Imagination 1: Into the Necklace

Chapter 1: Isabella Brown

 I woke up with a start, in a cold sweat while breathing hard. My nightmare had chilled me to my bones, making me terrified of the possibility that it might come true.

What if it did?

I couldn't take the chance. I rolled out of bed and walked over to my dresser. I put on my sky-blue glasses and the half-seashell necklace that I had found years ago in an old shop that was nearly closed. I had known the woman who worked there for years, Mrs. Amaria. She was an old friend of mine, and when I had heard that her shop was going to close, I had rushed to " Mrs. Amaria's Magical Treasures" to see if it was true. It was, but she gave me two necklaces for free, because we knew each other so well.

They were two halves of a spiral seashell, broken into two over time. They twined together, and they made a beautiful shape when they did. One was transparent and the other was so dark that you could barely see any light shine through, but when they were put together they split the light into the colors of the rainbow, making a beautiful masterpiece. The light piece made the dark piece let light through, and the dark kept the light from shining too brightly.

I had kept one half, the lighter half, for myself, while giving the darker half to my best friend Vanessa. She had wanted the darker half, because she thought that it had looked cool. That was fine, because I had wanted the lighter half anyways. Things worked out between us like that a lot.

I began walking down the hall, making sure to not make too much noise and wake up my younger brother, Aiden. He was only five years old, and he needed his sleep. I quietly tiptoed past his door, and walked down the stairs. I could hear my parents talking in the kitchen.

"Gregory, you have got to see this," my mother said. "We could take the whole family and move to California for only eight thousand dollars! It would only take a few weeks, and we could be gone by December!"

"Elizabeth," my father sighed. "You need to calm down. There is no way that we can move, Isabella and Aiden are in the middle of their school year. If we leave now, then they will be behind and left out. Besides, will you please stop trying to get us to move?"

Mom had been trying to get us to move for months. Ever since Vanessa's family moved in next door, she had been wanting to leave to California, or Idaho, or Australia, you name it. It really just depended on whatever crazy fad came over her that day. She claimed that their dog, Lola, gave her severe allergic reactions, but I didn't believe her. There were many dogs in the neighborhood, so why was she only reacting to Vae's german shepherd?

Dad was on my side. He agreed that the the Johnsons were very nice. He was a good friend of Vanessa's father, and they were both interested in cars. They were even talking about starting a company: "Johnson and Brown Auto Repair."

"Come on, Greg," Mom pleaded. "You have to be with me on this. Isabella wants to stay, Aiden wants to stay, I need some support."

"I can't support you if you're not being truthful, especially about the dog, " he replied. "We both know that's not what you're worried about."

What? I thought. "Um, good morning, Mom and Dad."

"Oh, good morning, sweetie. How did you sleep?" My mother asked, quickly acting as if she hadn't been talking about moving again. She knew that I didn't like to hear about it, and so she never mentioned it. I knew, though. I knew.

"Pretty well," I replied vaguely as I sat down at the table. If I was right about her not wanting to move because of Lola, then why did she?

"We have pancakes and eggs for breakfast today," Dad told me. "Anyway, you slept in. You're going to need to hurry in order to catch the bus."

Theories about my mother secretly being an FBI agent vanished from my mind as I glanced at the clock. "It's six forty! I must have forgotten to set my alarm last night!" I choked down my breakfast and burst from the table. I got ready faster than I ever had before, while making sure to walk quietly whenever I passed Aiden's door. He was adorable, sure, but when he didn't get enough sleep he was really cranky.

As I pulled my hair back into a ponytail, I thought about what my father had said. We both know that that's not what you're worried about. I decided that I had to tell Vanessa about it. She had always helped me through the worst problems.

For example, a few years ago, some kid had decided that I was a great bullying target. He had slipped mean notes into my locker, saying things like, "You shouldn't be here." "We don't need you." "You don't deserve the rest of us."

It had made me really sad. I wanted to stand up to him, but I was too scared. The stress from it had made me nearly crack, so I eventually talked to Vanessa about it. I didn't tell her who it was, but of course she figured it out. One day at lunch, she was later then she usually was to our table. I had heard from somebody in my math class that she had seen Vae having a long talk with the kid who was bullying me.

I didn't get any more notes after that.

"Hurry!" Mom called. "The bus is here!"

I rushed down the stairs, my mind so preoccupied that I had accidently tripped over one of Aiden's toys on the floor. I nearly face planted, but my mother caught me and brought me into a hug. I hugged her back, even though I was still mad about the "move away because of the Johnsons" deal.

"Anything I do is for you," she whispered into my ear.

I nodded and rushed out the door. As I tore down the sidewalk, I glimpsed Vanessa getting into the bus. "Vae, wait up!" I called.

She looked back at me. Her dark-colored seashell necklace hung around her neck as usual. When I had given it to her, we had both promised to wear it every day. So far, neither of us had broken that promise.

"Hey, Iz," she replied. Her long black hair was hanging loose as usual, and her green eyes were darting around as always. I didn't know why they did that, but it was like she was looking at everything at once.

She wore jeans and a baggy t-shirt, and I wasn't surprised. This was her normal attire, with a different shade of blue jeans and a different color t-shirt every day. Today's outfit consisted of midnight blue jeans, with a pale blue shirt. She was definitely a tomboy, but she did have a great sense of fashion.

I followed her to the back of the bus, where we usually sat. As soon as we had sat down, I quietly informed her about everything that had happened. She would likely be stunned, sure, but I would help her figure it out, and she would help me.

After a moment of silence, she finally said, "So it's official. Your mom really doesn't like me."

"I'm sure that that isn't true," I replied. "I'll bet that maybe, oh, I don't know, somebody she was close to used to live there and she doesn't want someone else to?"

The end of my comment went up, like a question. Vae and I both sighed. It was a weak shot, and we knew it.