The Elemental Book 1: Earth (***UNDER SEVERE EDITING***)

Chapter 1 A Very Stupid School Fieldtrip

Chapter 1

A Very Stupid School Fieldtrip

The sound of a blaring car alarm woke me from my sleep.

I groaned and put my pillow over my head, trying to sound out the alarm with no success. It's times like these that make me miss our old house in the country far, far away from this stupid apartment in the middle of London.

I heard my father's snores down the hall, and I covered my ears with my hands.

Is there no peace and quiet around here anymore? I thought bitterly.

Finally, having enough, I got up and rummaged through my nightstand drawer for the pair of car keys.

I finally found them, and I pointed them at the car. I pressed the quiet button, and the alarm immediately stopped. I sighed in relief and went downstairs.

My mom had made me the keys before she died. I don't know how she made them to silence any car alarm, but she managed to do it. It was supposed to be used only for emergencies, but I use it anyway. Not getting any sleep counts as an emergency in my book.

It was five o'clock in the morning, and I knew I wouldn't be able to fall back asleep. After all, it is impossible to actually sleep around here when you're me.

Let's just say the world seems to hate me. All my life, strange things have happened to me. My mom was super overprotective, and would always freak out whenever something weird happened. Such as one time a fire started in the school bathroom when all I was trying to do was turn up the heat cuz it was colder than the Arctic Ocean in there. Another time she freaked out when somehow I bumped into a water tower and the whole thing exploded. It was a hot summer, and all I wanted was a drink of water.

It's not my fault Mother Nature has it out for me.

I sighed and decided to get in the shower since I had to get to school in two hours. I turned on the faucet and let the warm water trickle down my back. It unknotted the muscles in my back, and I stood under the water for a minute.

I washed my hair with my favorite jasmine scented shampoo and quickly washed my body. As much as I enjoyed showering, my father would beat my ass if the water bill was higher than $30. I got out and dried off, wrapping a towel around me.

I ran a brush through my damp hair and plugged in my blow dryer. After half an hour, my hair was finally dry. I changed into a pair of jean shorts, converse, at-shirt with the London flag on it, and my favorite charm bracelet.

My mom had given it to me before she passed away in the car accident, and it was my prize possession. It was a solid gold chain with charms I've gotten over the years, and a blue crystal spelled my name in fancy letters: Ariana.

Most people call me Ari, but my best friend Jake calls me by my full name. He's the only one I let call me by my full name, and he's the only other person who knows my middle name, Victoria (my father never bothered to pay attention to my full name. He knows me as Girl or the girl who looks a lot like his dead wife, Phoebe). I tell Jake everything, and we know each other like the back of our hands. Of course, I know my other best friend, Brendon Davis, better.

I finished tying my shoes, and I looked in the mirror. My long, blonde hair fell into waves and was usually pulled back with a ponytail, but today I just left it down. I didn't feel like doing much today.

My tan skin classified me as a tomboy, along with all the scratches and bruises all over my skin, and my eyes were a dark, chocolate brown color. I never wear any make-up, unless it's for a special occasion, and I almost always have the look that says don't talk to me, I hate you.