𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐀𝐋 ᵃᵗˡᵃ

Chapter One: Is My Ring Supposed to Glow?

   Hi, there. My name's Annabeth. But you can call me Beth. Let's get on with the story, shall we?

   It was a mildly cool December morning. Puffy white clouds danced across a bright blue sky. Birds sang, their voices blending with the rustle of leaves from the forest behind our house. All in all, a beautiful Missouri day.

   Of course, I couldn't enjoy it. I was stuck in bed with a terrible headache. And when I say terrible, I mean terrible.

   As I gazed at my ceiling, there was a knock on my door. It was soft, but to me, it was like someone was banging on my skull with a hammer. "Come in," I croaked. My mom slipped into the room.

   "Hey, sweetheart. I got the pills Dr. Wressler prescribed. I need you to take one, okay?" She sat on the edge of my bed. I gave a tiny nod. Mom helped me sit up, then handed me a glass of water and a small white pill. Dr. Wressler had told me that they would help with the pain, that they would keep the headaches at bay, as long as I took one every few days.

   Well, at least I won't have to worry about headaches and medicine next year, I thought grimly.

   After I had taken the medicine and Mom had left the room, I slid back under my navy blue covers, trying to go to sleep. When I completely failed at that, I tried distracting myself by looking around the room. I had learned that distraction helped.

   My room was blue. The walls, my covers, the curtains. All blue. There was a black piano in the corner, along with several music books. I loved to play. I also loved to read. I had a giant bookcase along the right wall, full of murder mysteries and fantasies and a whole bunch of other genres. Against the left wall stood my desk, for homework. Well, technically it was for homework, but I mainly used it for doodling. Standing on top of the desk were a few pictures. They were of me and my friends. One of them was of us bungee jumping. Another was of us scuba diving.

   I took a sip of water, then tried to go to sleep again. I soon sank into a deep slumber.

   When I woke up, I could immediately tell that the medicine worked. There was no pain as I sat up and stretched. I looked at the clock. It was 3:35 in the afternoon.

   Huh. I slept for four hours. I heard a chime. I picked up my phone and saw that there was a brand new message from my best friend, Amy River.

AR: U up for movie night w/t me & Jacob?

   I quickly texted my answer.

BQ: Yah, meet u there @ 7.

   Amy wasted no time in replying.

AR: Cool. PB or ATLA?

   I pondered this for a moment. Whenever Amy, Jacob, and I had movie night, we voted on what to watch: The Princess Bride or Avatar: The Last Airbender. We were in season two of the show, which was my favorite season because that's where Toph comes in.

BQ: ATLA.

AR: Welp, Jacob just sided w/t u, so I guess we're watching that. See u @ treehouse.

   I quickly changed into my regular Saturday getup: a white T-shirt, blue jeans, and a navy blue pullover. I looked in the mirror. As usual, my shoulder length blonde hair was sticking out every which way. I have a horrible bed head.

   Moaning, I sat down and proceeded to spend five arduous minutes brushing the tangles out of my hair.

   When I deemed my appearance acceptable, I trotted out of my room and into the kitchen. I was starving.