Fabes999, it's finally done! So this chapter is dedicated to you, since this IS your challenge, after all.

Disclaimer: I do not own House of Anubis, but I AM excited for the new season in 2012!

Chapter 1: Wake Up Call

I awoke to the sound of an alarm clock screeching. No, wait, not an alarm clock, my stupid phone's alarm.

I groaned, closing my eyes to try and grasp back the thin veil of sleep that had been pulled away from me by that stupid noise. When the noise grew even louder and more obnoxious, I blindly grabbed for my phone on the bedside table.

I slapped my hand on the general area of the cacophony of my alarm bell. But, of course, being clumsy me, I knocked over the glass of water that had been sitting there since last night, and it fell to the floor. There was a soft thud, but no loud shattering to be heard of. My mind attached to the memory of my father adding a nice carpet in my room, one that stretched below my immense, full bed, and the bedside tables that sat on either side. The glass must have landed on the carpet; good thing it did not break, I would be in so much trouble.

I tucked my head into the soft nook of my feather pillow, relaxing into the bed to return to my dreamland. But as I began to count sheep, the sheep turned into the months of the year: January, February, March, April . . . Until finally I reached July, and that sheep would not move. It stayed in its spot and grazed, eating the lush green grass that was the beautiful landscape of my dream.

Then, the dream changed and I was in a shop that sold pets, specifically birds. I really did not know how I knew that one specific detail, while the other important details like what my surroundings looked like and why I was there were completely unknown. I continued to walk into the blur of color that was the pet shop, and came upon a row of brightly colored song birds. They were the only thing in the shop that was clear and focused, and their bright eyes watched my warily, seeing if I was a danger or a friend to them.

I reached out my hand; not to pet them, but to offer my hand as a form of respect to them: if they bit me, they did not want anything to do with me, but if they calmed down, I could go closer to them.

The birds made no movement to hurt me, so I walked forward. They began to trill soft tunes, and I smiled as I listened.

They sang seven notes, one for each note in an octave. But the eighth bird in the row, who I thought would be singing the last note of the octave, began to sing "Happy Birthday" to me.

"Happy birthday!" it shrieked. I tilted my head in confusion. What was it talking about?

"Happy birthday!" it repeated, unfurling its prettily colored wings. The birds all began to wail "birthday", and I sat up in my bed, wide awake. I slowly realized two things . . .

One, my dreams were weird. I have no idea how my mind thought that using singing birds and sheep with the names of months splattered on their sides would help me wake up.

Two, today was my birthday: July 7th. And, it was also Nina Martin's birthday, the one who is the real Chosen One.

I peeled the covers of my purple duvet away from my body, and slowly sat up in bed. Looking out the window, I saw that it was a bright and cheery morning on July 7th. I could just imagine my mother saying a weather forecast the minute she went outside,

"A warm, sunny day in the town of Baths. No chance of showers, only a few stray clouds, and a bunch of smiles and sunscreen. So head down to the beach, and have a good time! This has been Marcella Mercer with the weather report."

My father and I would laugh at her impersonations of the weather forecasters, but the weather would stay true to her predictions. When she claimed it to be cool and windy, nature would comply, giving us freezing temperatures that made many of our friends have to stay inside for warmth. If my mother declared that there was to be light snow, but enough to build a snowman, we would have a couple feet of snow that day, even if it was a clear day. It was as if Mother Nature took my mother's advice to heart and followed her guidance.

She was a beautiful woman, inside and out. Her looks were amazing . . . she had olive skin that anyone would kill to have, and the light makeup she wore only complimented her exotic look; long, chocolate brown locks fell down her back in a cascade of silky hair; big, almond brown eyes framed with long black lashes; and her body was just to die for: a curvy figure with long legs that made her reach a height of five foot six.

Sometimes I miss her. Everything about my mother was amazing: the way she smiled at a ridiculous joke; the way she would laugh about anything and shrug it off, unlike my father and I who take everything to heart; the way she would hold me in her arms if I ever got hurt.

Suddenly, a drop of water appeared on my pajama pants. I looked up, thinking that the ceiling was leaking. The ceiling was perfectly fine, no water spots or anything. Another line of water was trickling down my neck. Then I realized that I was the one crying.

I pressed the heels of my palms to my eyes, quickly brushing the tears away. I shook my head to clear the sad memories away, closing my eyes to try and calm myself down. Joy Mercer does not cry, I am so much stronger than that, I said to myself.

Taking in a deep breath through my nose, steeling myself for the rest of the day, I opened my eyes, and stood up to get dressed.

I took a quick ten-minute shower, brushed my teeth, and blow-dried my wet hair. I dressed in a gray, sleeveless ruffle dress that tied at the nape of my neck. I added a few black bangles to my wrist and a pair of black, glass dangling earrings that hung to my chin. I looked in the mirror. There was the popular, always in control, Joy Mercer that everyone loved.

"You are great, you are the best," I whispered to my reflection. "You are not afraid of anything."

With those words, my confidence was boosted, and I slipped on a pair of black, three-inch heels. I walked out of the door, grabbing a gray, knit purse on the way out, and descended the stairs.

"Dad! I'm going to Amber's for a while!" I called once I reached the front door.

There was no answer, so I went into the kitchen, wrote a note to him saying I would be away for the day, but would call later, and left it on the counter. I walked out of the house, locking the door, and called a cab.

I gave the cab driver Amber's address and he began to drive. The engine made soft humming noises as he drove, while I pulled out my phone to check for birthday texts. My heart fell to the floor at seeing the blank screen; no one had texted me yet.

I tucked my phone back into my purse, sighing to myself. I bet it's because there is a surprise party for my birthday at Amber's house, I thought, reassuring myself.

Yours and Nina's, a secret voice whispered.

I cringed, shaking the thoughts away. No. Don't think about her. This is your day.

I tuned into the cab driver's rambling voice. Then I realized he had been talking to me for a while.

"Miss? Miss! Hey, lady!" he shouted at me. The man was turned around in his seat, glaring at me.

"Yes, what is it?" I snapped, breaking through my reverie.

"We're here," he said, holding out a meaty palm for money.

I huffed, rolling my eyes. I stuffed my hand in my purse to grab for my wallet, fishing out the required amount of money to pay him. I smacked the money into his palm and opened the door to get out.

"You're welcome!" he called as he revved the engine.

I waved my hand in reply, striding toward the black, iron-wrought, front gate of Amber's huge house, or mansion was more like it. One of the intricate-looking iron gates was open slightly, and I pushed my way through it.

I hope you guys liked it! I finally got this in after so long... And this will probably be a four- or five-shot story... Maybe longer, idk yet.

But! I have typed about half of it up, so updates will be more frequent than Only A Dream?

And to those who are about to flame me for not updating OaD?, I'm so sorry to you guys. I'm just under massive writer's block, and I'm trying to get through a few chapters ahead of time to attempt to have more frequent updates. It will be before November, I can promise you that, but I'm going to just take a break from that for a bit...

Anyways, please review this! Chapter 2 coming soon!

~Ary