Re-edited chapters(: Honestly, I reread them and was so very displeased with the writing. (Seriously? Cobweb on a phone? Sheesh, how dramatic was I? xD) So I figured I'd change them up a teensy bit. Just for the information of those that still bother to read HoA fanfics, I plan on updating weekly - luckily, I'm not stacked with bundles of homework as I presumed I would be.

I also apologize for the extended absence, my friend kinda got me addicted to anime. . . so I've been watching that like a crazy person for a while. I just wish they'd make a season four so I could get obsessed again!

~-~And It Begins With a Bang~-~

Tossing her Chemistry books to the edge of the bed, Mara let herself fall into the comfort of her mattress. She had been cramming for the Chemistry exam all weekend, even sacrificing sleep the previous night, so she was in desperate need of some shut eye. Giving into the involuntary actions of fatigue, she dug her head further into the comfy pillow and pulled the comforter over her body. She threw a lengthy glance towards the phone that laid untouched on the night stand. Not a single notification all day - on her birthday to say the least. Mara let out a disappointed sigh and let her eyes shut.

Just when Mara thought she was oblivious to the outside world, a harmonious chime woke her from the half-awake, half-asleep state she was experiencing. A hollow groan emanated from her body; the warm welcome of her bed made it hard to bestir. Forcing herself to open her eyes, she stretched her arm over to the wooden side table and grabbed the plastic contraption. The bright light that came next blinded her momentarily, causing Mara to squint at the sight until she adjusted to it.

NEW TXT MSG: Patricia

Where was Patricia, anyway? She didn't recall seeing Patricia all day except in the morning. Curiously, Mara pressed the "OK" button to reveal the text.

Hey mara, would u mind helping me study for chem? school library?

Being too sweet to reject her, Mara yawned and began sloppily responding to her friend. She closed her eyes once more, savoring her final moment in bed, silently promising herself to never hold an all-night study session again, and hesitantly hoisted herself up. She grabbed the white tennis shoes from under her bed and slipped them on. Mara slowly inched her way towards the door, grabbing the golden knob and twisting the white door open. The raven-haired girl began making her way down the Anubis halls, passing Nina's and Amber's room along the way. Paying attention to her balance more than what was in front of her, she bumped into Trudy, losing her footing in the process, causing a cascade of fresh clothing to rain down on her. Trudy, at the time, was too preoccupied with talking to maintenance to check out the broken faucet at the house to see Mara, silent as a cat, to even receive warning.

"Oh," Trudy gasped, stumbling backwards from the crash, "Mara, sweetie. I'm sorry, I didn't see you!" She let out a little laugh, kneeling on the ground to pick up the contents that fell from the basket. Mara looked up at Trudy, seeing double. She rubbed her eyes a couple times and kept at it, hoping her focus would unveil the original. Without a response, Trudy continued. "Mara, you don't look all right. Maybe you should go take a nap." Trudy's intentions were good at heart, but Mara refused to let Patricia down.

"Don't worry," Mara smiled gently, "I'm fine." She lifted herself back onto her feet and began walking past the house mom.

With one foot in front of the other, she slowly pushed her body forward towards the staircase, feet dragging behind. A force pushed her eyelids down just as she stepped onto a lower stair. Missing the step by a mere fraction, she slipped down hitting multiple stairs along the way. Her eyes opened for a split second to reach out for the railing, but her reaction was too late. Life flashed before her eyes. The helpless body continued to fall ferociously, her head colliding with the hand rail at the bottom with a loud bang! Suddenly, her head was filled with the darkest shade of black. Dead silence filled her head; dreams were not forming.

Throwing down the laundry she was collecting, Trudy pounced down the stairwell to aid Mara after overhearing the incident.

"Mara!" she screeched, rapidly rushing down to her side. "Oh, dear. . . Victor," she shouted, at a loss for ideas, "Victor!"

Trudy noticed Mara's arm awkwardly positioned in a way that couldn't be too comfortable. When Trudy delicately lifted her arm, the conscience girl subconsciously let out a low moan clearly expressing her pain. It was fractured, no doubt about it.

During the commotion, Joy, who volunteered to stay home in case she refused, ran down in the midst of brushing her teeth, leaving a trail of toothpaste behind. Once she spied Mara at the bottom of the staircase, Trudy sent her a worried look. Running, she swung open Victor's door, who hadn't heard Trudy's pleas for help, and grasped him by the wrist trying to pull him off of his chair.

As he tried to resist, he spoke words that weren't new to her. "What is the meaning of this, Mercer?" he boomed.

"Mara's laying unconscience at the bottom of the staircase, hurry!" she tugged on the sleeve of his coat more forcibly.

He released himself from her grasp and raced past her. Joy followed behind. When Victor saw Mara laying lifelessly on the floor, his eyes widened, fearing for a moment that this accident was fatal. Trudy gave him a reassuring shake of the head, knowing exactly what he was thinking. As much as he despised the little pests that wondered aimlessly around his house, he never intended for any of them to get injured. He sighed in relief, moving closer to the body that lay sprawled on the bottom of the staircase.

"She might be more comfortable if we moved her to a sofa, perhaps? While you do that, I'm going to phone the paramedics," Trudy offered some motherly advice.

As Trudy whisked away to get the paramedics, Victor tried shooing Joy off to her room.

"There's no way I'm leaving Mara's side right now," she pouted, grabbing onto her friend's wrist to show him who's boss.

Huffing, Victor picked up Mara gently with his sturdy hands, and brought her to the sofa in the common's room. Mara remained like a solid rock the whole night, not moving from the scrunched up position she was in.

Joy retrieved her phone from her room while Trudy carefully watched over her body, and dialed Amber. Two. . . three. . . four rings and she answered.

"Joy," she whispered, "why are you calling me? You should be here with Mara partying it up!"

As Joy took the time to explain in exact detail what happened, Amber let out a cry. "No! I can't believe this, on her birthday, too! Knocked out cold?"

"Who's knocked out cold?" Alfie inquired as Amber almost completely shouted it.

"Mara. Now shush, Alfred," she scolded, putting a finger to his lips. "We'll be there soon," she told Joy.

And with that, she hung up, leaving Joy Mercer behind as a nervous wreck. Waddling back down the stairs to greet Mara, who at anytime should be waking up, froze when she saw the paramedics huddled around her. The injury wasn't severe enough for the stretcher, but they tightly bandaged her arm and added a cast. A sling was also added for extra protection if necessary. Her sensitive skin made it easily bruise, patches of discoloration throughout her body were tinted in shades of black and blue on almost every visible body part. Every touch caused discomfort and pain, which sent guilt through Joy's veins. They were trying to throw a nice surprise party for their best friend and this is where all of that ended them. Oh, the irony. This was definitely a surprise.