An: So about 2 years ago today, I wrote a REALLY bad draft of this story, after 2 years of editing, I'm finally ready to write my own puella magica story! Enjoy ^q^
Chapter 1. My only concern.
"Okay everyone, please do the assigned problems and study for upcoming mid-terms. Have a good day everyone, you can leave early."
My teacher dismissed everyone in the class 5 minutes earlier than the bell. You would think that would be considered a nice thing. However, I on the other hand would consider it a curse than a blessing. Call me crazy, but I just got this bad feeling when she said that.
I try and leave before everyone else, just so get away from the class, but as soon as I got close to the door I heard my teacher call out.
"Cheryl, I would like to have a word with you. Can you come here for a second?" My hand was just on the door knob. If I wanted to, I could just leave. What made it even worse was I heard somebody snickering in the background. Yet, I know I'll be in bigger trouble if I just left. My hand left the metal handle and I began trudging my feet back to my teacher's desk. My other classmates scuttled away from me and went to the exit. I overheard their comments, their words rang in my ears.
"I feel bad for Cheryl, but I think I know why Ms. Benway wanted her. She's starting to struggle more in class. Ever since she got sick, she hasn't been getting the work. I even saw her cheating on her test the other day."
"Shut up, she can probably hear you. Tell me later okay?"
"I hope Cheryl doesn't get into trouble, poor girl already has enough to worry about."
I really just should've bailed.
"Come here Cheryl, we need to talk." My math teacher Ms. Benway pointed me to sit at her desk. Ms. Benway pushed up her glasses and took out a piece of paper from a folder, I felt my heart drop to my stomach.
"Now, Cheryl do you know what this is?" She turned the paper around so I could see it. It was a test I took last week, she never said we had to memorize the formulas, so when we got the test I had no idea what to do. I didn't think to pre write them in my calculator. Of course I had to get caught taking out my cheat sheet paper, right when Ms. Benway walked by. I got a zero on the paper, and I had to stay after to redo the test. I know I failed it.
"That is my test from the other week." I state coldly. I know Ms. Benway is doing this just to prove a point, or maybe she's trying to help me. I couldn't care less.
"Yes, I know that, but what I'm trying to say is, why did you have to cheat? You were doing very well with the other assignments, but whenever there is a test, or a project, you get a bad grade. Is something wrong that I don't know about?" She looked concerned. I swallowed a lump in my throat and tapped on the wooden desk with my finger.
I'm not really good at math. Whenever I look at the numbers, they get all jumbled up in my head, they don't make sense. It's been this way ever since I was little. It took me longer than anyone else in my class in kindergarten to read a clock, even now I sometimes mess up the time. Math symbols have never been my forte, and when they started adding in letters into math and negatives, I was lucky to get a C in math. I just started cheating whenever I could, looking off someone's papers, getting cheatsheets. When middle school started coming around, they started letting us using our calculators more, so I was able to get better greats. I was an average C student, and I had to hid my secret from everybody. As long as I could use my calculator I was perfectly fine.
"I don't know why, I had a hard time during this unit. I thought if I had one quick look at the formula, I would be okay." I stopped tapping on the desk and took a look at Ms. Benway. Her eyes were focused on my paper.
"Cheryl, do you have a hard time with math in general, or do you think that this unit wasn't working for you? You could of stayed after school if you didn't understand something. I would of been more than happy to help you."
"No, I mean, I have a hard time during every unit. I don't get math." I confessed. The look on Ms. Benway's face changed to worry. Her eyebrows scrunched up and she placed the folder down on the desk and folded her arms.
"What do you mean Cheryl?" The way she said my name made me shiver, I don't know why. I guess it's because I expected her to be much more cold about this. Normally she just teaches the lesson, and gives out homework. Ms. Benway really isn't the ideal teacher to be talking about my emotions with, but at this point I couldn't care.
"I have been struggling with math my whole life. Numbers don't look right to me. They fly off the page, and sometimes, I just cheat my way out of multiplication, by adding. I know it seems stupid, but that's what I go through. I know, I'm in highschool, I should know how to do simple math equations, I look stupid. Just let me go, I don't want to talk about this." I start to stand up, I can't spend another minute in here, it makes me sick.
"Cheryl, please don't go, we have to get to the bottom of this. Do your parents know that you're struggling in math?" Ms. Benway tried to reason with me, but it didn't go much.
"My parent's don't check my grades. As long as I'm not failing, I'm fine."
"Okay, how about I call your parents, and we can all talk about this. I really want to help you, but I can only do so much... Please, wait here while I go to the office." Ms. Benway was about to leave when her phone rang. It was a nice melody, but I think was for some crime show. Ms. Benway grabbed her phone from out d of her pocket book and answered.
"Hello? Oh, James, is something the matter-? Cheryl, I'll be right back after I take this call." Ms. Benway walked out of the room, her heels clicked each step that she took. I took in a deep breathe and I slouched into a random desk, and pulled out my sketch book. It had some flowers pressed in along with color swatches. But mainly, it held drawings of magical people. I really like stories about magical realism, it holds such a special place in my heart.
In the real world, you just live, then you die. But in fantasy stories, there are so many more possibilities. Your life can be something fun and enjoyable. Nobody needs to know about stupid algebra equations, all they do is cast spells and just live. But in life, your force to pay taxes, and you end up dying. At least in a fantasy, I would be having a lot more fun than the life I was living in.
My pencil case fell out on the floor, different colored pencils spilled out. I rolled my eyes and started to go on the ground to pick them up. Most of them fell underneath desks, they just scattered around the room randomly. Which doesn't make sense, I was just sitting in a corner and they end up all around the class. Just more work for me I guess. As I was picking up one of the last pencils I heard someone crying.
"Oh my god... y-you're not serious... I'll be right there, yes- yes. I u-understand thank you." Ms. Benway came back into the room, her skin was pale, it looked like she has just thrown up her lunch. Her hand was wrapped around her mouth and her arm was holding her stomach. Ms. Beway ran to her desk and grabbed her pocketbook, she carelessly threw things in her bag without thought.
"Ms. Benway... are you alright?" I asked, clutching my colored pencils to my chest. She sent me a terrified glance and swallowed. Sweat was dripping down her head and going down her face, it was mixing in with her tears. She stood at her desk and breathe heavily. Ms. Benway still held onto her phone with her right hand, she was mouthing something to herself.
"I'm going to be fine. You can go home Cheryl. H-have a nice day." She covered her mouth again and ran out of the room. I was holding in a breath for too long, everything just went by fast. My grip was so tight on my pencils that the tops of them snapped.
I don't want to have to think about what happened to Ms. Benway but it got me out of an embarrassing parent teacher conference. I started to gather my sketchbook and placed it in my messenger bag. I took one quick look at the know empty class and left the room. I normally don't take the bus home, since my house is only about a 15 minute walk from the school. Even though it snowed the other night, I don't mind the snow, I find it quite pretty.
While strolling through the empty hallways I found myself gazing at the various decorations from football the school's football season. There were so many team players names, and the cheerleaders lockers were decorated. Every once in awhile I saw a marching band picture, but they mainly keep their trophies in the band room in a glass case. I wish I could be in the marching band, but it's too much of a time commitment for me to manage.
I was almost at the entrance of the school when I saw one of my friends standing at her locker. A smile grew on my face and I ran over to meet her.
"Hey Grace! It's been a long time since I saw you!" I said readjusting my messenger's back strap. She looked up from her locker and gave me a simple smile. Grace Noel has been my friend since kindergarten. She's on the soccer team and quite frankly, she's one of the best players. Grace had grew up playing sports so it's not a surprise that she managed to get so far in her sports crares.
"Hey Cheryl, what have you been doing since I last saw ya? You're not becoming too busy for your best friend are you?" She stuck out her tongue and opened her locker. It had pictures of her soccer friend and a blue ribbon stuck onto a little mirror. I would feel hurt, but I should already expect this. I don't talk to Grace that much anymore, well I text her, but ever since high school started we've been busy. Well, Grace is the busy one, I've always been the one with the free schedule.
"I should be saying that to you. With your soccer games and everything." I joked, giving her a sly grin. She grabbed a text book out of her locker, it was a geometry workbook. I guess she got in the advanced class...
"Why don't we fix that then? There is a little cafe shop that opened up right around the school. You wanna go?" Grace shut her locker door and placed her backpack on her back. I cracked my fingers and glanced at the ground. For some reason the thought of Ms. Benway made me feel sick. I almost want to decline her offer just so I can go home.
"Hey, you ok? You're spacing out, is something the matter?" Grace titled her head the other way and gave me a funny look.
"Oh, no nothing, come on let's go." I said in defeat. Grace pushed her hair behind her ears and took a quick side glance at me.
"Um, if you say so, but if you feel sick just tell me kay?" I shook my head, and we started to walk out of the school together.
When we went outside, my face was exposed to the cold wind. I pulled my scarf closer to my face and fixed my jacket. I was just wearing a simi light coat, nothing too warm, and I really regret it. If I had know it would be this cold I would of brought something else. Grace wasn't wearing much to keep her warm either, all she had was fingerless gloves and earmuffs. If the cafe wasn't so close to the school I'm sure we would've gotten sick.
"So Cheryl, what were you doing after school?" Grace asked bringing her hands to her mouth. I tightened my scarf and focused on something else.
"Nothing, my teacher wanted to speak with me about my grade or something." I pouted. Grace face lite up.
"Oh your teacher had a private conversation about your grade? Since when did you get good at math? You gonna move up a level or something?" She teased. I can't tell if she's being serious or not, which makes me nervous. I don't want to say something stupid, so I end up fumbling over my words.
"Y-yeah I'm actually moving up a grade in class, my teacher is putting me in a geometry, course... Cool right?!" My voice faded out, and I looked at the snowy ground.
"Oh, you were serious, that's great! You'll finally have a class with me. I'm glad you've improved enough to get into the advanced class. You're going to have to work twice as hard though!" Grace put her arm around me and pulled me in close for a quick hug. Blush dusted my cheeks and I pulled away a little too quick. I can't believe I lied to her about this... There is no way I can get by this. I really don't know what I'm going to do, but I guess I can worry about that later.
We were almost at the cafe when a snow plow came by. It cleaned up all the leftover white snow and turned it into mushed mess. It laid across the sidewalk and ruined the secerny. I don't want to think of the mess it's going to cause, it's just another excuse to hate snow. I really enjoy winter, it's such a pretty time of year. You can bundle up to be all warm. It's just a nice feeling in general. I know people hate on the cold for no reason, other than, well it's cold. It's a stupid reason to hate a beautiful season.
"Cheryl come on! I don't want to let in a draft!" Grace held the door open for me. I rushed over towards Grace and closed the door behind me. I looked around to see the inside of the cafe. It wasn't much, just a dessert table, booths, and an isle with the cashier. The cashier turned his head to face in our direction. He gave a small smile to Grace and I.
"Hey, can I help you ladies today?" He said focusing more on Grace. His dusty blond hair covered up most of his eyes. He looked young to be working at a cafe, he looked like a highschooler. I looked at his name tag, trying not to stare. My eyes scrolled down to his green shirt and I saw his name. Oliver.
Oh crap. He was from my school, more importantly, he was in my algebra class. This can not go well. I covered my face with my scarf, in case he took a good look at my face. I'm not interested in him in the slightest, but the fact that somebody out of school saw me, makes me feel uncomfortable. I don't want anyone seeing me like this.
"Hello, I would like the cafe au lait, and- hey Cheryl what do you want?" Grace turned her head and saw me wrapping my scarf around my mouth like a freak. My eye's widen and I quickly unraveled the fabric off my face.
"Ah- just, um, I'll order a macchiato." I rushed out. I could feel my face getting redder with blush. Oliver squinted slightly.
"Cheryl? Like Cheryl Florence? From algebra?" He said dumbfounded. Oh no, here goes the questioning that comes with seeing people outside of school. The teasing and just the embarrassment it brings. I shake my head slightly, trying to play it cool. I start preparing for his response.
"Cheryl, you know this guy? Aw, you like him or something?" Grace nudded her elbow into my side. I know she was just teasing, but did she have to assume that about me? It seems that Oliver didn't hear the last comment Grace made, that or he ignored it purposely. I really hope he didn't hear it anyways.
"I'm in one of her classes. What brings you here Cheryl?" He said brushing his hair to the side while leaning on the glossy countertop. My head started to ache. This was too cliche for my taste. I already know where this conversation is going to end up if I don't stop it soon.
"You know... coffee in the winter is sorta a staple. Plus coffee houses are sorta my thing. There soothing." Yes Cheryl, way to sound like a complete loser. Grace started giggling to herself, probably thinking how weird I am or something. Oliver pushed his hat down and smiled slightly.
"Thanks for the insight Cheryl, I'll be sure to remember that... Anyways, will that be all?" Oliver said.
"I think that will be all, thank you." Grace started taking out her purse from the pocket of her bookbag and took out the correct amount of money. I feel bad for making her pay for the whole thing. When I have the money, I'll be sure to pay her back. I don't really enjoy giving back interest…
I found a quiet seat in the back and I just plopped down. The seats were made out of some fine leather, plus they were bouncy. The decor of this cafe was quite cute actually. They had paintings of food on the wall, each of them having their own unique take on food. It mainly consisted of pastries and bread. Simple stuff for a cafe. When Grace finally came by to sit down she was interested in the dessert menu that was on the table. It was filled with sweets.
"Hey, Cheryl do you think if we flirt with Oliver enough, he'll get us free desserts?" Grace said with a nasty grin. She slid the menu over and pointed to the most expensive pastry they had.
"I don't think so... You shouldn't play with people's emotions it's not very nice..." I pouted. I was trying to keep the situation lighthearted, but I don't want Grace to do anything stupid for her own good. She was better than this.
"Aw, you're no fun Cheryl. It's not like you care about him or anything. But since you want to be a negative Nancy about it, it really takes the fun out of it." Grace crossed her arms and leaned back into the leather seats.
"It's not about that Grace, you can't do that to people to gain something from it. I thought you would know better than anyone. And it's not like I don't care about him! He is still human, it's not like I said 'Oh that guy is trash, so let's just use him to get a pastry', I mean-."
"That's enough Cheryl, geez, you don't need to rant about that kind of shit to me. I get it, it's bad to use people. Lesson learned. Is there something better we could talk about than giving me a lecture?" Grace drummed her fingers on the table in a force way. I didn't want to make her angrier so I just shut up. It seemed to work every other time I got into trouble.
After two minutes of silence Grace stood up and got our drinks. Mine was too hot to start drinking, but I took a quick sip anyways. It was awkward enough I had gone quiet.
"You know, sometimes I don't understand you. Cheryl you're too nice for own good sometimes. To be honest, it'so refreshing seeing that nowadays. I'm lucky to be called your friend. You're right, I shouldn't even suggested trying to trick that boy, I'm stupid huh?" Grace admitted. She always knew when to give up, which was very admirable of her. She has a big pride, but more often than not, she'll damage it to admit that she was wrong. I can't stay mad at her when she does that.
"You're not stupid, but thanks for the compliment. It's nice spending time with you again, just like the old days right?" I gave a small smile, and smelled a little bit of my macchiato, it smelled very sweet.
"Woah, no need to get all sentimental. No need for the nostalgia, were not that old." She laughed softly.
Grace and I ended up talking for another 15 minutes about school before we decided it would be best if we left. I don't want to lounge around her for too long. While I love cafes, I always have this thought in the back of my mind that I feel like I'm loitering around. Oliver waved us goodbye, which was sweet of him.
We ended up taking the long way to our houses. I guess Grace wanted to stall around more. She was going on about a random story when we were younger, when I heard something ping in my ear. I flinched and covered my ears with my hands. It was a constant scream that rang throughout my whole body.
"Hey, Cher? You okay?" Grace said putting her hand on my back. The ringing went away when she started to comfort me, so I carefully placed my hands and gave her a reassuring smile.
"I-I'm fine. I think something got caught, but I'm alright!" I played it off horribly. Grace still had a worried look on her face but she swiftly went back to her normal attitude.
"If you say so! Oh wow look how pretty!" Grace tugged my arm and I saw what was behind me. It was a small garden. Well it wasn't much of a garden, since it was winter, but it was so pleasant to look at. Grace pushed the gate aside and we both went into the garden. The trees were covered with a coat of ice. The branches sparkled with dangling icicles. Snow mainly covered all the wildlife, but hopefully the flowers bloom back in the spring. Grace took out her phone from her coat pocket and started taking pictures. I never knew she was into photography.
While she was doing that I brushed aside some snow off of the water fountain and sat down to enjoy the scenery. I think beside snow, I love winter because of the atmosphere. I love seeing my breathe in the cold weather, and seeing the frozen ice. It's always such a serene time of year.
"You're going to soak your pants if you keep sitting there." Grace turned around and started laughing to herself. She strutted over and pushed more snow away. Grace took off her backpack and placed it in a snow pile beneath her feet. "Come on Cheryl, let's take a picture together. I'll call it... 'Winter Time Magic', what do you say?" Grace nudged at my side again.
"That title is so cliche, please tell me it's just a placeholder." I laughed while turning to the angle of the camera. Grace nodded her head and raised her arm out to take the picture. Once I heard the little click. I heard another screech in my ears. I bit my lip forcefully, and my nails dug deep into my leg. I didn't want Grace to be any more concerned with me than she already was. She was staring at her phone.
"Hey- do you see this?" She asked, her voice sounding very wery. I was in pain but I still looked over at her small phone. It was a picture of us; smiling. It was cute enough. However I noticed something in the background. It was a small object located in the background. It was located on the very top of the fountain, where water normally comes out of. I turned around and there it was. I stood on top of the edge and tried to get a better look at it. It wasn't that easy to see, but if you had a good eye you would be able to see it. It held a dark aura, but other than that it was quite pretty. It resembles a little charm. Yet something was unsettling about it. It made it's way into the ice, and it was cracked along the edges. It was glowing slightly.
"What a cute design! I wonder who left it here!" Grace said, and to be honest she kinda scared me. She jumped up from her seat and started picking at the object. It didn't have a reaction.
"I don't think you two should be playing with that thing. It's quite dangerous to humans."
We both stood there in silence for a few moments. It was such a high pitch voice, almost too squeaky. Like it was a toy. It matched the ringing that I heard in my ears. I looked all around to find the center of the noise, but I couldn't find anything.
"I mean it you know, if I were you two I would get out of here as fast as you came. However knowing the nature of you humans, you probably won't listen." It appeared on the top of the fountain where the charm was at. It was a cute little cat, it had black ears and it's paws were black. They reminded me of mittens.
"What are you...? More importantly, how can you talk?" Grace asked, she seemed really anxious. The creature licked it's paws before walking over to the object.
"I'm sorry I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Byubey. And you two girls stumbled upon a grief seed. It's about to hatch soon as a matter of fact. You two should move along. You don't want to be here once it hatches." Byubey titled his head to the side.
"If it's so dangerous then why are you here? I don't think an innocent creature like you should be here either! Isn't that right Cheryl?" Grace put me on the spotlight. I stammered slightly.
"Look, you two really seem to not understand, this is quite dangerous. If only the girl I was waiting for would hurry up, maybe you would listen to her instead of me. Or perhaps you would like to see this for yourselfs? It depends are you that curious to see what a grief seed has in store?" Byubey jumped down from the top of the fountain and placed his weight onto my shoulder. I jumped slightly.
The grief seed grew brighter, it was almost blinding. A lump started to form in my throat. "G-Grace we should really go! I'm starting to get worried!" I pleaded. I tried grabbing onto her arm but she wouldn't budge. It's like she was entranced by the grief seed. I turned my head but I only saw a bright white light instead.
When I came too, I wasn't in the garden anymore. Well I was somewhere but I don't where I was. I was on the ground, I think I might of passed out or something. The ground was sticky, like it was honey or something. I tried wiping it off my face but it was stuck. I rubbed my eyes to get a better view of where I was but I was shocked.
I was in a garden. The flowers that were in bloom sprung out, they were huge. All sorts of scents were lingering in the air. It was a strong fragrance. There were also these drones, or hornet like creatures. They were flying around in the flowers... looking for nectar? I had no idea. They were too big to be considered a bug. They were almost human size, which is frightening itself. I took a step closer to get a better look at them. I placed my foot down on the ground and I heard a snapping noise com from beneath me. I cracked a twig. As soon as the sound echoed into the area, the hornets peeked its head out from the flowers and started to scan the room. My mouth went dry in seconds, and my hands went clammy.
Once they saw me thought, they came shooting down from the ceiling right at me. I gasped slightly and took a running start. I don't know what kind of dream I'm having but I want it to stop! My legs started to feel weak, like something was pulling at my muscles.
"Cheryl! Quick come in here!" I heard a familiar voice. I turned my head and saw Grace in some sort of bush. I took a swift turn and practically threw myself in the shrub and held my breathe. Hopefully they didn't see me.
This flapping sound pierced my range. I covered my ears with my hands and rocked back and forth silently in the bush, hoping they would go away. Grace covered her mouth, probably so she wouldn't scream. I gave her a worried look, as if to ask "What are we going to do?" , but she didn't look back at me. After a few moments, the sound died off and everything seemed quiet. My heart wouldn't slow down though, if anything it was only beating faster. What were those things? I slowly stood up from the hiding spot and gazed the area. When it was clear I helped Grace up and we brushed off the leaves from our clothing. I couldn't help but wonder what would if happened if they found us...
"What the hell were those things?! They scared the shit out of me! Oh God, what are going to do?" Grace ran her fingers through her hair out of desperation. I started to bite on my nails frantically. I didn't know how to calm her down. I was going to have to think of something, if we make too much noise I'm afraid the bugs will come back...
"I told you girls that this was dangerous, but since you didn't listen to me, there is a way to get back home though." Byubey's voice sprung up. He was on top of a small flower, Byubey jumped down and walked towards us.
"You two could get out of here! I know a way you'll be able to get out alive! Make a contract with me and become a magical girl!" Byubey titled his head. Grace placed her hands back down at her side and gave a blank stare.
"Magical girl...?" I whispered, almost like it was something fake. Byubey turned his head towards me.
"Yes Cheryl! A magical girl! In short, you make a contract with me! I'll provide you any wish of your choice, and in return you'll become a magical girl! All you have to do is fight witches! Witches come from grief seeds! They spread despair among the world. It's the magical girl's job to fight them and keep the peace among the people! What do you say?"
My mind began racing with thoughts, a wish of whatever you want. Anything is possible at this point. Becoming a magical girl is just what I need to escape. But I don't think my heart could take almost dying. Even when Byubey even suggested that made me want to pass out.
"Of course, you don't have to be forced into the contract. You have your own free will when it comes to becoming a magical girl. Please take your time on coming up with a wish. Most girl rush out a silly wish, and it really makes me cringe. You two seem to have some common sense, hopefully you'll have a good wish in mind, if you do become magical girls. Now, let's go, we have to get some progress. If we keep standing around, well, you know what might happen." Byubey scampered on the ground like a cat. I started to follow Byubey, unaware if Grace was tagging along or not. I tried catching up to Byubey, but he was actually quite fast.
"Byubey, could you slow down? Didn't you say this place is fatal for humans? We could really use your help!" I shouted, catching my breathe. Byubey turned around and went over to my feet.
"My apologies Cheryl. You know just between you and me, your potential to become a magical is much higher than your friend." He said making his way to my shoulder. He perched onto my right arm.
"W-what?" I stammered. I'm use to hearing people saying how Grace was always the talented one. She was really the one making waves, while I just followed her footsteps.
"Yeah, I can see it, you would be a great magical girl! If you really want to Cheryl, we can get out off here much faster, if you made a contract with me! Just think of all the dreams you could fulfill!" Byubey was about to say something else but he was cut off short.
"Cheryl? Have you gone off without me? Please tell me you haven't..." I heard Grace's voice. She sounded so worried, I turned around to signal her. She caught on quick and rushed on over. Kyubey told us where to go as we dwelled deeper into the labyrinth. As we were running from life threatening monsters, I still thought about what Byubey said. I had the power to become a great magical girl. It seemed too good to be true.
"Here we are, the center of the maze, be extremely careful these is the area where the witch is. The minions will be more powerful and of course, the witch is very deadly. We might be able to get out here okay, if you two don't do anything stupid. Just follow my orders okay?" Byubey said sternly. He jumped off my shoulder and started walking on the very edge of the center. It was a very tight walk but I slowly slid my way over to Byubey, Grace following along. We crept along the perimeter when a small piece of land broke apart. I took a step and more dirt and gravel fell down into the bottom. I took in a sharp breath and bit my lip.
"Hey Cheryl, I've been thinking. Before you say anything, I know, it's always scary when I get an idea." Grace mustered up. She sounded like she was crying. "I think we should take Byubey on that offer to become a magical girl. This is the honest truth, I'm really scared. If I'm scared, then you must be too. All I'm saying is that, I don't want to die, and I don't want you to die either. So we should right? But I wouldn't know what to wish for... I guess it would be a rushed wish. My only concern right now is us. I think if I had the chance I would wish for-."
Just then Grace placed her foot wrong on the patches of dirt and she fell. My eyes widened as I saw my friend fall from the high area we were walking around. She plunked to the ground, resting in a patch of leafs. My mouth was agape, unable to speak. Grace probably broke something falling from this height. My reaction was going to jump down to save her.
"Cheryl! You can't go down there! The witch is right there! We have to go right now or else you'll die too!" Byubey jumped onto my shoulder again. I didn't care, I had to do something!
"It's okay Cheryl, I'm, fine." I looked down to see Grace, she was covered with thorns, she was smiling for some reason. I was somewhat relieved seeing her.
When Grace tried to push herself up from the ground I noticed something. Her pant leg caught onto something and she tripped and fell. She looked at her leg and I noticed that a vine was wrapped around her. She tried tugging at it, but it wouldn't come loose. Something wrapped around her other ankle and then it went to her wrist. Grace was tangled up in vines.
Oh shit.
"U-um Cheryl, I take it back! I could really use some help right now!" She screamed. Panic was in her voice. She tried smashing her arm down but instead her arm was pulled on. My legs were trembling in fear as I saw my friend being lifted up into the sky, by a giant rose monster.
"There is the witch!" Byebye said, but I barely registered it. I was sweating bullets. Grace turned her head only to see the witch open it's mouth. Liquid poured out onto the ground in a giant mess. It smelt like the flowers. Only one thought came into my mind.
It was attracting the minions. They were going to kill her.
"Hey Cheryl! Now would be a good time to make a contract! I could really use your help right about now!" Grace screamed even more. I couldn't take it. She was so close to death. I need to act now.
"Byubey, what did you say I had to do again?" My voice went hollow. I knew what I had to do.
"Cheryl Florence, will you make a contract with me and become a magical girl just to save your friend? If so, please make your wish." Byubey eyes glimmered.
Byubey said how most girls rush with their wish. I could understand why they would, however I know what I'm going to wish for. I've been struggling all of my life. It's time for me to take charge and do something. My only concern right now is saving Grace.
"I wish that I was smarter. I don't want to have problems with math anymore or anything academically."
My only concern at that point... was myself.