Ember swings the door to her room open. I shudder as I stare inside her room. Piles of clothes lie in a crumpled heap on the floor. The bed is unmade, and on it is the biggest fire hazard I have ever seen: a lighter, and a box of matches. Her desk is littered with wool, thread, needles, and unfinished clothes and patterns. The board hanging on the wall is scattered with notes and clothing designs. A pile of mannequin parts lie around, untouched. In short, her room is a complete and total mess.130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDqEEQ0bRw1
“Whoa,” I say. “It looks like a hurricane hit here.”130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz4YwgcgN44
Savannah laughs, a sweet melody. “It often does. She says it’s a ‘system’.”130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4gRv5S0d2T
“An effective system, if I do say so myself. And I do.”130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡierYaHKKkT
I pick my way through the mess, carefully shifting the lighter and sitting at the foot of Ember’s bed.130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGa0FQOX8Io
“So? What are we talking about?” I ask.130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxv3MB4I7Cm
“You’re very eager to hear this, huh?” Ember says.130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqSLYuEEEyw
Savannah facepalms. “What did I tell you about beating around the bush? We want to talk about what happened this morning. You said your day was a disaster, you were thinking about it, and then it started to rain. Right?” I nod. “Well, this morning, I woke up in a really good mood, right? And then a tree appeared out of nowhere. As in, it grew from my bedposts in a matter of seconds.”130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLWI3hqFA3x
“And this morning, there was an incident with my eggs,” Ember says sadly. “I was just trying to have breakfast. Liam was his usual annoying self, and I got angry. The next thing I know - whoosh! Fire!” She mimes a mini explosion of sorts and makes a fist with one hand. “Then my eggs were gone. Poof.” She releases the fist.130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBWQV1PqAJF
Savannah smiles. “She’s very expressive.”130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn1rV6EEduT
From what I know, it’s Savannah and Ember’s sixteenth birthday, and it also happens to be mine. This morning, we each had different incidents. I was in a bad mood, and it rained. Savannah was in a good mood, and a tree sprouted and grew from her bedposts within seconds. And Ember was miffed, then her eggs… Um. Whoosh. Fire. Poof. I wonder…130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNhzQaoPXwF
“Do you know what time this happened? The tree and the, um, eggs?” I ask.130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs4z2RvytKO
“Around eight thirty,” Savannah and Ember chorus.130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrhcZepRrh8
“So the rain, the tree, the eggs. They all happened at the exact same time, on the exact same day,” I murmur. “Well, even so, it doesn’t mean we have anything to do with each other. Rain, no matter when it falls, is just rain. Maybe a seed fell near your bedposts.” I turn to Ember. “And maybe the fire was too… fiery.” 130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcHAsz3mgok
Ember snorts as I say this, but Savannah just shakes her head. “It’s like I always say. Once is chance. Twice is a coincidence. And three times?” She looks at Ember and I. “That’s a pattern. There’s something going on here, something supernatural. For whatever reason, the three of us are involved. It’s our job to get to the bottom of this.”130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUR6ITd7IyB
Someone starts to clap. At first, I think it’s Ember, but I turn to the door, where it’s coming from. A boy leans against the door, with the same fiery aura as Ember. His hair, though as flaming as Ember’s, is a duller red, almost brown, but not quite. His eyes, unlike Ember’s, are like pools of molten gold, priceless and coveted by all. His shirt is orange, coupled with a black hoodie, and he’s wearing fingerless gloves, making him seem edgy. Orange headphones hand around his neck, and his humming suggests he used them recently.130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBwBKhkOBMD
“Now that, Van,” he says, walking towards us. “Is why I always call you a poet. No, a bard.” He raises his hand dramatically and continues in a dramatic voice. “Nay, the greatest bard of them all, worthy of the best lyre money and adoration can buy!”130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrvWL32tnrz
Savannah’s cheeks turn red as she says, “Oh, stop it, you’re making me blush.”130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYojmoCZYnF
“Ugh,” Ember says, scrunching her nose.130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxXRYnCflVd
“So, Em. Ready to admit I’m right, hermanita?”130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLFOZHjcgTJ
I’m no Spanish expert, but it makes sense that this boy is Ember’s brother. Older, though? We’ll see, I suppose.130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNwvJuwAi33
“Never, hermano mio.” She turns away from the boy.130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡckYJIcaEf2
The boy nods at me. “Quién es ella?”130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYC7ju0RQ25
“Um, me llamo Cordelia?” I try.130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlbekFlQVxj
The boy laughs. “I like her. Me llamo Liam.”
“So, what is all this about?” I ask, slipping comfortably back to English.130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwvgbgLuh27
Liam recites, “Three forces elemental thou must seek,
The first the one from the creek.
Her powers still asleep,
She must return to the deep,
There great challenges she must defeat,
Then her powers shall be complete.130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbLruSvy7IG
The second force is one with the earth,
She must also prove her worth.
Sniff out the traitor in her midst,
And she and earth will coexist.130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeRc65rg9kQ
The third and last is of the fire,
The situation is becoming dire.
The traitor’s claims she must dismiss,
Or risk everything tumbling into the abyss.130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIKCaJPii41
The fate of the realms elementals is at stake,
The balance must not break.
The final battle can be won,
If the girls’ challenges are overcome.”130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0goWdrdz9C
Ember rolls her eyes, and Savannah scoffs. They’ve clearly heard this many times before. I, on the other hand, am just confused. “Sorry, what?”130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpSMKPvzhBn
Liam doesn’t answer, his stare blank. Ember starts to mutter in Spanish as she walks over to him and snaps her fingers under his nose. He jolts back to the present. “Huh? Oh, prophecy. Duh. Em here is ‘of the fire’, Van is ‘one with the earth’, which makes you, Cordelia, ‘the one from the creek’.”130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡopx2fdz9O9
This is all so ridiculous. Elemental forces? Really? This is based off of three coincidences that probably have nothing to do with each other. I clap slowly. “Wow. Wow. That was great. But… you called me over to show me your play? You could have just told me so.”130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoonFbH46b9
All three of them stare at me, mouths hanging open. Finally, Ember speaks. “Ay, ay, ay, who knew she was such a dipshit?”130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwTRlwc7a9s
“Emmy!” Savannah snaps.130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkYsyT8WC2a
“What?”130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4iwRcR39K9
“This is real, Cordelia,” Liam says, leaning against Ember’s desk.130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTaIiEImP2s
I scoff. “Yeah, okay,” I say, standing. “Call me when you decide you want to be serious.”130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCoOJ3b30i4
When I get to the door, Liam calls after me, “Call me when you decide you want to listen.”130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9vcRhkA3RK
And I walk out the door, feeling like I’ve made a big mistake.130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkEPH493KFa
and then Add to home screen.