The Prophet's Quest

Chapter One

Zee slams down on their blaring alarm clock, making it stop. They tiredly arise from their bed, and get ready for another long day of being yelled at and berated by everyone around them, they slowly trod down the stairs, and into the kitchen. The air was cold and thick, as if it were the inside of an iceberg, their mum is awaiting them at the kitchen table, looking very displeased.

"Zenia Collins! You look like a mess! Why aren't you ready?!" She yells from her spot at the kitchen table.

"I am ready mum-" Mum smacks Zee across the face before they could finish their statement, leaving a bruise on the right side of their face.

"It's ma'am to you, child! Now get your stuff and go to school, you disgrace of a child!" Mum shouts again, hurting Zee's ears, but Zee doesn't protest, they just grab their things, and slowly exit their home.

* * *

Zee slowly steps into their middle school building, the air, once filled with words, is now stale and quiet, as if all the flavor seeped out of the building as soon as they had stepped foot inside of it. As they walked through the hall, it felt as if millions of eyes were on them, and them only, as if they were the one thing to look at in the room.

"Zee! Over here!" A cheer-filled voice calls from behind them.

"Hey Ayce! How was Maine?" Zee asks, as they speed walk towards their friends, interest filling their every word.

"It wasn't as interesting as I hoped it'd be, but Simon definitely enjoyed it." Ayce replied, a mixture of teasing and disappointment in her tone.

"I admit, the only thing I really liked was swimming in the... Ocean? I'm not really sure if it was the ocean or not." Simon stated as he grabbed an algebra book from his locker. "We should go, the Bell's gonna ring soon, but one more thing: What happened to your face, Zee?" Simon inquired, a hint of curiosity in his already confused tone.

"Oh, mum just slapped me again, I know she doesn't mean it, but it still hurts." Zee replies, a stoic undertone in their voice.

"Your mum really needs to go to therapy if her mood swings are that bad." Someone else says from beside Zee.

"I know Jay, but she refuses to go to therapy, no matter how I try to convince her." Zee grumbles annoyingly in response.

"It's right, your mum needs therapy, or medication." Ayce says in agreement to what Jay had stated. The peeling of the bell stops their conversation, as do the subtle footsteps of other students.

"See ya' after class everyone!" Zee says as they walk into Home Economics.

"See ya' after class!" Ayce, Jay, and Simon exclaim in unison as they all enter their separate classes.