Silence. For a moment or two, no one moved. Nothing stirred. I blinked, feeling eyes on me and glanced upwards. I turned my gaze from the book I had just opened to find the teacher glaring at me. I felt the heat rise to my face, and I muttered an apology as the book on my desk was quickly closed and put away.
What a boring day, as always. Stuck in school, writing notes, sitting in overly long classes. Such annoying things. And anyways, I wasn't paying attention, even when I put my book away. Jotting down notes, sure, but really hanging on the teacher's word? Yeah, right.
I glanced towards the clock, catching the time with a slight smirk. As the teacher dismissed us, I stood up, grabbing my stuff to head to lunch. Grasping my book firmly in my hand, I dashed down the stairs to catch up with Kathy.
"Kathy! Check this book out!" I managed to say, trying to catch my breath. Kathy glanced at me with her dark brown, slanted oriental eyes, giving me a questioning look.
"Oh, don't give me that look, Kathy Chow," I smirked as I mispronounced her last name on purpose, and I shoved the book into her hands.
Her eyes gazed over the title and widened a bit. "The Universe of the Four Gods? But isn't this....?"
I grinned, snatching the book back. "Yeah, it is! I found this at the Decatur Library yesterday while searching for Poland books!....stupid Poland project..." I muttered softly. "I tried to read it in History, but I got caught."
"Woa...wait a minute...you actually think this is The Universe of the Four Gods? I mean, from Fushigi Yugi?" Kathy stared at me in disbelief. "I think you've lost it, Caitlin..."
I gave a snort, waving my hand at her, shaking my head. "Don't be silly! Of course this isn't the real thing. Fushigi Yugi is simply an anime, not real. I'm crazy, but not that crazy. It's probably just some book based off the legend or something. You know, copying the Fushigi Yugi series to make some money."
I shrugged lightly, making my way towards the lunch table where Angelina, Laura, and Catherine waited. Sitting down with a yawn, I munched on some chips as I waited for the microwaves to get less crowded.
I set the book aside while I was eating, looking to Angelina and Kathy. "You guys still coming to my anime party tonight? After all, we had fun last time. Maybe we can practice that dance?"
"Of course! What movies should I get my mom to bring?" Angelina replied, I shrugged, looking to Kathy, awaiting her reply.
With an exaggerated sigh, my Korean friend gave a slight grin. "I begged and pleaded and finally my mom said I could go…though now I have to obey my sisters again! I hope it's worth it, Caitlin. Is Laura and Megan going to be there?"
Laura and Catherine glanced up from their lunches to listen to us talk for a moment, then went into their own conversations, not wishing to get involved with this "anime" that we found so interesting.
"Yeah, they're both coming. This should be worth it…and maybe this time we can stay awake all night. That movie last time really put me to sleep!" We all laughed. "Just don't forget to ride the bus with me this afternoon."
"You know," I said, turning towards Laura and Catherine. "You guys are invited to come as well...I just didn't expect you guys to be too interested."
Laura and Catherine gave slight laughs, shaking their heads, both turning down my offer. I gave a shrug. "Just thought I'd ask."
Amazing how time flies. I had just about forgotten about The Universe of the Four Gods that was sitting under my purse when we were dismissed. Angelina, Kathy, and I went our separate ways and with a sigh, I realized we'd have to check it out later.
During the rest of my classes, I could think of nothing but the book under my desk. I wanted to read it so badly...but it'd have to wait. Piled down with homework as always, I stormed upstairs to my locker to pack my backpack. Always in an ill mood after Algebra class, I threw all my books carelessly into my backpack, including The Universe of the Four Gods as well, then threw the heavy load onto my shoulder and ran down the hall to find Kathy and Angelina.
The bus ride went by as usual, despite the two extra riders. Angelina, Kathy, Mary, and I absorbed ourselves in a conversation of bishounen, the guys talked about things I would have preferred not to hear (perverts), and John had succeeded in getting on my very last nerve. The book, lost in my backpack, had been forgotten.
Once we arrived at Saint Ann, we proceeded in grabbing a ride with John's grandmother. It was a quiet ride home, us three girls crowded in the back, unsure of what to say, and John sitting up front, always trying to turn around and talk to me.
I had warned my friends ahead of time about what would happen, but as we climbed out of the car, Angelina and Kathy both looked shaken up. I couldn't really blame them. Almost getting into two car wrecks on a less than ten-minute ride could be rather unnerving. Oh well.
Grinning, I thanked Miss Lynn for the ride and unlocked the front door, allowing my nervous friends to file inside.
"You can set your stuff down anywhere, but preferably not somewhere where I'll end up tripping over it." I threw my backpack, lunchbox, purse, and P.E. clothes on my bed, glad to get rid of the heavy load, then headed straight to the phone to make a few calls. First, my mom. Quickly telling her I was home and listening to her gripe, I turned up the heater, let the dog out, and grabbed the mail.
Returning inside, I dialed the second number, leaning against my bed as Kathy and Angelina grabbed my mangas and absorbed themselves in reading.
"Hello?" An excited voice answered.
"Laura? Hey, it's me, Kitty. I'm home, so you can go pick up Megan and come over here whenever you'd like."
"Want me to bring my movies again?"
I shrugged to myself, snapping playfully at Kathy not to bend my Fushigi Yugi manga before responding. "Sure."
I could hear Laura laugh over the phone as I spoke to Kathy. "All right. I just gotta get a few things together. Me and Megan will be there in a few! Bye!"
"Okay, see you then. And huggle Bradley for me! Bye!" I hung up, grinning to myself, but turned around to see Angelina and Kathy giving me odd looks.
"Huggle Bradley?" Angelina quirked an eyebrow.
I gave a shrug, scratching the back of my head. "It's an inside joke..."
"Uh huh," was Kathy's response.
"Oh, shut up! And put those mangas away and socialize! Wanna play the N64?" I grinned slightly.
With a little provoking (with my sword, I might add), we had begun to play Super Smash Brothers.
"Die, you little rat, DIE!"
"Hey! Grr....you are so dead!"
"ACK!! Watch it!"
"MWA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!"
"No! Pikachu!"
"Wait! How'd you do that?!"
"Cheeser!"
"Nooo! Kirby!"
"Ha! Take that!"
"You're going down!"
"Hey, wait a second! You can't reflect my attacks!"
"Wanna bet?!"
"PIKACHU!"
"Fox is da bomb! Take that, you yellow rat!"
"You're gonna get it now!"
"Ack! Stay away!"
"Come back here, Kirby!"
"Aaaaaahhhh!!"
"Heh heh heh."
I paused in mid-action, glancing up as I heard the doorbell ring. I grinned, standing up, and took a look at the TV screen. My character, Fox, was currently beating the crap out of Kirby, Kathy's character.
"Go ahead and quit this game, guys. I think Laura and Meg are here." I left them by them selves to find out the scores as I jogged to the door, throwing it open to reveal Laura and Megan on the other side.
"It's about time you guys got here! We've been sooo bored without you!" I said with a hint of playful anger and heavy sarcasm.
"We would have been here sooner, Kitty, but Megan wouldn't hurry up!" Laura retorted, sticking her tongue out at me. I stepped aside to let them come inside as Megan protested to us blaming her. Herding my friends into my room, I found Kathy and Angelina with their noses in my mangas once again. Growling, I crossed my arms, looking back at Meg and Laura.
"Just set your stuff down somewhere. And help me pry those mangas from their fingers," I motioned towards Kathy and Angelina, "so we can do something socialable!"
By then I had stole Kathy's attention and stood glaring down at her until she got my point and put the Fushigi Yugi manga up. After clearing my throat loudly a few times, Angelina scrambled to do the same. I could hear Megan and Laura holding back laughs.
"So, now our main issue is...what should we do? Too many people to play the N64...hey, you guys hungry?"
"Food's always a good idea," Megan grinned.
"To the kitchen!" I whirled around, pointing dramatically.
When my friends looked at me rather oddly, I sent a threatening glare in their directions.
"Ehh...to the kitchen?" They finally echoed nervously. Smirking, I led the way.
********
Well fed and overly caffienated, we popped in a Magic Knight Rayearth movie and hovered around my TV to watch it. With a sigh, I shoved my things from my bed so I could lie down. As my extremely heavy backpack hit the floor, my books, notebooks, and paper spilled out everywhere.
And in that pile, a particular book caught my eye. Hopping off my bed, I bent down picking up The Universe of the Four Gods. A sudden chill went down my back.
"Hey, pause the movie. And come here. I've been wanting to look at this book all day."
Laura glanced up at me, blinking at my strange tone and expression. "What book?"
Kathy answered her for me. "The Universe of the Four Gods."
Laura's eyes widened. Angelina and Megan both turned around to stare at me as well. "Are you serious?" Angelina said softly, seeming rather awed.
I shook off the chill, rolling my eyes at them. "Don't be so stupid! It's not like it's the real thing. Like I told Mu, it's probably just someone writing something to copy the Fushigi Yugi series to make money. Now, come on. Let's check it out. Maybe it's a newly translated manga?"
Turning off the movie, all my friends crowded around me as I took a seat on the floor, setting The Universe of the Four Gods in front of me.
"I can't believe you haven't looked at this yet," Megan said, sounding shocked.
I shrugged, muttering. "No time."
"Well, come on then! Open it!" Angelina said excitedly. "I wanna see this!"
How could I explain to my friends that simply being near this book sent a strange, almost unnatural, cold through my body? Something didn't seem quite right. But slowly, with my friends' encouragement, I opened the book.
Before a word could be read, the ground began to shake violently. Yelping in surprise I struggled to hold onto something, anything. I could hear my friends scrambling to do the same, though I could not see them: I was more distracted by my shelves, books, computer, and TV falling.
"What?! An earthquake in Alabama?!" Megan's panicked voice rang out over all the crashing. It seemed panic had grabbed us all.
"Kitty! What the hell are we gonna do?!"
"I...I don't know! Try and calm down!" My mind whirled madly, trying to decide how I should handle this.
"CALM DOWN?!!! TO HELL WITH THAT IDEA!!!"
Growling to myself, I grabbed ahold of my friends, one by one, and forced them to the ground. "Close your eyes and cover your head!" Earthquakes never lasted long...did they? My friends did as I commanded without a question.
With my friends' eyes closed, I was the only one to see the brilliant beam of white light coming from the open pages of The Universe of the Four Gods.
Then everything went dark.
What a boring day, as always. Stuck in school, writing notes, sitting in overly long classes. Such annoying things. And anyways, I wasn't paying attention, even when I put my book away. Jotting down notes, sure, but really hanging on the teacher's word? Yeah, right.
I glanced towards the clock, catching the time with a slight smirk. As the teacher dismissed us, I stood up, grabbing my stuff to head to lunch. Grasping my book firmly in my hand, I dashed down the stairs to catch up with Kathy.
"Kathy! Check this book out!" I managed to say, trying to catch my breath. Kathy glanced at me with her dark brown, slanted oriental eyes, giving me a questioning look.
"Oh, don't give me that look, Kathy Chow," I smirked as I mispronounced her last name on purpose, and I shoved the book into her hands.
Her eyes gazed over the title and widened a bit. "The Universe of the Four Gods? But isn't this....?"
I grinned, snatching the book back. "Yeah, it is! I found this at the Decatur Library yesterday while searching for Poland books!....stupid Poland project..." I muttered softly. "I tried to read it in History, but I got caught."
"Woa...wait a minute...you actually think this is The Universe of the Four Gods? I mean, from Fushigi Yugi?" Kathy stared at me in disbelief. "I think you've lost it, Caitlin..."
I gave a snort, waving my hand at her, shaking my head. "Don't be silly! Of course this isn't the real thing. Fushigi Yugi is simply an anime, not real. I'm crazy, but not that crazy. It's probably just some book based off the legend or something. You know, copying the Fushigi Yugi series to make some money."
I shrugged lightly, making my way towards the lunch table where Angelina, Laura, and Catherine waited. Sitting down with a yawn, I munched on some chips as I waited for the microwaves to get less crowded.
I set the book aside while I was eating, looking to Angelina and Kathy. "You guys still coming to my anime party tonight? After all, we had fun last time. Maybe we can practice that dance?"
"Of course! What movies should I get my mom to bring?" Angelina replied, I shrugged, looking to Kathy, awaiting her reply.
With an exaggerated sigh, my Korean friend gave a slight grin. "I begged and pleaded and finally my mom said I could go…though now I have to obey my sisters again! I hope it's worth it, Caitlin. Is Laura and Megan going to be there?"
Laura and Catherine glanced up from their lunches to listen to us talk for a moment, then went into their own conversations, not wishing to get involved with this "anime" that we found so interesting.
"Yeah, they're both coming. This should be worth it…and maybe this time we can stay awake all night. That movie last time really put me to sleep!" We all laughed. "Just don't forget to ride the bus with me this afternoon."
"You know," I said, turning towards Laura and Catherine. "You guys are invited to come as well...I just didn't expect you guys to be too interested."
Laura and Catherine gave slight laughs, shaking their heads, both turning down my offer. I gave a shrug. "Just thought I'd ask."
Amazing how time flies. I had just about forgotten about The Universe of the Four Gods that was sitting under my purse when we were dismissed. Angelina, Kathy, and I went our separate ways and with a sigh, I realized we'd have to check it out later.
During the rest of my classes, I could think of nothing but the book under my desk. I wanted to read it so badly...but it'd have to wait. Piled down with homework as always, I stormed upstairs to my locker to pack my backpack. Always in an ill mood after Algebra class, I threw all my books carelessly into my backpack, including The Universe of the Four Gods as well, then threw the heavy load onto my shoulder and ran down the hall to find Kathy and Angelina.
The bus ride went by as usual, despite the two extra riders. Angelina, Kathy, Mary, and I absorbed ourselves in a conversation of bishounen, the guys talked about things I would have preferred not to hear (perverts), and John had succeeded in getting on my very last nerve. The book, lost in my backpack, had been forgotten.
Once we arrived at Saint Ann, we proceeded in grabbing a ride with John's grandmother. It was a quiet ride home, us three girls crowded in the back, unsure of what to say, and John sitting up front, always trying to turn around and talk to me.
I had warned my friends ahead of time about what would happen, but as we climbed out of the car, Angelina and Kathy both looked shaken up. I couldn't really blame them. Almost getting into two car wrecks on a less than ten-minute ride could be rather unnerving. Oh well.
Grinning, I thanked Miss Lynn for the ride and unlocked the front door, allowing my nervous friends to file inside.
"You can set your stuff down anywhere, but preferably not somewhere where I'll end up tripping over it." I threw my backpack, lunchbox, purse, and P.E. clothes on my bed, glad to get rid of the heavy load, then headed straight to the phone to make a few calls. First, my mom. Quickly telling her I was home and listening to her gripe, I turned up the heater, let the dog out, and grabbed the mail.
Returning inside, I dialed the second number, leaning against my bed as Kathy and Angelina grabbed my mangas and absorbed themselves in reading.
"Hello?" An excited voice answered.
"Laura? Hey, it's me, Kitty. I'm home, so you can go pick up Megan and come over here whenever you'd like."
"Want me to bring my movies again?"
I shrugged to myself, snapping playfully at Kathy not to bend my Fushigi Yugi manga before responding. "Sure."
I could hear Laura laugh over the phone as I spoke to Kathy. "All right. I just gotta get a few things together. Me and Megan will be there in a few! Bye!"
"Okay, see you then. And huggle Bradley for me! Bye!" I hung up, grinning to myself, but turned around to see Angelina and Kathy giving me odd looks.
"Huggle Bradley?" Angelina quirked an eyebrow.
I gave a shrug, scratching the back of my head. "It's an inside joke..."
"Uh huh," was Kathy's response.
"Oh, shut up! And put those mangas away and socialize! Wanna play the N64?" I grinned slightly.
With a little provoking (with my sword, I might add), we had begun to play Super Smash Brothers.
"Die, you little rat, DIE!"
"Hey! Grr....you are so dead!"
"ACK!! Watch it!"
"MWA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!"
"No! Pikachu!"
"Wait! How'd you do that?!"
"Cheeser!"
"Nooo! Kirby!"
"Ha! Take that!"
"You're going down!"
"Hey, wait a second! You can't reflect my attacks!"
"Wanna bet?!"
"PIKACHU!"
"Fox is da bomb! Take that, you yellow rat!"
"You're gonna get it now!"
"Ack! Stay away!"
"Come back here, Kirby!"
"Aaaaaahhhh!!"
"Heh heh heh."
I paused in mid-action, glancing up as I heard the doorbell ring. I grinned, standing up, and took a look at the TV screen. My character, Fox, was currently beating the crap out of Kirby, Kathy's character.
"Go ahead and quit this game, guys. I think Laura and Meg are here." I left them by them selves to find out the scores as I jogged to the door, throwing it open to reveal Laura and Megan on the other side.
"It's about time you guys got here! We've been sooo bored without you!" I said with a hint of playful anger and heavy sarcasm.
"We would have been here sooner, Kitty, but Megan wouldn't hurry up!" Laura retorted, sticking her tongue out at me. I stepped aside to let them come inside as Megan protested to us blaming her. Herding my friends into my room, I found Kathy and Angelina with their noses in my mangas once again. Growling, I crossed my arms, looking back at Meg and Laura.
"Just set your stuff down somewhere. And help me pry those mangas from their fingers," I motioned towards Kathy and Angelina, "so we can do something socialable!"
By then I had stole Kathy's attention and stood glaring down at her until she got my point and put the Fushigi Yugi manga up. After clearing my throat loudly a few times, Angelina scrambled to do the same. I could hear Megan and Laura holding back laughs.
"So, now our main issue is...what should we do? Too many people to play the N64...hey, you guys hungry?"
"Food's always a good idea," Megan grinned.
"To the kitchen!" I whirled around, pointing dramatically.
When my friends looked at me rather oddly, I sent a threatening glare in their directions.
"Ehh...to the kitchen?" They finally echoed nervously. Smirking, I led the way.
********
Well fed and overly caffienated, we popped in a Magic Knight Rayearth movie and hovered around my TV to watch it. With a sigh, I shoved my things from my bed so I could lie down. As my extremely heavy backpack hit the floor, my books, notebooks, and paper spilled out everywhere.
And in that pile, a particular book caught my eye. Hopping off my bed, I bent down picking up The Universe of the Four Gods. A sudden chill went down my back.
"Hey, pause the movie. And come here. I've been wanting to look at this book all day."
Laura glanced up at me, blinking at my strange tone and expression. "What book?"
Kathy answered her for me. "The Universe of the Four Gods."
Laura's eyes widened. Angelina and Megan both turned around to stare at me as well. "Are you serious?" Angelina said softly, seeming rather awed.
I shook off the chill, rolling my eyes at them. "Don't be so stupid! It's not like it's the real thing. Like I told Mu, it's probably just someone writing something to copy the Fushigi Yugi series to make money. Now, come on. Let's check it out. Maybe it's a newly translated manga?"
Turning off the movie, all my friends crowded around me as I took a seat on the floor, setting The Universe of the Four Gods in front of me.
"I can't believe you haven't looked at this yet," Megan said, sounding shocked.
I shrugged, muttering. "No time."
"Well, come on then! Open it!" Angelina said excitedly. "I wanna see this!"
How could I explain to my friends that simply being near this book sent a strange, almost unnatural, cold through my body? Something didn't seem quite right. But slowly, with my friends' encouragement, I opened the book.
Before a word could be read, the ground began to shake violently. Yelping in surprise I struggled to hold onto something, anything. I could hear my friends scrambling to do the same, though I could not see them: I was more distracted by my shelves, books, computer, and TV falling.
"What?! An earthquake in Alabama?!" Megan's panicked voice rang out over all the crashing. It seemed panic had grabbed us all.
"Kitty! What the hell are we gonna do?!"
"I...I don't know! Try and calm down!" My mind whirled madly, trying to decide how I should handle this.
"CALM DOWN?!!! TO HELL WITH THAT IDEA!!!"
Growling to myself, I grabbed ahold of my friends, one by one, and forced them to the ground. "Close your eyes and cover your head!" Earthquakes never lasted long...did they? My friends did as I commanded without a question.
With my friends' eyes closed, I was the only one to see the brilliant beam of white light coming from the open pages of The Universe of the Four Gods.
Then everything went dark.