Addendum:

Chapter 1: A Secret to Discover

The classroom was buzzing with the faint sounds of pages flipping, backpacks zipping, and a select few pens scribbling haphazard notes about their latest English assignment that was announced mere minutes before the bell was to ring signaling the end of the day. Ro had mentally checked out 40 minutes earlier when Mrs. Medlin started in on literary devices, she was pulled out of her daze when the bell rang and she instinctively grabbed her backpack and headed out the door with calls to not procrastinate  following her down the hallway. Ro was jostled down the hallway and gently pushed along silently until a hand shot out in front of her face. She blinked and looked around startled, ready to give someone a piece of her mind when she saw her seat mate Raelynn. "Sorry about that Ro, I've been trying to get your attention for a few minutes now, you seem a bit out of it, is everything okay?"

"I'm fine, I've been staying up studying so I'm just a bit tired, finals are coming up and I have to do well"

"Yeah, at least this assignment in English will take some of the heat off of the final, and we have 6 weeks to get it done, that should make life a little bit easier"

Ro stifled a yawn " You really think so? For me it adds extra stress."

"I don't see how, you have a natural gift for this sort of thing, it literally runs in your blood." Raelynn of course was going to bring up her family legacy, her mom was an accomplished writer and Ro had been lucky enough to share in her natural ability although she didn't think she was anywhere near her mothers level of skill.  "What story are you going to pick anyway? Does your mom have any unfinished works she'd let you commandeer?"

Ro shot her friend a sideways glance, "commandeer? Really?"

"What?! You're the one who suggested I expand my vocabulary, at least I'm actually using my gift you got me for Christmas."  Ro looked away guiltily. It was true, Raelynn had gifted her a gorgeous burgundy leather bound journal meant to be the medium for the best selling novel Ro was destined to write. She had truly loved the gift and because she loved it so much she couldn't bear to mar the pages with her chicken scratch. Rae had made her promise that she would fill the pages with tales of swashbuckling pirates, lost treasures, and swooning damsels and she hadn't even made a mark, meanwhile Rae got plenty of use out of her word of the day calendar.

Ro shook her head, "no, I'm not going to borrow one of my moms unfinished novels, I don't want to ride on her coat tails."  She would never admit it out loud but truthfully, she was terrified she just wouldn't be able to live up to her mothers name.
Rae nodded in understanding, she knew what it was like to have big shoes to fill, she was following in the footsteps of her parents, a doctor and a journalist who were both in the top of their fields with several publications under their names. "Well then maybe I could? I don't have a creative bone in my body so whatever I do is going to be bad anyway, your moms name might just mean my saving grace and a passing grade. Besides, if you're not gonna use your moms work what are you going to do?"

Ro opened her mouth to respond and quickly snapped it shut again, she had plenty of stories she had started and then quickly discarded from as early as 5th grade, and while that certainly would've been easier, the assignment was clear. " find a story that hasn't been completed, pick a pivotal plot point and change the course of the story while maintaining the original lesson, you are free to add as much to it as you wish but you must follow the characteristics of the pre-existing story." The assignment was created to help us with literary analysis while  challenging us creatively. "The goal is to use your imagination to manipulate the story to fit your narrative." No doubt this was what some believed to be a unobtainable goal but Mrs. Medlin was determined to make true writers out of us yet.
"Truthfully, I don't know, I think we have some old journals in the attic from a I don't know how many times-great grandma, she used to write short stories, maybe I'll use one of those?" 
"That's as good of a place to start as any, do you want me to come over and help you look through them?" At this point they had reached the parking lot.
"Maybe tomorrow, If I remember correctly, mom said we have several bookshelf's full so I can choose a few and you can help me narrow it down tomorrow?"
"Sounds good, see you tomorrow Ro!" And with that They parted ways and went home for the night.