A/N: Hey guys! Me and my friend HiILikePie1937462 decided to have writing fun over the summer and do what we do best: play games and write! Check on my profile and hers to see updates to this increasingly awesome tale! Thanks for checking, and don't forget to favorite and review!

CHAPTER 1: A Failed Romantic Start

"What the hell? Spam heal, shield! Boom!" I cried. Scarlet cheered as we took down the final boss in the dungeon we'd been playing in for hours. Some people said we were lazy and should go outside (cough mom cough) but we called it being gamers. It was summer vacation, and we only had a couple weeks before school would start, and we'd have to log off and enter hell itself: high school. I guess it wouldn't be so bad, IF I wasn't moving. I tried keeping it from Scarlet, but I knew eventually I would have to tell her. Maybe we'd actually hang out in real life for the last time; I'd been dying to go to the new waterpark they put up. Scarlet hated water though, so I didn't really bring it up much. I just liked the cold, which is maybe a reason why-

"Yo, Angela? HELLOOO? Are you even there?! Ragnork just brought out minions dimwit!" Scarlet chastised over the mic. I snapped back into it and my fingers flew over the keyboard, picking and launching spells. We were playing our favorite MMO, Wizard 101. I'd been playing for years by myself until Scarlet joined and we started looting and shooting bad guys together. Scarlet could be a bit of a witch- replace the w with a b- sometimes, but she'd been my best friends for years. And I'd only have her for a couple of weeks before I'd have to lose my childhood friend and memories. Strangely, Scarlet being a usual prick was comforting now.

"Hold on... Ok, sending in-"

"Angie!" came from the room next to mine. I groaned and slowly pulled off my headset.

"What?" I called from the doorway. With no answer, I sighed and walked up the hall to my mom's room. "Yeah?" I said opening her door. My mom looked up from folding laundry and smiled at me.

"Angie! Mohli by ste mi pomoct s týmito papiermi pre vaše prevodom? Stále zabúdam, niektoré veci ..."

She slipped into Slovak. My mom still preferred speaking in the language of her homeland. I wondered if she missed it sometimes. She moved from Slovakia to Alaska to here, and now we were going to New York.

"Samozrejme, mami." I answered. "Ale ... musíme odísť? Bojím sa mama. Bojím sa odchodu Scarlet, keď je jediný priateľ, ktorého som kedy mal! Nechcem odísť a začať znovu." My mother sighed. I knew I was making it harder on her, but what was I supposed to do? I didn't want to leave! We couldn't!

"Anjel, viete, musíme odísť. Musím túto prácu, a to je všetko, čo môžem urobiť, aby ho podporili. Bolo to ťažké, pretože tvoj otec odišiel a-" I didn't let her finish.

"A čo keby odišiel? Nepotrebujeme ho! Nepotrebujeme nikoho iného! My …" I trailed off. She started to speak again but I left and walked back to my room. Slipping my headset back on, I heard Scarlet furiously clicking her mouse.

"O čo som prišiel? Oh, uh, what'd I miss?" I caught myself.

"Just turning some minions over in their graves." Scarlet replied, not missing a beat. The sudden heat from the laptop startled me, but I adjusted quickly as I launched an ice snake at a wood gremlin. I battled with Scarlet for a few minutes before I felt my ancient flip phone buzz beside me. Only glancing for a second at the caller ID, I pulled off my headset and answered.

"Carly, what's up?"

My overly boy, makeup, and anything girly-crazy "friend" chattered without a skip or pause for breath. "Guuueeeesssss what I heard?! I heard Tanner TOTALLY dissed Melonie at the pool party! That could totes means he's for you!"

"Or it could totes means he's gay!" I heard Scarlet scream from the headset on my lap. Keeping my laughter and excitement in check, I calmly asked Carly to spill. Everything. Now.

"I don't know Carly." I chewed on her info after she was done, or at least ran out of breath. "It doesn't mean it has anything to do with me. I mean, I left my number in his yearbook. Why hasn't he at least said 'hey' all summer."

"I know right?! I mean he totally knows you have the crush on him for like, ever."

I spit out the Mountain Dew I had been drinking all over my bed sheets. "He WHAT?!"

"Yeah! I told him on the last day! You're welcome!" I could hear her pride through the phone. I wonder if she heard my rage. I KNEW telling her was a bad idea. The stories that preceded telling Carly if you were crushing... But this?! I barely knew the guy and now he probably thought I was a psycho! I could only imagine the sheer terror she inflicted on him while 'helping' me. Great.

"I...I gotta..."

"Angela! Come on, we're going to the store!" I breathe a sigh of relief. Saved by the chores!

"Coming mom! Sorry Carly, gotta run!" I hurriedly disconnect and type BRB into the chat on Wizards. I slip on a heavy jacket and a pair of sandals and follow my mom out the door and down the stairs to our car. We're downtown of the city, so the drive won't be as long. Before I know it we have 2 gallons of milk, a bag of bread, and butter in our hands. I gently place our groceries into the side seat of the car, then walk around and slide into my seat. I decide I need to keep trying.

"Mama, I..."

"Angel, no! We've talked about this. I need this job, and this is the only-"

"No it's not!" I look at her reflection in the mirror. Hard lines have formed on her face, showing her age. My mother was beautiful once, with long flowing red hair and sparkling green eyes, but stress and time has left it's mark on her now. "You can't do this to me! I won't go, you can't make me!"

"This is not your decision! I am your mother and you will follow me!"

"Nemôžeš ma kontrolovať! Nenávidíš ma! Nenávidíte, čo som urobil pre vás! Výborne! Nechaj ma tu a nechaj ma zomrieť šťastne! Nenávidím ťa!" I slip into Slovak, hurting her with her own homeland.

"Megan StarHeart, that is enough! I..." She stops. My anger fades, slowly, boiling over to confusion.

"Wha...what did you just call me?" Silence hangs in the air. My mother avoids my gaze, but I keep my eyes trained on her. She parks the car outside our building and steps out, but I stay in for a few moments, churning thoughts. My mother just called me a completely different name...what just happened?

Suddenly, the car became cold. Really cold, freezing almost. It took my breath away, and I started to hyperventilate. I tried opening the door and...the door. It was frozen. I scrambled and jerked my way to the other three doors. All frozen. I was trapped. I screamed for help as the windows fogged up and the air became bitter. I finally stopped screaming and pounding, and finally just sat. I was going to die. That was all I could think as I lay there, watching my breath fog up. My chest constricted and I felt myself losing consciousness...Suddenly, a rush of adrenaline filled me. I was no longer scared. I was no longer cold. All I could feel was pure...magic pulsing through my blood, becoming hotter and hotter until my breath was driven from my body. And it was over. The car was normal again. I felt...powerful. Like I could do anything, protect and defend and defeat. And I felt hot. Literally, the car seemed to have increased by 50 degrees. I hurriedly tried the handle- it opened like a breeze- and stepped out rather unsteadily to the wonderfully cool afternoon air.

I take my time walking up the stairs and open the door to our small apartment. My mother opens her mouth, but I run past her to my room, slamming the door. I needed to stop this. I needed to stay. I needed an escape...I needed hope. In my frustration, I barely notice the gold letter sitting calmly on my bed.

I walk over to it, slowly, approaching it like a timid animal would to an unknown new source smelling like food. The letter was a shiny gold, glowing almost. My fingers slowly, slowly, reach over to the letter, inch by inch, centimeter by centimeter. Time seems to stand still as my thumb and index close over the edge, and meticulously bring the letter closer to my face. I take a deep breath, and with my other hand, I break the red seal and flip open the mysterious scroll.

Welcome Megan StarHeart to Ravenwood Academy. You have been chosen by Headmaster Ambrose to join our elite school for adept young wizards from across the Spiral. Please sign below to begin enrollment.

Woah. I can barely process what this all means. Is this a joke? But something about this seems right. I feel the same power I felt in the car, cool and powerful, taking over and filling my bloodstream. Without question, a feathered quill pen appears before me. Taking it slowly, I take a deep breath and scratch onto the now shimmering paper:

Megan Starheart

I start to write Angela Solace, but I remember; right now, normal wasn't in. A burst of snowflakes and blue is the last thing I see before the scroll poofs and disappears, and my vision goes black, and I tumble through the fabrics of life itself.