Dimensional

Chapter One: The False Home World

It was a crisp, chilly, October morning. The only light noise is the gentle chirp of crickets. I enjoy the tranquility. I slowly climb out of my bed. I turn on my small lamp. That's all the light that I usually need. A loud knock on my door immediately breaks the peaceful atmosphere. I let out a mental sigh.

"Astoria, are you awake? Your alarm clock didn't go off, and Mom wants to know if you're awake." loudly said my little brother, David.

"Yes, I'm awake." I croaked. I heard his footsteps get lighter as he walked away.

Since we go to different schools, he has the option to sleep in for an extra thirty minutes or so, but he decides to spend his extra time watching some weird show. I go to Tripectas Academy it's a combination of middle and high school. I'm in the ninth grade, and David is in fifth, so he's still in elementary school. I put on my uniform. The basic uniform is a white button-down shirt and a deep maroon skirt for the girls. We are allowed to put our own twist to the uniform as long as it follows some requirements. My "twist" is a simple, light grey cardigan. I slip on my semi-formal black shoes and stuff my organized binders into my bookbag.

I walk out of my room, down the hall, and into the kitchen. I put a slice of bread into the toaster. I impatiently wait for my toast. I am typically a very patient person, but when it comes to toast, it takes eternity. I wait another good couple of seconds, and my toast finally is done. With my hot toast in one hand, I walk out the door. I am greeted by the chilly fall air. I smile and take a bite of my toast. I still have quite a few minutes before I need to leave for school, but I like to spend my morning outside. I look up at the sky. It's still pretty dark, with the deep oranges and pinks just barely touching the mountainous horizon. I can still see some of the stars. I pop the remainder of my toast into my mouth and pull out my phone. I open my constellation app and point it up to the sky. Some people say that I take my name too seriously. An alternate spelling for my name (Asteria) is the Greek word for stars. I love being outside at night, just being alone with the stars and moon.

A couple of minutes later, my dad comes outside. I slip my phone into my bag as we both get into the car. By the time we get to Tripectas, the sky is more of a pinkish-yellow color. The school gives a great view of the Blue Ridge Mountains. I step out of the car and pull out my phone once again. This time, I took a picture of the horizon. I smile in satisfaction when I view the image. North Carolina has some pretty good views. I power off my phone and slip it into a pocket in my bookbag. I walk up the sidewalk and the light grey cement stairs that lead up to the academy. I enter the doors leading to the main hallway. The academy is very large and is three floors. It covers grades 6-12. Most of my classes are on the third floor. The only class I have that's on the second floor is language arts.

I walk over to my locker and take out my binders for my next few classes. I take a deep breath before I decide to officially start my long day. I cringe when I hear a familiar voice. The voice belonged to Ace Levi, the second most annoying person I've ever met. David takes the number one spot on my list of annoying people, but compared to him, he's a close second. I stare into the back of my locker, hoping he doesn't notice me, but since we're locker neighbors, he obviously did.

"Hey, Astoria, there's something I'd like to tell you," he says.

"Good morning, Ace," I say in a polite voice. I'm really not in the mood to talk to someone this early in the morning, but here we are. He opens his mouth to say something, but he gets cut off by the bell.

"Never mind," he says. I'm kinda thankful for that bell. I shut my locker and pop the lock back together. I hurry off to my first class. I walk over to my desk and set my bag next to my chair. I open my laptop and place my open math binder beside that. Not too long after, my math teacher, Mr. Ryan starts the lesson. Out of all my teachers this year, he's my favorite. He always finds a way to make the lesson fun and engaging. We're currently on our quadratics unit. I think I'm the only one who actually enjoys solving them.