The Royal Guardian

By: Sokai

Disclaimer: I, Sokai, do not claim ownership to the workings of W.I.T.C.H. -- I leave that honor up to Elisabetta Gnone. Nor do I own Meg Cabot's "The Princess Diaries" series (even though this story isn't even really related to the series. Just don't want to hear law suit claims LoL). However, I can and DO claim to own this story and its inspired ideas FROM said series.

Note: See? You wanted some snogging, and I gave you that blurb of how Caleb and Corny went at it like rabbits (yay to you C/C fans; gross to me and other non-C/C fans). Anyway, that's all I have to say, cuz someone will probably tell me this next entry of Will's is short. Sigh . . .

This chapter was created in November 2006.

Chapter Seven

Still Wednesday, November 1st, Math

You know that it totally sucks that I have math class as the last period of the day. All I want to do is get out of here and head over to swim practice, since that's about one of the only times that I feel completely "in sync" with everything going on (or lack thereof) within my life.

But I just got a pretty weird text message from my mother a few minutes ago. I mean, it's weird on its own that my mother would be texting me during school hours, when she never has before, as she says that I have enough distractions roaming around within the school walls and so I don't need messages of "I love you!"'s or "Be sure to pick up milk on your way home"'s being sent from her.

But, besides the fact that she's text messaging me right now (and that she was avoiding me like the plague up until now), the message itself is the most bizarre.

Here's what it said:

Skip your swim practice and come straight home after school, Will. Extremely important. -- Mom.

Now I don't know what to think. I mean, my mind is racing, because my Mom is probably one of the hardest to figure out within my life right now. I seriously have no clue how to map her out anymore. Especially because she just told me to actually skip my swim practice.

For long as I can remember, Mom has never told me to flake out on any of my responsibilities, and now she's telling me to do so?

What is with her? I really hope that she isn't having a nervous breakdown, or midlife crisis or something (a bit premature for the latter, considering that she's only thirty-nine), because that's just something I am in no way prepared to even begin to handle right now, despite my newfound resolution to reform.

Still. What's going to happen if my mom does? I mean, thinking beyond the social ramifications of it all, what will happen to our small family? Will I have to go live with Dad? I'd like to see how that one will work out, considering that Dad's not exactly Mom's favorite person and all.

Besides that, Dad's currently busy globe-trotting with his new wife, Sarina Sanchez-Vandom. I don't think that they'll have much time to deal with me. Or, what if I end up in foster care or something instead? What if someone like Principal Knickerbocker adopts me, and I'll have to end up going to bed at four-thirty in the afternoon and have to sleep in booty pajamas or something?

Ugh. It's only been forty-five minutes since I'd first made my promise to be more solidified as a budding young adult, and I'm already cracking with all of my complaining all over again.

Besides, how backwards am I to be worrying about myself if Mom really is losing her marbles or something as we speak? I'm almost eighteen! If I really do end up with Dad and Sarina, I'll be going off to college soon anyway, and won't be with them except in the summertime and during the holidays.

And if I get adopted, well . . . actually, I couldn't get adopted at this point because I'll be eighteen soon. So, okay. Scratch that one dilemma out then.

Oh, shoot. I just got another text message, this time from Matt (whom I definitely have to go see later today, because I could use the comfort and support right about now).

This one's even more weird than Mom's had been:

Hey, Kermie (Matt's nickname for me, since I love frogs so much). Know ur in class right now -- & I'm not. Ha Ha. Make sure u pay attention so u can give me ur notes 2 copy l8r, ok? Had 2 stay home 2 look after g-pa, I 4-got 2 mention when I called u durin ur lunch period, cuz he wasn't feelin so well.

NE way, I'm on my way 2 the market downtown 2 pick up sum more cough syrup 4 him, & guess who I am seeing hangin around outside of that ritzy Infinity Crowne Plaza Hotel, in a trench coat & Bug-Eye sunglasses? Ur mother! IDK know if she's meetin sum 1 though, cuz the light just turned green & I have 2 move on. Either ur mother is secretly related 2 Carmen Sandiego or sumthin, or she's having sum secret affair she doesn't want u 2 know about. NE way, I'll call u l8r after ur swim practice, 'kay? Luv u, babe!

-- Matt

Great. Now my resolve to be more sound has completely flown out of the window after reading that.

First, Mom doesn't speak to me. Then she has me do a marathon of chores out of the blue. Then she tells me to ditch swim practice (which I'm still debating whether or not I should, because I do have a really big meet coming up next Monday and I need all of the practice time I can manage to squeeze in before then).

And now, Matt sees her dressed very suspicious-like while standing outside of Infinity Crowne Plaza Hotel, one of the snazziest hotels in town and that only the super "well-off" like celebrities or whatever can afford to stay in (and that even Cornelia cannot afford to do so)?

Now I know that Mom has lost her freaking mind, especially since she's always made it a point to steer clear of that place (and any other lavish place, come to think of it).

But I can't do anything about it right now, not with thirty-two minutes out of a forty-four minute class left within the period, and the teacher giving me death glares to pay attention.

Well, whatever. No matter what, I'm going to find out after class, right?

Whatever it is, though, I know for fact that it will not and cannot be as bad as how today has shaped out.

-- End of Chapter Seven

(A.N. Yeah. I know what you're saying: "Finally, we're getting somewhere with this plot." Yes. I didn't want to rush into it and I normally don't with my stories, so yeah. Wanted to have something "frivolous" happen to Will before diving into the more important crap. Anyway, sorry if some of you couldn't understand Matt's text lingo – since I'm deathly lazy, I write like that all the time in my texts. And boy does Susan really look like she's related to Carmen Sandiego now that I think about it . . . who also used to honestly scare me when I was a kid, cuz she was always stealing sh.t and then hiding all over the world, and it bothered me when those contestants and junk couldn't catch her on the show, cuz I was like, "Oh, great. NOW she's probably gonna come hide somewhere over HERE." Geez. LoL Oh, and I know that Sarina's only in the cartoon, not the comics. But I didn't feel like diving into the "real story" behind dirty Tommy, so I just left it at that. So there. Anyway, stay tuned.)