Chapter 2: School and the Box
Karin stared dreamily out the window onto the front lawn. The sun was just coming up over the roofs of the houses across the street. A baby blue 1977 Cadillac was slowly cruising the street, delivering the morning paper. She turned back to the clock that said 5:59. She sighted. She had gotten up early to see the sun rise, only because she couldn't sleep anymore. Actually, she had a feeling that something would happen today. Suddenly the radio turned on saying, "Good morning, New York City! Today is Monday, April 3, 2001. Today will be partly sunny, with clouds forming by noon. No rain until tonight, but possibly by midnight. The high today will be 43, so bundle up!" Karin turned off the radio, and walked over to the closet. Since it was going to be cold, today's outfit had to be warm. Karin chose a pair of blue jeans, a gray shirt with a Star Wars Rebel insignia on the front, and an old blue sweatshirt. Charging downstairs, she caught a glimpse of herself in the downstairs bathroom mirror. She walked in, and pulled out a brush. Her hair was shoulder-length, and a dark shade of brown that led her teachers to wonder if she dyed it. She looked much Bastian, with his hazel eyes and dark hair. She had her mother's fair complexion, which was common for Fantasian women of the northern central regions. She walked out after putting it up in a ponytail and walked into the kitchen. Grampa was drinking coffee, as Karin poured herself some cereal. After munching for a while, she left to go to school. Mr. Coreander sighed as she ran off to catch the bus. She had certainly grown over the years. The powers the Auryn had were starting to show. Karin was brilliant and wise beyond her years, and the Auryn would glow white whenever she was in danger. Surely by now, Ryxutra would have noticed. He nodded. He would die soon, and Karin would be on her own. Bastian had left a box that left instructions on how to reach Fantasia via a transporter. It was in the attic. He went quickly to fetch it, and left it on Karin's table with a note saying,"Do not open until you are safe." Soon, the end of Ryzutra's reign would end. He had had a horrible disease that was causing him to die slowly. Xayide had caused this when Bastian had been searching for her. He quietly, walked into the living room, and called the police, "I am dying. Please fetch my granddaughter after school." Those were his final words.
Meanwhile in school, Karin was doing fractions. Ever since her 10th birthday in December, she had begun to get smarter. Everything was easy, and she could sense things when they were about to happen. The strangest thing that had happened so far was when a bully tried to hit her, the Auryn glowed right and it protected her. This got weird stares from everyone, so she was mostly alone. The next problem was supposed to be a bonus, "Take 1/2 and multiply by 1/3." That was easy. She started to write down the answer when the lunch bell rang. Every fourth-grader grabbed his/her lunch and lined up. Karin grabbed her lunch box, and walked of to the cafeteria. Her friend, Scott waved, and she sat down next him. Scott Riley was her best friend. Karin, Scott, and the crowd they hung out with were a group of kids who liked science fiction and fantasy. They were the "geeks" of the fourth grade. The populars were all soccer fans and below-average students. Karin dug into some Spaghetti-O's she had packed. "Hey, Karin, what did you think of the math test,' a girl called Liz asked. Karin rolled her eyes,"It was so easy!" Everyone else nodded in agreement. Suddenly there was a bloodcurdling scream from the lunchline, "What do you mean 'no more pizza!' I want pizza now! I want it now! Give it to me now, you pig! " The screaming girl angrily punched the lunch-lady square in the nose. The lunch-lady was frightened and backed away. Two officers dragged her away, but not without resistance. The finally managed after she fell off the table she was standing on. The girl was Yolanda Whitman, the most popular fourth-grader. She was also a big, whiny baby, who always failed her classes, and barely passed the past grades. Her parents always gave her everything she wanted, thus, whenever something went wrong, she went ballistic. Karin shuddered. Yolanda was always a bully, fighting for the fun of it. Karin never had liked Yolanda, and now she was being taken away, for good. Everyone went back to lining up for the 45-minute recess. Out on the playground, the children scattered out to play whatever they wanted. Karin and some other children ran to the large fort to play, while the snooty ones sat along the brick wall of the gym, gossiping. Karin was playing a hand-clapping game, when a bully approached Karin. She was obviously after her necklace! "Gimmme that, or you'll be sorry!" Karin resisted, "Never. Go somewhere else." The girl raised her fist, as Karin fell to her knees. The Auryn glowed bright white, as the girl viciously aimed for Karin's stomach. Unfortunately, the punch missed, and the bully's fist hit the hard plastic. She groaned, "Keep it." She than ran off. Karin realized that everyone was staring at her. "What," she asked. Everyone cheered and clapped wildly, and they shouted, "Hooray for Karin! You rock! You're the best! Hooray for Karin, the Bully stopper!" Then, the bell rang. Every last kid lined up for the last class. Karin's class had Free Time. Karin's class stayed on the playground until school let out. Karin ran far from everyone until she reached an old wooden playhouse on the furthest edge of the playground. She sat down on the floor and examined the Auryn. It as hot. She was taking it off when a teacher ran up and said, "Are you Karin Coreander? You must go with the police." Karin looked up,"Why? Did something happen to Grampa?" The teacher shook her head. Karin ran to the office, "Where's my Grampa?" The police officer gave her a sad look, and she broke out into tears.
Several hours later, she was in a room at a local orphanage. Her clothes, books, and stuff were there. A woman walked in, "Karin, your grandfather wanted you to read this." Karin noticed some kids were looking in. They were orphans, just like her. An older boy walked by and said, "Dinner's on. Are you new?" Karin nodded. She left the letter on her new bedside table. The letter would have to wait until after dinner.