Gemstones

Nick

Alex's mother smiles at me, her teeth perfectly white and straight. "Nice to meet you Amethyst, sorry for the shouting. Alex has a bad habit of bringing girls into his room and-"

"Thanks mom, bye mom, see you later mom!" Alex shouts, cutting her off. He grabs my hand and drags me the rest of the way up the stairs and into a red room. Clothes are scattered all over the place, things from under the bed all over the floor.

"Whoa this is a mess" I say, kicking a pair of boxers out of my way.

"Sorry. I haven't had time to clean up lately" Alex says, and I can see his cheeks turn a little pink. I'm one to talk, my room is a complete mess too. Suddenly, two dogs run into the room, tackling Alex to the floor. One is black, it's ears standing straight up in the air, and the other one is tan/brown and it's huge. "GET OFF!" Alex manages to shout between all the licking, and I let out a giggle. Suddenly, the dogs turn to look at me, their slobbery tongues hanging out of their mouths.

"Uh oh" I say, and the dogs run at me. "NO DON'T!" I shout, and a spark of my magic releases itself. The dogs sit down, looking at me happily. Alex gapes at me, and I think that he's seen my magic.

"Wow. They never listen to anyone, and yet they manage to listen to you" I let out a breath I didn't realise I was holding.

"This weeks speech topic?" I ask, and Alex thinks for a moment.

"Teenage pregnancy" He announces, rubbing his stomach. I burst out laughing, and he grabs his computer as we sit on his bed.

Two hours later, Alex's mom comes up the stairs with food. "Here you go, get anything done?"

"Lots" Alex answers his mom, typing furiously on his computer.

"Amethyst, your brother called. He wants to know if you're coming home for dinner" I gasp, and jump up.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Ross, I have to go. Thanks for letting me over, See you later Alex!" I shout, slipping on my boots and grabbing my coat. I run down the stairs, and out into the night. I run as hard and fast as I can, headed back home. Topaz told me if he ever called me and asked if I was coming home for dinner, something bad has happened and I needed to return home immediately.

...

I run into my house, freezing in the darkness. It's quiet, so I reach over, and turn on the light. I gasp. Everything in the room is destroyed, paintings off the walls, the couch ripped to shreds. A note is on the table, signed by Topaz.

Something happened, I'll give details later. Brought R.Q. to the emergency room. Be home soon, Topaz.

I cover my mouth, tears running down my face. Poor R.Q. who had done this to her? Suddenly, there's a pounding on the front door. "Who is it?" I shout, wiping my tears away and clearing my throat.

"It's me" Alex says from the other side of the door. I open the door a crack. "What are you doing here?"

"First, you left this at my house," he holds up my lavender backpack, "And second, are you okay? You sort of ran out of my house as fast as you could"

"I'm fine, you can go home now. Thanks for bringing my backpack, bye!" I say, slamming the door.

"Amethyst, I'm still holding your backpack" I sigh, opening the door wide enough for my arm to fit through. Alex places my backpack in my hand, and I pull it inside. "Bye, Amethyst" Alex says, as I close the door behind me.

...

At school the next day, I leave alone. Topaz hadn;t returned last night, so I took my time getting ready. I got to school an hour late, but I'm not ashamed. Walking into art class, I stand at my easel without any inspiration. "Amethyst?" I turn my head to look at Alex, who is looking at me.