Chapter 1: Introducing Ophelia

Honestly, I should have known better. I should have known that things were too good to be true. I should have known that my life was about to go from bad to worse. And I should have known it would be all my brother's fault.

Okay, okay, I know what you're thinking, it couldn't be all my brother's fault, right? Well, I suppose that's true. But this is my story. Not his. I know, I know, I'm sure you're thinking that you've heard it all before. That my story won't be anything new or exciting. That might very well be true, but like I said, this is my story and I'm gonna share it because someone (Yes, Percy, I'm talking about you.) has a nasty habit of leaving out very important details. Like the fact that I exist and got thrown on this roller coaster of an adventure with him.

You see, my name is Ophelia Jackson and I'm Percy's twin. Much like my brother who doesn't go by his given name, I'm the same way. I go by Lia. Lia. It's short and sweet, right? Kinda like me. Now, where was I? Oh, right. I was about to tell you about the time I almost died on a field trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. And like I said before, it was all my brother's fault. Go figure.

Mr. Brunner the Latin teacher at Yancy Academy was droning on about one of the exhibits. I tried my hardest to pay attention. I really did. But my ADHD had once again reared its ugly head. I glanced at my brother who stood next to his roommate Grover. I could tell that he too was facing the same battle. My only consolation was that I seemed to be managing it much better than him, but it's not like it was a contest or anything. In all honesty, the person I felt the sorriest for was my mother. Having to put up with two troubled kids, like Percy and me, couldn't have been easy. Sometimes, I couldn't understand how or why she did it. But yet she did. I was told love made people do otherwise crazy things.

When I caught Mr. Brunner's eye, I shoved my hands in the pockets of my jeans and prayed he didn't call on me. He opened his mouth and I thought that maybe my prayer had been bounced-back, like a bad email, but then my brother had to go and say something stupid.

"Will you shut up?" Percy's voice echoed across the room. Suddenly, the children burst into laughter and everyone's attention turned toward Percy, including Mr. Brunner's.

I looked at my brother and saw him looking sheepishly at the ground. Clearly, he hadn't meant for everyone to hear his words and I knew he would never tell Mr. Brunner to shut up. If there was one teacher at Yancy that Percy liked and respected, it was Mr. Brunner. The only positive about the situation was that my prayer seemed to have been answered because Mr. Brunner directed his words toward Percy. "Mr. Jackson, did you have a comment?" he asked.

Percy's face turned red. Like bright red, cherry tomato red. Still looking at the floor, Percy muttered, "No, sir."

Mr. Brunner then went on to ask Percy a question about something or another, I'm not exactly sure. I got distracted...again. But Mrs. Dodds was suddenly by your side, intently staring at you, I bet you'd get distracted too.

Mrs. Dodds was my math teacher and the phrase scary as hell seemed to be an understatement for her. Why someone ever thought it would be a good idea to allow her around children is beyond me. Sure, there probably hadn't been a lot of candidates for a mid-year replacement, but it wouldn't have surprised me if Mrs. Dodds had intimidated them into hiring her. Despite her small stature, a single glance from her could send shivers up your spine.

And my spine was certainly shivering. Especially when she rested her hand on my shoulder. Why was she singling me out right now? It was Percy who had acted up...not me. I mean, sure occasionally I was known to act up, but the only thing I was guilty of since entering the museum was not paying attention and the same went for about 90% of the class. There was no reason to pick on me. So, I tried to ignore her. But the thing about Mrs. Dodds is that there's this creepy thing about her that one just can't ignore. It's like she knows you're trying to ignore her and then she makes things worse.

"Now, honey," Mrs. Dodds whispered in my ear.

"Yes, Mrs. Dodds?" I stammered, trying to make my voice sound as sweet as possible, hoping that somehow she would backoff..literally.

'Now, honey, come with me," Mrs. Dodds said pulling back on my shoulder, her fingernails digging into my shoulder. But her fingernails didn't feel like fingernails. They felt more like claws latching onto me. I tried to shake her off, but her grip remained tight.

"Let. Go," I hissed. I glanced at her hand, which I probably shouldn't have done, and I could have sworn that I saw talons digging into my shoulder. Talons? That couldn't be right. I blinked several times trying to see straight, but it didn't help and her grip tightened as she attempted to slowly pull me backward. "Stop!" I screamed, my voice reverberating through the large room. I almost thought my shrill tone was going to shatter something.

And just as Percy had done moments before, now all eyes were on me. My face flushed and I tried to bury my face in the hood of my sweatshirt when I caught Mr. Brunner's eye. He was probably thinking something about those Jackson twins always causing trouble, but I couldn't focus on that because I suddenly saw Mrs. Dodds standing behind him. My brow furrowed in confusion. How the hell had she gotten over there? Mr. Brunner was on the other side of the room and there was no way Mrs. Dodds could have gotten over there in a matter of a couple seconds. There was no possible way. Like, none whatsoever.

Mr. Brunner looked at me curiously as if he wanted to say something, but instead, he turned toward Mrs. Dodds. "Mrs. Dodds, would you lead us back outside? It's time for lunch."

Mrs. Dodds narrowed her eyes at me and for a moment, I thought I saw her eyes flicker. But that was crazy talk. Eyes don't flicker. As I rubbed my face, trying to get some grip back on reality, Mrs. Dodds led the other students outside.

"Jacksons," Mr. Brunner called. It was obvious he wanted to talk to us about our behaviors and I didn't want to talk about. Not when I was seeing things.

I did the worst possible thing you could probably do to a teacher who was bound in a motorized wheelchair. I ran. Realizing how stupid and immature that was, as I was running, I shouted the word "bathroom" hoping that Mr. Brunner would understand that it was some kind of emergency. I just hoped he didn't send Mrs. Dodds after me.

I escaped to the women's restroom and locked myself in a stall for a couple minutes and just sat on the toilet. "Just breathe. Just breathe. Just breathe." I reminded myself. I tried convincing myself that what I had seen wasn't real. That it was just my mind playing tricks on me. But truth was, I was terrified. The last thing my mother needed was to have a basket case for a daughter. We didn't have that kind of money. We didn't even have the money to send both Percy and me to Yancy.

When I finally felt that I had composed myself, at least enough to leave the bathroom stall, I walked to the sink. I leaned against the sink and looked at my reflection. Curious, I tugged at my sweatshirt to reveal my bare shoulder in the mirror. Sure enough, there appeared to be claw marks. I shook my head and released my hold on my sweatshirt, letting it fall back into place. There had to be some logical reason why those marks were on my shoulder, right? Perhaps something happened that I didn't remember. Maybe I was blacking something out. Like...maybe I ran into a cat or something. Yeah, that had to be it. Teachers didn't have talons. I sighed. I really hoped I didn't have to see a shrink about any of this.

I then caught a glance of my puffy red eyes. Yes, I allowed some tears to be shed while I was hiding out in the bathroom stall, but I didn't want anyone to know I had been crying. So, I turned on the sink and splashed water on my face. Immediately, I began to feel better. My eyes returned to normal and I felt somewhat rejuvenated, but I still couldn't take my mind off the scratches. I pulled my sweatshirt again, but this time, I was surprised to see that the marks no longer remained. I gasped. Had I made the entire thing up?

But I didn't have time to focus on the tricks my mind was playing on me because Nancy Bobofit entered the bathroom. I didn't like Nancy Bobofit any more than my brother Percy did, but unlike him, I knew better than to engage or provoke her. Not that it always worked. Most of the time, she picked on me simply because I was Percy's sister which was apparently a good enough reason for her.

I tried to just walk past her, but she must have purposely come for me because she made sure no one was looking before she shoved me against the wall. Using her arm, she pinned my shoulders back. I looked her directly in the eyes. "If you don't do what we both know you're about to do, I'll give you my lunch," I bargained.

For a moment, she seemed to entertain the idea, but clearly, my lunch wasn't worth the satisfaction she would receive from hurting me because she responded, "I don't think so, freak."

I knew what came next. I closed my eyes to brace for impact when suddenly, I felt an odd sensation in my stomach. Next thing I knew, I heard Nancy Bobofit scream along with the sound of rushing water. I slowly opened one eye to see that the pipes beneath the sink next to me had exploded and water was gushing from them, spraying Nancy Bobofit. Not wanting to wait around for Nancy to come to her sense, I hightailed it out of the bathroom.

I ran past the security people who yelled for me to stop running and I didn't stop until I was outside. For a moment, I stopped to catch my breath. Even if Nancy Bobofit had run after me, I knew I had a few seconds to breathe because she couldn't run quite as fast as me. I looked up at the sky overhead. A giant storm was brewing. The weather seemed as troubled as I was these days. One day it would, the next massive flooding. And then wildfires. I couldn't keep up with it all. But perhaps it would cause people to recognize that global warming was actually a thing.

I caught sight of Percy waving at me. He was sitting beside the fountain with Grover. I waved back at my brother and descended the stairs of the MET, where most of my classmates sat eating their lunches. I was glad Percy had chosen a spot away from everyone. I really wasn't much of a people person. The fact that I hadn't made a single friend at Yancy was proof. I mean, even Percy managed to make a friend. I mean, don't get me wrong. Grover's friendly enough and there were times I might have considered calling him a friend, but he was definitely more Percy's friend than mine. Although, Percy said it was because I pushed Grover away. I had a tendency to do that: push people away. It was easier to keep people at arm's length than let them in. But for now, Percy and Grover were exactly what I needed.

Without saying anything, I sat down beside my brother, opposite the side of Grover, who was eating an apple. "Where were you?" Percy asked. "Brunner wanted to talk to us."

"Bathroom," I said, technically not lying, but not giving him more than that.

Percy didn't quite seem to buy it. He looked at me and our eyes met. Our eyes were the same color, something we had inherited from our father. And call me crazy, but it seemed to cause a connection between us. Now, I know people say that twins have this certain, unexplainable connection, but if that was true, Percy and I seemed to have amplified connection. Using our twin connection, Percy must have sensed something was wrong because his brow furrowed. "What's going on with you, Lia?" he asked.

I chewed on my lip. I wasn't sure whether to lie to him or tell him the truth. My brother was like the only person I trusted in the world, but I couldn't bear the thought of him thinking I was crazy. "Nothing," I said, trying to shrug it off, but again, he wasn't buying it.

"Lia," he said nudging me. I tried not responding. But he nudged me again. Percy always knew how to make me cave. Sometimes, I hated being a twin. Don't get me wrong, I loved my brother, but he knew me too well.

I sighed. "I just feel like everything that could go wrong today, is going wrong."

"Don't say that," Grover whispered looking rather paranoid, glancing over his shoulder. "Take it back. When you say stuff like that it always gets worse."

I rolled my eyes. "I mean, first Mrs. Dodds…"

"What about her?" Percy interrupted. I looked at my brother with an annoyed expression. I knew he had a thing about Mrs. Dodds, but still.

I looked around to make sure Mrs. Dodds wasn't in earshot. She was too busy not paying attention to children, so then I whispered to my brother. "It was weird. She was trying to get me to go somewhere and...and for a moment there, I thought she had…" I barely choked out the last word. "Talons."

Grover's eyes got wide for a second, but then he seemed to remember that he needed to keep his composure or something. "What is your problem?" I asked him.

He stayed silent for a moment before he said, "Indigestion."

I rolled my eyes again. "I mean, I'm sure it was my mind playing tricks on me, but that was why I screamed. It was like Mrs. Dodds wanted me to go somewhere with her. It was kinda creepy. And if that wasn't bad enough, Nancy Bobofit cornered me in the bathroom...and a sink exploded."

Grover seemed to choke on his apple and a rather odd noise escaped from his lips. "Seriously, dude?" I hissed. I normally wasn't this moody with Grover, but he was just annoying me at this point. I took a deep breath trying to calm myself while Percy looked at me worriedly. I knew the kind of stuff I just described sounded crazy, so I hastily added, "Don't tell, Mom."

That was always our catch-all, which we honestly used quite frequently. Like the time Percy accidentally set off a Revolutionary War cannon...or the time our class unexpectedly took a swim in the Marine World. Granted, Mom found out about this stuff anyway, but not from me. I kept my mouth shut and never uttered a word. I mean, obviously, there was more. But Don't tell, Mom was a code Percy and I always abided by. Always.

"So, what did Brunner want?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

"Oh, you know, the usual: I expect better from you, you need to know this stuff because somehow it will apply in real life, kinda stuff."

"Yeah, you're right. Pretty normal for you." I glanced up at him and smirked. Percy let out a chuckle and then gently pushed me. "Oh, it's on," I laughed as I reached into the fountain and splashed him. Without hesitation, Percy reached over and splashed me back. I giggled.

I was just about to siege my next attack against my brother when Grover said, "We got company." Both Percy and I turned to see Nancy Bobofit approaching us...and she didn't look happy, but this time, she had her friends with her. If one could really call them that.

I don't think Percy realized he did it, but he put his arm in front me, placing himself between myself and Nancy. He was always doing that...which was part of the reason he got into trouble more than I did. "This is between me and her, punk," Nancy scoffed at Percy, her wet hair clinging to her face. I wasn't sure whether she was more terrifying dry...or wet. Although, she did kinda look like a wet sloth.

"Leave her alone," Percy said.

"Oh?" Nancy asked. "Well, then, if you won't give us her…" Nancy's gaze zeroed-in on Grover. She grunted something her friends seemed to understand because they seemed to now inch closer to Grover. Nancy grabbed Grover's lunch and dumped it on his lap before she gave him a shove, sending him falling into the fountain.

Then, everything seemed to happen so fast that I could barely discern what actually happened. But suddenly, Nancy Bobofit was in the fountain, being bombarded by cascading water, screaming that Percy had pushed her and Mrs. Dodds had materialized next to us. I was so confused. What was happening today?

Nancy Bobofit crawled out of the fountain, putting on the waterworks for Mrs. Dodds. "Percy pushed me into the fountain! All I wanted to do was ask his sister why she sprayed me with water in the bathroom."

"I didn't!" I snapped. "The sink exploded while you were about to punch me!"

That was definitely the wrong thing to do. I should have kept my mouth shut, but sometimes, it gets the better of me. Mrs. Dodds looked between Percy and me, with an expression on her face like Christmas had just come early. It was almost smiling. Almost. But much creepier. After Mrs. Dodds told Nancy that they would buy her a new shirt from the gift shop, she turned toward Percy and me and told us to come with her.

Grover, who was still wringing out his shirt, yelped, "Wait! It was me! I pushed her...and rigged the bathroom sink."

My brow furrowed. Why would he take credit for that? Especially when he obviously hadn't? It was even more impressive knowing that Mrs. Dodds scared Grover to death.

Mrs. Dodds glared at him with the coldest expression I've ever seen her give, and I've seen a lot of cold expressions from her. "I don't think so, Mr. Underwood."

"But-"

"You-will-stay-here."

Grover looked at Percy and me desperately. I had never seen such an expression on his face before. There was something more to it. Something that I didn't quite understand until later. But Percy just seemed to shrug it off. "We'll be fine, man," Percy said. "It's not the first time we've gotten in trouble."

But I could tell by Grover and Mrs. Dodds' expressions, that this was different. I just didn't know how or why. Mrs. Dodds then yelled for us to follow her immediately and Nancy Bobofit seemed rather pleased with herself.

Percy and I turned to follow Mrs. Dodds, but she wasn't there. "What the-" Percy muttered, but I nudged him and pointed at a sight that completely terrified us both. Somehow, Mrs. Dodds had gotten to the top of the steps, near the entrance to the museum and was impatiently motioning for us to come on.

If only I had refused. Then maybe, I wouldn't have almost died. But instead, I followed on as I was told.

Author's note: So, there's the writing that helped through my writer's block. I know, I know, another plot bunny...and nothing too original either. I know. I'm posting this because it's the only way I can win my writing contest with nixdragon! Haha. So, sorry it kinda sucks...but hey, it got me writing again! Also, I haven't decided fully on an age yet. Twelve is a little too young (books) but I'm not sold on seventeen (movie) so, it's puprosely vague.