The United Wizarding States of America

Charlize Micole splashed around in the beach with Jaylene Sanders on the hot summer day as the sun beamed down on them. Together, the two girls were throwing mud balls at Josh and Jared to mock them for being rejected by some bikini girls on the beach. Eventually, the boys had a light-bulb moment and swam further out into the ocean than the girls would have dared. The girls thought better of it and swam back to shore. Charlize's parents were nearby lying under some umbrellas, making sure none of the kids drown.

Charlize and Jaylene sat panting on the burning sand then crawled over to sit in some of the shallow water. Not even a minute passed before Jaylene suggested they build a sand castle, saying, "We're not too old to do that right?" Indeed they weren't. Charlize was barely a teenager at the age of 13, and Jaylene, being a year older, was only 14. She agreed and followed Jaylene to gather some sticks and rocks for their project.

The beach they were vacationing at was in Santa Monica, California, an hour south of Los Angeles. Charlize and Jaylene both resided in Burbank, only a block away from each other. Despite the fact that Charlize was home schooled, she and Jaylene always found time to spend with each other. The best word to describe the best friends is loyal. Even though Jaylene is a year older and attends a local public high school with 800 other students, Charlize is still her number one friend. They were practically sisters.

Charlize did have some siblings, however. Josh and Jared were her two older brothers. Josh was the eldest sibling who was 20 years old, and Jared was the middle child at 18. Their relationship with Charlize was close when in the mood to be, but other times so distant that they were almost continents across the Atlantic Ocean. They were all still family, though, and always loved and cared for each other very much.

Jaylene was also raised with only brothers. Mike was 17, Wayne was 15, and Sean 11. Her having 3, she liked to even out her time with some girls her own age. Or at least Charlize. Jaylene too loved her family, but was also the type who loved her close friends. She and Charlize would talk on the phone in the evenings when they weren't at one another's houses.

During their search for castle decorations, Charlize was unexpectedly struck in the head with a volleyball. She tried to grab onto Jaylene before she fell, but had already lost balance. Jaylene knew that whoever was the verdict was in serious trouble. "WHO THREW THAT STUPID BALL?! I'm gonna beat the crap out of whoever did that!" Charlize said with anger. Jaylene offered her hand for support and helped her up off the sand. Charlize clung to her shoulder to keep from falling over again, lightheaded as she was.

"Ooohhhh someone's in trouble," Jaylene warned, looking for the criminal. "Can I watch you go all ninja on them?" she asked with encouragement and excitement.

"Oh my gosh, I am so sorry!" called a British voice. The girls looked over to see a cute, blonde boy with blue swim trunks jogging over to them. Jaylene then lightly elbowed Charlize in the arm and gave her a look that said, 'Look a cute boy for you! Don't embarrass yourself.'

"Are you alright?! I swear I didn't mean to do that!" he said. As he came closer, you could see that he was about 15 or 16 years old. Charlize was dumbfounded. She was expecting it to be her brothers, whom she could easily fight without getting in trouble or feeling the slightest pang of guilt. 'Aw man! I can't beat up a cute, British boy!' she thought to herself. Before she could say anything in reply, Jaylene decided to butt-in for her.

"She's a black belt, ya know. And can easily smash you to a pulp," Jaylene teased threateningly. Charlize gave her an evil look which was returned with a smirk.

"Oh really? Well I happen to be a second degree black belt myself," the boy answered proudly.

"Oh. Yeah. Cool. Here's your volleyball," she said and gave him the ball back. She wanted a boyfriend, not a battle friend. Charlize quickly changed the subject with, "So, are you from around here?" Jaylene was impressed that she was able to ask that without stuttering or forgetting how to speak.