Bella walked aimlessly around the lagoon, waiting for the girls to come back. She was dying to explore the cave behind the waterfall, and the rest of the island. The more they knew about this place, the better.
After about five minutes Bella grew impatient. She decided to explore, but stay in the lagoon region. The girls could yell for her when they got back.
She climbed up the rock near the waterfall, glad she had worn tennis shoes.
The waterfall was fed by a small stream. Bella wondered where it came from—it must have a freshwater source. Maybe if she followed the stream, she would find out. Along the way she looked for a land entrance into the cave. She hoped to bypass the waterfall completely. Not even Cleo could control that much water long enough for Bella to slip inside the cave.
The sun was nearly set when Bella found it—a bottomless freshwater spring that fed the stream. The pool was small, circular, and crystal-clear. It was hard to see, but Bella suspected the sides of the pool were covered in blue crystals. This truly was a crystal island.
Bella looked closer and took a step forward. The rocks were slippery, and one started to give way…
Bella woke up with a massive headache. She didn’t know what time it was, and more importantly, she didn’t know where she was.
She was laying on sand and rock, in some sort of cave. Above her, she could see a few stars. Did she just find the land entrance to the cave?
Forgetting her headache instantly, Bella leapt to her feet in excitement. She didn’t know why, but this cave attracted her. There was something important about it.
In the dim starlight, she could see that the walls were glittering. The entire cave was made of crystal. She touched the jagged blue surface in awe.
Now Bella had a new problem. Surely the other girls had started to look for her. She had found her way into the cave, but now she needed to find the way out.
Bella noticed that the rocks and sand beneath her were damp. It wouldn’t penetrate through her shoes, but she assumed this way led to the waterfall. Once she found the waterfall, she could dive through it and get to the lagoon.
Sure enough, after a few minutes of walking she found the waterfall. There were puddles to avoid, but those weren’t what made her stop in her tracks. Bella heard voices, and they weren’t Cleo, Emma, and Rikki.
“This is beautiful.” She heard Sophie Benjamin say. Sophie?! What was she doing here, of all places?
“Just wait for the moon to rise all the way. Then it will be even prettier.”
Bella recognized that voice, too. It was Charlotte, the girl Cleo, Emma and Rikki were so worried about. She slowly approached the waterfall so she could hear better.
“You promised me you were going to explain things.” Sophie reminded Charlotte, sounding a mixture of amused and snotty.
“You’re right, I will. It’s a long story and we don’t have much time, but I’ll explain as much as I can.” Charlotte said. “I moved to your old town in my year eleven. I met Cleo, Rikki, and a girl named Emma that you don’t know yet. We didn’t get along well.”
“I can see why, those girls are total bitches.” Sophie said. “And their new friend, too. Have you met Bella?”
“Yes, she actually seems nicer than the others, though.” Charlotte replied, annoyed at being interrupted. “Anyway, I started dating Lewis so the girls hated me even more. Lewis wanted them to include me, but they never would. Cleo was very jealous of me.”
Bella found herself intrigued by Charlotte’s side of the story. She had heard about Charlotte from Cleo and Rikki, and it was interesting to hear how Charlotte felt about them.
“One night Lewis, Cleo, Rikki, Emma, and Cleo’s family were all camping on Mako Island with me.”
“Mako…” Sophie said softly. Bella could see Charlotte smile through the waterfall.
“Yes. I’m assuming you know about the cave underneath the volcano?” Sophie nodded. “I think that cave is similar to this lake.”
“It’s more of a pond than a lake.” Sophie pointed out. “And it’s definitely similar—see those blue rocks? There used to be lots of them in the Mako cave.”
Charlotte and Sophie were quiet for a minute. Bella’s mind was racing.
“Interesting…” Charlotte commented. “Well, on that camping trip I found the cave. The girls called it the “moon pool”, because the moon passes right over the cone of the volcano. On a full moon, it gives you powers. Powers that you couldn’t even imagine.”
Sophie looked fascinated, her eyes glowing just like Charlotte’s. They were both power-hungry.
“I had more power than them.” Charlotte continued bitterly. “I wanted to be friends but they kept excluding me. They even tried to get rid of my powers. There was a very special full moon, where it passed over the moon pool and could take away the powers it gave. The girls—and Lewis—lured me to the cave and pushed me in.”
Now Bella was confused. Charlotte couldn’t possibly be telling the truth—Cleo and Rikki had said that it was the other way around, that Charlotte tried to get rid of their powers, and that the plan had backfired on her.
“What does that have to do with me? Why are we out here?” Sophie asked. Bella was dying to know the answers, too.
“If the moon pool and this pond are similar, then I think it can give us powers, too. I can get mine back. Do you want the power, Sophie?” Charlotte asked in an enticing voice.
Bella saw Sophie nod slowly as the moon rose higher. The center of the lagoon started to bubble. Charlotte gasped.
“Now! Get in!” She grabbed Sophie’s hand, and the two red heads approached the bubbles.
Bella knew she had to act fast. She dove through the waterfall, but hit the rocks on the other side. It was useless now. Sophie and Charlotte were already in the center. They looked momentarily surprised to see Bella appear from the waterfall. But they quickly forgot about her, as the golden bubbles rose up to the moon.
