36

"So how did today go?"Her mother asked.

"It was...great."Corma said.

"Really?"She asked,"Honey, Corma had a great day!"

Her father tediously tried to trek the stairs in his crotches then her mother assisted him, he then said,"That's excellent honey, come, tell us everything that happened."

Corma sat down as her parents eagerly waited for her to speak, then yawned and said,"I'm just really tired, I have a big day tomorrow."

"Oh, of course."Her mother said,"Should I bring up dinner?"

"Oh no, no, no, I had a big dinner at school today, you know, mandrake soup and haggis, you gotta love it."

She rushed into her room then banged the door behind her, shaking the very foundations of the building.

She sighed then took a piece of paper from her pocket with some writings on it.

She sat at her desk then opened a big book to the middle, frantically searching for something.

She then placed the piece of paper onto the page and prayed she got it right, she then said,"Tifasira haridoni."

The paper merged with the book, and the writings on it, with the writings on the book, then she squealed, it did work.

She looked closely then read it intimately as she wrote notes down, then a white crystal on her desk began to glow brightly as she made an incantation...

***

Portia woke up and this time, saw she was on Skylar's lap.

She knew this wasn't real as the gem was doing it, but she wished, more than anything that this could be such.

He caressed her cheek and was about to kiss her when she slowly pulled back and said,"I'm sorry, but this isn't going to work."

"Portia, what are you talking about?"He chuckled.

"You belong in a different reality, with a different me."

"Portia, as long as I'm with you, I'll be content."

"Thanks but, you don't deserve this, I don't."

Then everything changed back to normal, then she looked at the gem then asked,"Could you please stop ' helping ', I know that's all you want to do, but this isn't the way."

A wave of black mist erupted from it then she said,"Thanks."

She sat up then looked at Griffin, which was busily catching a snooze without any knowledge of what had happened.

She went out of her room and met Aeric standing there holding a bouquet and was confused till he nervously cleared his throat then said,"Today marks the exact hundredth day you've lived with us, and your seventeen birthday...happy birthday Portia."

"Aww..."She said,"...thanks and King Proteas? You didn't have to."

"But I did, my lady."He said, kissing her hand.

She couldn't help but catch a weird vibe, was this the same Aeric?

She got down, where a king sized cake had been prepared which could literally feed her entire school and she nearly cried, they didn't need to do all of this.

"It was Aeric's idea."Uncle Cloud said.

Portia smiled at him and he looked away nervously then she kissed his cheek and said,"Thank you."

She knew that always worked on him, but when she did, she had this overwhelming fear then gulped hard.

"Is anything the matter?"He asked.

"No, you did everything right but, I have to leave."

She then vanished and everyone was confused, she didn't even touch the cake or the breakfast feast.

Portia was in her room then closed her eyes and took a deep breath as the doors slammed shut and the windows closed on her command, then small barb like lumps formed over the walls and ceiling, soundproofing the place as she yelled,"Skylar! Skylar! I need to speak with you! Now!"

She barely turned when she screamed, he was right there.

"I admire your willpower..."He said,"...you rejected the reality where we were together."

"That's not why I called you...I thought you only came when I was asleep."

"You said you wanted to speak with me, now, with emphasis on the now."

"Right, umm, how do I say this..."

"You're developing feelings for my brother?"

"No it's not that, he's developing feelings for me and I don't know what to do, you said I only matched with Kofi, will you scare him off too?"

"Portia..."

"Please don't scare him off, I wouldn't be able to live with myself if..."

"Portia..."

"What?! I'm panicking!"

"You may be with him."

"Wait, what?"

"You may be with Aeric."

"I thought you said I could only be happy with Kofi."

"What I said was that I gave you my blessing to be with him, but in this situation, I think it best if you just handled your heart on your own, to avoid anymore scars."

"Really?!"

He nodded.

"Thank you!"She yelled and hugged him.

He patted her back gently and by the time she opened her eyes, he was gone.

She did a happy dance as her room returned to normalcy, then modelled down the stairs in her best dress and took a fork, strategically taking a bite from Aeric's slice of cake, then she smiled and walked away.

At school, Portia couldn't settle her heart down, now she wasn't being forced to be with Kofi, a guy who obviously didn't like her, she was over the moon.

Telling her closest friend, Ms Terratikka did her usual squeal and asked,"Are you sure he gave you the go ahead?"

Portia nodded several times then both girls found each other dancing on her desk.

Portia walked out of the room, after seeing the bright and happy future she had with Aeric, but her smile soon faded when she saw a young man on the other side of the hall, Kofi.

She walked towards him as he sat, unmotivated, on a desk, mingling with sparks in his hands.

Portia took a deep breath then stretched her arm towards him and the cold stares he gave her could have given her a frost bite if she didn't pull it back.

He sighed and asked what she wanted, and she understood his tone and question.

"I just came to ask for a truce, I know I've been a terrible person lately and wanted to say I'm really sorry for how I've been acting, could we be...friends again?"

He tilted his head as the lights flickered on, then off, with white plasma writing in the air,"No."

When the lights came back on, she couldn't hold back and just hugged him tightly and there was a loud gasp from the crowd as he pushed her away in disgust, then she wiped the tears from her face then said,"Thank you, for everything."

Then vanished.

The moment he realized the mistake he had just made, he yelled for her to wait, but she was already gone.

He searched for her everywhere in the school and eventually confided in Ms Terra.

"After how you treated her? You expect her to come running back to you?"

"No I just...~sigh~I was just angry and said and did some stupid things, but help me make it up to her, please."

"If I did help you make it up to her, how would I know you'd be different?"

"If you wouldn't search the future but you know she changed, why can't I?"

"...in the dining hall."

"Thank you Ms Terra, I could kiss you."

"Don't."

"Not literally though."

He vanished in a flash of electricity from the lights on the ceiling and the air-conditioning went off shortly then came back on, and she rolled her eyes.