Where You Belong

Ring ring ring!

Audrey groaned and turned over in her bed, unwilling to move. Unfortunately, her body betrayed her mind, and Audrey slowly slid out of the sheets. Making her best effort not to trip and fall first thing in the morning, she tip-toed to her bathroom.

She moved to peek out of her bathroom window. She expected to be met with complete darkness, so Audrey was surprised when she saw the faintest sliver of sun slipping over the horizon. She took this as her cue to hurry up and urgently grabbed the ironed shirt and skirt that hung on her doorknob.

She hurried through her routine, checking her watch from time to time, and finally made her way downstairs.

She was met with the bored stare of her brother over a bowl of soggy-looking cereal. Not that this was out of routine at all, but still.

“Hi, Johnson.” She greeted him with a bored stare of her own that definitely rivaled his.

“Good morning, Audrey,” he replied pointedly.

Audrey pulled her phone out of her charger in the wall and plopped herself down in a chair across from him. She pulled up her Messages app. She had a handful of texts: from her friends with funny comments, classmates with questions about homework, and her parents with the standard ‘good morning’ text.

Audrey’s parents were on a work trip for Audrey’s father. They were on their second day in New York City, and Audrey was very eager for them to come home. Johnson was not exactly the definition of a great babysitter. Besides breakfast and car rides, Audrey rarely saw him at all.

“What time are we leaving this morning?” she asked him. Johnson did not function on a schedule; he was more of a ‘whenever’s best’ type of person.

He looked up from his phone with his eyebrows perched high on his forehead. “Um? I don’t know yet?”

Audrey sighed. “Alright. I just have to be there by eight– I have to retake a quiz.”

Johnson looked confused. “What class?”

Now it was Audrey’s turn to raise her eyebrow. “What do you think?”

He almost grinned. “Science,” he guessed. He looked back down at his phone before Audrey could even open her mouth to reply.

Audrey sighed again. She tended to sigh a lot.

After some cereal and quality chill time, Johnson stood up and announced that it was time to head to school. They climbed into his 2021 white Mazda CX-30, and he carefully pulled out of their narrow driveway.

Audrey’s eyes passed over their quaint brick house as always, unknowing that she may never see her forever-home ever again.

~

Audrey and Johnson were facing shocking circumstances: the GPS showed that their usual fourteen-minute drive was going to take sixteen whole minutes that morning. Audrey sighed.

“This is wild!” Johnson exclaimed. “This is going to be the longest drive I’ve ever gone on with you.”

Audrey rolled her eyes. “Yeah, even longer than those eleven-hour road trips to Pennsylvania,” she deadpanned.

“Ha.”

“Do you have cross country tonight?”

“Yeah, I do,” Johnson responded. “Should be over around six-thirty. You can come sit in the stadium if you want.”

“Nah, it’s alright. I can study in the library or go to one of my friends’ houses.”

“‘Kay, just text me where you go,” Johnson said.

Two extra minutes of small talk was a lot, in Audrey’s opinion. They found themselves talking about the lunch menu that day, and which of Johnson’s classmates were absolute douchebags.

Finally, they pulled up to the parking garage of their castle of a school. Audrey and Johnson attended a large private school in the suburbs of Nashville where Audrey was a freshman and Johnson was a junior. The students that attended their school were the most privileged of the privileged, and despite how miserable that may sound, Audrey enjoyed it. She felt like she was in a movie half the time.

Audrey had become used to the luxuries of their high school, and although that was most likely not the intention of her parents, she did not mind at all. The dedicated teachers and amenities, such as the indoor pool and cafe, were all very fun perks of a private school. Both of her parents worked, so she appreciated the extra attention she received at school. She was not quite popular, but she had her friends and was content.

Johnson carefully parked his car, and they began the walk to the school doors.

Little did they know, it would be Audrey’s last walk through Morning Hill Academy’s door.

~

Audrey entered her homeroom class, European History with Mrs. Hamilton, a mere ten seconds before the bell rang. The science quiz she planned to take before class was surprisingly much shorter and easier than the original quiz, but she still struggled to get to her first period on time. Hurriedly, she sat down next to her friend Victoria and placed her backpack beneath her chair.

EEEEEEEE!

The bell rang, and the morning announcement came over the intercom. “Good mooorning, Morning Hill Academy! Haaappy Mondaaay and get ready for a long weekend this weekend! For todaaay’s lunch special you will be served Fritooo pie, or you can always be boring and make a salad or sandwich. Whichever fixes your fancy! Have a maaarvelous Monday!”

Audrey sighed. She was eyeing Mrs. Hamilton, who had an amused look in her eye.

Mrs. Hamilton was a nice old woman who loved coffee and historical fiction books. She wore cat-eye glasses and had five different dresses she wore on a rotation, all of them being a different shade of green. Her standard emotionless face had a hint of a smile today, which hinted there was something out of the ordinary upcoming. Audrey could sense a quiz.

“Good morning, class! I hope y’all had a great weekend! We’re gonna kick off this week with a little pop quiz on the Roman Empire, which is going to be our next course of study. Good luck to y’all, and I promise it’s easy.” This was a wonderful greeting from Mrs. Hamilton, especially given the fact that Audrey knew absolutely and totally nothingabout the Roman Empire.

~

Thirty minutes into her first class, Audrey knew something was wrong. The pop quiz was over–it had been awful, but it was over.

After she turned her quiz in, she became slightly dizzy and the room seemed unusually toasty. As in, Audrey was sweating like she had just ran a marathon.

And one thing Audrey did not do was sweat.

Therefore, she found herself raising her hand and asking, “Mrs. Hamilton, may I go and visit the nurse?”

Mrs. Hamilton, being the sixty year old angel she was, replied, “Why, of course, honey! I hope you feel better!”

Audrey exited that room as fast as she possibly could.

She walked slowly down the hallway, sauntering past the other classes and eyeing open lockers. Audrey knew that she should have been going as fast as she could, for the nurse was in a different building across campus. Unfortunately, she simply did not feel like it.

~

“Hi, Nurse Cole,” Audrey said. “It’s Audrey Miller.”

“Hello Audrey, what seems to be the problem?”

“I feel really hot. Not like fever hot

though. . . almost like I just ran a mile in ninety degree weather or something.”

“Hmm . . . interesting.”

~

Audrey barely made it to second period on time. She entered the classroom right upon the ringing of the bell.

The nurse’s advice had been to hydrate, maybe splash some water on her face, and stop by the campus cafe for a smoothie. The line at the cafe was atrociously long, hence why Audrey was nearly late.

Audrey briskly made her way to the back row, where her two friends, Noelle and Julia sat. Noelle and Audrey had been close friends for a while; they went through middle school together. Julia was new to Morning Hill in freshman year, and all three of them had become very close.

“Hi, y’all,” Audrey said with a slightly grim smile. “Y’all excited for more writing strategies?”

Noelle groaned. “One hundred percent not. Because why can’t we just write? He is literally wasting our time.”

“Literally! If my paper is late, I am blaming it on him. My time is being wasted making all these charts and freaking vision boards,” Julia added.

Audrey shook her head in agreement. ‘He’ was their teacher, Mr. McMahan. He was a rather short fellow, mid-thirties, brown hair. Despite his boring teaching methods, he was a funny guy, and Audrey preferred him over many of her other teachers.

Audrey sat down and pulled out her notebook as Mr. McMahan exclaimed, “Greetings, wonderful students! Prepare to decipher your thoughts and transform them into the answers you have all been searching for!”

And suddenly, Audrey was freezing. She felt a blast of cold air hit her face, and her teeth were chattering.

“What. in. the. world?” Audrey muttered.

“Yeah, um, Audrey, you good?” Noelle asked.

“Am I the only one, but is it like thirty degrees in here?” Audrey asked.

“It’s just you,” Julia assured her.

“Um, ladies? Everything okay?” Mr. McMahan hollered. “Audrey, I can hear your teeth chattering up here.”

“Yeaaah, so can I go to the nurse?” Audrey asked. She had a feeling she would be spending lots of time there today.

~

Audrey was not wrong. She returned to the nurse twice more that day after second period. Nurse Cole was ready to send her home, but Audrey declined, assuring her that it was simply an off day.

Nurse Cole ran out of advice eventually; Audrey’s symptoms did not get along. Her body temperature was everchanging, and it was something Nurse Cole had never seen before.

Audrey was dismissed from the Nurse to lunch with hopes that some food in her system would benefit her well. She crossed paths with Noelle and Victoria, who she walked to lunch with.

“So, Audrey? Are you okay now?” Victoria asked while haphazardly tying her pitch black hair into a ponytail.

“Yeah, what did she say?” Noelle inquired.

“Sooo, I actually went back to the nurse twice more after second period. I don’t think I’m sick or anything, though. There’s probably just something wonky going on with me. Maybe Johnson put something in my cereal,” Audrey explained with a shrug. “I’m kind of confused.”

“That is so weird,” Noelle commented, “But I hope you feel better after Frito pie!”

“Oh, you know I’m not eating any of that,” Audrey laughed.

~

Audrey, Noelle, and Victoria entered the cafeteria and headed to the sandwich bar. Audrey made the same sandwich every day; she valued routine.

Victoria laughed. “Let me guess! Ham, lettuce, and tomato on white bread with mustard?”

Audrey wiggled her eyebrows and grinned. “You’ve got it! How did you know?” she teased.

“Must be my lucky day,” Victoria shrugged.

Noelle poked Audrey’s shoulder and whispered, “I actually think I’m going to try the Frito pie. It lowkey just sounds like it would hit right now. Can y’all just wait for me?”

Audrey laughed and replied, “You got that. And no problem, we’ll go find a spot to sit.”

Audrey and Victoria left the sandwich bar and scanned the lunchroom. Audrey spotted Julia and two of their other friends, Bree and Anna, sitting at a rectangular table in the corner. They made their way over, and Audrey collapsed in the chair across from Julia.

“Today has been absolutely wild,” she mumbled, stuffing her sandwich in her mouth.

“Oh yeah, how was the nurse?” Julia wondered. She twirled a strand of her blond hair around her finger. She looked concerned.

“It was fine. I think my body is just going kinda wacko for some reason. It’s chill though. I really don’t feel sick or anything.”

“That’s good to hear,” Julia tittered.

Audrey smiled and they all talked about their classes, upcoming projects, and the teacher drama. Bree shared news from the student council, and Anna told them about a kid who had been suspended for cheating on a test and lying to the teacher.

Audrey looked up from her sandwich and spotted Noelle, who was on the other side of the cafeteria. Audrey waved and yelled, “Noelle!”

Noelle spotted Audrey and Noelle rushed over.

“Finally!” Audrey exclaimed. “How long was that Frito pie line?”

Noelle looked scared. She was staring at Audrey. “Um, Audrey?”

“What?” Audrey asked, concerned. “What’s wrong?”

Noelle did not even blink. “Look at your hand.”

Audrey saw the looks of horror around the table and glanced at her hand.

She screamed and jumped out of her seat.

“Oh! My! Gosh! What is HAPPENING?”

Her finger was on fire. It blazed a fiery red, and then it progressed to a purple-ish flame. Audrey shook her hand, but that only made it worse. She grabbed Julia’s glass of water, plunged her hand inside, and watched the fire dissipate instantly. Flooded with relief, she looked across the table at her friends’ faces.

They were speechless.

In fact, the whole cafeteria was speechless. Everybody stared at Audrey like they had just seen a ghost, and she was the ghost.

Instantly, Audrey dashed out of the cafeteria and down the hallway. She didn’t stop until she reached Johnson’s car– far, far away from her classmates.

She leaned against the car, panting. How embarrassing! How could she ever return to school? All her classmates probably assume she is a witch!

She sank to the floor and groaned, just to look up and be met with–

“Hi!”

Audrey yelped. “Oh my– WHO ARE YOU?”

“Hello, I am Charles of Taleinsmora of the Peripheral World!”

The boy was around her age, with sleek black hair and dark eyes. He was short, and he had a gleeful smile plastered on his face. He wore blue jeans and a red t-shirt.

Normal clothing. Good sign.

“You are who of what?” Audrey asked. “Talen-huh?”

“No time to explain! You need to come with me!” Charles exclaimed.

“Say huh?” Audrey stared at him. “Come with you? Where?”

“Um, I already said. Taleinsmora, Peripheral World,” Charles said with an eye roll.

“Should I ask you to explain?” Audrey sighed.

“Let’s go with no. Come on, now.” Charles began to coax her off the ground.

“I am not letting a strange boy, like yourself, kidnap me into some imaginary world.” Charles looked confused. “Are you like, mentally okay? Do you have a concussion or something?”Audrey asked, looking at ‘Charles’ like he was crazy.

Charles sighed and glared at her impatiently. “Okay, I will explain. Long story short. First, you caught on fire. Second, you will come with me. Third, you will learn you are magical. Fourth, you will change the world!”

“Yeaaah, and I’m still confused.”

“Audrey! I am taking you where you belong. Please, hurry up and try to comprehend.”

“Where I belong?” Audrey questioned, shocked.

“You are magical. Today you were experiencing symptoms of magic. You have a special ability. It will change your life. Someday, you could change the world.”

“Um, you’re still not making any sense. You understand that nobody in their right mind would just wander off with some kid that calls you magical?” Audrey was past confused. She was shell-shocked. Dumb-founded. She felt lost.

“Here. How about this? You just hold my hand for one second. . .”

Audrey knew this situation was strange, but she couldn’t help but let her curiosity get the best of her. Holding his hand for one second shouldn’t hurt.

Audrey realized all too late that this was how people get kidnapped.

Her head started rushing, and the world around her swirled away. She felt like she was being pulled through a swamp, and then a blizzard, and then trudging through a desert . . .

And finally it stopped.

She fell to the ground with a grunt and looked at the sky.

Purple.

The sky was purple.

She sat up and looked around.

Green!

The grass was green!

Trees strung with lanterns and colorful buildings lined the streets. Music rang through the air, and the sound of laughter and giggles danced around them.

Audrey felt peaceful.

Everybody seemed joyful.

It was, in one word–

Magical.

“Audrey,” Charles whispered, “This is the Peripheral World.”

~

It was gorgeous. The sort of place that one visits in their dreams. A place so unworldly, Audrey felt like she was in a dream.

“Charles? You’re saying I belong here?” she asked.

“Yes! You do! You are meant to be with us. If you stay in the human world, you could wreak havoc without knowing it. Your life won’t be the same. You will suffer. You’ll–”

“Okay, what? Do you know how strange this all sounds?” Audrey exclaimed. Suddenly, the beauty of the ‘Peripheral World’ had worn off.

“Today you caught on fire?” Charles confirmed.

“Yes,” Audrey said.

A rabbit scampered past them. A rabbit with antlers. A jackalope!

When Audrey did not think she could be more confused, she found herself achieving what she thought was impossible.

“That fire was a sign. You have a magical ability, and a rare one. Should I tell you what it is?” Charles asked her. It seemed he was asking the question more for himself than Audrey

“Well, you can’t bring me here and not tell me!” Audrey exclaimed.

“Your ability . . . it is called Elementisis.” Charles shivered as he said the word.

It echoed through Audrey’s mind.

Elementisis.

Elementisis.

Elementisis.

“And that means . . . ?”

“You can control the elements.”

“So . . . ?”

“You can control the whole Earth.”

Audrey’s brain spun. She could control the Earth? She couldn’t deal with this anymore. She needed to go home. She needed to escape.

“Please take me home!” she begged Charles.

“Well, . . . um,” Charles stuttered.

“What?”

“You kind of can’t go home.”