Jennifer's POV
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
I opened my eyes, groaning as I looked at my alarm clock. I checked what time it was, and it said 6:40. "Oh, Shoot! I'm going to be late!" I got out of my bed, packed my bag, and changed into my clothes. As I left my room, I noticed my older twin brother, Jim, cooking breakfast and lunch. I also saw my big sister, Julianne, cleaning the house. "Morning, guys!" I greeted as I took my breakfast and ate it as fast as I could
"Morning, Jenni!" They replied in their cheery voice
Juli finished cleaning and went upstairs to get her things, and Jim delivered mom her breakfast. She's been taking double shifts and hasn't been getting enough sleep lately. We do our best to take care of her when she's exhausted, but it still worries me. I know that Juli and Jim feel the same.
Once I finished my breakfast, I grabbed my bag and headed to the garage. I picked up my bike and waited for Jim and Juli to get theirs. Once they got their bicycles, they opened the garage door. As it opened, we saw the trash can on the floor with trash spilled out. "Ugh, raccoons!" Jim and I groaned
As Jim picked up the garbage, our best friend, Toby Domzalski, rode over to us from his house across from us. "We're late for school, guys." He informed us as he put on his helmet
"Sorry, Tobes busy with the lunches," Jim said as he tried to throw a milk carton in the crash can but missed it, but grabbed it fast and put it in the trash can, "One for me, one for mom, one for Julianne, one for Jennifer, and..."
He took a paper bag out of his backpack and gave it to Tobes. He took the bag and sniffed it, "Balsamic mushrooms, meatloaf, chunky, sun-dried tomatoes." He analyzed as he looked in the paper bag
"And cardamom." Jim finished
"Ooh! Taking a chance there, chef Jim." Toby commented
"What's life without a little adventure?" Jim asked
Juli then mounted her bike and began to peddle, "I'll see you guys after school!" She shouted as she waved us goodbye
"See ya!" Jim and I said in unison
"I can't eat this," Toby told us, handing the paper bag to Jim, "I'm on a diet."
"You've been on a diet for the past 14 years, Tobes," Jim argued, pushing the paper bag back to him.
"I know," Toby replied
"You're 15." I finished as we mounted on our bikes and began to peddle our way to school
"Long-term goals, my body's still changing," Toby explained as he got on his bike and peddled right behind us. "I'm right... I'm right... I'm right behind!"
I checked my phone to see the time and groaned, "It's 8:00!" I shouted as I began to peddle faster along with Jim
"We're going to get suspended on account of meatloaf!" Toby exclaimed
"Take the canal, guys. It'll save us five minutes!" He yelled as we drifted to a small forest
"Not...the...canal!" Toby stammered, which was caused by the bumpy rocks on the path
"Oh, live a little!" Jim and I shouted to Tobes as we rode over a little grass hill and landed
"It's living that I'm worried about!" Toby shot back at us
"Come on, Tobes, don't you want a little more excitement?" Jim asked
Toby chuckled sarcastically before strongly saying, "No!"
Once Jim and I saw the canal, we made our bikes jump. We had our hands up in the air and then put our hands in the handles as we landed safely. "Come on, Tobes!" We yelled as we waited for our scared friend
Jim and I then heard a voice calling out Jim's name, 'James...Lake.' We heard. We put our bikes down, not noticing that Toby went up and down. We walked near to whatever Jim's name was called. "Ha, how awesome are we? Awesome!" Toby shouted as we finally notice him, face on the floor
We kept walking to whatever called his name. We then see a pile of rocks, which is kind of weird because I've never seen these before. "Hey, Tobes. Did you hear that voice?" I whispered as we kept walking towards the pile
"What voice?" Toby asked before they said our names again
'James Lake.' Toby screamed as we all fell to the floor, startled. "That! That pile of rocks knows my name." Jim told Toby
"It's a pile of K-spar. Minerals don't talk." Toby replied as we began to dig through the pile, "There's got to be a walkie-talkie in here or something."
As we looked through the pile of rocks, I saw something glowing. I picked up the rock and saw a blue gem in the shape of a bow shooting an arrow. I turned my head to see that Jim found an amulet of some sort. "Huh. Looks like an amulet." Jim said as he analyzed it
I looked at the bow and arrow gem, "This one looked like a blue gemstone, shaped like a bow shooting an arrow." I told him
"Who's doing this? Come out, now!" Toby yelled while looking around the canal
"Hello. I'm listening." Jim said as we put them near our ears. Then we heard the school bell. We all scream, looking at the amulet then at each other.
"Final bell!" I screamed as I put the gemstone in my backpack
"We're so late our kids are going to have detention!" Toby yelled as we ran to our bikes
"Come on! Come on, Tobes. We can still make it!" Jim told us as we ride our bikes as fast as we could
"I'm right behind!" Toby yelled back
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Julianne's POV
I rode my bike through town and saw people driving to work or walking to school. As I made it to school, I parked my bike and walked straight to my locker. I gathered up my things for my first period and made my way to the classroom.
I walked into the classroom and took my seat, "Well, well, well..." I heard a familiar masculine voice behind me, 'Oh boy... Here we go again.' "If it isn't Julianne Lake!"
I adjusted my glasses and turned around to see the most annoying boy I've ever met, Adam Barton. He has brown hair and brown eyes. He wears a red jacket with a white shirt and blue pants. He's a self-conscious, immature, and attention-seeking jerk that gives me a migraine. He also takes pleasure in ruining someone's day when he gets the chance.
"What do you want now, Adam?" I asked with annoyance in my voice
He just stood there and gave me a flirtatious smirk, which made me want to throw up. "Well, I was thinking, if you would like to stop by my house after school." He asked while he put his hand on the table, leaning forward
Oh, right... I forgot to mention this creep has a huge crush on me because of my looks. Ever since Sophomore Year, he's been doing everything to make me go out with him. He even tries to manipulate me to be his girlfriend, which is super annoying! Let's say he's one of the reasons I'm looking forward to early graduation.
I sighed out of irritation, "Again, the answer is no."
He had a look of holding back his aggression. "Oh, come on, babe!" He pleaded while leaning closer, "I promise you won't regret it."
"Give it up, Adam. I'm not interested." I sternly replied, "So can you please back off? You're in my personal space."
He didn't budge an inch. He stayed in the same position for a few seconds and was about to say something until we heard someone with a British accent talking to Adam. "Oi, leave her alone. She's clearly not interested." They said
We turned around to see a boy with hazel eyes and raven black hair with blue dyed tips. He was wearing a black shirt and jacket with black jeans and black shoes. I never saw him before, then again, I really don't pay attention to other people, since most of them don't like me.
"Tch. Whatever... Who would even want to be with 'Loner Bookworm Lake' anyways?" He scoffed as he begins to walk back to his seat
I sighed out in relief, knowing that the parasite has for now left me be. I turned my head to the raven hair boy, "Thanks." I thanked him
He gave me a soft smile, "No problem. It looked like he was irritating you and making you uncomfortable." He replied as he took a seat next to me, "I'm Douxie, by the way."
I made a small smile, "Julianne. It's nice to meet you." I replied before class started and helped each other with the assignment we were assigned
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Jennifer's POV
*In History class*
"The Peloponnesian war was actually three wars, fought between Athens and Sparta, the first war is known as the Archimidian war. Type that into your search engines. A-R-C-H-I-M-I-D-I-A-N." Mr. Strickler instructed us as we typed on the school's laptops
While I was researching, Tobes and I caught Jim staring dreamily at his crush, Claire Nunez. I've talked to her before, and she's really nice. And knowing that my older twin brother has a crush on her makes it easy to tease him later.
"Close your mouth. You're drooling." Toby whispered to Jim
"No. No, I'm not." He replied as Toby went back to researching, "What are you doing."
"Research"
"Hey, look up 'talking amulet.'" Jim told him
"I already did that. All I got was toys. One of them was a plushie." Toby explained to Jim
"Same on my end," I replied, showing him the screen
"Jim, would you agree?" Our teacher asked
"Sir?" Jim questions as he behind him
"With Herodotus' opinion on his tactics of war, as I've described?" Mr. Strickler asked
"Oh, uh..." He stammered before looking at Toby and me
We just looked back at our computers, "Absolutely." He finally answered
"Excellent." Our teacher commented before questioning him, "Which tactics, specifically?"
"The uh.... winning ones?" He answered, making everyone laughed before the bell ring
"All right, all right. Don't forget, Michaelson, chapters four and five," Mr. Stickler told everyone as they gathered their things and exited the room. "Jim, Jennifer. May I have a word with you two?"
Jim was going to put his book in his backpack until it fell, "Jim, Jennifer, you're both distracted." Our teacher said with concern as he handed him one of his books, "You fell asleep between the invasion of Attica and Peace of Nicias, and your attention wandered for the rest of the class."
"Sorry. We didn't get a lot of sleep last night." I told him, grabbing Jim's other stuff
"I know it's just you, your brother, your older sister, and your mother, and you all want to help her." He softly replied
"She's just tired, Mr. Strickler. She's been working double shifts at the clinic." Jim explained
"I believe I'm overdue for a conversation with her. Have her call me, please." Mr. Stickler requested us as he gave Jim a sticky note with his phone number written, "And feel free to drop by my office if you ever need to talk."
"Yeah, we'll do that." We replied
"Oh, and Jim, if you fancy Miss Nunez, I submit to telling her then staring at." He advised Jim, which made me chuckle before we walked to our next class
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*At PE*
Toby was climbing the rope, not even near the bell. "Hang on. Almost there." He told himself as he kept trying, "So close. So close."
"Come on, Tobes! You've got this!" Jim cheered
"Yeah! You can do this!" I cheered
But Toby was barely off the mat. He ended up falling back with his leg tangled with the rope. "What is that on my rope?" Coach Lawrence spat as he popped up out of nowhere, making Toby yelp. "Every student here should be able to climb this rope and ring that bell. I want all of you to be made of iron! Iron!"
Coach continued to ramble as I caught Jim staring at Claire again. She, along with Darci and Shannon, was watching a video on the bleachers. I sighed as I saw him gathering his courage to talk to her. "Buenas Noches." I heard him speak in Spanish,
I tried to hold my laugh, knowing how nervous he really is. The three girls began to leave until Claire asked if he likes Shakespeare and gave her an audition poster for Romeo and Juliet. I then walked up to him, "Did you seriously say, 'goodnight' to her in Spanish?" I asked him while giggling
He looked at me with confusion, "What? No, I said good afternoon." He denied
I giggled even harder, "That's, Buenas Tardes, Jim, Buenas Noches, means goodnight." I explained to him, which made him feel more embarrassed
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*End of the school day*
We got our bikes and started to walk to the exit while Toby told us his good news, "So, good news, guys. My orthodontist says I'm almost done with my braces. Only four more years." He stated
Suddenly, we notice the school bully, Steve Palchuk, putting Eli in the locker, laughing at him with Steve's two bully buddies. "Okay, nothing to see here," Toby commented as he tried to pass them without confrontation.
"We can't let him do that." Jim and I spoke
"Oh yes, we can." Toby shot back as we started walking over to Steve, "If Psycho Steve's terrorizing him, he's not terrorizing us. Guys? Guys! Oh, no."
"Tell me again, dweeb-face. Tell me about the creatures, and maybe I'll let you out!" Steve snarled as he banged his fist on the locker Eli was in
"Or you can let him out now. I mean, you know, it would be nice." Jim told Steve
"Jim's right, Steve," I replied before Steve cut me off
"Nice would be you two minding your own business," Steve growled at us
"Oh! Hi, Jim! Hi, Jenni!" Eli said inside the locker, but Steve banged his fist on the locker again
"So... where were we? Uh... oh, yeah, okay. You were telling me about the monsters you saw this morning, with fangs, and... what was it again?" Steven asked after banging the locker for the third time
"Stone for skin! In the Canal!" Eli answered
"Stone for skin? Man, Eli, you've got some imagination!" Steve replied, and Jim put his bike down
"Look, Steve, seriously, just let him out," He said nicely, but then Steve grabbed him by the shirt and had his fist ready to punch him.
"Or you'll do what?" He snarled
"Okay, do it. Punch me." Jim told Steve, looking at him stared in the eye
There was a crowd full of students surrounding them by now as I readied myself to attack him, "You...you're asking for a beating?" Steve chuckled
"Yeah, go crazy," Jim answered
I stared at Steve intensely, "If you hurt him, I'll break every bone in your body, Palchuk!" I yelled
"In 20 years, you're going to be fat and bald, and you'll be working in a muffler shop, and Eli will have a career in software, and he'll be a billionaire," Jim told Steve right to his face.
"I do like computers!" Eli replied before Steve punched the locker again, "Let him out. Let him out! Let him out! Let him out!" Toby chanted until everyone joined in
Everyone chanted until Coach Lawrence came bursting through the door, "Palchuk, what's going on?!" He yelled, making him let go of Jim
"Uh, noting, sir," Steve said innocently
"Why aren't you at practice?"
"I was helping Eli here." He lied as he opened the locker, showing Eli stuffed in there. "He was stuck,"
"On the double now!" Coach yelled before Steve violently shut the locker and glared at Jim. He said something to him before walking away.
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Julianne's POV
*After school*
I walked outside of the school with Douxie, talking about stuff until we reached my bike. "I should get going. Don't want to keep my younger sibling waiting for me." I told him as I mounted on my bike
He then chuckled a little, "Yeah, I should probably get going too. My shift at the cafe starts soon." He replied
I gave him a sweet before peddling my way home, "See around, Douxie!" I shouted
"See you around, Julianne!" He replied
I made my way to meet my siblings and Toby at the town square. They told about what they found at the canal, it was strange. Jenni explained to me how Jim embarrassed himself in front of his crush, which made me laugh. They then told me how he got himself in trouble with Steve to save Eli. It made me worry about what'll happen to him on Friday.
"That was awesome, man! Did you see how I did that chant? 'Let him out. Let him out.'" Toby laughed
"I still can't believe you managed to get out of that unscathed," I commented
"I mean, you probably won't live till Friday, but it was awesome!" Toby replied before we heard a honk and saw mom in the car, "Good thing your mom's a doctor."
We stopped beside her car as she rolled down her window, "Hey, kids." She greeted, adjusting her glasses
"Hey, mom." Jim, Jenni, and I said together
"Looking sharp, Dr. L," Toby complimented as he kept riding his bike and backed up to the window, grunting.
Thank you, Toby. So are you." Mom replied
"Oh! Does it show?" Toby asked before flexing his muscles
"You gonna be out all night?" I asked
"Dr. Gilbert is out with bursitis, and Dr. Lenz has a wedding out of town this weekend." She replied
"Okay, don't forget to bring you-" Jenni began to tell her before mom cut her off.
"-Dinner. Thank you." She said, showing us the lunch bag
"Right, and try to find an oven to reheat it in, instead of nuking. It takes all the flavor and nutrients away." Jim told her
"There's probably a million things you three would rather be doing than looking out for me." She said
"Can't think of one," Jima and Jenni replied as I nodded
"Love you, guys." She told up before driving to work
"Bye, mom." We said together
"You three mother your mother a lot," Toby pointed out, making us laugh
"See you tomorrow Tobes," Jenni said as we started to ride to my house
"Hey, and by the way, don't use mayo on the sandwich. It's the wrong note." Toby told Jim
After we put our bikes away, we went inside the house. Jim and Jenni tossed their bags on the couch. I went upstairs and put my stuff away and went back downstairs and saw them holding two objects they told me they found at the canal. Jim was holding an amulet. And Jenni was holding a blue gemstone shaped like a bow shooting an arrow.
"I'm guessing those are the things you found at the canal," I said, sitting next to them.
They both nodded as I looked at the amulet and gemstone. Then the amulet glowed blue. We all looked at it, "Um, hi. How are you doing? I'm Jim. But then, you knew that because you spoke my name, which is... weird." Jim spoke to the amulet, but it didn't do anything
Jenni then began to poke at it, expecting it to do something. "And now we're talking to an inanimate object," Jim said in frustration, "Come on! Talk again, or you're going up on eBay."
I was about to say something until we heard something in the basement. We headed towards the basement and heard more noises. "Raccoons!" Jim groaned as he grabbed a broom while Jenni and I grabbed metal sticks.
We quietly crept down the stair, looking around. As Jim peered into the darkness, we heard footsteps retreating as something fell onto the ground. We continued to creep down, reaching towards the bottom. Jim turned on the lights and continued to walk forward until he saw his reflection and screamed. Jenni and I giggled, making Jim playfully glare at us. Then something broke the light, making all of us scream, but then sighed. I then crouched down and grabbed something from the floor to see it was charcoal.
"Do you know what's going on, Juli?" Jim asked
I shook my head and began to stand back up until we heard something behind us yelling, "Master Jim!"
"What the-" Jenni and I yelled as Jim screamed and fell onto the floor and scrambled as his head hit the pipe.
I stood there in fear and shock as I saw a blue stoned creature with six and four arms, smiling at my brother. "Master Jim! We have found you!" " He yelled again, scaring my brother more
Jim scrambled more until he hit another stone creature, "I am known as Blinky." The bluestone creature introduces himself
I looked at the other stoned creature. He had huge horns and green hair around his neck, "Hi." He said, making Jim scream, argh.
"It's Aaarrrgghh. Three Rs." The big one corrected, holding three fingers
I couldn't hear what they said anymore since I was lost in thought. And I knew that Jenni was the same. But we did hear them talking about Jim being something called a Trollhunter? And apparently, 'Blinky and Aaarrgh' are trolls. 'I'm so confused!'
Jennifer's POV
'This is the most confusing and weirdest thing that's ever happening to us right now! These things are trolls, and Jim is a Trollhunter? What is even happening right now!?'
Only a second later after, 'Blinky,' told us, Jim fainted. "Is that a yes?" Aaarrgghh asked
Juli and I made our way to Jim, "He didn't say anything. He just fainted out of shock and confusion." I explained to them, "I don't blame you since we're just as confused as he is."
"Ah. That makes sense." Blinky spoke up before looking at me, "Speaking of which, I see you have the Gemstone of Protection!"
"The what?" Juli and I asked
"The Gemstone of Protection. Centuries ago, the gemstone was created by Merlin, the creator of the amulet, to protect the Trollhunter. Unfortunately, the gemstone has never chosen its champion." Blinky explained, "Until today, as right now, you are one of the Trollhunter's Protectors."
To say I was shocked would be an understatement. 'One of the Trollhunter's Protectors, what is going on right now?!' I could see Juli looking at me with worry, "We should make our exit. Lovely meeting you, sister of Master Jim. We will see you again soon." Blinky said as he and Aaarrrgghh left the basement
"What have we gotten ourselves into, Jennifer?" Juli asked with confusion
"I have no idea..." I breathed out