Jamie Howe slammed the book shut. She frowned. She closed her eyes. Then the book hit the wall with nuclear force. She growled loudly and retrieved the book, which was a crumpled paperback from the library. She smoothed the cover, guilty for throwing the wonder at the wall. She sat it on her bedstand and looked outside. It was starting to sleet. Perfect weather for some Star Wars. She popped in A New Hope and sat back on the pile of pillows on her bed.
Two minutes in, her dad knocked on the door.
"Dinner time!" She groaned and paused the movie. She slipped off her headphones and grabbed her Ipod touch on the way out the door. She smoothed out her brown hair from her eyes and turned the cold nob, that ever persistand February cold finding its way through the cracks and seals of her home. She shivered and led herself down the carpeted hallway.
Teresa, her older sister, and Liam, her little brother, were already eating. She grabbed a plate from the cabnet and crossed the tile to the table.
"Jamie, do you have any books I can read?" Teresa asked. She was always reading them late into the night and finishing quickly.
"Sure, have you read the book Inkheart? It's probably long enough to keep you busy for a while, I hope. It's about 600 pages long." Teresa nodded. Liam grunted from the other side of the table. He was four.
"Wanna hear a joke? What's white's favorite color! White! Ha!" Liam, being so little, had next to no comical ability. They laughed anyway. This was one of those rare instances where none of them were fighting or dissagreeing or arguing, but no night could escape that. It was almost certain.
Jamie scooped what seemed like two pounds of mashed potatoes onto her plate and snuck in a bit of chicken in the corner. She propped the plate up with a napkin and put the corn into the bootom part. She hated corn juice in her food. It was horrid. She scooped the mashed potatoes into her mouth while scrolling through her Ipod, screwing around on various games. Liam chirped as his fork sent a bunch of mashed potatoes flying to the wall. Teresa sighed and got a napkin from the holder.
Jamie's father walked out from the barn and shook off his coat.
"It started to snow again. Weatherman says there's still going to be school tomorrow, though. Sorry girls." Teresa and Jamie frowned. Liam copied their forlorn looks. Jamie turned her attention back to her Ipod and scooped another spoonful of mashed potatoes into her mouth. She thought about school. Her best friend Noah Nole was out sick and had been for two days. Her least favorite person, Carmen Gomez, was healthy as ever. That wasn't pleasing.
She shoved her chicken into her mouth and ran back off the tile and onto the carpet. She opened the door to ther room and landed flat onto her bed. She scrambled up to her computer screen and pressed the Play button. She frowned in a hyperbolic way as Alderaan blew up and leaned back. Another knock on the door. She growled and pressed pause. Her Dad popped in the door and dropped a package onto her bed. She smiled and wagged her hand.
"Now go!" He smiled and shut the door. She crawled over to the end of her quilted bed and picked up the package. It was a brownish yellow and read
TO: JAMIE HOWE
FROM: SOTSM
OPEN IMMEADIATLY
She slid her finger under the tab holding it shut and threw the outside across the room. She then unwrapped the bubble wrap inside and drew out a small, white box. Inside was a boxy orange crystal that was warm to the touch. She leaned backwards as she felt the oncoming headache. She watched dizzily as the crystal turned to sandy dust and drifted into the vent. She tried to get up and fell hands-first onto the window. Her head swam...then it was gone. The dust and the nausea. She stood strait up and sat on her bed. That had to be magical. Or sciency. That was just freaky! She examined the room and thought carefully.
She then picked the package back up and read it again. What does SOTSM stand for? She jumped up and looked back down the vent. No orange dust. Her mind raced. This was like something from her books and movies and shows. It had to be important. She had to be important. She then looked out the window to see an orange blob drifting out of sight in the snow. I wish I could fly up and get it, She thought, and jumped as the room got bigger around her. She felt pricks on her skin and looked down to see that she was now a small bird, a swallow to be exact. She shook her head and sat back, trying to turn back. Person! Person! Turn me back! Skin prickled again and she grew larger once more.
She looked down to see her clothes back. She smiled, banishing the startled frown from her mouth.
"Ha! This is amazing!"
YOU ARE READING
Something Strange: The Arsonist
FantasyLourdes doesn't know where she belongs. She likes to be alone. But when fate pushes her into the hot seat, how will she react? Rory Is very docile. He has many friends, but he doesn't talk much. When new powers appear in him and others, how will he...
