The Heart of the Sphinx

Chapter 1

"Jaxon!" a voice called my name. "Jaxon!" it went again. I woke up to my Aunt Meradith shaking me. She had small streaks of grey in her auburn hair. Her brown eyes staring down at me as she ripped the blanket off my body. "Elouise is here." She smiled at me. "Already?" I groaned still laying down on my bed. "Um yes? already." She put her hands on her hips.

"Still in bed, I see?" My uncle said from the doorway. He had brown hair with a short beard. "I'm getting up," I told them. "We'll be downstairs." My aunt shut my bedroom door. Most mornings were like this. They would waltz in my room and wake me up with annoying antics.

I ran my hands down my face. I turned to a picture of my parents. I had my mother's green eyes and my dad's dark brown hair. I was told they were in a car accident when I was three. I had very vague memories of them, all I know is that they traveled a lot. I decided that I should get up. I put on a dark blue hoodie, a jean jacket and some jeans and headed downstairs.

I found my Uncle Chris sitting at the table reading a book, while my aunt drank her "special tea". She says it gives ideas for her crazy art hobby. She's always making strange sculptures and objects. I looked at a bird-like figure on the kitchen counter. It had one eye and was staring at me wherever I moved. It always gave me the creeps. My uncle and I would always try to get rid of it, but she says it's her favorite.

"It lives." My uncle said, setting his book down. "Morning." I sat down. He smiled at me. "Hey, Jax," Elouise said. A short kid, with thick-rimmed glasses. She had long, auburn hair. She's been my best friend since elementary. She was seated on the island in the kitchen. This was kinda like her home away from home. My aunt and uncle would treat her like she was their own. "You ready?" She asked. she and i  would always walk to school, it was one of our little things. "Yep." I gave her a smile. "Have a great day at school, you guys." My aunt kissed my forehead. "See ya later!" my uncle called out as we left out the door.

Fall was beginning here in New Jersey. The leaves were red and yellow, with a tint of brown. The sky, a light blue with pieces of clouds showing through. They showed little pictures, like an airplane and a lollipop. The air gave a cold breeze, birds chirped as the sun shone brightly. The wind blew my hair lightly. Cars passed by as we walked across the street. Honk honk went a car. It had stopped in front of me, the driver looking angry. "Come on, i got places to be!" he yelled with what sounded like a New York accent. We quickly moved out of the way. "Geez, rude much?" she said as we walked into the front gates of the school. School. a place where I am literally invisible. One time a teacher forgot who I was and I was in her class for eight months. We entered the building and headed straight to my locker. It was freshman year. My first year of high school.

"Hey, Carter!" Harrison Gomez yelled my name. He was one of the senior football players. He had short sandy blonde hair and freckles. "Hey, Harrison." I gave him a small wave. "You trying out for football?" he smiled at me. I was not a sporty person. but he was only asking me because on my first day of school I had caught a football that was spiraling towards me. It was a lucky catch. "Um no, I don't think so." I said.

"Why not, you scared you'll get pummeled?" Boston Viznor crossed his arms with a smirk on his face. A short, chubby kid with dark hair. My longtime bully. It's like he has nothing better to do than constantly mock me or steal my lunch. "Sure," I said flatly. "Hi, jaxon's girlfriend." Boston mocked I just rolled my eyes. "For the last time, she's not my girlfriend!" Is it wrong to want to choke someone? Probably. Man, I hate that kid.

"Yeah, sure." He rolled his eyes. "Well if you do decide to come, bring your A-game." Harrison patted my shoulder. I gave him a small smile. "Yeah, Jaxon bring your A-game." Boston mocked once again, sticking his tongue out.

"Don't let him get to you." Eloise put a hand on my shoulder. The bell rang and students began finding their way to classrooms. I shut my locker, heading to my least favorite class, science. Sure lots of people like science. You can do cool experiments and whatnot. But I always have bad luck. One time I started a fire and got suspended for a week in middle school. I took my seat next to eloise. She had her notebook and pencil ready to take notes. She always loved taking notes. She gave me a smile, I smiled back. The teacher came into the classroom meaning class was beginning. "Hello, class." Mr. Houglum welcomed us. He was fairly tall. He was fresh out of college and all the girls wanted him. If you ask me, I think it's weird but girls are strange.

I zoned out as usual. Ignoring all the sounds. Suddenly a loud noise rang in my ears. It was the fire alarm. We all stood up to follow the fire drill conduct. "Fire! There's like an actual fire!" a cheerleader yelled pushing her way through frantic students as they ran outside. Through everyone's panic, I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. You shouldn't usually go back inside a burning building, but I did. Out of curiosity, obviously. "Jax! What are you doing!?" Eloise called. "I forgot something!" I yelled back.