Erica is the most popular girl at her school, but when the strange new girl, Amethyst, takes a strange interest in her, her life changes forever. NOT Twilight-related, though it seems like it at first. Erica POV. R&R!

I first met Amethyst after winter break. We had all just gotten back, and almost everyone was recovering from biking injuries, jet skiing injuries, or frostbite, depending on where they had spent their break. I was sitting with my friends in the cafetorium, where we eat and have assemblies. The principal, Mr. Weston, was welcoming us back and droning about how wonderful it was to see our eager, smiling faces. Most of the "eager, smiling faces" were turned away from him and towards their friends. We had all heard it before, about Starting Out The New Semester On The Right Foot, Getting Readjusted To Being In A Classroom, and the dreaded The Midterms Are Coming Soon, So Let's All Study Hard And Try To Be Model Students. Everyone usually just tuned him out and let him talk to himself all he wanted. A few of the teachers' pets tried to listen to him over the murmur of voices, but not many.

My friends and I were talking about what we had done during vacation; Courtney had gone to Vermont for some skiing and had smacked her head on a tree. She didn't think she'd had a concussion, but her mom had forbidden her to text until her head got better. April and Chelsea, the twins, had gone to the Bahamas with their cousin, who was "Like, totally cute!" according to Georgia, which prompted a lively debate over whether it was wrong to date your best friends' cousin. I grinned to myself. It was great to be out of the hot, stuffy, long car ride with my mom and (ick) brother and back with my friends, where I belonged.

"Students? Settle down, please. Students!" The volume of talking went down slightly. "Ah, good. I am proud to announce that we have a new student today!"

A new kid? "Like, shut up for a sec," I hissed to my friends. It might be a boy. A cute boy!

"Now, students, let me introduce you to-"

-Please have it be a (cute!) boy-

"-Amethyst Dreyson!" A girl. Humph. She walked onto the platform. She had long hair, so blond it was almost white, with three weird red streaks. She didn't walk like most new kids, like she was trying to hide herself, but straight upright, almost proudly.

"Amethyst? Like, excuse me, what kind of name is that?"

"Uh, an amethyst is, like, a crystal or something, right? So maybe her parents are, like, hippies or something?"

"Hmm-mm," I said, craning my neck to get a better look at her. She looked sort of cold and dignified, which was weird. Nobody is dignified in middle school. She looked around, calmly surveying the rest of the school. She paused at my group, and our eyes met for a brief second. Her eyes were a strange color, kind of orange-ish, like a hawk or something.

"Look at her hair!"

"Yeah. I bet she, like, dyes it or something. Those red things are probably, like, extensions."

"Yeah," I agreed. The bell rang. "Oh boy; here we go again. See ya later!"

***

My first class was History. Ugh. I hated learning about dusty old monuments and "important" dead people. Our teacher, Mrs. Stenheim, got really worked up about some subjects, like Roman gladiator fights, and would start stalking up the rows of desks and shouting ("These people, most of them slaves, were fighting to the DEATH!!"), which was the only thing that kept about 60% of the class awake. The other 40% were usually snoring.

Today, it was Ancient Phoenicia.

"The wealth of most of these cities depended solely on SNAILS!!! Can you BELIEVE that?! Some of the most prominent Phoenician cities depended on trading the purple fabric DYED by the JUICES produced by these SNAILS!! Now, if you will turn to page 180 in your textbook..."

I yawned and looked around the classroom. Well. There was the new girl, Amethyst. I examined her, scrutinizing her clothes. My inner fashion policewoman retched a little. She was wearing a plain brown turtleneck and a kilt-style skirt with a zipper down the side. A zipper, for Pete's sake!

"Erica!" I jumped. "Perhaps you can tell us which ancient city was considered the trading capital of Phoenicia?"

"Uh..." I stole a quick glance at my book. "Was it, like, Tyre or something?"

"Very good," puffed Mrs. Stenheim. "Tyre was near where the snails were harvested! The wellbeing of the citizens DEPENDED on..."

She turned around and swept up towards the whiteboard. I started to doodle on my notebook, pleased that I got the answer right. After about three smiley faces and a heart or two, I got that weird feeling you get when someone's watching you. I looked up. Amethyst was looking at me with a curious, almost doubtful look. It was kind of creepy, what with her weird eyes and all. I tossed my hair so that it made a sand-colored curtain between me and her penetrating stare. Through the corner of my eye, I saw her turn away from me and towards Mrs. Stenheim. Well, that was kind of weird. I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. The bell rang. Great. Math next. I got all my stuff and breezed out the door. "Hey, guys!" I dumped my stuff on the floor and twirled my locker combo. I shoved my History books into my locker and pulled out my Math binder and my backpack. I rooted through it, grabbed my textbook, and gave it a mighty yank. It fell out and landed with a thump!, along with my English notebook, my iPod earbuds, and my copy of the second Harry Potter. I sighed dramatically and started to pick up my stuff.

"Excuse me, is this yours?" I looked up to see Amethyst holding my Harry Potter book. "Uh, yeah...thanks."

"It looks very...interesting. Harry Potter." She spoke with an odd accent, maybe Middle Eastern or something. She turned the book over and inhaled sharply.

The bell rang. My friends, who'd been staring at Amethyst, pulled their stuff together and went off to their next classes. "Um, can I, like, have my book back now?" She was studying the back cover with the same look she gave me before.

"What? Oh, yes; here." I stuffed it into my locker, gathered my Math stuff.

"Do you mind...meeting me at- oh, what do you call it. After lunch-"

I stared. "Uh, recess?"

"Yes. Reeses. Do you mind meeting me under the oak tree at the north end of the... play area?"

"Mmm, I usually talk with my friends then. For how long? Like, two minutes?" Amethyst nodded. "Ok then." I turned around and shut my locker. "Uh, see you...?"

She was gone.

***

At lunch my friends and I (well, mostly my friends; I couldn't really get a word in) discussed Amethyst and her strange behavior.

"-like she'd never heard of Harry Potter!"

"Oh my god, did you see what she was wearing? It was, like, a kilt! I mean, um, hello? This isn't, like, Scotland!"

"-dyed. I mean, who has hair that color?"

"Wait, who died?"

"Dyed, Courtney, not died. Dyed. With an a."

I rolled my eyes and picked at my "lasagna" (at least that's what the lunch lady said it was). "April, dyed is spelled with a y." I glared at the clock; almost time to go out.

"Oh, so, like, d-e-y-d?"

"You know what? Forget it." Suddenly in a bad mood, I got up, swiped my tray off the table, and dumped the contents in the trash. The bell rang. "I'm not gonna be able to hang out with you guys this recess, 'kay?" Let them come up with a reason by themselves. I was impatient to know what Amethyst wanted.

***

I made my way over to the oak tree at the far left corner of the schoolyard. Nobody really went over there, since it was shaded by the elementary school building. We all hung out in the sunshine. Sure enough, Amethyst was there, holding a brown cloth sack.

"Uh, hi...um." I glanced around to make sure nobody was watching. "So, uh, like, what did you want to-" I coughed. "-um, talk to me about?"

"This." She nodded at the bag. "I searched the school for someone who seemed ...well, right...to take it. Someone who knew a reasonable amount about its origins, its-"

"Yeah, so what is it? The suspense is, like, killing me!"

She shot me a glare. "As I was saying, I scouted around the school, but could find no one. All the students I thought to be eligible turned out to be...flawed. Then I found you. The question in History...the book..." She waved her hand around and dropped it gracefully down to her backpack strap. "As much as I don't like it, you are the one...they...have chosen." She touched the three red strands in her hair briefly, then sighed and thrust the bag at me. "Instructions are inside. If you fail in following them correctly..." She cast a sharp glance at my hair. "...I will know."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Okay, one, that's really creepy and stalker-ish. Two, who chose me? Whaddaya talking about, the students you thought eligible?"

"Instructions are in the bag," she repeated irritably. And with a whoosh, she was gone. She swept across the grass and into the school building.

I didn't see her for the rest of the day.

***

After I got home, finished my homework, and had dinner, I immediately dashed into my room, locked the door, and gently set the brown bag on my bed. Reaching in, I felt something that felt like...bubble wrap? I pulled out a closed envelope, addressed in flowing script: To Whom it May Concern. I opened it, getting a paper cut in return for my eagerness. Sucking my injured finger, I read:

If you have received this letter from me, Amethyst Dreyson, you may proceed. If it came into your possession by the use of force, you will be very sorry indeed.

Touchy.

In the sack in which you found this letter, you will find an object wrapped in bubble wrap. Bring it out.

Hmm. I lifted it out of the bag. To my surprise, it was very hot, even through the bubble wrap. It was shaped like a chicken egg, only the size of my dad's shoe. I unwrapped it. It looked like an egg too, only red with cool orange swirls. I looked back at the letter.

This object is a Fyrebird would know it as a phoenix.

Wait, what?

I reread the sentence. And again. And again. Amethyst must have a weird sense of humor. Either that, or she was delusional. A phoenix egg?! Those were, like, mythical creatures! I stared at the egg. Then at the letter.

You must hatch it tonight, as it is the full moon. Find a fireplace, sprinkle in some cinnamon, and lay the egg in the center. Let it sit for three minutes, and then take the baby out. Name it immediately.

Yup, definitely delusional. But...I looked at the egg again. Would she really go through this much trouble just for a hoax? It was worth a try. I picked up the egg and snuck downstairs. My parents were on their computers and my brother was doing his homework. I crept past the living room doorway, into the kitchen to get some matches and cinnamon, and out the back door. I started a fire in the fire pit for roasting marshmallows in the backyard and tossed in the cinnamon. OMG, this is crazy! What are you even doing out here? What is this going to accomplish?

I shivered. Then I lifted the egg out of the bag and put it in the fire. How long did the letter say? Three minutes? When you're waiting for something important to happen, three minutes is a loooooong time. I went inside and grabbed a marshmallow; if this was just a hoax, at least I would get something out of it. I got a stick from the firewood pile and jammed the marshmallow on. As it was roasting, I pulled out my iPod from my jacket pocket and flipped around. Just as I began to play my favorite song, my marshmallow fell into the fire. "Aw, crap." I looked into the fire to see if it was salvageable and gasped. The egg was vibrating.

My thoughts were rattling around like broken glass. Egg. Hoax. Vibrate- phoenix- Egg? Vibrate- bomb? Hoax- egg -hatch?- crazy- STOPPIT! OK. What did the letter say? "Let it sit for three minutes, and then take the baby out. Name it immediately." OK. No baby yet. I wonder when- OMG what IS that thing?!?!?! Something had emerged from a crack in the egg, but it sure as heck didn't look like the phoenix from the Harry Potter movies! It was kind of purplish, with red stripes on its tail. I gaped for a moment, then consulted the letter. Name it immediately. OK, names, names. Uh, what would you name a phoenix? Fawkes is copyrighted...OK, think, think. Phoenix. Phoenix. Wait- I smiled. It was so simple. What else would you name a phoenix?

Arizona.

***

The next morning, I woke up and immediately checked the box Arizona was in. Still asleep. Good. I glanced at the clock; way before when I usually get up. I picked out an outfit and went to get dressed in the bathroom. And almost screamed. There, in my perfect, sand-colored, flawlessly styled hair, was hideous, bright red streak. I gasped.

It was just like one of Amethyst's.

***

I got to school early, avoiding my friends so they wouldn't see my red streak. I met Amethyst by the oak tree, like she'd said in her letter. "Hey. I, uh-"

"You followed the instructions correctly." She touched my red streak. "What did you name the bird?"

"Oh, uh, Arizona."

She stared. "Wha- what? Arizona? That's- that's-"

"Well, I couldn't think of anything else... I hope you're not, like, offended or-"

And suddenly, she did something I would have never thought of her doing. She burst out laughing.

"Offended? Why would I be offended? That's brilliant! Arizona... A phoenix named Arizona. I love it!"

When she had finished laughing, I handed over Arizona's shoebox, in which she was fast asleep. "Uh, I just wanted to know...where are you taking her?" I had already begun to think of her as a she.

"Oh- to my house. I have two others. When Tokada reincarnated, my parents told me to, and I quote: 'Make some friends. Have someone else hatch the egg.' So I... looked for someone who seemed able to handle it. And I found you." She smiled hesitantly. I smiled back.

And that was how Amethyst, the outsider, and I, Erica, the most popular girl in school, became friends.