I Hope this chap is longer than my others. Enjoy!
Nerissa still didn't know what Yari had been talking about. Neither her or her friends had been acting any weirder than usual; they were all too busy: Kadma and Yan Lin with the spring festival, Cassidy with her swim practice, Halinor with her constant studying, and Nerissa herself was too busy with her recital practice.
Finally it was the night of the spring festival and Nerissa had none of the answers she would need for that night…
"Nerissa!" Halinor huffed exasperated, "I have to do my hair move!"
The two girls were in Cassidy's shades of blue room, getting ready to meet Yan Lin and Kadma at the festival.
"Well so do I. Do you know how hard it is to deal with all this hair?" Nerissa huffed back.
"Um, yes! I have just as much hair as you do. Remember?"
"But yours is no where near as thick as mine. Remember?"
Cassidy, who had been watching the whole argument in amusement at first, sighed impatiently. Blowing a semi straightened strand of her own hair that was purposely out of place in the Chinese style bun.
"Oh Rissa come here! You know that hair of yours is a two person job."
Nerissa stuck her tongue out at Cassidy. "Look whose talkin." She said, referring to how Cassidy's mother helped Cassidy tame her own red locks into the silky, blue, bun holder.
Nerissa gave up her spot at the small vanity to join Cassidy. Together they managed to clip back Nerissa's thick black hair with sparkly dragon fly hair clips that matched Nerissa's red cheongsam.
"It's about time you girls were ready!" Cassidy's older brother, Thomas, exclaimed. "Girls! Man."
Cassidy threw her brother a playful punch in the arm. "Shut up nobody cares about your little date." She teased. Her brother was supposed to borrowing the car to take a girl out tonight.
"Let's get going girls!" Cassidy's mother declared.
Less than fifteen minutes later the three girls filed out of the teal colored truck.
"Have fun girls!" Mrs. Reynold's grinned before driving off.
The three girls stood among the dancing crowd in awe. The glow from the red lanterns made Halinor's burnt orange sundress appear to be on fire and cast a glow the same color red as Nerissa's dress on her face.
Kadma, Yan Lin, and the rest of the committee had out done themselves. There were vendors selling handwritten fortunes in fortune cookies (from The Silver Dragon itself), cotton candy, lemonade, funnel cakes, and hotdogs. The latest hits were blaring from the school's outdoor intercom and kids were dancing all the way to the ferris wheel.
Cassidy pulled her friends arms. "Come on let's cut a rug!"
"Not so fast Cass we have to find Kadma and Yan Lin first."
"Fine." Cassidy sighed.
The three girls ran through the thick crowd in search of their friends.
Suddenly Nerissa felt the ground tremble and that wasn't the first time she'd felt the sensation that night. Heatherfield wasn't exactly known for its earthquakes because, well, it didn't really get any. Didn't her friends feel that too? When she turned to check Halinor and Cassidy's faces they continued to giggle and race forward so Nerissa did too.
"Hey!" A voice yelled out. Yan Lin was coming their way wearing her infamous impish grin. Kadma followed behind.
Once the girls met up they enveloped each other in a squealy hug. Halinor and Cassidy began to gush about the festival with Yan Lin and Kadma, but Nerissa couldn't bring herself to join the conversation as she felt the ground tremble once again
"Do you guys feel that?" Kadma asked confusedly.
"Nerissa was shocked. "You feel it too?"
"Feel what cookoo bird?" Cassidy teased.
Kadma nodded at Nerissa her narrow eyes widening. The other three friends looked on confused.
"Anyone wanna tell us what's going on?" Yan Lin asked.
"The earth is shaking." Nerissa replied. She looked down past her silver sandals, "Did you ever get the feeling something really bad was about to happen?"
As the words left her mouth her chest burned an the ground shook violently beneath the girls feet. A loud crack like thunder rang out. The five girls clutched each other in fear.
"I definitely felt that." Cassidy exclaimed.
"Yeah," Halinor seconded, "but did anyone else?"
All around them the party continued. Everyone smiling and laughing oblivious to the strangeness surrounding Nerissa, Cassidy, Yan Lin, Kadma, and Halinor. The girls began to sink.
"What's happening?" Kadma screamed.
As the girls sank deeper, Yan Lin flailed trying to spot her parents who were working one of the stands. "Mama! Baba!" She cried out desperately but to no avail. The couple continued handing out fortunes with gentle smiles on their faces.
The girls struggled against the quicksand effect of the ground below and just like quicksand the more they struggled, the more futile their efforts became. Everything from the party grew faint before disappearing all together.
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"