January 1, 2015, was probably the worst night of my life. I watched my older brother get slaughtered by the vamponese. I would have saved him…If I wasn't tied to a pole. I still blame myself for Keith, my older brother's, death.

It is now December 31, 2024, almost a full decade since Keith's death. Amy, Megan, Chris, Tom, and Nick were with me every step of the way after his death.

Amy, Megan, Chris, Tom, Nick, and I have been best friends since…EVER! We know anything and everything about each other. I really miss them. We haven't seen each other since winter break, which started on December 2, 2024. On the bright side, we get to reunite January 2, 2025.

That will be the worst and best day of the year. January 2nd is not only the day my friends and I reunite, but it's also my brother, Keith's, birthday. I visit his grave with my friend's every year just to say Happy Birthday. I cry at his grave every year though because I miss him and blame myself for his death.

"You little witch!" said Dad.

"I can't believe you let our baby die!" said Mom.

"Mom… Dad… I tried, but the stupid vamponese tied me to pole….." I said to my parents.

"Would you like to tell our daughter what her punishment is?" Mom asked Dad with an evil smile on her face.

"I would love to. Your punishment is to marry Mark." Dad gave me the same exact smile after told me I would have to marry Mark.

I looked behind my parents as they moved out of the way. Mark was there, in a tux, waiting for me to walk down what looks like an aisle. I looked down to find myself in a wedding dress.

"Do you, Mark Ryan Jones, take, Amanda Alexandra Benney, as your lovely wedded wife?" asked the preacher.

"I do." replied Mark.

"Do you, Amanda Alexandra Benney, take, Mark Ryan Jones, as your lovely wedded husband?" asked the preacher.

I went to say 'No I do not.', but all that came out was;

"I do."

"You may now kiss the bride." said the preacher in an excited tone.

Right before our lips touched I woke up screaming.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I screamed as I woke up from that horrible nightmare.

"Honey, what's wrong?" asked my mother as she hurried into my room after she heard me scream.

"Nothing… I just had a nightmare…." I replied.

"Oh… Ok…. Get some sleep…. You have a big day in a hours…. Ok?" said my mother with a smile across her face.

I returned the smile.

"Ok mom…. I love you!" I said in reply to her question.

"I love you, too. Now get some sleep."

"Ok…."

After my mom left the room, I looked at the clock. It was now two am. I had five more hours for some sleep. Hopefully that stupid nightmare is gone for good.

I woke up at seven am, packed my bags into the car, and hopped into the passenger seat. It was going to take an hour and a half to get to the train station. I listened to my iPod and played games on it as well.

After the long train ride and short taxi ride, I came to The Academy for the Magically Gifted. This is the school I go to, along with my friends Amy, Megan, Tom, Chris, and Nick. We love it here at The Academy.

Once I get out of the cab with all my bags, I hand the taxi driver $25 for driving me. After I see he's out of sight, I zap my bags into my bedroom. I walk into the school and up to the receptionist. I give her my name and she smiles, and gives me a room key.

"Welcome back!" said the receptionist.

"Thank you!" I reply with a smile.

I head up to my room (which is the same room I get every year, room 14A. I share the room with Amy and Megan. Chris, Tom, and Nick always get room 14B.) and to my surprise Megan was already in there, had up packed her things as well as mine. She was lying on her bed, talking to Nick. As I walked in, Megan embraced me with a hug. After about three minutes, she let go and Nick embraced me in a hug for about another three minutes. All three of us sat on the floor and talked as one by one Chris, Tom, and Amy all walked in. After that, we all went to the graveyard to find Keith's grave.

"Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday dear Keith. Happy Birthday to you." we all sang as I cried my eyes out into Chris's chest.

After I got all my crying done, we went back to the school and went to our rooms to finish getting ready for the 'Welcome Back Dinner'.