I hate my life, seriously. I mean, I just want to be a normal teenager; get in fights with my parents, maybe find a boyfriend and possibly sneak out the night before finals to party. You know, normal stuff. But no. I have to end up here of all places. I live in suburbia, my mother works in an office and my father works in the garage. My little sister never leaves her room except for dance class and my little brother (her twin for those of you who give a care) is never in his room except to sleep and every now and then recuperate from a skateboard injury. And me, you might ask. Well I'm getting to that. This whole story is about me, I'm taking a bit of time on other people. Soon enough you'll know how completely and totally self-centered I am.

Other players on the chessboard (don't look at me, ask my father who has way to much time on his hands) include my best friend and neighbor Julie A. Starlett, the biggest tomboy I know and my best guy friend, my other neighbor, Joshua B. Carson, the biggest klutz I know and, ironically, my brother's idol. Billy (that would by my brother) worships the ground Josh walks on (when he's walking, usually he's flying and then falling) because Josh (klutz as he is) is actually a really good skateboarder. Sammy (that would be my little sister) hates Julie and I swear that she doesn't even remember I exist. I don't even register on her radar. She's twelve for gosh's sake! But I am not a dancer so I do not exist. This is the world I live in.

It all started during the summer (and ironically enough it still is summer, hard to believe its only been a week). Julie and I had climbed over to Josh's (all the roofs connect but the last time Josh tried to get to Julie's he broke his arm) and we were sitting there surrounded by candles in the dark. "Are you sure we should do this?" Josh asked. I shushed him and turned to Julie, "Do you have the incantation?" I asked. She nodded. Now, don't get the wrong idea. None of us are into the occult or anything. But you see, our English teacher (Ms. Coretta, nicest woman alive) had given the kids in class who wanted it a summer project for when we got bored. Julie's was to try a séance and then write something, anything about it. When she turns in her report she'll get extra credit. Josh and I had decided to help her (of course) and so here we were at twelve midnight, in Josh's room, freaking each other out.

I looked around and made sure we had everything. Then I turned to them and nodded. Each dipped their hands in the copper bowl in the middle, filled with ice water, for the curious. Then Julie took a sage stick and dipped it in honey and Josh took a lavender stick and dipped it in warmed milk (apparently we were calling a grandmother spirit). I, the séance leader and drawer of the short stick, dipped my hands in the water and then took both sticks of incense and light them with the purple candle in front of me. I handed them back to Julie and Josh and then, as the sticks burned low, I read the incantation. "By the powers that be, I set you free. Come to us, oh spirit, I beg of you please. We wish to commune with you, by the Spirit of Truth. We wish to see you by the Spirit of Clarity. We wish to walk with you as a sister of spirit, a brother by bond. And as we have called you so will we send you back to eternal peace when we are through. By sage and lavender, by honey and milk, by the water that has taken you back we call out to you. By the powers that be, I set you free." And then I burned the paper and threw the last of it with the vestiges of the incense in the copper bowl. Quickly the three of us blew out the seven candles, purple, yellow, green, red, blue, white and black.

Now here is where things went very, very wrong.