Ancestors: The Other World

Chapter 1

Sophie took badminton. It was fun and the feeling of smacking a shuttle felt amazing. When you sprinted from one end of the court to the other, you felt like a bird, soaring across the court to save a shuttle.

"Sophie!!!"

Sophie was snapped out of her thoughts when heard Hanlu, her good friend's familiar voice.

"Eh? Yeah?" she turned to return Hanlu's whisper-shouting. "Come on! We found something cool," Sumedha called as Sophie turned in confusion. "What...? This school has interesting stuff?" she muttered in confusion before charging out of the classroom.

"What did you find?" Sophie asked in bewilderment. "Trust me it is cool," Hanlu whispered before she ran into the dense overgrowth behind the school. "What the heck?" Sophie followed, trying not to lose her two friends in the midst of branches and brambles. Finally, she arrived at..,9 doors???

It seemed to them that the dense overgrowth had covered the door with moss and layers of dust. "What in the world...?" she hissed.

"What do you mean? Isn't it cool?" Sumedha chirped excitedly. Sophie studied the 9 doors that closed in an arc in the clearing. The clearing looked like it had been undisturbed for quite some time, possibly even centuries. And yet here she was. Exploring this mythical yet quizzical looking clearing that remained untouched until now. Brushing off some of the dust and moss, she discovered that each door had a symbol to it, like a fierce looking creature undiscovered. She took a quick glance around again before noticing an ancient looking stone tablet lying on the ground. "Uh, guys?" Sophie yelped. "There are keys in the locks! Ah darn, there's only 3 left. Just enough for us. Let's explore separately to cover more ground!" suggested Hanlu. Sumedha grabbed her by the wrist before she could move a step further. "What if... there's some kind of ghost awaiting us?" Sumedha croaked with fear in her eyes.

Sophie nodded in agreement. "Aw, damn. Okay, maybe we come back after CCA, but keep the keys with you," Hanlu grunted in disappointment. "I guess it is a compromise or something," Sophie muttered.

CCA was the same as always.

That bubbling feeling of anger just pulsing inside of her. "Come on Sophie you can do this!" yelled Regina, her teammate. Yes, one should feel happy that their teammates were cheering for them. But Sophie knew this was all just a facade.

During the match, Sophie felt sweat trickle down her skin. Her muscles were stiff and she could feel the strain of her arms as she lifted it up.

"Sophie, you're such a burden while playing," commented Regina stiffly. Sophie sighed. "Run some more!" yelled another teammate.

"Sprint faster!"

"Whack harder!"

The match ended. 21-10. Sophie stared at her points, feeling rather miserable on the inside. She was. "We did very well!" Chirped Regina. Sophie could just hear the 'resentful but gotta act nice' tone filling the girl's voice, irritating Sophie.

'Was it so hard to tell me the truth?' She thought.

Halfway during the training, she could hear whispers fill her ears. They were all commenting on how she played, and their words began bugging her. She didn't feel put down. No, not at all. She felt resentful. The truth was really just something her teammates could never tell her. It was such a difficult thing to tell her. "She always acts like she tries, but I don't believe it," scoffed Regina.

"OI!" She bellowed, flinging the shuttle in her hand onto the ground. It was the final straw for her. The building frustration couldn't be pushed back down. They all stopped their muttering as the whole hall turned to face her. The anger blinded her judgement and she let out a furious scream.