I Love You (The Portals, Book 1)

Newra

My name is Newra. I am sixteen years old.

I was not happy when the second year of high school began. The first thing I thought was, Oh, great, more drama. Sigh.

See, last year I was trying to find a good boyfriend. I'd already had three. The first was James, second was Caleb, and third was Tom. They all broke up with me with no explanation.

"Sis! C'mon! Let's go!" Evalyn, my twin sister, yelled. I snapped out of my thoughts.

Evalyn isn't usually around so I don't see her often. She never tells anyone where she goes after school, but she's always back by midnight.

"Yeah, coming!" I said.

Evalyn examined me. "Why so fancy looking?"

"It's what was in my closet..."

My sister gave me a skeptical look and rolled her eyes. "Whatever. C'mon, put on your gear," Evalyn said, strapping her gear on.

Okay, maybe I should explain what the gear is. All humans cannot survive unless they go at least once a day into this world called "Skinoma." The only way in there is with this gear called "Mutoba" that all humans are given when they are born.

Once you put on the gear, your body goes into what we call "standby mode." Sleeping while standing is the best way to describe it. Your body stays still in Opata (my world), but you can move around in Skinoma. Once you go in that world, the only way out is to go to a place in that world called an "Exit Station." The thing is, there's an Exit Station in Opata too, because some people are born in Skinoma and have to come to Opata once a day to survive.

All schools are in Skinoma.

When I put on my Mutoba, everything went black for a minute. Suddenly I was in a huge field, except the grass was gold and the sky was clover green.

"C'mon! Hurry up and fly up here!" Evalyn yelled, flying on her beautiful violet wings. I jumped, my maroon wings stretching out. I took off into the sky, Evalyn right ahead of me. We landed right next to school and walked in.

"Guys! Newra has entered the building!" a boy yelled out. All the girls cheered and crowded around me.

"Oooo, nice outfit!"

"How do you keep your wings so shiny?"

"Wow! How'd you get your hair to stay like that?"

"Wow, where did you get those shoes? How much did they cost?"

"Your eyes can't be that bright naturally, can they?"

"'Scuse me, ladies. Heyo, Newra!" A boy with mocha brown hair, blue wings, dark green clothes, a bright smile, and hazel eyes pushed through the crowd.

"Hi, James..." I said in a small voice.

"Hey, look, I'm sorry about last year. I was being a huge idiot for breaking up with you with no explanation. I understand if you don't accept my apology," James said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

"Thank you for the apology," I said.

"Okay...I hope we can be friends..." he said. I sorta expected him to ask me out anytime, because Caleb apologized and then asked me out right before the end of the school year.

"HEYYY! It's my BFFLAFA!!!!" A girl with brown hair, orange wings, charcoal eyes, and the shortest skirt in the entire school yelled while running up to me and giving me a bone-crushing hug.

"What is a BFFLAFA?" another girl asked me.

"Best Friend For Life and Forever After," I answered. This girl is Azabell. She is my constantly hyper best friend. I've known her since kindergarten.

"Newra! Newra! You have to meet my new friend!! He just transferred here! Just a sec! I'll go get him!" Azabell said, running off. She came back with a tall, black-haired, yellow-winged, emerald-green-eyed, brown-clothed guy, wearing dark green glasses and a maroon scarf (who could wear a scarf in this hot weather?!). He smiled brightly at me.

"Newra, Jonas. Jonas, Newra," Azabell introduced.

Jonas reached out his hand. I shook it.

"Nice to meet you," Jonas said.

"You too," I said back. The bell rang.

"Oh, time for class. Which class do you have first, Jonas?" Azabell asked. Jonas looked at a sheet of paper.

"Science," he replied.

Azabell looked disappointed. "I have history first," Azabell said gloomily.

"I have science too," I said. Azabell sighed.

"See ya guys later!" she said, running off.

Jonas turned to me. "Um, could you show me the way to class? I don't know my way around yet..." Jonas said.

I nodded. "Sure!" I said. We began walking to class.

"So, um...which world do you live in?" I asked.

"Well, I was born in this world," Jonas answered. I nodded.

"I wish I were..." I said.

"Huh. A lot of people say that. I'm gonna be honest, I wish I was born in Opata," Jonas said.

"Why? That world is sort of a dump," I said.

Jonas laughed. "No it isn't. It's beautiful."

I laughed. "Are you kidding? This world is a thousand times better!"

Jonas shook his head. "I don't agree."

We walked into class and sat down.

"I hear we have a new student! Come on up and introduce yourself!" our teacher, Mrs. Eliet, said.

Jonas walked up, smiling nervously. "Hi, I'm Jonas. Jonas Eberdeen," he said. He sat down.

After class, a bunch of my girl friends began talking.

"Jonas is kinda cute isn't he?" Kelly, the second most popular, asked me.

"Eh? Um...I guess..." I said.

"I wonder if he has a girlfriend. I hope not. He looks like a nice guy," Kelly said. Everyone nodded.

"But what's with the scarf? It's like, a billion degrees out!" Libby, one of my other friends, said.

"Maybe someone special gave it to him?" I suggested.

"Girls, you need to start to heading to class!" Mrs. Eliet said. We got up and began walking away.

Jonas came up to me. "Um...Newra? Can you help me find my locker?"

I smiled and nodded. "The girls are talking about you, you know," I said after showing him his locker.

He laughed. "They always do. Let me guess...wondering if I'm single and why I wear a scarf in this weather?" Jonas asked.

I nodded.

"Do you know where math class is?" Jonas asked.

I nodded again. "Down the hall to the left."

"Thanks." Jonas turned quickly and rushed off, his scarf flowing behind him.