After walking through the Forbidden Falls, Stota entered a whole new world called the 21st century. Many years went by, and he made his way in this new world, creating a life for himself and Aqua. He received a job working at a high grossing computer company, where he climbed to the top of the corporation's ladder. Stota was now the vice president of this computer company, and everyone knew it by how he dressed and how he acted. Besides getting a job with a really good pay, he raised King Richard and Queen Lucille's daughter Aqua as his own. Stota never told Aqua about her past and never will; it is best that it remains a secret, Stota told himself. Since Stota had to go on lots of business trips, he got Aqua a pet, an orange tabby that had mysteriously arrived at their door one day with a collar around its neck that said Firestar. Little did Stota know who it really was.
Aqua, now fifteen, lives the high life in a mansion with servants, but she does not let her wealthy life affect who she is. Due to the prestigious lifestyle, Aqua's father was never around, so Aqua's raised herself creating the confident and loyal person she is today. Thanks to Aqua's life experiences, she is both street smart, has a sense of adventure, and stands up for what she believes in. Then, Aqua's ordinary life gets turned upside down, and this is where her story begins.
It was a beautiful day on the coast of Coronado, and fifteen-year-old Aqua Frazee was at home studying her geometry packet for Monday's finals. She had been studying for hours, so she decided she needed a break and called up her two best friends, Serena and Elizabeth, for a late afternoon swim in her backyard.
Aqua met Elizabeth and Serena while playing against them in a volleyball game several years ago. Since then the three girls have become very close friends. With the school's finals starting in just two days, Aqua knew they probably needed the break from studying as much as she did, if they were studying that is.
Ding dong! The doorbell rang and Aqua jumped up from the couch and set her packet down on the coffee table then made her way to the door and opened it for her friends. Two teenage girls greeted Aqua with warm smiles after she opened the door. One girl was tall, had gorgeous blond hair, and was wearing a pink cover-up with bling over her pink and white polka-dotted bikini, this girl was Elizabeth Andrews. She was one of the popular girls at Sun Coast High and a big fashionista; she knew what was hot even before people were wearing it. Elizabeth also competes in the town's gymnastics competitions as well as singing in a local band that she had created with her other friends a few years back. Her dad Frank Andrews was a big businessman that made a lot of money just like Stota so most of the time the men got along.
Serina, on the other hand, had her brown hair tied in a ponytail and was wearing a deep purple tankini. Serina was the prankster in the group. She loved to do anything that involved pranks or jokes.
"I'm so glad you invited us over," exclaimed Elizabeth as she walked through the door. "I hadn't had a chance to wear my new swimsuit this year and this seemed like a perfect opportunity."
Both Aqua and Serina rolled their eyes; it was so typical of Elizabeth to talk about her clothes. When they were younger, it use to annoy them, but now they have learned to accept it whether they liked hearing about it or not. "I'm so glad you guys could make it, I almost thought you wouldn't come due to studying for Monday's finals and everything."
"Wait, we need to study for the finals?" Serina asked.
Typical Serina, thought Aqua, not knowing there was a test coming up. Even if she had known the test was coming up she would not be studying anyway. How she managed to pass her classes was beyond Aqua. "Well, I for one need to cool off in the pool, who's ready?"
Elizabeth and Serina let out an approving yay, took off their cover-ups, and headed for the pool. The three girls brought out their beach towels and set them on the table only a few feet away from the pool which was at least twenty feet long with a small waterfall that led to a cave behind it. Aqua's dad had put lots of money into his house and always had it clean just in case he had some company come over at the last minute, and with her dad, that was all the time.
Serina walked around to the side of the pool, jumped in the air, did a somersault and landed with a splash. Aqua and Elizabeth did not like jumping in right off the bat like Serina had just done, but liked getting into the water slowly. "Wow, the water is super cold," Elizabeth said as she proceeded down the pool's steps and into the water. "It is the beginning of summer," Aqua replied.
"Miss Rubin gave me a big Geometry packet to study last night," Aqua told her friends. "Ugh," said Serina who was never thrilled hearing about homework. "The good thing is I know almost all of it, so passing this final should be a breeze." "What other classes do you have?" Elizabeth asked Aqua. "Well... I have Computer Programming first, then Science and finally English. Geometry is my last class of the day," said Aqua as she hopped out of the pool and walked over to the diving end where she jumped and a huge wall of water rained down on Elizabeth, soaking her to the bone.
Aqua swam to the opposite side of the pool to sit on a rock shaped like a seat by the waterfall. That was when she saw how mad Elizabeth was, "Uh, sorry," she said with a sheepish grin noticing a drenched Elizabeth. Elizabeth was mad at Aqua and splashed her. Aqua did the same back to her; the girls began to playfully splash each other until Elizabeth finally surrendered.
"Ha ha, winner!" Said Aqua, "I am the Queen and you must all bow in my presence." "Yes your majesty," both Elizabeth and Serina said in unison as they tried to curtsy. All three girls started laughing then began to talk about school, family and upcoming movies for the next hour or so, but as they were talking Aqua felt something against her foot.
Probably a rock or something, she thought to herself and tried to ignore it. Then she felt it under her foot again, curiosity tugged at her like she was in a tug of war battle, so she decided to see what it was. To Aqua's astonishment, it was a blue tear-shaped necklace connected to a black string.
"Hey guys, look what I found!" Exclaimed Aqua. Elizabeth and Serina swam to where Aqua was to examine the necklace she had just found. "Wow," breathed Serina, "that is a gorgeous necklace." "It must be a sapphire," added Elizabeth.
As Aqua inspected the necklace, she could not help but feel like she had seen this before like in a dream or in a dream of a dream.
Aqua decided to get out of the pool to examine the necklace a little more closely. She grabbed her robe, tied the string around her waist, and headed inside with Elizabeth and Serina following closely behind. Just as the three girls came inside the front door opened up revealing Stota Frazee carrying his briefcase.
"Hey dad," said Aqua as she put the necklace into a pocket in her robe. "Hi darling," said Stota and gave Aqua a hug. "Nice to see you, girls." "Nice to see you too Mr. Frazee," said Elizabeth. "Oh girls I just talked to your parents and they're on their way here to pick you up." A car horn honked from outside. "And I guess they're already here."
Aqua said her goodbyes and hugged her friends before they left. Then the usual routine started up again. After they left she went and took a quick shower and changed into a t-shirt and shorts. It was about six o'clock at night so Aqua set the table for dinner and pulled out some Chinese leftovers they had a few days ago. Since Stota was usually never home Aqua had practically raised herself with a little help from their maid Maudie, whom they have had for years. Maudie would come over when Stota had to leave for long trips to keep an eye on Aqua. Now Maudie was like a grandma or older mother to Aqua, more than just a maid.
After Aqua finished setting the table and declared that dinner was ready they began to dig in. An awkward silence filled the room as they ate their orange chicken and rice which tended to happen more and more as Stota went out on additional business trips. "Uhh... I helped the company finish up the last touches on the latest laptop that is about to hit the stores this October," said Stota trying to break the silence. "Oh," said Aqua as she continued to eat mindlessly.
"Aqua, I'm leaving for D. C. in the morning and I won't be back for over a couple of weeks." This grabbed Aqua's attention. "Maudie will be staying with you until I get back." "Ok," Aqua replied. "And please tell Serina to refrain from any practical jokes on her. The last time she did one Maudie almost had a heart attack." Aqua giggled, it was true the last time Maudie had stayed with Aqua, Serina had planted gummy worms in her soup and told Maudie they were earthworms she had pulled out of their garden. Of course, Maudie spit out the soup and screamed until her voice had grown hoarse which caused Serina to not be invited over again while Maudie was staying with Aqua.
"I'll make sure Serina doesn't do anything too extreme," said Aqua. "Thank you," Stota replied. "Now I'm off to pack. I'm leaving at 5:00 AM, so I won't see you before you get up. Will you be alright?" "I'll be fine. Just go sell those new laptops," said Aqua trying to sound enthusiastic and punched her dad playfully on the shoulder. "I will. I love you," said Stota as he rose from the table and wrapped his arms around Aqua and gave her a hug before he left to pack.
Aqua sat there for a while, upset that her dad had to leave again. Ever since she could remember Stota was never around, he was always having to go somewhere or see someone. Well, I guess that's life, Aqua thought to herself and let out a long sigh.
After finishing dinner, Aqua picked up their plates, since Stota had left his on the table and placed them into the sink. She then resumed her position on the couch from earlier and continued to study for her exams. Aqua studied for another hour then watched her favorite tv show Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Her favorite character was Skye, a computer hacker, somehow, she found her relatable with her mother dead and her father never there. After watching a few episodes, Aqua turned off the tv then headed to her room. She changed into her pajamas, brushed her teeth, and hopped into bed. Aqua laid awake stressed about her finals that were right around the corner and her dad, but it only took a short while until she drifted off into a dreamless sleep.