Cassandra Elaine Walker lives with her father, Ross, her mother, Charisse, and her older twin brothers, Austin and Luke in Harper, Kansas. She is fifteen years old and is a freshman in high school, but for now, she is enjoying her summer.
Cassy picked up the garden hose that was strung across the front yard. It is a sunny summer afternoon and the family was outside washing the navy blue ford explorer that sits in the driveway. Trying to remain unnoticed, Cassy snuck up behind her brother, Luke. She hid the hose behind her back, making sure that the nozzle wasn't leaking.
"Hey Luke," she shouted. When Luke turned around, Cassy brought the hose out from behind her back, and let the water flow freely, squirting Luke straight in the chest. After recovering from the shock, Luke picked up a soapy sponge and lunged it at her. Cassy ducked just in time. Looking behind her to see where the sponge had gotten to, Cassy realized suddenly that the sponge had hit her mother in the back of the head. Her perfect blonde hair was now drenched in soapy water.
A smile spread across her face as she picked up a rag off the ground, dunked it in the bucket and threw it at her oldest son, Austin.
Soon, the rest of the family had joined in, and not long after, they all headed inside to dry off. Cassy walked up the beige carpet stairs to her room to change into some dry clothes before heading down to dinner. Glancing around her room, she remembered the story about every item that the room held. Her Harry Potter diary was given to her for her fifteenth birthday, which had passed about a month ago. Her eyes finally fell upon her computer on the desk, which was littered with drawings of her fantasies of Harry Potter and his friends. She took her time examining her Harry Potter merchandise before slowly walking down the stairs.
Dinner consisted of goulash, which was delicious. Afterward, she got up to help the twins clear the table, then she went into the living room. She sat down on the couch and put her head in her mother's lap.
"I'm glad summer is almost over," Cassy said drowsily. "I want something to do during the day." Her mom chuckled and stroked Cassy's hair. Within fifteen minutes she was fast asleep.
Cassy awoke suddenly to a clap of thunder. Looking at the clock on the VCR, she realized it was three o'clock. Instead of moving from the couch to her bed, she climbed the stairs and headed toward her room. She gathered the blankets up from her bed, shut off the computer, and went back downstairs.
She couldn't get back to sleep, so she picked up the remote and turned on the television. After flipping channels for twenty minutes, she decided to watch a movie. Taking care not to step on the noisy floorboard, she crept to the wooden cabinet in the corner of the living room and scanned the movie titles until she found the one she wanted to watch.
Harry Potter and the Sourcer's Stone was the movie she chose. It was her favorite movie of all time. She had become obsessed with the books when she was in the fourth grade. Cassy knew every adventure, every character's name and every detail of her beloved Harry Potter. Her parents knew that the books were educational, so they let her fulfill her passion for reading them constantly without interruption.
She put the video in the VCR and pushed play. Even though she had seen the movie a hundred times, she became transfixed with what was happening. She hardly noticed the storm raging outside the window. After about an hour or so, she began drifting off to sleep again. Suddenly a bolt of lightening flashed across the sky. A rumble of thunder rattled the china on the shelf. Meanwhile outside, another bolt of lightening came down from the sky and hit the antennae on the top of the house.
Cassy jumped and realized that something was wrong. She got up to wake her mother, when out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at the television screen. There was something strange about it, which she could not put her finger on. In front of her eyes, the screen seemed to liquefy. She moved closer so that she could get a better look. Walking ever so slowly, she advanced upon the television. I must be dreaming, she thought.
Her nose was only inches away from the screen when she decided to turn back and went to the couch. She grabbed her diary as though to record what was happening, but thought against it, then strode back to the television. Cassy touched the screen gently. It felt like cold water on her fingertips. Scrounging up her courage, she lunged her arm into the television screen. After taking it back out and examining it for a second, she decided that there would be no harm in seeing what was on the other side of the screen. Quickly, so that she wouldn't loose her nerve, she stepped through the screen.