𝕻𝖗𝖊𝖉𝖎𝖈𝖆𝖒𝖊𝖓𝖙

Phase 1: Ordinary

A few months before the incident...

[Narrator]

"James Brown!" called Mrs. Conner

"Present Miss."

"Victoria Perks!"

"Present Miss."

"Shin Yuna!"

"Present Miss."

"Rachel Woods!"

Silence wrapped around the atmosphere. The students could even hear the melodious chirps of the bluebirds outside the school garden.

"RACHEL WOODS!"

"PRESENT MISS!" Rachel rushed her way into her classroom. She flowed her long deep-purple hair while everyone stared at her. Rachel's amethyst-colored eyes were filled with sparkles.

"I'm terribly sorry again, Miss. I had to run to the pharmacy to get my mum some medicines due to the flu she's having".

"Well, this is the third time you've been late to my class. Do you really hate Biology that much?"

"N-no teacher..."

"I don't want to hear another one of your sympathetic reasons again. If you're late once more, I'll have to report this issue to the headmaster. Do you understand?

"Yes, miss."

Rachel quickly went to her sit. It was on the left side of the classroom, and of course, near to the window. She loved the breathtaking view of her school garden. Filled with a variety of species of flora and fauna.

"RACHEL! ARE YOU DONE LOOKING?" Mrs. Conner frowned.

"OH SORRY MISS!" she bowed.

"Does she hate me that much? Jeez, I was just trying to take good care of my mum like any other daughter would do."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"RINGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!" as the big, bright red bell rang.

Rachel was super exhausted from Biology and Mathematics class. She enjoyed Maths ever since first grade, but she stopped liking it once algebra entered her life.

She walks out of the classroom, heading to the canteen for lunch while searching for her best friend, Alexa Hills. She referred to her as a companion than a friend. She had dark brown hair with an oval-shaped eye. Half American, half Chinese.

"Hey, Rachel! Over here!" said Alexa, waving at her.

Rachel rushed towards her and did a little cute handshake with her bestie. They think it's quite old school to have a handshake, but who cares right?

"Hey, Lexy! How are ya? How's Physics just now? Physics right, or was it Literature?"

"Hey! Yeah, it was Physics. Great, just because of two things. C'mon, you know this", she said it with a slight smirk on her face.

"Hmm let me guess. First things first, you're a big-brainer and you'll even study on weekends. So you most probably memorized 300 pages of boring equations from your textbook. Secondly, I bet you can't stop drooling over your teacher, Mr. Noah. Girl, just don't."

"At least he's good-looking, thank you very much. And yes, I did study on weekends. How did you know? I've never told you about my study schedule."

"Uhh, I don't know. Just by feeling, I guess", Rachel stuttered. She even asked herself how she'd be able to know that. It felt just like magic.

"Right..." said Alexa with a suspicious look.

Rachel always knew some of Alexa's secrets. It felt weird, but she like to keep them to herself. Plus, she doesn't believe in the whole "having a crush is a must" thing. She is quite pretty but she prefers to keep it casual. For example, she hated wearing dresses or skirts. It makes her feel like she's revealing her entire identity by just showing off some skin. She's more of a comfy rather than a fashionable person.

Once they reached the canteen and placed their lunchboxes on the table, Alexa took a quick peek at Rachel. She looked colorless. So, she tried changing the topic. They eventually talked about something fascinating.

"Hey Rachel, did you hear about the Break It Down competition held in Canada?"

"Oh, not really. What's it about?" asked Rachel, confused.

"It's a dance competition. You love to dance right? My dad showed me some of your previous performances at your dance league", said Alexa, while munching through her dumpling.

"Oh god. My dad sent your dad the video links, right? You must have cringed a lot, watching your best friend dancing like a full-grown cow."

Alexa laughed so hard that her dumpling spat out from her mouth.

"RACHEL WOODS! You're such an amazing dancer. My jaw dropped when I saw your performance. You danced like a swan, not a cow you scumbag."

"You sure?"

"Yes, queen. Anyways, join the competition. The first prize winner will be getting 63,907.25 CAD, that's about 500k USD. I mean you could legit buy a house before marrying you know."

"HEY STOP IT! Get this clear, Alexa Hills, as I'm not going to get married. I'll prove it once I turn 25. You'll see", Rachel blushed as she said that, even though she hasn't found her soulmate just yet.

"Yeah right. Just stop lying okay? Anyways, do you want to join or not?"

"500k huh. That could pay up the house rents and pay for mum's medical checkup"

"Then dad wouldn't have to be a farmer anymore, and we'll be as wealthy as ever", spoke her inner voice once again. She really wanted money to keep her family normal. Not poor.

"RACHEL! EARTH TO RACHEL WOODS!" shouted Alexa.

"O-Oh sorry. I was just thinking that through."

"So? What's on your mind?"

"Go for it", spoke Rachel's inner voice.

"Umm this is probably an unexpected reply for you, but I guess I'll join"

"Wait really? Oh my goodness, REALLY??" said Alexa. Her mouth was wide open alright.

"Yeah."

"YAYYYYYY! Okay then let's go and register once we finished eating."

"I finished my croissant 10 minutes ago and you're still chewing through your palm-sized dumpling."

"I have my ways of eating. Is that a problem?" muffled Alexa.

"You have issues girl", laughed Rachel.

Rachel waited for Alexa to finish her dumpling. Her mum, Mrs. Hill is an amazing cook. She's more fond of Asian cooking. Yes, Asian, not just Chinese cuisines. Dim Sums, potstickers, and much more. Rachel loved every single one of her cooking. If she had to pick a favorite, it would definitely be Bak Kut Teh. A warm, aromatic broth filled with dried tofu, mushrooms, and pork. A bowl of that will make her sorrows melt away. She really wished for her mum to start cooking once she was feeling better.

Once Alexa finished, they packed up and headed straight down the hall. While walking, Rachel was thinking whether she had made the right choice or not. Most of her senses said yes, as she's doing this for her family. Some though, said maybe. A few said no. She's wasn't quite sure why, but maybe her weird senses are just playing tricks with her. She gave her head a quick shook and continued walking straight to the hall, not knowing what was coming for her just yet ...