Anathema

Before

"Make a wish Veroneka!" I heard dad shout from the other side of the room. I grinned at the camera, closed my eyes, and leaned forward...

This was all before the change.

I wished for the same thing I always wish for on my birthday. My mom. She disappeared when I was seven, leaving nothing but a broken family behind.

"Wish you were here, mom," I whispered. Tears brimmed in my eyes but I brushed them away and blew out the candles.

The whole room cheered. "How does it feel to be sixteen?" My best friend, Maddison (Maddie for short), exclaimed.

"The same," I replied.

Maddie made a pouty face. "That's not interesting at all!"

If only I was right. Soon, nothing would be the same at all.

"Let's open gifts now," my other friend, Sam, said eagerly.

We all walked to the living room to unwrap presents. Maddie gave me a Vampire Dairy poster as well as a cute pink crop top. I also got some new nail polish, a magenta pencil case, and tons of chocolate. I love chocolate!

"Oops," Sam said suddenly. "I think I left your present at home. Do you want some jelly beans instead?"

"No thanks," I replied, wrinkling my nose in disgust. He had taken the candy out of his pocket and there were covered in lint.

Sam shrugged. "More for me," he said, popping some into his mouth.

Next it was my dad's turn to give me a gift. He walked towards me holding a small white box, his brown eyes glossing over with tears. "I have something very special for you Veroneka," he told me. The room went quiet. "Your mother wanted you to have it."

I gasped.

"Take it," he urged. I took the box from his hands and opened it.

Inside was a golden, heart shaped locket. I pressed it against my chest and started to cry.

"It's perfect. Thank you dad," I said through my tears.

"Don't thank me," he said, smiling sadly, "thank your mother."

"Open it!" Maddie shouted, bouncing up and down like an impatient five year old.

I tried to pry open the golden latch but it was stuck. "I can't open it," I complained.

Sam reached for it. "Let me try!"

"No!" I cried, as he snatched it from my hands.

Suddenly he dropped it. "Ow!" He yelled, cradling his hands. "It burned me!"

"No it didn't," I said, retrieving the locket, " You just ate too many pocket jelly beans."

I hung the locket around my neck. My skin tingled at the touch of the medal.

"You look just like your mother," dad said in a strange voice.

I opened my mouth to respond when suddenly a wave of nausea crashed over me. My stomachs twisted painfully. "Uh... I'll be right back," I said, hastily excusing myself from the room.

I barely made it to the bathroom before I collapsed. I crumpled against the sink, hitting my elbow hard against the ceramic. As I fell I managed to catch a glimpse of my reflection in the mirror. My eyes had changed from stormy grey to a vibrant violet, and my cheeks were sunken and pale. My lips were blue like glaciers. My long brown chestnut hair had turned black as the midnight sky. There was a throb of pain in my chest. The locket was as cold as ice! I screamed and fainted.

---

I woke up on the bathroom floor five minutes later covered in sweat. "What just happened?" I asked myself in shock.

"Hello?" Someone said. It was Maddie, knocking on the door. "You okay in there?"

"Yeah," I replied in a confused daze.

I left the bathroom, avoiding my reflection in the mirror. I was too scared to see what I look like. What if my eyes really did change color? And my face and my hair too?

Maddie smiled at me. I smiled back.

"You were in there for a long time," she commented. "We were starting to get worried."

"I'm okay, I just got a little emotional because of my dad's gift. I was just so perfect," I said, wiping fake tears from my eyes.

Maddie smiled understandingly and dragged me back to the kitchen to eat cake. "I think this will cheer you up," she said, handing me my phone.

It was a text message from Chad! It said "Happy birthday Veronica" with a smiley face at the end.

I was overjoyed until I saw that he misspelled my name. "This is the worst day ever!" I shouted, throwing my phone back at Maddie. She caught it in surprise.

"Chad finally texted you, and you're mad about it?" Maddie says. "I can't believe this!"

"He spelled my name wrong," I say, trying not to cry. "How can he like me if he doesn't even know how to spell my name right?"

"He's the quarterback of the football team, I'm sure he's just busy," Maddie says reasonably.

"Whatever," I respond, depressed.

We go back to the living room to join the party. The rest of my presents passed by in a blur. I couldn't get the image of those creepy violet and pale cheeks out of my head, and I was also really sad that Chad hadn't remembered my name right. I'd had a huge crush on him since freshman year, but he didn't seem to ever notice me!

When the party was over, I waved goodbye to all my guests and went up to my room to cry. I wished for my mom again. I bet that she would know what to do in this situation!

The locket glowed warmly against my chest. I held it in my hand, comforted. It reminded me of the mother I had lost.

---

Hello friendlies! Thanks for reading. Why don't you go ahead and vote/comment? We double dog dare you!!! See you in the next chapter... Love you guys! XD
-Becca and Emily