Hidden Within

Welcome to Georgina's high school of the Arts, where you'll never want to leave. Full of different programs that match your specific status—I mean, level of mentality. You'll soon go from dumb to smart in just one year here. With a %10 acceptance rate and a %99 graduation rate, you'll soon be able to go to the school of your choice as the recruiters will be looking for you.

"I'm telling you that is exactly what they said. This school is literally perfect." I was dressed up in a nice, clean jacket that was oversized and a tie while trying my best to be as serious as possible.

"Brookie," I interrupted my mom.

"The food there is completely healthy." I am interrupted by my dad now.

"Brookie-" My dad was shaking his head.

"It's a diverse school with little to no racism, so I suggest you actually accept my offer and... Both my parents stopped me out of annoyance.

"BROOKLYN, YOU'RE NOT GOING!" They both shouted, and I whined.

"Please, my friends made it there, and I was given a scholarship so you don't have to pay, and I was accepted." I gave them puppy-dog eyes, but they still denied

"You're not taking the train to some random school just because your friends are invited." My mom denied

"But please," I said, on my knees, begging to go.

"Brookie, you would have to leave at six to get there at like 7:40 or 50 just to walk like ten minutes; you'll most likely be late to school every day," my dad said, checking on his phone what transportation I would be using.

"School starts at 8:20." I tried to argue, but they weren't even listening at that point.

"Not only that, but I don't believe you'll be able to last two days without complaining about taking transportation and trying to force us to take you to school,"My mom agreed with my dad, making me whine even more.

"Y'all jobs start at 9, why can't you take me?" I asked, still praying they'd let me go.

"Because Brookie's job is in the opposite direction, I have to check in by 7 because my job starts at 7:30, actually. Sure, we live close to the train station I work at, but I most definitely won't be able to see you," my mom said in such a strict tone.

I was devastated by their words, hearing how I wouldn't be able to go to the school I've always wanted. I've always wished to have someone drive me to school or any place I want, like a chauffeur. You know, in TV shows, they're always the greatest people to be friends with, like Butler Alfred or that one from Parent Trap, or better yet, Sister Krone from The Promise Neverland. She wasn't a butler or friendly; she was just my favorite character. But you get the point: I want to go to school, at least somehow. I didn't even have the courage to tell my friends; I just fell onto my bed and sighed.

"Great, how am I going to go there now?" I asked myself, thinking of a way to convince them to go.

A plan came to mind, and I immediately got up off the bed. I started pacing back and forth, thinking of how to form this plan.

"If distance is the problem, then why don't I move closer to the school? I know exactly who to call," I thought to myself, and I got my phone.

"Hey, Aunty, listen, I need your help to convince my parents to agree on letting me go to Georgia High School of Arts and stuff." I pleaded with her to agree.

"Fine, I'll come, but are you sure it's going to work?" Aunty asked

"Definitely! Just come over," I said, and she sighed before hanging

Creating plans was just something that I was good at. The outcome, though, is that there's always a 50% chance of it failing, but that's better than 100. I dusted off my jacket and tie, then fixed my lensless glasses, and ran down the stairs in a hurry.

"Don't run, or else you'll trip and fall." My mom warned me, and I instead decided to skip some stairs.

"Man, I'm going to laugh at you if you fall next time." My mom said that, and I rolled my eyes.

I stood by the door and waited 20 minutes until someone knocked. I was relieved after hearing the doorbell, thinking that she hadn't come.

"Finally, my legs were tired," I said, and I unlocked the door.

I opened the door and saw my cousin Tiffani in a suit as well, smiling at me. Auntie just waved goodbye and drove off.

"Wait ma! I thought you were—damn it, my phone is in the car," Tiffani said, but then I dragged her in.

"Okay, I didn't expect you to come, but gladly enough, you look professional. Just explain why I should live with you just for the year until I learn to take the train," I ordered her, and she nodded.

"Mom and Dad, may you both please come into the room?" I said in a respectful tone.

Me and Tiffani were in the kitchen, waiting for someone to come and enter. My mom entered the room and wasn't surprised to see Tifani.

"We are not letting you go to that school." My mom was annoyed at that point.

"What if I said money was involved?" I asked, and Dad walked into the room.

"How much money am I getting?" My dad asked, and my mom threw a bag of bread at him.

"Calm down; I was joking," my dad said, chuckling to himself.

"You both can get $100k separately if you let Brook stay in a dorm at the school," Tiffani offered, and they were both taken back by the offer.

"A DORM!" My mom shouted

"Deals, deals," My mom splashed a little bit of water on Dad, and he held his hands up in defeat and protection.

"Again, I was joking. But you are not living in a dorm, especially when boys exist." My father is upset about his decision to distance himself from Mom.

"To be honest, boys won't be a problem for Brooklyn when every boy she meets runs away from her." Tiffani laughed at the fact that even Mom had a serious face.

"Exactly! "Wait, should I be offended?" I asked

"Brookie is going to get homesick, and she won't be able to last half the school year without trying to find a way to come back home." My mom said she was rolling her eyes while leaning against the counter.

My dad was going to make another joke, but my mom gave him a threatening look before he could speak.

"Bet!" I blurted out, and Mom looked at me.

"What did you just say?" My mom asked, and I was nervous but confident.

"I said I bet I can last an entire school year without crying or whining about wanting to go home or missing my parents," I said, standing confidently, meaning I'm trying to seem taller than her even though I'm not.

"Fine, if you at all complain and want to come home, I'm taking you out of that school and bringing you to that weird blue school that's only a few blocks away." My mom said that, and I was horrified.

"Casey, that school is ghetto; I should know because I went there." My dad said to my mom:

"Who knows that the school could have changed?" Tiffani said, and I punched her softly.

"You know what's right—that school could have changed as well as that 'gifted' school. I'm going to track you through your phone." My mom insisted

"Well, time to throw this away," I said as I looked at my phone.

"Anyways, I'll protect her at that school. I'll make sure she won't get pregnant or assaulted in her current youth but instead study," Tiffani said and just left the room.

"I'm surprised the word 'assaulted' was in her line of vocabulary," Mom said.

"I heard that!" Tiffani shouted back.

"I'm willing to go to this school, and she's willing to make sure I'm safe. You've got to trust me when I say it's going to be okay. This high school will open up more advantages for getting into better colleges." I looked at my mom, and she just sighed.

"Don't go crazy, okay?" If you come back pregnant, just know that I'm kicking you out." My mom was serious when she said she would kick me out; luckily, I'm not that careless to even consider such a thing.

A few months later

I've finally done it. I've achieved my greatest dream. I've moved away from my parents, I'm going to my dream school, and I get to be in a car with a chauffeur. Though he was not what I expected, like an old man who's nice and friendly, not this smoking hot guy who's insanely rude and was mostly staring at Tiffani in a weird way,

Anyway, it felt amazing that I would finally get to live the life I wanted. Not only that, but I feel rich whenever I'm next to Tiffani, just because she's like a sister to me.

"Baby, how far away are we?" Tiffani asked the chauffeur

"A mile suggests you sleep now because you won't get any while you're there," the chauffeur answered.

There's no way she's dating the chauffeur. The whole vibe is ruined; my dream has been destroyed.

Tiffani's head fell on my shoulder.

She's already asleep. It hasn't even been 40 seconds since he told her to fall asleep.

"You're always working; let's go to the park," Tiffani said in her sleep.

"She's still thinking about me even when she's sleeping." The chauffeur smiled to himself.

No way did the brooding guy actually smile. I never thought I'd see that. I looked outside and saw how beautiful the sky was.

"Hey, don't you think the sky would be prettier if it was purple? Specifically lavendar," I said, and he shot right at me from the mirrors.

I could feel how intense his stare was, but I tried to brush it off.

"Maybe add a little bit of stars, and that would be magical," I said, still looking outside.

"What do you know about magic?" The chauffeur asked

"What?" I was confused by his sudden response.

"How can you compare something possible like a purple sky to something impossible like magic?" He asked me what confused me.

"Why do you care? I'm just saying how I feel." I talked back to him with an attitude.

"And I'm just saying how I feel? You don't know about magic or how the sky works either. So how about next time you keep your opinions to yourself?" The chauffeur snapped back.

It went quiet immediately, which made the time go by faster. We soon arrived at the school, which was bigger than expected. I stepped out of the car and, for some reason, felt a weird pressure. It felt like someone was staring at me, or at least watching me. Who'd think that their first experience right outside their new high school would be the weirdest one yet? The chauffeur was taking my luggage out and waking up Tiffani.

I saw many people entering the school, so I grabbed my stuff and ran to the school.

"Brooklyn wait. I've got to show you around!" Tiffani shouted at me.

Why doesn't this feel right? This place just doesn't feel new to me; it's as if I've been here before. I get an eerie feeling about this place. I should be excited, but I'm scared.

Back then, I was brand new to the school and didn't realize the consequences of my actions—or just how stupid I was to join my friends in going to some stupid school. I'm currently halfway into my first year, and it stinks. I'm constantly tired and bored, and I just feel miserable. I just wish something interesting had happened.

"Brookie-chan, you should really smile like you used to; it makes you look from a 7 to an 11." My friend said that, and I just sighed.

"Thanks, Mina... I guess," I said to her while I was closing my locker.

"Mina's right; you used to be a big bundle of joy, and now all of a sudden you're a sack of sadness." My friend Priya points out

"Come on, Brook, we're Z.P.M.B. for a reason; without our last letter, we will be incomplete. And we need to be complete," Zoey said, getting in my way.

"I'm taking the elevator; y'all can't stop me or convince me to not be miserable." That's my life now," I said to them.

Since I made that bet with Mom, I haven't seen her yet, and we're already in December. I haven't been able to complain to Mom or Dad about anything or whine at all, and now I feel extremely depressed.

I walked into an elevator with an adult and sighed. We both said hello but never really struck up a conversation with each other. Suddenly the power went out, and we were both in pitch black.

"What the hell?" I said it out of fear, but then the lights went back on.

That's when the chaos started.

"Brooklyn Brinkley, I see you in the elevator." I heard a voice, as if it were coming from a loudspeaker.

"Who the hell are you?" I asked in fear.

"I'm your savior, a god here to help you through the process of ascension." As soon as they said those words, multiple different colors were glowing through the cracks of the elevator.

"ACENSION!?!?!" I was legitimately terrified at this point.

"Welcome to Brooklyn, to a world you never thought you belonged in!" The voice sounded excited, and I just fell to the floor crying. Suddenly, smoke came from above.

It was foggy to the point where I couldn't even tell where I was. It was over. I'm dead. Whatever is happening, I'm a goner.

"Okay, I took this too far. She's literally crying." A male voice said

"Who cares? It's just a little prank. She'll get over it." Another male said that, and the fog started to clear up.

I heard someone drop something and saw it was a weird stick like the ones magicians use. As I was about to grab it, another hand grabbed it, and I instantly took it.

"Damn it, she has," one of the males said.

"WHAT!" The fog cleared up immediately at that point.

I was able to see them both clearly. I saw the chauffeur and some random guy who seemed familiar. I held this magic stick close to me.

"Brooklyn, you know me, right? Wait, do you remember me?" The chauffeur asked, and I nodded.

"Please put down the stick, because you don't know what that thing is capable of." The chauffeur said nothing and instead pointed it at the guy next to him.

I wiped my tears and tried to hold in my fear. In between both of them, I saw a glowing purple figure behind them.

"Who the hell is that?" I asked, pointing at the person in between.

The males looked behind them but were acting like nothing was there.

"Say the words. Free us all." This glowing figure was making no sense.

I fell back on the floor in fear and just felt uneasy.

"What does that mean?" I asked in disbelief.

"Say the words!" The figure was getting louder and closer.

"I DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY ARE!" I shouted with tears coming down my face as it charged at me.

I suddenly felt my own body lose control and watched in horror as I floated off of the ground and saw everything in purple.

"Brooklyn!" The chauffeur called out, but then the person next to him grabbed him, and they disappeared.

"Say the-" I stopped the glowing figure by holding its jaw with my right hand.

"Quid ego, Keres? Iam me liberavi; non opus est tibi." I was speaking Latin, and I didn't know why or how.

(Why should I, Keres? I've already freed myself; I don't need you.)

"Princess, please, I did it for you," the glowing figure said while choking to death.

"It's about time you stopped calling me princess and address your queen," I told her, burning her into purple flames.

I watched her in agony right before my eyes. I didn't want to smile. I didn't want to laugh. I was forced to when all I just wanted to do was cry. That's exactly what I did.

Everything went black, and it was finally all over. But of course, it's not over yet!