fira's response. If anytime, in enemy's hands, you must not reveal anything, no matter what.”

“BTW, I was wondering, who are these enemies? You keep talking of being at the risk of our enemies, meanwhile we don't know anything about them, even who they are.” I really do wonder. I mean we are training for something we don't know about.

“Good question. If you can master the first lesson quick enough, then we'll have time to explain to you.” Wait, Ethan is going to be here?

“We?” I ask once again.

“Yes, we. Ethan will be here for your first training session. You should be glad to have his support. His time wasn't so easy.” I glance over at Ethan whose face is almost lost in pain and is shifting his weight uncomfortably.

“What happened with his?” I ask, completely curious.

“Ask him some other time. If he feels like saying what happened. Now we should get on with our session.” Old lady leads us to the screens. “Today I will be teaching you how to use the forcefield. You swing your arm over your head like this.” She shows us. “You try now.

We do the arm movement a few times until she tells us to stop. “Now you will do it with the screens. It will shoot stuff at you, and it will actually hurt you unless you use your forcefield. It is good practice for battles and many lessons to learn. You may start now.” She turns the screens on.

After a few seconds of waiting, a water ball hurtles at me. I easily create the forcefield and let it go loose. After a few more of those it rapidly speeds up. One after the other, the water keeps coming. I'm easily avoiding them. Beside me, I can see Aqua struggling to keep up. Not struggling much, but a little. I focus more. I keep staying away from them when one hits me on the arm. It stings so bad, I feel like I'm about to just collapse. A few more hit me in different parts. Luckily the pain isn't increasing too much.

Hm, I'm getting really tired from moving my arms. Maybe I can just hold the position. I keep my arms a there a while, then that gets tiring and I straighten up. Before I can do anything else, a huge ball of water hits me, forcing me to the ground.

I get up immediately after, my whole body aching. But once Old Lady turns the screens off, the pain is gone. “There isn't enough time to explain this class. I'll tell you another time.” Old Lady and Ethan teleport away. Then I do too, without a glance at Aqua.

Once home, I wonder what else I can do to get away from her. There isn't much, considering that we always do everything together. I guess I can say I'm going to Nat's house. Then I can go somewhere else, somewhere no one can see me and know who I am and what I'm doing. Where no one can know who I am. Well, that reminds me of today's happenings. About Eric. I'll go search for him and find out who he is. “Hey, uh, Sabrina, I, uh, need to do something.” I don't meet her eyes, but I can feel her cool gaze burning into me.

Maybe it's possible to go somewhere without saying the words, maybe if you concentrate and think them in your mind.

“Elevatistransportatisanywherissomewhereneareric,” I think and really try hard. It doesn't work. Well Ethan somehow does it! It must work. I try again.

Suddenly I feel myself being lifted and I land in a weird place, in a corner. I peek around, and draw back immediately. I see Eric there, talking with some other guy. Then he walks off. God, I wish we had learned some invisibility spell. Maybe I can go back and see if there's one in the books.

I say the spell again, though this time I teleport into a different room and wonder how to get to the book, since Sabrina has it with her. I think some more, and then walk out to the living room, where Sabrina is. I plop down on the sofa next to her, pretending to be very tired. Then I pretend like I just remembered something.

“Sabrina?” I ask. “Can you get my book from my room?”

She stares at my face, confused. Finally she just asks, “Why?”

“'Cuz I just went for a walk and I'm tired.”

She sighs. “Fine,” she says and gets up. OMG, she walks so slowly! Once she's out of sight I look in the bag she had taken to training. Sure enough, the books are there. I take off the top and scan the Table of Contents. Good they put it there. This is so much easier now!

It isn't in the beginning or the intermediate. Instead, it's in the upper level. I hope I'll be able to do this.

I quickly memorize it. “Never mind!” I yell to Sabrina. “I'm going to go now. Bye!”

Now I got to go quickly. I quickly say the spell to get to Eric and then look around the same corner. He's there. Then I whisper the invisibility spell. “Invisibilitatemorphate.” I look down at myself. I can't see me.

Then I tiptoe out. “Where is he?” I hear Eric say.

“He's in that room. He's been a little hurt, as was necessary when he started struggling to get out.”

“Thank you, Eirde. I will see to him now. That filthy Emerald person think he can sneak around in Safari?” Eric sets a brisk walk to the huge double doors across the hall. He opens it and I rush in before the door closes.

What I see, I can't believe. Surrounded by many guards, is Ethan. Part of his arm looks black and all his weight is shifted to one leg. He looks at Eric for a few seconds, then turns his head to me. Can he see me? Is my spell not working? Then he turns away quickly, before anyone can see.

“Eric, I was not here to spy, as I already told everyone else. I was here because my Trainer sent me to find out how long until the war.” Ethan says.

Obviously, Eric doesn't believe him. “Yeah, sure. Anyway, I would like to know some information about your sisters and your brother.” I stiffen.

'I already know. You talked to them today at school did you not?” Ethan says with a snarl.

“I don't think that's your business. Anyway, you just gave me the confirmation on who they are.”

Ethan looks shocked, then realizes what just happened. “Well, you won't be learning anymore.”

“Fine, then. Guards, do whatever you want with him. I have no need for him anymore.” Eric walks out of the room. What happens next is kind of a blur. I can see Ethan fighting with them, I can see his power flying from his body to hit people. It's clearly hurting them. But also, he is getting hit by many pink streaks of some power.

He fights off a little longer, then collapses to the ground, unconscious.

 

Chapter 9

That was bizarre! How many times in your life can you say I've went to another planet and realized that was my home. I'm not a normal girl who is invisible at school I'm so much more. I shouldn't get too full of myself, but wonders never cease do they?

Anyways, now that I'm back home, time to go back to being a normal kid. Meaning doing homework, studying for SATs and what not.

"Can you please do my homework just today? I have something I need to do," Sav asks. Before I can reply, she hurries out of the pool and goes to change. I'm not going to do her homework, she won't be able to keep up with the amount of work later. I guess she'll just have to deal with it later.

But right now I would like to get out of the boiling hot pool room. At least now I know why I hate it so much.

I hurry into my room and pick up my bag. I feel tense, like something bad is happening.

Its probably just because of the burning pool room.

20 minutes, I'm done with algebra. 10, done with English. 15 each for history and science. The way it is everyday. Now I think I'll do an extra credit science project.

I finish it up quickly so I can just bed lie on the bed and think about everything that happened. The weird things at school, like my room for French feeling hot, my swimming improvement. And for Sav, the boiling hot water, the melted snowball (now that I think of it, that was kind of funny), and the anger I always feel coming from her. I always thought that fire seemed like a very angry being. And now I got my justification.
I wonder how Sav is taking this. Maybe I should go see how she's doing. But she left, and maybe she doesn't want me around. Nothing I can do about that I guess .

What can I do now? I look over at my desk from where I'm sitting on the bed. There is a pile of books sitting there. Maybe I should read one of those. Oh, wait. I already finished them last week. I guess I could go to the library for a few minutes to get a couple of books.

I head downstairs to the garage and walk next door, where the driver lives. After he opens the door and I ask him if he can take me to the library.

"Sure." He's always been nice to me. But he sees something in Sav that I obviously don't. Maybe this is my chance to get it out of him. Plus, he likes me, so he might tell me.

We get in the car and I start the conversation. "So, do you like working for us?"

"I guess, yeah. Why?"

"Just wondering. Sav will probably be providing the money the money to pay you later." I add, trying to bring Sav into the conversation.

"Why? You are the smart one. She knows nothing." He obviously doesn't like her. I know it seems like something anyone can say, but it's really simple to sense how people feel just by listening to their tone.

"Well, she has power. She can lead people well. She can easily become an owner of a company."

He thinks for a while. Finally he says, "That's the problem isn't it? Sh-" He cuts himself off suddenly as if he isn't supposed to say whatever he was going to.

"What?" I ask quietly. "What do you want to say?"

"I-I'm sorry. I can't say anything."

"But you can tell me. You trust me, don't you?"

"But you're her sister."

A wave of rage suddenly washes over me. "You will tell! I need to know what you have against my sister!"

Well, he obviously got scared, because now he is quivering. Is water really that scary to some? Is Sav afraid?

"Okay, I'll tell you. She has power, and she knows it. She can be very dangerous, whether she wants to or not. She thinks she does no wrong, but she will be a danger to many, possibly even you."

What!? He can't be possibly saying that Sav is evil! Savannah wouldn't, she can nag, but that's not the same as being evil. "That isn't true!" I suddenly feel cold all over. And stronger. Suddenly thunder booms in the sky. I look up. I suddenly feel hard raindrops on my head. I relax a bit, getting soothed by the cool water on my skin.

Windel appears next to me in the stopped car. "Hi, Aqua." I look at myself. Have I become Aqua? Wow, I've changed. How could I have gotten so angry so angry?

"How did you get here?" I ask.

"I learned the spell. And I used my wind to blow the thundering clouds here much faster. Like a month faster. I sensed your anger and your wanting of revenge and I thought I'd help you out"

"How do you know how to do so much already? I don't."

"Ethan taught me." Windel smiles. I look at him more closely. He seems like a calm, quiet boy who is quite sensible. Not like a naughty 7 year old who tries his best not to let me do my homework.

"You don't seem like Sam." I say.

"That's 'cuz I'm not. Ethan told me that once you accept that you are not who you are on Earth, you start rising to who you actually are."

"Okay, Windel. Let's go home now." I wrap my arm around him and teleport myself home.

*          *         *

I open my eyes in the morning of the next day. Oh right,I have school today. You know I have other things against school like any other kid, but for me school is a bit more like a utopia a get away    What are my after school activities for today? Oh, right. I have a training session with Old Lady in Emerald. Memories decide to flood through my brain like water filling up. Maybe I should go and check if Sav is up. I quickly change my clothes and head out the door and into the bright hallway. Sav's room is right next door. "Sav, you up yet?" I call. 

"No!" I hear the reply.
I walk in. "Sav,  you have to go get ready. I know you don't like school, and you didn't do your homework, but you still have to go."
I leave. Maybe since I'm already ready I'll walk to school. It's fun walking in the snow.
Sigh. As much as I enjoy doing this, I wish something more interesting would happen.
Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I see someone running like they don't want to be seen. The next second, he's gone. It looked oddly like Spencer. Maybe I should go see what it is.
I start after the figure(who I'm just going to call Spencer) at a brisk walk. When I don't see him, I begin to run.
I don't see Spencer anywhere, and just about give up once I reach an empty clearing. I turn around a few times, to make sure he isn't there, then turn to leave. Oh, no. I shouldn't have turned around. I don't know where to go!
Maybe I should take a path out of here and ask someone I meet which is the way to go.
But I have to get to school and they won't like it if I say I got lost in the woods. Maybe I should sit down and think things through a little more.
Maybe I should use the spell to get out! No, what if they don't like it? Perhaps I'm not allowed to use magic out of Emerald. I should think of something else.
Once I'm sure there isn't much else I can do, I just say the spell and end up in school. I suddenly realize I should have teleported to some corner in school where no one would see me. Scanning the hall for anyone who might have noticed, I see Sav and Eric staring at me. They both seem to be lost in their own thoughts, but their gazes are fixed right at me. Sav looks away and catches up to her friends and flock, meanwhile I take a minute to note down everything that's happening today.
I'm in the middle of doing that, when Eric walks up to me.
"Hi, uh," He pauses, as if trying to remember my name. "Sabrina. I was just wondering if you go someplace special right after school."
"Huh?" I ask.
"What do you do in your free time?"
"Why would I tell you what I do in my free time?"
"How about..."
"I'm not saying for Sav, either. Besides, I don't know what she's up to." I immediately think of what Driver said about she being evil.
I see Sav say bye to her friends and then walk over to me. To my relief, Eric goes away.
"What in the world was that  about?" Sav asks me.
"I think he knows." I say. I'm quiet because I'm not sure what else to think of this.
"About what?"
"About Emerald."

Chapter 8

Once home, I turn to Sabrina. "Can you please do my homework just today? I have something I need to do." I hurry out of the pool and change before Sabrina can answer me.

Spencer hurries on ahead of me. He stops as if he knows he is being followed, then goes on. My mind races. Does he know I'm here? I was going to just go talk to him but he seems to be up to something. Maybe I should just follow.
I go after him a little behind so if he stops then I can easily stop. Spencer turns around a corner a little more quickly now. Well, not a little, because I have to run to catch up with him now. I near the corner, but on the other side I get a bit caught off guard. I almost run right into Spencer! He is standing right around it, in front of a door. Wait, this door doesn't exist in this house. Is it possible that in all these years I haven't explored it properly? No, I come this way a lot.
I watch Spencer more closely now, like every move he makes. You know, he doesn't do much. All he does is reach for the doorknob and open the door. Then he walks in a closes it. I quickly follow in case the door disappears.
The other side is weird. It's almost completely black in there. It's kind of hard to see, ut my eyes somehow see better in the dark than ever before. Maybe it has something to do with my powers... no, it still doesn't make sense. There has to be some other, more logical reason for this.
Now where is Spencer?  He couldn't have gotten far. Of course there is always the possibility of magic...
I see a figure moving at the other side of the room. Is that Spencer? Maybe. I rush there to see and I come face to face with Ethan.
"What are you doing here?" Ethan asks harshly.
"Uh...I was following you?" I grin widely. I'm not sure he can see though.
"Fine, now that you're here, stay." Then he snaps his fingers and then leaves.
So...how I am I supposed to get out now? I wonder. I know, I'll just teleport out of here. What was the spell again? Oh, yeah.
"Elevatistransportatisanywherismyroom." I do the arm movement.
And as I didn't expect, I land in my room. But Old Lady and Spencer do too.
"Hi, Old.... Trainer." I almost called her Old Lady. Whatever.
"You passed the test," she says.
"Huh?" Then Old Lady disappears.
I look at Spencer, hoping he'll explain.
He sighs when he sees me looking at him. "This was a test to see how you would react if you find yourself in a situation like that, which could happen a lot."
"So I passed?" I'm still pretty confused.
"Yes, because you got out."
'So you knew I was there." 
He shrugs. "I was going somewhere else, but when I realized you were there, I did the test we had decided on for you." He looks at my face. "Don't tell your sister, okay? It won't work otherwise."
I just nod. 
Spencer teleports away.

*            *           * 


Great. Another Monday morning means another complete week of school. Maybe...nah. I was thinking of asking to skip school today and maybe start my training early as an all-day lesson, but I don't think they'll listen. Besides, I'm still trying to convince myself that I'm just some rich girl who hates water and that type of stuff, and had a crazy dream. It isn't working though.
"Sav, you up yet?" I hear Sabrina walking through the hallway to get to me.
"No!" I reply, not thinking straight. Now that I think again, I have a plan to make school a little more fun today. I just have to talk to Spencer...
The happenings of yesterday flood into my mind. The going through a door, the saying the spell, the passing. But I feel as if I'm missing one detail. 
Suddenly I remember. The room had been so dark and cold. How is it that I did not get scared? And I didn't feel cold?
My thoughts are interrupted now that Sabrina walks in. "Sav, you have to go get ready. I know you don't like school, and that you didn't do your homework yesterday, but you still have to go.
Oh, right. I didn't do my homework. I was too shocked by what happened.
"Sav? What are you thinking about?" Her voice softens.
"Nothing," I say casually. I have practice in acting. "I'll go get ready." I pretend to look at her for the first time. "You should too."
I walk away before she can defend her outfit.
After I'm ready, I try to find Spencer. He usually gets ready quickly, then goes to his room and reads, so I go there first.
I just barge in without knocking, as I'd do with anyone. Sure enough, he's sitting on his bed, reading his book. But he's in Ethan form. "Ethan?" I ask, confused.
He looks up. "Yeah, I like this way better. It feels more natural." He looks at me more closely. "Savannah, what are you doing here?"
I'm almost about to say never mind, but I came here for a reason, and I want to get it done. "I want to ask you something."
"Didn't I tell you to ask Trainer about anything and not me?"
"Well, yes, but it's too much work to go there and come back for one question." I hope he listens and answers.
"Fine, but only this once." Yes.
"I just want to know if when you are in Earth form and when you are on Earth, do you still have your powers and can you still use them?"
"Savannah, there aren't different forms, we just call it that. But really, your only true form is your Emerald form. The Earth body is kind of like a mask, to keep others from what you really are. So if you try hard enough and really concentrate, you can get your powers out and still keep the mask on. But it won't come out as strong because it is kind o getting filtered by the mask, and it requires a lot of strength."
Wow, that was a long explanation. But it gave me the answer I wanted.
"Okay, bye."
"Why did you want to know?"
"Nothing, it just stuck in my head since we came back." I leave before he can ask again. But I feel his gaze burning into me.
Funny. I said hi to Ethan and bye to Spencer, who I guess thinks he should probably go to school.
Maybe I should too, if I want to do the thing I wanted to at school. It's nothing much, just makng a room feel hot and then letting it cool down.
I head downstairs to the garage and out to next door. I ring the doorbell, and when no one answer in 15 seconds, I ring it again. Our driver opens it.
"I need to go to school. Let's go."
"Shouldn't we wait for Sabrina?"
"She already left. She likes walking through snow. She left much earlier. Let's go!"
"Uh..."
"What?"
He doesn't reply. I look at him a little closer now. "Is everything okay?" He looks shocked now that I said that.
"Nothing. Let's go." He hurries outside and to the car and opens the door for me.
Once we reach there, I get out quickly and head in. "Bye!" I say without looking back. I see Van and Nat waiting outside their first classes. "Hi! Oh, quick, random question. What do you guys think of heat?" 
They look at each other, wondering why I asked that. "Well," Van says, "I like the heat. It feels soothing. If it isn't too hot of course." 
"I'd rather prefer cold weather. Things get a bit too hot for me." Nat says. "You?"
"I like situations when it's are burning hot." Van and Nat almost look shocked, but then realize that I could be exaggerating. Too bad I'm not.
"Why did you ask?"  Nat turns her light blue eyes towards me.
"No reason, really. I just was thinking about science since Sabrina had been talking and talking about it this morning."
"Oh." Van isn't completely satisfied with my explanation, but whatever. Now I have to get to my first class. "Look." Van whispers. Eric, the most popular guy in school, is standing in front of Sabrina. I'm half mad, half curious. What's going on there.?
"Let's get closer." I murmur. Like I said, I'm curious to know what is going on.
 "Why would I tell you where I go in my free time?" Sabrina says.
"How about..."
"No, I'm not saying it for Sav either. Besides, I never know what she's up to." You, know, when Sabrina said that, she looked a bit worried.
"Hey, guys," I say to Van and Nat, "I'll catch you later, 'kay?"
I watch Eric and Sabrina more closely now. Eric is staring through her as if he knows something. Then they see me watching and Eric walks away.
Sabrina comes toward me. "What in the world was that about?" I ask.
"I think he knows."
"About what?"
"About Emerald."





 

Chapter 7

I am truly amazed, or more shocked. I am really a girl named Aqua, from a completely different land where magic exists.While people on Earth are trying to discover bacteria on Mars, I'm light years away from Earth doing magic.  And, I am the most beautiful girl I've ever seen on Earth. It's still hard to believe that this isn't a dream, for now I'll just assume it is although I've pinched myself one time too many. I'm not sure how the people will react to us. I wonder how friendly they will be...

"Come on, let me take you to our parents" Ethan waves us over to him. Then he escorts us

He takes us to a magnificent castle. Like the ones you see in fairy tales. As we go inside, everyone we see bows down to us.

Fira leans over and whispers to me, "Um, okay? Why are they doing that?". I shrug. Finally he leads us to a room that is colossal and has two screens for something.

"Greetings, young apprentices." Fira, Windel, and I wheel around, afraid of the voice. Now that there's power, there is always someone, correction, or something that wants it.

"Eeneshana, Trainer." Fira, Windel, and I all stare at him, confused. He looks at us and says, "Don't look at me for answers, ask her."

'"Um, but who is that old lady?" Fira and I ask at the same time. Oh, no. I think that Old Lady heard me say that. She isn't looking that friendly now. I feel Windel behind my legs, obviously scared of Old Lady.

"Why don't you ask her?"

"Okay. Hi. I am Fira. Who are you?" Fira asks boldly, I guess she doesn't realize that suddenly our lives are at stake at any moment now.

"You are not to know my name, but I can tell you that I will be your trainer for your powers. You will have daily lessons, and will come at any time I call you. You will go on missions to do things that we need to be done, and will learn new spells. I see Ethan has already taught you one." Fira looks pretty irritated with how much this person talks. . "And little Windel, come here. I will be training you too. Only that would be every week, how it is supposed to be. Only your sisters need to because-"

Ethan flashes her a warning look. "Because the rulers have changed it to more training times." Old Lady and Ethan stare at each other for a while. They must be practicing telepathy. I look over at Fira, and I can tell by her face that she's confused. Wait, that could be what they are doing. Just reading the faces. It's the same thing, isn't it?

"Hey, um, I'm sort of wondering what's going on here." Ethan and Old Lady both look at Fira for a second, and then turn back to each other. I am still a bit dense, I mean because of all of these discoveries. I'm not sure what to do, but luckily then, Fira decides to speak. "Uh, well, if nothing is going on, then can I have the going back spell?"

 "There is so much more than you know," Old Lady concludes.

Fira looks annoyed and puzzled,"Uh, well should we go home or not?"

"There is really a lot going on." Okay, I totally understand what she wants us to do, no doubt at all...

" So is that a yes..." Fira says and stares back at

Old Lady,"I have absolutely no idea."

Old Lady turns and looks at me. There is no way that she can be reading my expressions because I'm trying to keep my face as blank as possible. Yet I feel that she knows exactly what I'm thinking and for all I know mabye she does. I am pretty sure she wants us to stay

"Uh, I think it means we have to stay," I say uncertainly.

"Right. You should be able to make your own decisions now. Without too much information, you should still know what to do. What I said was too much already. Do you think your enemies will tell you so much? You should still know what to do then."

"Um, okay?" Fira says.

"You don't care now, but once you start your training, you will."

"Uh, Ethan? Did she do this with you too?"Fira asks.

"No." Old Lady responds.

"Ethan was already bright enough to know this."

Ethan's expression was blank.

"Trainer, we would like to speak to our

 parents. Would you please call them, as I do not know how to?"

"Yes. I will call them. While you speak with them, I will be getting the spellbooks." She looks down. "Your Highness'! Your children would like to speak with you!" A few seconds later two people walked into the room.

    "Eneshana, Mother, Father." Ethan obviously trusts them. I guess I would too, if I knew them. I don't have absolute faith in them yet, even if they are my real parents.

    I take a quick glance at Fira. I'd expect her to be the confident one, but I grow alarmed as I see her usually strong courage begin to fade. She looks a bit scared! I know that if she says something, she'll be better. I hope she does, quick!

    "Uh, hi." Finally she said something.

    "We are Tidus and Yuna, your parents." I see her face get back to normal as I tell she's making fun of them again in her mind. She also seems a bit irritated. Doesn't she want to be here? "Eneshana is a greeting we use in Emerald," Yuna adds on.

    They talk a bit more about what is going on, what is the plan. I am relieved that Fira is the main part of the conversation. Ethan just stands there, watching, while his face quickly turns to fear and then back. He is doing a good job of keeping his feelings wrapped. He let no emotion show from his face except the ocassional flicker of fear.

    I notice that quite a few times Fira's face gets shocked when Yuna says something. I focus on why for a few moments but then Windel darts out from behind my back and runs toward Tidus and Yuna.I feel like my blood's turned to ice (except that it probably already is), but I calm down once I realize they won't hurt him.

    I don't feel THAT afraid anymore. I guess I should talk sometime. "I should probably be getting back home. I really got to do my homework." I think that will be enough to say for today.

    "Oh, can you do mine too, while you're at it?" I wasn't expecting that comment. I suddenly feel angry at Fira. She treats homework like a bunch of rubbish.

    "No." I say plainly. I think she heard anger in my voice because she turned her head around quickly like she'd been stung. Guilt floods over me. Before I have time to say anything to her, Yuna speaks.

    "Well, you have to wait until Trainer comes back with your spellbooks." Tidus looks like he is staring right through me. I turn around, but there is nothing behind me.

    Old Lady suddenly appears in front of me. I jump back, startled. "Here you go," she says and hands me a few books. "You two will be sharing a set. Check the spell book, the easiest level, for the spell. Bye." Old Lady and our parents disappear without making any movement at all.

    I take the book of the top and look for the spell."The spell is the same one we said to come here, only instead of emerald at the end, we put wherever our destination is." Fira comes close and stares at the spell, then we both say it and leave.

Chapter 6

We all look at ourselves, amazed. I, Sa- I mean, Fira look just like my name! I have red, curly hair, and perfect, delicate, white, pearly skin. I have coal black eyes, and I'm wearing the best clothes ever. (As usual!)

The others don't look that bad either. Wow, Ethan looks like earth. Brownish skin, brown hair, green eyes. Windel has grayish hair, grayish eyes, white skin. And Aqua has blond hair, blue eyes, and the whitest, iciest skin and gaze I've ever seen.

I think my skin was supposed to be brownish, but then it wouldn't go very well with my hair.

"Come on, let me take you to our parents" Ethan beckons us to follow him.

He takes us to a huge castle with four flags. Red, blue, gray, and green. I think they stand for our powers. As we go inside, everyone we see bows down to us. I whisper to Aqua, "Um, okay? Why are they doing that?" She just shrugs. Finally he leads us to a room that is large and has two things that seem oddly like TV screens.

"Greetings, young apprentices." We all spin around quickly, scared of who this person is. Well, all except Ethan.

"Eeneshana, Trainer." Aqua, Windel, and I all stare at him, confused. He looks at us and says, "Don't look at me for answers, ask her."

'"Um, but who is that old lady?" Aqua and I ask at the same time. We can see the one Ethan called 'Trainer' looking at us out of the corner of our eyes. Windel is hiding behind us, even more scared then we are. He doesn't understand that if Ethan is okay with this person, then it is probably safe for him.
"Why don't you ask her?"
"Okay. Hi. I am Fira. Who are you?" I ask, stepping forward with my hand out.
"You are not to know my name, but I can tell you that I will be your trainer for your powers. You will have daily lessons, and will come at any time I call you. You will go on missions to do things that we need to be done, and will learn new spells. I see Ethan has already taught you one." Wow she speaks a lot. Okay, she is opening her mouth to speak again. "And little Windel, come here. I will be training you too. Only that would be every week, how it is supposed to be. Only your sisters need to because-"
Ethan flashes her a warning look. "Because the rulers have changed it to more training times." Ethan is still staring at Old Lady (that's what I have decided to call her in my mind) for some reason; even while talking to Windel he was. Old Lady stands up and looks at Ethan the exact same way for a while. Do they do telepathy? I look at Aqua and see that she is wondering the exact same thing.
Cool.
"Hey, um, I'm sort of wondering what's going on here." Ethan and Old Lady both look at me for a second, and then turn back to each other. I look at Aqua and see her standing silently with Windel standing behind her. She looks as confused as me, but I can see she won't want to speak up. "Uh, well, if nothing is going on, then can I have the going back spell?"
"There is so much more than you know going on." Old Lady finally spoke.
"Uh, well should we go home or not?"
"There is really a lot going on." Wow, is she going to give a good response or not?
"So is that a yes..."
"What do you think?" I want to say, I have no idea, but I don't think she'd be too happy to hear that. Oh, why not, anyway.
"I have absolutely no idea." I stare defiantly back into her eyes just as she had been all this time. It's kind of freaky. She stares at you with an icy look in her eyes with out moving one bit. She really looks like a statue!
"Uh, I think it means we have to stay." Aqua speaks. Okay, that was really freaky! A second before Aqua spoke, Old Lady stares at her instead.
"Right. You should be able to make your own decisions now. Without too much information, you should still know what to do. What I said was too much already. Do you think your enemies will tell you so much? You should still know what to do then."
"Um, okay?"
"You don't care now, but once you start your training, you will."
"Uh, Ethan? Did she do this with you too?"
"No." Old Lady responds, even though I asked Ethan. "Ethan was already bright enough to know this."
I look at Ethan. His expression is unreadable. "Trainer, we would like to speak to our
 parents. Would you please call them, as I do not know how to?"
"Yes. I will call them. While you speak with them, I will be getting the spellbooks." She stares at the ground. "Your Highness'! Your children would like to speak with you!" A minute after she finishes, two people appear at the side of her.
"Hello, children," they say.
"Eneshana, Mother, Father." I think you can guess who said that.
"Uh, hi."
"We are Tidus and Yuna, your parents." Wow, I never figured. Seeing the sort of  blank look about what's going on here on our faces, the continue. "Eneshana is a greeting we use in Emerald."
The boy, Tidus, I'm guessing, speaks. "I see you have already met your trainer. You will not be knowing her name until you are 18 years old."
"It is good to have all our children back in their homeland." Yuna says.
"Wait, does that mean we have to live here now?" I ask.
"Once you take rule, then you must. Until then, you will live in both places. You will live on Earth normally, and come everyday right after school. Then, if there is a big mission, or if we need you for a while, then you will come and stay in your rooms in the castle." Yuna replies.
"Okay," I say as if that clears everything up. I look at Aqua and Windel. Aqua seems to be warming up, oh sorry, more like cooling up to them. Windel looks like he recognizes them, because he is running towards Tidus and Yuna and hugging them.
Hm, so what are we supposed to be doing now? "You will get your spellbooks, then go home and study them." Okay, freaky again. Right when I was thinking that, Yuna says that.
Cool.
I can't wait to learn all this.
"I should probably be getting back home. I really got to do my homework." Aqua says.
"Oh, can you do mine too, while you're at it?"
"No," she says to me and flashes a look.
"Well, you have to wait until Trainer comes with your spellbooks," Yuna says. Does Tidus talk that much?
Just then, Old Lady appears. "Here you go, " she says, and hands me a ton of books. "You two will be sharing a set," she says. "Check the spell book (the easiest level) for the spell. Bye." She vanishes. So do our parents.
Aqua takes the book off the top of the stack and checks."The spell is the same one we said to come here, only instead of emerald at the end, we put wherever our destination is."
We say the spell and leave.

Chapter 5

Sav is swimming fast laps in the pool, happy now that she is in nice, hot water. Sabrina... is standing to the side, looking uncomfortable because of the heat all around the room.

 "Uh, Sav?" Sabrina asks.

 "Yeah?" Sav responds to her while lazily backstoking.

 "Don't you think it's a bit weird?" Sabrina says," All of the things that happened today and on top of that Spencer wants to talk to us?" 

 "Yeah," Sav says, not paying much attention. She is too happy to really care.

 Sabrina gives out a loud sigh.

 Just then, Spencer walks in with Sam behind him.

 "Savannah, listen. You too, Sabrina and Sam." Spencer pauses, probably wondering what to say. "Okay, first of all, you are not humans."

"Yeah, right." Sav says.

 "This is some kind of joke isn't it," says Sabrina folding her arms . 

 "No!" Spencer protests. "My real name is Ethan. Yours are Fira, Aqua, and Windel!"

 "How can you think of so many lies at once, and how come Sam is being pulled into this?" Sabrina says.

 "It isn't a lie. Okay, listen. There is a planet called Emerald. It is in a completely different place. You are from there." Spencer tries desperatly to explain before they stop listening. "Our parents aren't our real parents. Our real parents are the rulers of Emerald."

 "Why should we even listen to all your lies?" Sav asks. "I might as well start swimming again." Sav is about to leave the wall and go down in the water.

 "Spencer I am tired of this trick I wanna go downstairs and watch T.V." Sam cried. 

 "No! Everyone's staying here until you believe me!" Spencer says.

 "C'mon play the trick on us two if you want but let Sam go and watch T.V." Sabrina said. 

 Spencer thought," They'll never believe me at this rate, they need real proof." He sighed.

"Spencer, I'm waiting. i'll give you 10 seconds to do something or I'm leaving." Sav says because she is getting irritated.

 "Okay, okay! Hold on!" Spencer thinks and gets an idea

  "10, 9, 8, 7, 6," Sarina counted. 

 "Sabrina, you felt hot in your French class at first, right?" Spencer says.

 "Yessss," Sabrina says uncertainly

 "That was because you are from Emerald." Spencer says. "I'll explain more after a minute."

 "So what you are saying," Sav says, "is that if you are from Emerald you feel hot in French? Because I didn't."

 "No!"

 " I don't even have French!" Sam cried getting more irritated by the minute 

 "No! Anyway, Savannah, you melted a snowball, right?"

 "Yeah, why 

"That is because you are from Emerald."

 "And Sam, today you were feeling like there should be a breeze, right?" Spencer went on so no one could protest.

 "So basically, if we feel anything different that's against nature,we're from Emerald, right," Sabrina concludes 

 "No. Most Emerald citzens don't have these powers.

 Sav looks confused. "How did powers come into this?"

 "That's the thing. You all have powers. Fire, water, and wind." Spencer gets to the point finally. "Can you guys guess who has what power based on what happened today?

 "I'm fire..." Sav says thoughtfully. That is why I melted a snowball and have a high temperature. but i still don't believe this."

 Sam suddenly looked interested,"I'm wind, right Spencer?" 

 "Yes."

 "So I am water, that explains a lot," Sabrina says,"like my swimming and how the French room was so hot." 

 "Yes!" Spencer said, getting excited.

 "Okay, but what is your power?" Sav asks.

 "Ya, what about you?" Sabrina asked

 "I, am Earth. I have all the powers. Fire, water, wind, and some more earth stuff that has nothing to do with those." Spencer says finally.

 "Luucckkkyy!" Sam says looking up at Spencer.

 "Uhhh." Spencer says, unsure of how to react to that.

 "Well, I still don't believe it. I mean, there is no such thing as powers." Sav says, a bit upset.

 "I can show you actual proof." Spencer says.

 "Ok, then show the proof," Sabrina insisted. 

 "There is a spell you have to say to get there. Here I'll write it down on a paper for you two. Sam is to young now to learn the spell, so hold on to me."

 Sabrina rushed out of the room and returned with a pad of paper and a pencil.

 "Okay, ready"

 "No,I will write it for you." Spencer says and takes it.

 "Here." Spencer says and gives it back.

 "Okay," Sav says while looking at it.

 "Elevatistransportatisanywherisemerald, what!?" Sabrina says.

 "Oh, and while saying it do an arm movement like this. Just try!" Spencer added, seeing the look on their faces.

 They all said the spell and actually ended up in a different place!

 Sam rubbed his eyes,"Where are we?"

 "We are in Emerald." Ethan replied.

"Uh, why do you look like that?" Sav asked.

 "Look at yourself, Fira. And you too, Aqua, Windel."

Emerald 2

After Spencer said bye to Sabrina and told her he needed to talk, he closed the door of the garage so no one would see him. "Elevatistransportatisanywherisemerald," he said the spell to get teleport to Emerald. Once there, he changed into Ethan; instead of his dark blond hair and hazel eyes, he had brown hair and green eyes. Ethan walked into the afterroom, where he knew his Emerald dad was. 

"Father?" Ethan asked.

"Yes, Ethan. What is it?" Tidus inquired.

"Well, uh, the signs they are getting are to hard to ignore. I was wondering if I could tell Fira and Aqua- sorry. Savannah and Sabrina what is going on. I will tell them everything, even the risk, and they can decide what they want to do. And has Windel- I mean Sam been getting any signs yet?"

"He has, but not as much and obvious. Yes, you may tell, but not the risk. They shouldn't know that yet. And definitely not Windel. You do not need to call them by their Earth names, Ethan. Their Emerald names are the real ones. You may go now." Tidus wanted Ethan out now.

"But what are you here for?"

"You shouldn't know. "

Ethan did know why Tidus was here though. It was to see if they would die. "Bye." Ethan teleported back to Earth.

Chapter 4

Amber and Sara are my best friends, who always walk home with me from school. At least until we reach the neighborhood park.
"Watch out, there's a car." We end look just like across the street to the park.
"Hey why don't we hang out here for a while?" Sara suggests.
Can't," I say. "My sister, remember?"
"Oh, yeah. You know, it's hard to believe that your identical twin sister is the most popular girl in school."
"Well its true, if I wanted to I could put on makeup and look just like her I can, but whats the point?" I just shrug. They are more into these kinds of things. Like I said, being alone is fine with me."Well, anyway, I better go. Bye!"
"See you!" They both say.
I hurry on to the next block. The shop is packed. How am I supposed to find Sav in there? Hopefully she hasn't reached yet. Once I scan the shop a little, I see Sav talking with the shopkeeper.
"Sav!" I call out to her. She responds, but I don't hear what she says.
A second later she comes out and we start walking.
"So home? Or should we go shopping?" She asks. She knows my answer.
"Home."
"Shopping it is." Sav concludes.
We go over to a lousy looking makeup shop.
"Maybe I should wait outside..." I trail off seeing the look on Sav's face.
"Nope!" She drags me in.
"I know you don't want to wear makeup, but can you please let me try it on you just once at home? Please?" Sav is just trying and trying to get me to be more cool. But still, I could just let her do it once and never again. It would be interesting to see how I look. Oh wait, never mind. Just like Sav. Ugh.
I'm thinking about all the homework I have and don't even bother to see what Sav is picking out. Finally, when she's done, I check and see what it is. Wow. That is a lot.
"Uhh, do I really need all of that?" I say, crossing my fingers.
"You want more?" She says in a low voice.
"No, " I sigh. You know I don't even care about this but if I deny, Sav will start nagging me for weeks until I try on some makeup, but whatever if she pays I'm fine. 
We walk over to the checkout counter and pay for all of the makeup that I'm only going to wear once. Then we walk out of the store (finally) and start walking home.


 "Really? I was about to say that this is the most pleasant I've ever felt the snow. It feels like everything is so perfect."
"You got to be kidding me," Sav says. "Oh, I know how to warm up! Let's have a snowball fight while we wait." I guess one snowball fight wouldn't hurt.
"Okay..."
Seconds later, we're flinging snowballs at each other.  Of course, in the beginning Sav overpowers me, but then its like I know what to do; all of my snowballs are perfectly shaped, my aim is perfect, and I am so much faster.
We both suddenly stopped, amazed at my new abilities.
"Umm Sabrina? Have you been really practicing?"
"No, not one bit."
"Oh well, lets keep playing."
This is so much fun! If this keeps up, then I could play forever.  "Sure!" I say happily.
I watch as Sav picks up her next snowball. I'm shocked as I see the snowball she has in her hand disappear. I bend down to pick up another snowball, and when I do, it stays perfectly intact.
"Uhh, okay? This is weird," Sav says.
"Yeah." I say,"Maybe you have a fever, that could be the reason the snow was cold for you."This is of course impossible, if she hot enough to melt snow she'll burn her own skin  I go over and touch her forehead.
Sav goes on," But that doesn't explain why the snow is pleasant for you. Snow isn't pleasant for anyone!"
"Well, I don't know about that, but you definitely have a fever."
"No! It's just because your hands are frozen."
"Savannah-"
"Don't call me that."
"Sav, touch my forehead and see. Is it as cold as yours?"
"Uhh, no, "she says, looking confused.
Aww there's the car, and the fun just started. I'm starting to love the snow,and water, and the ice, and the rain. Not that I didn't like them before, but I didn't pay much attention to them, they we're kind of just there. And for Sav, for the 15 years I've lived with her she has never melted a snowball. And since when was I good at anything athletic? And since when.....Wait a second, is that Spencer driving the car?
"Spencer, why are you here? Go away." Sav says irritably.
I give her a look."Spencer," I say, "Sav has a fever."
"Yes she does, not anything else." Spencer says.
Hmm strange response, but whatever, strange things have been happening today anyways. Why can't all strange things have an explanation.
"No! I'm sure I do not have a fever. It doesn't explain why I melted a snowball. Or why the snow is pleasant for Sabrina. Or why Sabrina said today, as she told me, that the French room was hot today."
Uhh. I'm not sure what to say. Anyway, your weirdo little brother is sitting at home asking for you, Sabrina." He's your little brother too, Spencer.

"Sure, just hurry up," I say.
"And Savannah?" Spencer always calls Sav that. I guess she's given up on Spencer.
"What?" she says. She is definitely in a bad mood
"The cat is asking for you," he says as we pull up in the garage.
"Whatever, weirdo," Sav say as she get out of the car and walk into the house. I guess Sav doesn't enjoy snow as much as I do. So alike yet so different.
"Hey, wait you guys."
I turn around,"What Spencer?" Sav, of course, just keeps walking.
"Uhh, well, I'll be right back, and then I need to have a talk with you and your sister in ten. Where will you be? Never mind, I'll figure out." 
"Fine. Sure," I say. Things always become stranger before they become normal. I start running to catch up to Savannah.
"Spencer wants to talk with us in ten minutes. Where will we be?"
"In the pool," Sav responds. She was starting to look alot more calm.
"What! I can't get in there, and Spencer needs to talk to both of us!" At the mention of Spencer's name she got all tense again
"Stand at the side then."
"Okay..." 

Chapter 3

I start walking home with my friends, Vanessa and Natalie, or Van and Nat. We always walk until Nat's house and then Van and I split up to go home. Sabrina always walks home with a few of her friends and once they split up, Sabrina and I walk home together. Our place is the farthest because we're rich and live in a pretty mansion which (of course) can't fit closer to school.
"Bye Van, Nat!" I call out to them. "See you at school tomorrow." I go to the next street corner and go into a shop. If Sabrina is there first, she goes and waits for me. If I'm there first I go and wait for her. You know some people would be weirdos and like make that a race or something where they try to beat the other person. Well, like I said, those people are weirdos.
Hmm, Sabrina isn't there. I go and talk to the shopkeeper, who we know pretty well, since we come there everyday after school.
"Hey, Sav!" Oh, guess Sabrina's here.
"Yeah, I'm coming." I say bye to the shopkeeper and hurry out.
"So, to home? Or you want to shop a bit?"
"Maybe we should go home and work on our homework," Sabrina suggests.
"To shopping it is."
I laugh when Sabrina groans.
We go over to a shop with the most and best makeup ever. I look over at Sabrina and can already see the horrified look on her face. I'm amused, because, well, it's fun annoying people, especially a sibling. of course, being mean to them is another thing only weirdos do.
"Maybe I should wait outside..." She really doesn't like this shop.
"Nope!" I say and hold her hand and rush in."Okay, I know you don't want to wear makeup, but at home will you please let me try some on you? Please?"
"Fine," she says with a grumpy look on her face.
I get some gray and mauve eyeshadow to go with her hazel eyes and dark blond hair. I get some of the best mineral powder and red blush. And I get orangish lip gloss for her slightly tanned skin.
I want to try some new colors, so I get the pinkest mineral blush for myself and really light pink lip gloss and light sparkly green eyeshadow.
Sabrina looks even more horrified. Good.
"Uhhh, do I really need all this?" She is really trying to get rid of this.
"Do you want more?" I threaten her.
"No," she sighs.
We go over to the checkout counter and pay.

Soon we're almost home. But this part of the snowy landscape is very  difficult to walk through, so as usual we wait for our driver to come over and pick us up.
"Brr. This is the coldest I've ever felt the snow." I am really incredibly freezing at the moment. But what Sabrina says next is surprising. I mean who would think this in such weather?
"Really? I was about to say that this is the most pleasant I've felt the snow. It feels like everything is so perfect."
"You got to be kidding me. Oh, I know how to warm up! Let's have a snowball fight while we wait." I would be really happy to be able to run my usual warm temperature.
"Okay..."
The next second we are fighting with snowballs. At first, I'm winning, as usual. But then the next second, she gets faster, the snowballs she is making are perfect, she she keeps aiming them directly at me. We both stop, in amazement.
"Uhh, Sabrina? Have you been like really practicing?"
"No, not one bit." Well, that's weird. How could a weakling like her suddenly get fast and strong when she touches snow and finds it pleasant?
"Oh well, let's keep playing." I wasn't about to let her sudden strength let me stop.
"Sure," she says happily.
But when I picked the next snowball up, it melted! Sabrina picked one up too, to see if it is just melting now, but hers stays fine!
"Uhh, okay? This is weird."
"Yeah." She pauses. "Maybe you have a fever, she suggests. "That could be the reason the snow was cold for you."
She comes over to touch my forehead while I say, "But that doesn't explain why the snow is pleasant for you. Snow isn't pleasant for anyone!"
"Well, I don't know about that, but you definitely have a fever."
"No! It's just because your hands are frozen."
"Savannah-"
"Don't call me that."
"Sav, touch my forehead and see. Is it as cold as yours?"
"Uhh, no, "I say , puzzled.
Oh, good. There is the car. Now I can get home quickly. I suddenly have a horrible hatred for snow, ice, water, basically all those cold things. If I need to know them, I'll just ask Sabrina. Hmm, why has Spencer, our older, and even more of a know it all brother who is 17, come to pick us up? "Spencer, why are you here? Go away." I say.
Spencer doesn't react, but Aqua okay, why did I say Aqua? But Sabrina flashes me a look to keep quiet for now; we can be as mean to him as we want later. "Spencer," Sabrina says, "Sav has a fever."
"Yes she does, not anything else." Spencer says.
Is he acting weird? Whatever. "No! I'm sure I do not have a fever. It doesn't explain why I melted a snowball. Or why the snow is pleasant for Sabrina. Or why Sabrina said today, as she told me, that the French room was hot today."
"Uhh. I'm not sure what to say. Anyway, your weirdo little brother is sitting at home asking for you, Sabrina."
"Sure, just hurry up," she says.
Our little 7 year old brother Sam is weird.Well, I guess he is only 7.
"And Savannah?" Spencer always calls me that. I've given up on stopping him.
"What?" I say sulkily.
"The cat is asking for you," he says as we pull up in the garage.
"Whatever, weirdo," I say as I get out of the car and walk into the house.
"Hey, wait you guys."
"What Spencer?" Sabrina asks as she turns around to look at him. I just keep walking and sulking inside the house and to the pool.
"Uhh, well, I'll be right back, and then I need to have a talk with you and your sister in ten. Where will you be? Never mind, I'll figure out."
"Fine. Sure." Sabrina says. Then she catches up to me. "Spencer wants to talk with us in ten minutes. Where will we be?"
"In the pool." I respond. I was getting happier just thinking about the nice warm pool which-
"What! I can't get in there, and Spencer needs to talk to both of us!"
"Stand at the side then."
"Okay..."