1Hey! This is my first fiction press story so I hope you like it! Constructive Cristism is open but please- no flames! Or else I will extinguish them with my trusty water bucket *holds up water bucket* here's the story!
Jenny's POV-
September 29th
"Now men- the Queen's Pearl is the largest pearl known to mankind. And we- The Museum of Royal Artifacts and Treasure's security team- will do everything in our power to maintain our superb reputation."
A stout man was pacing across the front of the room- he was wearing what appeared to be a security manager's uniform and was currently giving a pep talk to his team. The man stopped pacing after a while and took the remote control on his desk and pushed the top button. Immediately, the projector showed a live camera featuring the Queen's Pearl itself.
"As you can see, the Queen's Pearl is inside a bullet proof glass case, with motion detcectors surrounding ever millimeter of it, security cameras all over the place, and now- us guards at our posts 24 hours a day."
"Now- I don't want any of us to fall for our past thieves, Shadow, AIC, Cleo,-"
"-Jay?" A random security guard called out.
"Especially Jay- Now, I want Johnson and Everleaf stationed at-"
"Sir!-"
The security manager gave an exasperated sigh. "What have I told you Cole about interrupting me?"
"No sir! – Jay!"
This time, the security manager looked behind him at the projector where the guard was pointing at. He snatched the remote and zoomed in to the pearl . . . which wasn't there anymore. Instead- there was a note and a picture of a baby pig.
Dear guards,
Thank you sooo much for the pearl! It fits in my collection nicely. Of course- I would have loved to ask you for it, but you would have said- no- sorry! To make up for it, here's a drawing of a baby pig I drew for you! Hope you like it~
-Jay
"Wow- that is one good pig."- Cole stated looking in awe at the screen.
The manager let out a whimper.
"My wife needs drawing lessons, maybe Jay could-"
"NOOOOO!"
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"That was too easy."
A middle aged girl cackled taking off her black mask and cap with one hand, the other one- holding none other than the Queen's Pearl. After she removed her cap, her long, maroon colored hair tumbled out and the girl's bright- mischievous, blue eyes scanned across the area. She stuffed the pearl, the cap, and the mask into her dark blue bag, fluffed up her hair, and let out a hearty laugh.
Well that was fun! And I didn't even draw the pig; I got it off the internet! The girl mused inside her head.
"Well, I suppose I'll have to set up camp now." She mumbled to no one in particular.
Jenny, just Jenny. You can call me Jenny Clarkstine but I prefer "Jenny". I'm sixteen going on seventeen, average height, and light as a feather. I've never been caught, seen, or even suspected. People collect my notes- I feel honored. No evidence on the notes. That's practically the only reason why I write anything. I go from museum to museum- stea- ahem- borrowing artifacts for my collection. I have such a beautiful collection, its hidden deep in the Pewter Forest.
Another prize for the phantom thief Jay.
I smiled to myself, adjusting the strap to my bag before running off into a full on sprint. The wind rushed through my brown locks making me feel refreshed and joyful. In no time, I reached the edge of the woods. I shimmied up the nearest tree and made myself comfortable.
After catching my breath, I took out my phone from my bag. Surprisingly, it wasn't stolen and was a gift from my older sister, Skye. Ever since mom and dad abandoned us, we were the golden duo- going from town to town, "exploring" museums of all sorts. But one day she just . . . disappeared.
I shook my head to get myself out of my trance and rummaged around my bag some more to find the region map.
I unfolded it and ran my finger along the black dots and bolded letters.
"Hmm the goods are all good, the market is tomorrow, New Leaf City is nearby, and Mount. Chalco shouldn't be hard to get through . . . I think I'll sleep." I stated kicking back on the tree and sighed satisfactory.
"All is well in the land of Jenny, hopefully that will be a real country come day…." With that, I dozed off.
A couple of hours later, a beeping sound from my phone woke me up.
"What the…..! It's like two o' clock in the morning here! Is that my phone? Nobody even knows my phone number! Who could be calling-"
A thought flashed through my mind.
It couldn't be ….. the cops? But how? There's no way ….
Hesitantly, I flipped open my phone and looked at the I.D.
Incoming Call: 666-1*9- AOGS
"Whaa? 666? Is that even a number? Well- at least it's not the cops."
Hesitantly, I pressed the accept button and held it up to my ear.
"Who are you and how do you know my number?" I demanded.
"Hello Ms. Jenny. We congratulate you on your intriguing performance today." The voice on the other side said.
Crap. Busted. I winced
"So what are you going to do? Rat me out? You don't even know where I am, do you? Cause I have things to do tomorrow and I suggest you do something late night stalker do, like eat ramen or get eaten by a tiger or something. Goodbye."
A split second before I pressed the end call button, the voice spoke again.
"I would like to take this chance to offer you a scholarship. You are fast, hard to catch, and at the most- very persuasive. If you take up our offer, we could help you …. Balance out your skills and discover new ones. This will have you an automatic enrollment to our school for free."
The word "free" echoed through my mind. Then I remembered. School. Blue and school do not mix.
"Sorry mister, but no deal. I'm cutting you off short."
"That is quite alright Ms. Jenny. Sweet dreams."
There was a beep on the other line. I lowered my phone and stared at the blank screen.
Huh . . . weird.
I shoved the phone back into my bag and leaned against the tree once more. Falling asleep as soon as my head touched the rough bark.
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Crystal's POV
If the square root of n is an integer, what is n?
I tapped my pencil steadily on my desk- deep in thought. I was up all night studying again- after all, it took a lot to uphold my school scholarship. I was often up till midnight studying my textbooks and working job shifts all over the town to earn enough money for the family.
What would happen if greenhouse gases suddenly stopped? How much will the Earth's surface's temp. be?
Well- I wouldn't exactly call it a 'family'. It's only me and my mom. My dad died from heart stroke two years ago and me and my mom have been living together ever since. Working our butts off to pay for the rent and food. I didn't have time to make friends and all that. But there was this one person. . .
'Slam!'
I suddenly closed my textbook shut and my grip on my pencil tightened. No. He's gone now Crystal. You can't just mope around all day. Get a grip! My inner voice told me. My face relaxed after a while and so did my hold of the pencil. I slumped out of my chair, turned off my bed light, and collapsed on my bed. Right when I was about to drift onto dreamland, a chime from my phone told me otherwise. Sluggishly, I reached out to my bed stand for my phone. Who could be texting me so late? Is it mom?
Now wide awake, I looked at the screen for the message. My eyes wide as I read the text.
Dear Ms. Crystal Chaseburg,
We would like to inform you that you have been accepted to Academy Of Gifted Students, or AOGS. Your talents have been recognized by our staff and we would like for you to take part of our studies. Your skills as a researcher have pleased us very much and we hope we can help you discover your hidden potential. You are very…. Handy… to our facilities. This is a full scholarship and is no charge. We hope that you will accept.
-Sincerely AOGS head.
I was silent after I finished reading. Hmm if it was a good school, it would of told me by letter or something- not text. And I've never heard of AOGS …. Must not be good school.
After some time thinking- I pressed the 'delete' button and erased the message. Sorry…but rejected. I thought grimly. I shut my phone and fell back asleep.
Alex's POV
"SAY YOUR PRAYERS!"
CRACK!
"AHHH! UNCLE! UNCLE!"
I felt like tearing the guy's legs off, I sat on his back as I pulled back on his legs. How dare he kick that stray dog!
"Apologize to it!"
"I'm sorry!"
"Again!"
"I'm sorry!"
"AGAIN!"
"I'M SORRY! MOMMY!"
"YOU'RE MOMMY CAN'T HELP YOU NOW!"
All eyes were on us. In the middle of the park, in front of an ice cream stand. So this is what happened- a stray puppy got interested and walked in front of the ice cream stand, this "biker" decided to have a little "fun" with it and kicked the poor puppy's side. I immediately tacked him. Him. Who was ten times bigger than me, ten times more muscular than me, but ten times less stronger than me. I, Alex Birch will never tolerate such!
"Whoa whoa! Break it up!" A man called out waving his arms. I turned to him. My eyes still angry, my hands threatening to dislocate bones, the biker screaming.
"Thing like this cannot be taught by words." I spat holding up the biker by his legs.
"Yeah but violence can't solve everything." The peacemaker said like some know-it-all.
"Fine." I let go of the biker's foot as he crashed into the ground. "Happy?"
Before he could answer, I stormed off. But my gaze softened as soon as I saw the stray puppy hiding behind the bench. It was there ever since the biker kicked it and it seemed to have a big bruise on one of its side.
I approached the stray slowly and pulled out a potion spray that my dad made especially for wounded animals out of my bag. I crouched down and did a sprintz on the puppy's bruise. I smiled.
"There! All better!" I grinned. The puppy let out a grateful woof, then began walking towards the bush.
Still smiling, I rose up and started to go my way again. Alexandra Birch. But I go by Alex. My dad's an animal researcher and I was out on one my missions for him. Probably won't be back home for a couple of months, but it'll be alright- I know how to take care of myself! Look at me! I can even take down grown men!
My smirk faltered when certain thought flashed through my mind. You see- I haven't always been "wild" as they put it. I actually used to be a … girl. NOT LIKE THAT! I'm 100% female! I used to be girl-y. You know- all pink skirts and dresses and getting all worried about a single mustard stain on my shirt. I hated my old self. My new self was much more better. Even if I was a little short tempered and un-lady like.
Suddenly, I felt something on my back.
"Huh?" I said, confused.
I reached my hand over my back and tried to grab whatever was on there. Then- I felt something like paper.
My face felt suddenly hot. "IF THIS IS SOME KIND OF JOKE THEN I WILL PERSONALLY MAKE THE PRANKSTER WISH THEY WERE NEVER BORN!" I hollered causing some people around me to stare.
Growling in frustration, I peeled it off my back and held it in front of me to see what it said. To my surprise (and utter discustment), it was a crisp, clean white envelope with a real seal in the middle. I cringed. To neat for my liking.
Wearily, I opened the seal and took out the letter. I hated it from the first word.
Dear Ms. Alexandra Birch,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Academy Of Gifted Students, or AOGS. Your strength and skill will be a great addition to this school and your scholarship will be free of charge. If you accept, you will be able to train your old skills and discover new ones. We hope that you do.
-The AOGS head
I crinkled my nose in distaste. Miss? Did they just call me miss? Training seemed okay but school? I am not a tie-down person, and that's just what schools do. Tie. You. Down. Nope! No "academy" for me!
"Re-Jected." I grinning tearing the once neat letter into jagged shreds.
I threw the pieces away and shoved my hands inside my jean pockets. Whistling down the road as I looked for a cheap motel to stay for the night. Already starting to forget about the strange letter.
Lily's POV
"Chirp!"
*nudge*
"Tweet!"
"No Mr. Monkey,…please don't take my cake ….ship's gonna crash ….ahh….at least I'll have my cake…."
"TWEE!"
I woke up with a start. I looked to my side and saw Tweedy- the yellow canary- by my side, nudging me to wake up from my short nap.
I smiled groggily and stretched. "Hi Tweedy! So what did you find today?" I asked the little bird.
"Just a small, metal thing. It light's up!"
Yes, I can talk to animals. It comes naturally for me…. I've could do it ever since I could remember.
"Can you bring it here to me?" I asked Tweedy. It gave a little chirp in response and flew off.
I sighed contently and leaned back on a tree. Lillian Evergreen. Lily, if you may. I'm sixteen, female, and I love animals. Yes, I live in a forest, the Pewter Forest to be exact, I lived here for as long as I could remember. Sort of like my ability to talk to animals. While some people may think living in the forest is disturbing and trashy- I think it's paradise. All the colorful trees and plants are wonderful, the sun's rays always seem so much brighter here, and all the animals are nice and friendly- only aggressive when challenged or provoked. And they've all grown used to me, befriending me, and taking care of me.
I'm not completely oblivious to the outside world. I know how to read and write, and I've heard travelers that pass by talk about politics, movie stars, and other things. I'm just perfectly content to my life right now and don't want to go anywhere else.
I heard a familiar chirping of Tweedy and looked up. Sure enough, there she was- with a small gadget in her beak. She landed next to me and dropped it onto my lap. I thanked her and she gave a happy chirp before fluttering off.
I studied the object that was inside my hands. It was a phone! I've seen people use it while going to and from the forest but I've never actually held one! Eagerly, I opened the device up. Suddenly, the phone's ringtone went off. I jumped a little but quickly overcame it and pressed the little green button.
"Ms. Lillian Evergreen?"
I blinked. How did the man know my name?
"H-hello? Who is this?" I said nervously.
"This is the Academy Of Gifted Student's head."
"U-um, how can I help you?"
"Oh you've helped us enough Ms. Lily."
"W-what do y-you wan't?" I questioned.
"Right now- you."
I dropped the phone in fear and scooted back a couple of feet.
"No need to be scared Ms. Lily. We are offering you a chance. Your communication skills with animals can be very helpful for our academy don't you think?"
"I….I….." I couldn't talk properly. This man was scaring me. Not like a 'wasp nest attacking you scary' or a 'ghost in your dream' scary- but spine shivering, body freezing, mind scrambling freezing.
"Your fear is understandable Ms. Lily. We would like you to accept our offer though, it makes everything much more…easier. Here at the school- you could train your abilities and even find some hidden ones- and grow accustom to them."
"But….but…" I didn't know what to say! This was all to sudden!
"I…I'm sorry mister but I c-can't accept. G-goodbye."
"That is quite alright Ms. Lily, we wish you a good night."
There was no sound instead of the beeping noise of the phone from disconnection.
After I unfroze from the shock, I gulped and quickly climbed up a tree, jumping from branch to branch as I made my way back to my treetop bed. It was only then did I realize how late it was. My afternoon nap must have taken pretty long.
But I was exhausted after today's phone fiasco. It wasn't long before I drifted off to sleep.
Third Person's POV
Blue's eyes fluttered open the next day. She clutched the sheets of the bed underneath her. Wait- a bed? Why was she sleeping on a bed?
Crystal woke up with a start- why was her room so dark?
Yellow curled up, clutching the sheets closer to her. Something felt wrong to her- she didn't feel the Pewter Forest breeze.
Sapphire sprawled across the bed, pushing the sheets off the bed. She sniffed. There was no smell of a greasy motel and the scurrying of roaches. Only the scent of clean sheets.
They opened their eyes and their rooms. Each of them had a large, white colored bedroom, a normal oak bed with a fluffy white comforter, and a rather large desk with a lamp and a pencil case set. On the desk were a silver laptop and a wooden chair propped up against it. There were dark, purple curtains in front of a large window- probably leading to a balcony, and a bathroom- complete with nessisaries and towels.
Jenny was interested.
Crystal was alone
Lily was scared
Alex was confused.
"W-where am I?"
Suddenly, a voice on the intercome on the ceiling came on. Jenny and Lily recognized the voice immedietly- it was the same voice on the phone!
"Hello freshmen! Sorry to surprise you like this, but we would all like to bid you welcome to Academy Of Gifted Students! AOGS! Your full scholarship has brought you here- thanks to your "talens"- I'm sure your fellow students will fill you in."
There was a beep as the intercom went off. They all said the same thing.
"…..What?!..."
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Me: So how did you like it? Sorry if it was a bit rusty but I'm working on it! Send me your reviews please! ^.^