Waterfall
an excerpt

“Happy birthday!” Zack yelled from the door of my room.

“Are you excited that you are finally another year older?”

“Not really, one year older, one year closer to getting wrinkly and old.”

I pulled the covers to my chin, grunted and turned to the side.

“Are you not going to open the present I got you?” My younger brother asked me.

“It is six ‘o’ clock!”

His eyes started watering, as if he was about to explode.

“Okay,” I said shaking the messily wrapped silver package in my hands. I slowly unwrapped the chocolates that I just received.

Zack stood by my bed, waiting for a reaction from me.

“Wow! “I” said, “these must’ve cost a fortune!” I said that even though I knew that it only cost 15 dollars.

I gave him a hug before sending him out of my room, for another hour of sleep before school.

. . .

“Hey Sakura!” My best friend called from the school gate.

She ran up and when she finally met me, she dropped, and unzipped her bag on the floor, taking out a little box.

“Happy birthday. I made the present myself.”

I was so happy; Mandy is so good at craft and usually gives the best presents. I opened the box, to reveal a charm bracelet, with one of the charms a smiling mushroom, just like the one I like to draw.

“Thankyou so much!” I told her, wrapping the bracelet around my arm.

We walked into the classroom together, and like everyday, the class was throwing paper planes around the room because our teacher, Ms. Maybelle had not arrived yet. The blackboard was full of little messages surrounding my name, and it was also filled with little symbols.

Mandy and I took our seats, and read out all that was written on the blackboard.

“Good morning class,” Ms. Maybelle said to us. When we realised it was her we all stood up and answered in unison “Good Morning Ms. Maybelle.”

“I am sorry I am late, my computer froze with all of your reports that I had to print, and while I was racing to my car, my high heel snapped, so I had to change shoes, so I am not having a very good day. Anyway, as you all know, today is a very special day. Not only because it is Sakura’s birthday, which, by the way is very special, we are going to be joined by a new student. I would really appreciate if all of you respected her, because she is from England, and she is still adjusting to being here.

As if on queue a Girl walked in. I automatically could tell that she was not like us. She had black twists in her short, blonde hair. She wore arm warmers, on her left arm black, and on her right arm rainbow. Her nails were painted so perfectly, but it was a bit odd that they were all different shades of the rainbow. She wore short shorts with black and white leggings and green leg warmers, stretching on the top of her white, decorated converse shoes. On her shoulder she carried a brown side bag, with badges all over it, little rainbows, small skulls, flowers, and mushrooms. Her face was gorgeous. She had a perfect flaw free face, with soft pink lips; her eyes were green-blue and cocooned in long black eyelashes. Her eyebrows were symmetrical, and suited her face perfectly, after clearing her throat, she introduced herself politely.

“Hello, My name is Anna Sophia, but I would much rather you call me Sophie, I am from England, and we moved here because my parents’ publishers offered them a permanent job here, they are writers. I am twelve today, and my interests are drawing, inventing, and using my imaginations to come up with characters and stories. I am looking forward to getting to know you all.” She finally finished. I could not reason why she was so calm, as if we were all old friends, and how it would feel getting first impressions like that. She listened to where the teacher told her to sit and walked to the table behind me, she leaned forward.

“I heard it was your birthday too today, happy birthday.”

“Thanks, you too.” I felt dumb, talking in my American way, while she talked perfectly, without any abbreviations.

. . .

At lunch, while Mandy was ordering her lunch from the canteen, I noticed Sophie sitting on a bench by herself; I walked over with my tray and sat next to her beautiful wooden carved lunch box. I glanced at it twice; it was carved with so much detail, that I was dumbfounded.

“Do you like it? I made it myself.”

I nodded. Wow, she must be some artist.

“Here, take a look at this, she said opening the lid, as she did, about five compartments unfolded. In each one she had her cut up into little cubes. Even the carrots and her banana were. I looked down at my lunch; I only had chips, cake, jelly, and lemonade. She ate everything so quietly, even her carrot. After swallowing, she asked me if she could see my bracelet. Her bug-like eyes widened, she closed her lunch box and examined the lid,

“Oh my goodness.” She muttered quietly.

“What? What is it?” I asked.

Sophie didn’t answer, she just put my bracelet on the lid of her lunchbox. At that moment Mandy started walking towards us.

“You are the chosen one, as am I. Your bracelet fits the carvings that I did.”

“But, don’t you think that Mandy should be the chosen one? After all, she was the one who made it.”

As I said that everything turned white, everything except Sophie and I, my bracelet, and her lunch-box. Smoke started swirling in at our feet.