Family and Protection

Chapter 15: If Only

The four girls left the dorm rooms together after another sleepless night. Their bodies had adjusted to the lack of sleep, so they didn't look as tired as they did the first couple of nights.

Brelyn walked into her Grammar class. She was greeted by a happy Aria before she took her seat. Brelyn was glad that she had gotten used to the lack of sleep. She didn't feel like falling asleep in class every five seconds.

In the middle of class, Brelyn felt a little different. She couldn't really explain it, but she just felt different. It was like there was something running through her body. Brelyn started a conversation when Aria had noticed something.

"Your eyes look a little greener than usual," Aria told her. She seemed to be a little concerned but didn't show it a lot because she didn't want to scare Brelyn.

"Are they?" she asked. She looked at her phone at her reflection. It was true; they were more of a lime green color than their normal hazel color. There was a green glare on her phone when she looked at herself. That indicated they were glowing. Brelyn discreetly looked at her bracelet. However, the gem on the bracelet was not glowing like it did when her eyes glowed. "Weird," she thought to herself.

"Okay class," the teacher said, "we will be reading silently for a while."

Brelyn was pretty neutral with reading, but she really wasn't in the mood for it today. "I wish I was able to read fast," she thought to herself. She placed her hand on the book cover before opening. Suddenly, she felt a surge of something run through her body. "This is just getting weirder and weirder every minute." She opened the book and turned to the page she was supposed to be reading.

After reading for a couple of minutes, Brelyn looked at the book in confusion. She turned around to face Aria. "Hey," she began. "Didn't we already read this?"

"I don't think so," Aria replied. "This is all new to me. Maybe you just read ahead."

"But I never read ahead," Brelyn said.

"Maybe Elaina read ahead, and she discussed what happened to you. Maybe you just weren't paying attention, but the information still stuck with you."

"Maybe," Brelyn said turning back to face the front. "This all is really weird. It's like I was able to retain information I haven't read," she thought to herself.

Brelyn couldn't stop thinking about everything she was feeling during first period. It bothered her that she didn't know why she was feeling like that. It couldn't be the gem because it wasn't glowing when her eyes glowed. Was there another reason as to why her eyes were glowing green? Brelyn tried to shake it off as she entered Magical History. She had hoped Art class would come quickly so she could relax and forget about it.

"Now," Fairy Godmother began, "When somebody possesses any kind of magic, they have magic surging through their body. While mortals feel content, people who possess magic always have that feeling of magic flowing through their bodies."

"Do you feel like that?" a curious student asked.

"I used to feel it," Fairy Godmother answered. "As I grew older, my body grew used to the feeling. Now, I can barely feel a thing. Sure once in awhile the magic grows stronger for a little bit, but other than that, I feel just as content as any other mortal."

The class then moved on to doing some individual work. Something that Brelyn does to help her concentrate is to snap her fingers. Brelyn continuously snapped her fingers as she worked. Suddenly, she saw green sparks come from her fingers. "What the heck?" she thought to herself. She thought her eyes glowing green when her bracelet wasn't was weird; this was even weirder. She snapped her fingers once more. As expected, green sparks appeared. It scared her a little. She felt the surging feeling she felt earlier; except, this time it was stronger. "What is happening to me?" she asked herself now feeling even more scared than before.

"Brelyn?" Fairy Godmother said getting her attention. This startled her. "Are you okay?"

Brelyn was about to answer back when suddenly a green beam shot from her hand. It shot another student across the room. Luckily, the student wasn't hurt. Neither Fairy Godmother nor the student was mad at Brelyn, but everyone in the class gave her a concerned look.

Brelyn breathed heavily. She had no idea what was going on. Without thinking, Brelyn jumped from her seat and ran out of the classroom. She ran to the bathroom. She looked at herself in the mirror. For the first time in her life, she saw fear in herself. "Why is this happening to me?"

Brelyn had completely shut everyone out. She wouldn't talk to anyone and would just keep everything for herself. Her friends began to worry about her. Once school ended, Brelyn walked towards the bathroom. Elaina followed her.

"Hey," Elaina called out. "You didn't show up at lunch today. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Brelyn said a little harshly.

"Bre, this doesn't sound like you. Jacey, Cayla, and I are really worried about you."

"Well, don't be worried," Brelyn replied. "As I said, I'm fine." Brelyn kept her hands close to her chest. She was getting stressed, and she didn't want to shoot another magical beam from her hands.

Elaina stepped forward towards Brelyn. "We're here for you-"

"Don't-" Brelyn said backing up. "I don't want to hurt you."

"Hurt me? Brelyn, why would you hurt me? I'm only trying to help you-"

"Please just go!" Brelyn shouted. She had tears in her eyes. "Please, just leave me alone."

"Okay," Elaina said giving in. She walked out the bathroom door in defeat.

Brelyn turned around to face herself in the mirror. She couldn't believe she just drove her best friend away. Tears streamed down her face. She didn't know what her heart was telling her, and she didn't know what to do. 

If only I knew what my heart was telling me

Don't know what I'm feeling

Is this just a dream?

Ah oh, yeah.

If only I could read the signs in front of me

I could find the way to who I'm meant to be

Ah oh, if only

If only

Brelyn then left the bathroom and headed to her dorm. It was now the middle of the night. Whatever she did, she could not fall asleep. She looked towards Elaina. She still felt bad for what she had done. She decided it would be best to apologize in the morning.

Suddenly, the door opened. Brelyn tucked herself under her blanket in fear. Two figures entered the room.

"I can't believe you convinced me into doing this," one voice said.

"We're not gonna get the gems from them any other way," the other voice said.

Just then, Elaina's bracelet began glowing. It was a sign that she was having a nightmare. "Look," one of the figures said. Both began getting closer to Elaina's bed.

Brelyn reached for the lamp to turn it on. The light turned on to reveal Mal and Evie in her room. Both women made eye contact with Brelyn. Mal and Evie looked at each other since they didn't know what to do. "I'm sorry to be blunt," Brelyn began, "but what are you two doing in my room this late at night?"

"Um," Mal started, "we heard about you girls having nightmares, so we just decided to check on you girls."

"Yeah," Evie said.

"Well, I'm fine. Elaina may be having a nightmare, but I think she'll be fine."

"Good," Evie replied.

There was an awkward silence. "Well," Mal began, "you have a good night."

"You too." Mal and Evie exited the room. "That was probably the weirdest thing all day," Brelyn thought. She turned off the lamp and tried to fall asleep again.