Disclaimer: All OCs belong to me. Everyone else belongs to Universal.
A/N: Hello, dear reader! This is my first fanfiction on this network, so I'm sorry if it's not so good or if there are some grammatical errors. Please leave your review so I can improve my story and make your reading experience even better. But anyway, enough rambling and let's get to the story!
Chapter 1: Crystals and Conflits
Somewhere in Wisconsin, the landscape showed that winter would soon arrive, as the many trees in the area were already leafless. A school bus passed through a street lined with houses on either side, pulling up and opening its doors, letting a boy get out.
This boy had brown hair, green eyes and fair skin. He wore a black and white striped sweater, blue jeans and green shoes. His name was Benjamin.
Benjamin was walking back to his home, taking a shortcut through the woods, when he suddenly felt something fall on his head.
"Ow!" said Benjamin rubbing the affected spot. "But what was that?" he asked looking up, noticing a crow flying above him. "A crow?" Benjamin looked confused at the animal, then shifted his view downwards and was surprised to see a necklace with a bright green oval-shaped crystal lying on the ground, picking it up. "Where did you find this?" he said looking in wonder at the object. The crow cawed and flew away.
Benjamin, unsure what to do with the necklace, put it in his backpack.
He continued on his way until he reached the front of his house. Now that winter break was approaching, Benjamin wouldn't have to put up with his classmates anymore. But he also had a disadvantage. Things at his home weren't going well. His expression changed from calm to annoyed, and with no choice, he walked into the house.
"Benjamin?" said his mother, named Kate, as she spoke to someone on her cell phone. Benjamin, as soon as he entered, went upstairs and into his bedroom, refusing to say a word to his mother.
"Benjamin, it's your father. We need to talk to… No, he's already upstairs." she said a little annoyed to Benjamin's father. "I don't know, Jake. What do you think?" she asked, continuing the conversation.
Benjamin's room could be considered normal, as it had basic furniture, such as a bed, a desk with a computer and also a video game. Except horror movie posters and monster drawings were pasted on some of the bedroom walls.
Benjamin loves horror movies and also loves creating his own horror stories. However, because he writes these stories, his classmates sometimes tease him.
On one wall was a calendar with the current month, a circle drawn in red showing a specific date. The next day, there would be an essay contest in a town near where Benjamin lives, which he was very excited to participate in.
"Okay, where did I stop?" Benjamin clumsily dropped his backpack on the bed and took a notebook and pencil from a desk drawer, sitting on the side of the bed and writing in his notebook. Then his mother called him.
"Benjamin! Can you come down here, please?" she asked.
"Yes, mom!" replied Benjamin. The boy mumbled under his breath and left his room, heading down the stairs and into the living room where his mother was. "What?" he asked his mother.
Kate sighed and said, "Look, I'm sorry, but your father won't be able to take you to the contest."
"Hold on! What?!" said Benjamin in disbelief. "But… But… You and Dad promised me I could go if I improve my grades at school!" he said trying to reason with his mother.
"Yeah, I know that. But your father ended up mixing up the dates and setting up a business trip." his mother replied.
"So why don't you take me?" Benjamin asked in frustration.
"I'm going to have overtime at the clinic all weekend! I thought you'd be with your friend Scott in the meantime." answered her son's question.
"Scott and I aren't friends anymore." said Benjamin remembering his former friend.
"What? Why?" asked his confused mother.
"It doesn't matter! This divorce is ruining everything! Everything we used to do is no longer fun because of you! I can't even tell if this is a real family anymore! Ever wonder what I think about it all?!" shouted Benjamin very upset and with watery eyes. "You know what? All right, I'm not going." he said leaving the room and going upstairs.
"Benjamin, wait! Let's talk." said his mother.
"Leave me alone!" he yelled entering the bedroom and slamming the door. Benjamin looked at the walls of the bedroom and in an angry impulse tore up all the movie posters and monster drawings. The 11-year-old boy kicked the corner of the bed to try to vent his frustration, which obviously didn't work.
"Damn!" he said as he jumped in the foot pain he was feeling now. Benjamin's backpack necklace fell to the floor with the jolt of his recent kick and the 11-year-old boy noticed it. He walked over to the necklace and picked it up from the ground, looking at the green crystal like a magnifying glass. Inconveniently, he was looking at the window through the crystal, where it was already beginning to snow.
At that moment, Benjamin decided what he was going to do.
"If they can't take me to the contest..." he picked it up and stuffed the essentials for the trip into his backpack, in addition to his storybook. "...I'll go to the contest myself." Benjamin put the necklace around his neck, then donned a green beanie, scarf, winter jacket, snow gloves, ski pants, and snow boots.
After finishing getting ready, Benjamin opened the bedroom window, but was hesitant to leave. Is that a good idea? Was he really going to take his chances in the cold just for a contest?
The 11-year-old just shook his head, pushing that thought away and walked past the window, landing on the snowy ground and walking in one direction. Having wandered away from his house a little, Benjamin turned to look at his home one last time before continuing his journey.
Unbeknownst to the boy, the necklace's green crystal shone in a small spark of light.
Continued in next chapter...