I woke up the next day to a screen blinking in front of me while making annoying chirping noises.
Good Morning!
I groaned at the screen, swiping my eyes over towards the digital clock next to my bed. It was four in the morning, what the hell could this game need? I focused once more on the screen, seeing the words had changed.
You slept in your bed. You are fully healed.
I could feel my hands twitch in the urge to grab a pillow and chuck it at the screen despite knowing it would simply go right through it like it didn't exist. It continued the infernal chirping noise as a low growl started in the back of my throat and my hand itched towards one of my pillows to test the hypothesis.
I paused, however, at seeing the words change once again.
Here are your stats as of this morning:
AMELIA RENEE SWAN
RACE: HUMAN
Age: 17
GIFT: ?
LEVEL 1
EXP: 60/100
HP: 500/500
MP: 200/200
ST: 5
DEX: 10
VIT: 10
INT: 13
WIS: 13
POINTS: 5
MONEY: 35
TITLES: PERFECT ATTENDANCE
I looked at my stats and huffed a sigh at the points I needed to spend and the addition to my stats from my initial look yesterday: the experience, titles and an improvement into most of my stats, except for mana and strength.
I looked through my stats and tried to think about the best place to place the five points. In the end, going by some gamer logic, my health needed to increase, so usually that's by adding strength and vitality to it. Since I was lacking anyway in the strength department compared to the others, I added five points to my strength.
My strength had increased to ten, and my health went up to a thousand. However, after allocating the points, another pop up and an even chirpier noise escaped this pop up to my disgruntlement.
Congrats! By allocating the points for the first time, you've increased your experience and leveled up! Here are your stats now:
Here are your stats as of this morning:
AMELIA RENEE SWAN
RACE: HUMAN
Age: 17
GIFT: ?
LEVEL 1
EXP: 60/100
HP: 1000/1000
MP: 2000/2000
ST: 10
DEX: 10
VIT: 10
INT: 13
WIS: 13
POINTS: 0
MONEY: 35
TITLES: PERFECT ATTENDANCE
I furrowed my brow in confusion, asking aloud, "How did my MP get so high? It was just at two hundred."
The box changed and more words formed: Your MP increases each time you level up to double your HP. Because you are a human, you need more protection from supernatural creatures. If you were to become a supernatural creature, the amount of mana you gain from each level up would decrease whereas your HP would increase instead. It is to balance out your weaknesses.
I snorted at its response. "You sound like Bella, calling being a human a weakness." I scrubbed my hand over my face in exasperation. I didn't understand the stats quite yet, but I was learning more, at least. "How did I get so much money?" I asked the box tiredly. It gave another happy chirp and text began to flow across the screen.
You got money from your father, but because Jasper Cullen paid for the items at the store, you didn't use it. It is yours now.
I squinted at it, not sure about that logic. "Shouldn't I give it back if I didn't use it?" The box, dare I say, made a disappointed chirp this time in response and the words flew onto the screen in record time. I jerked back at the quick response, wondering if I'd somehow upset or offended this weird game.
The money was a gift. It is yours now. Do with it as you wish. Your father will not ask for it back.
I shook my head, not agreeing with the logic, but couldn't deny that until I got a job, I was strapped for money and Charlie was not likely to ask for the money back. I decided not to argue at this time – a glance at the clock tells me it's only four fifteen in the morning currently.
Do you have a guess for what your power is?
The box's question caught my interest, the hand on my head to ward of the impending headache falling onto my bed as I stared at the box in consideration. "What do I get out of guessing correctly?" I was interested in knowing my gift, but I honestly couldn't care less at the moment whether I knew it right now. However, if I could bribe the game…that'd be worth being up at four in the morning guessing my gift.
For a correct guess, you will get an extra level up. For an incorrect guess, you will lose your level up.
I cringed at the words, wondering if I wanted to go through with this. Another sigh and a hand run through my hair and I finally muttered, "Fine. I'll guess. Give me a minute to think."
I thought through my day yesterday for things out of the ordinary. Signs, ideas. I could see two events that stood out – Bella grabbing me yesterday and getting hit by the dodgeball. Each person who inflicted pain on me felt it in return. That told me I had some kind of shield that reflects things, whether it was just damage or could be used to reflect other things like thoughts, etc. I wasn't sure.
Although I was fairly sure of my answer, I suggested with trepidation, "A reflection shield of some sort? I've been reflecting pain onto others, I believe." The words were said slowly and with thought as I stared carefully at the box.
It gave a few excited noises before the words appeared: Congrats! You are correct. You are now level 3, and need 400 experience to get to the next level. Good luck!
I waved at it dismissively. "Great. Can I go back to sleep now?" Without checking for an answer and heard its enthusiastic noises behind me, I crawled back into bed and breathed shallowly, trying to calm my mind into sleep.
I fell back asleep not too long after and woke again to the infernal alarm clock. With a low groan in despair at the fact that yes, I was a high school student again and I did have to go to school, I climbed out of bed and grabbed what I needed for a shower and to get dressed.
I was more aware this morning, not in so much of a rush. I grabbed some food to eat this morning to avoid another moment of Bella shoving toast in my mouth.
Charlie sat at the table with a mug of coffee in front of him and the newspaper in his hands. I eyed his coffee with consideration before trudging over to the coffee maker, grabbing a mug and dumping a good helping of coffee into it.
"Uh, Mia?" I heard Charlie ask. I gave a grunt in response. "What are you doing?" He asked cautiously.
I slammed a few cupboards shut and turned dead eyes to Charlie. "Where's your hot chocolate?"
He seemed disturbed by my dead eyes staring into his as well as my blank face. He cleared his throat. "Second cupboard…"
I opened the cupboard I hadn't gotten to and pulled out two packets of hot chocolate and dumped them into my coffee, grabbed a spoon and poured a healthy amount of creamer into the cup. I stirred it quietly. Charlie tried to engage me in conversation again, but I held a hand up as I began to slowly sip the coffee in silence.
After two large gulps, I looked up at him and apologized. "Sorry, I'm not good with mornings. This is good coffee, though, what kind do you use?"
His eyebrows were furrowed as he spoke. "When did you start drinking coffee? Also, did you just dump hot chocolate into it?" He asked incredulously.
I hummed as I sipped more coffee and felt my body untense with each passing moment. Finally my shoulders drooped as I sighed happily.
"I've always drank coffee. But it has to have hot chocolate in it, dad." I looked up at him and his eyebrows rose at my words.
"…I see. Well, that's a lot of hot chocolate in there."
I rolled my eyes at his judgmental tone. "Try it one day and you'll never go back." My words were caught by Bella as she focused on the mug in my hands. She headed my way with a frown on her lips.
"Mia, you know that's not good for you." She tried to take the mug from me and I hissed like a cat in water at her, hunching over my mug of steaming energy. She jerked back at my bared teeth.
"Don't. You. Dare. Bella." Bella seemed unsure of how to respond to my aggression. In response, she kept her eyes on me as she walked to the counter to make herself some cereal. At seeing her keeping her distance, I chugged the rest of my mug like a lost person in the desert finally finding his oasis.
Both Charlie and Bella eyed me carefully as I grabbed a to-go cup and created myself another cup of coffee. As soon as Bella finished her cereal in silence and looked up at me, she asked tentatively, "Should we go?"
I nodded quietly at her, gulping down more liquid energy in post haste. As I followed her out the door and listened to Charlie call at us to stay safe and have a good day, I paused at the box that appeared in front of me.
Warning! Drinking coffee increases your dexterity, but decreases your vitality. Other symptoms you may experience is jitteriness, anxiety, increases heartbeat, high blood pressure –
I idly waved away the warning despite feeling the increased anxiety making my head spin. "Oh hush," I hissed at it. "Don't ruin my fun."
I climbed into the passenger side again, just like yesterday and nursed my cup of coffee while ignoring Bella's burning stare and the increase of jitteriness in my limbs.
"Mia, I really think –"
I hissed at her again and she jerked away from me before staring straight ahead and pulled out of the driveway without another word. I could feel her glancing at me out of the corner of her eyes, but I pretended I didn't see her wariness.
As we got to the parking lot finally, I climbed out before being accosted by who I quickly ascertained was Veronica. She snatched my to-go cup of coffee before I could stop her as she ignored my angry hissing.
Bella ran around the truck to stare at us in disbelief and horror. "No…there's two of them!"
I finally snatched my cup back from Veronica with a glare as I cradled it into my chest.
Veronica ignored my heavy glaring, licking her lips with an appreciative hum. "Wow! That's good. How'd you make it? Can you make me some?" As I watched her, her bounciness increased as the coffee entered her system.
Bella gave a low groan next to us as she slapped her hand to her forehead. We turned to her at the noise, Veronica and I, and watched her face screw up in terror at seeing both of us bouncing in place. She inhaled sharply before throwing her backpack over her shoulders and speeding out of the parking lot like hell hounds were chasing her.
"What's her problem?" Veronica asked innocently with a head tilt as we watched Bella flee with haste.
I snorted quietly as I shook my head. "Dunno."
I chugged more of my coffee as we stood in place at the parking lot. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Veronica start to inch her hand towards my cup of coffee. Without hesitation, I slapped her hand away with force. "How dare you?" I snapped.
She pouted at me in response, her lip pouting in exaggeration as she pet her "injured" hand. "Please?" She asked.
"No, I'll make you some if you get the ingredients – " I paused. "What class do we have today?" I asked curiously.
"Still PE." She said with a slight sigh. I blinked at her in surprise. "Huh. Anyway, how about we skip English again and raid the teacher's lounge for coffee and hot chocolate? I'm sure they've got coffee in there." She nodded at me excitedly.
"Absolutely! We get to skip Shakespeare again and we get coffee out of it as well!" She looped her arm around mine just like the day before and I allowed it as she pulled me to the school.
As we entered the school and I heard the warning bell go off, my name was called and I turned toward the person in surprise.
Jasper and Alice approached Veronica and I with caution, their eyes swiveling between the two of us bouncing in place. "You all right, darling?" He asked me with wariness in his eyes. I took another huge gulp of coffee before responding, having a gut feeling it might be taken from me soon.
"Abso-fucking-lutely, cowboy." I nodded once in response, turning to Veronica whose nodding looked more like a bobble head in her excitement.
"Oh yes, we're fan-tucking-fastic, cowboy and cowgirl!" I could see a concerned, but amused quirk of Alice's lips as she stared between us, but noticed a significantly longer, lingering look at Veronica.
I stopped my bouncing as I looked between the two with a squinting of my eyes. "Huh."
Before I could comment, or think more on their interaction, Jasper stepped closer and hesitantly reached for my coffee. "Bad night?" His words were sympathetic even as he grimaced as he got closer.
"Maybe." I admitted. "We're going to go raid the teacher's lounge later when we're supposed to be in English again. No better way to skip Shakespeare, right?!" I pumped my fist at my words and Veronica nearly took me down by jumping on my back.
"Hurrah! Hurrah!" She shouted in agreement.
Alice and Jasper turned to each other with weariness as we seemed to be getting a lot of attention from our classmates. A large male wandered up to us, a striking blonde on his arm.
"Did I hear you guys were going to go raid the teacher's lounge later?" His normally booming voice was lowered as if conspiring with us.
I nodded seriously at him. "I'm sure teacher's keep all the good stuff in there. Just like doctors have their own super awesome stashes down in the ER, or their offices. All the cool people do it. Just ask your dad, I bet he does it, too."
The four of them turned amused looks at each other before Emmett grinned wickedly at us. "Sounds like a plan. See you guys in fourth period at the teacher's lounge, then?"
"Yes!" Veronica and I cheered together as I finally let Jasper take my cup from me like it was a smoking bomb. The bell went off once again and Veronica and I turned to each other once, realizing we were late for PE and sprinted without another word to the four vampires, but excited to see them in a few hours again, knowing the shenanigans Emmett would love to get into with us. We could be like the terror trio, perhaps? Eh, name is in process.
Soooo…. Sorry about the wait. On all my stories. Having a rough time. My rescue dog I got in January probably has bone marrow cancer. It's difficult taking care of him right now. Lots of other problems going on in life of course. I'll try my best to keep updating, but it's going to be when I'm available and when I feel like it. Thanks for the patience, and hope you enjoyed the chapter!