Books Are My Life

     “Brianna, come and get your breakfast it’s almost time for school.”  I am reading a book.  Harry Potter to be exact and it’s good.  I’ve been reading since 4:30 this morning, but I guess I have to stop.  I walk down the stairs for breakfast.  Rubbish.  It’s cereal again.  I force the everyday cereal down my throat.  Finally, I finish and off to school I go.

     I meet my friends Anne, Tinka, and Fred.  I giggle remembering Fred Weasley from Harry Potter.  He’s lucky to be named after someone from Harry Potter.  I walked up to them.
    
     “Hey, Brianna.” 

I am about to say ‘hey’ back when my head gets all foggy and I can’t think of anything else but books.  It is quite odd.  It isn’t any exact type of book, just books.  But, it went as quickly as it came.  Anne, Tinka, and Fred were all looking at me funny.  I say ‘hey’ back and try to act as if nothing happened.  I wonder if they would believe me if I told them about whatever happened a minute ago.

     The bus pulled in.  I sat by Anne.  I made up my mind and decided I should tell her.  I’m closer to her than any of the three, so it would be safest to talk to her.  I try to tell her the exact details.  It looks like she’s listening pretty hard.  When I finish she’s looking at me more intently than my likings.  Then, out of the blue, she asks me, “What Harry Potter book are you reading?”  I told her I am reading The Order of the Phoenix and she just nods her head and keeps looking at me intently.  It is quite creepy really.  Then she tells me to keep a book with me ALWAYS. 

     Just then the bus pulled into school.  We got off the bus and met back up with Fred and Tinka.  We went to class, took roll, and all the other normal stuff.  We have twenty-one people in our class and ten are absent.  TEN!  That’s the most we’ve had absent ever.  I look over at Anne.  She looked horribly grim.  It’s the first time she has looked like that.  She’s usually so cheerful.

     Finally, it’s lunchtime and to my surprise we aren’t the only ones with bad attendance.  At least half the school must be gone!  I got my lunch and sat down by Anne, Tinka, and Fred.  I looked at Anne.  She looked at me.  “What’s going on?” I whisper. 

     “Mlake Month.”

     I look at her puzzled.  Suddenly the lights go out.  I heard footsteps, then a screech.  I waited for the lights to come on.  I heard what sounded like fingernails scraping metal.  I saw a bright flash.  Then everything was over. 

     Anne looked zoned.  “That’s a Mlake.  They are dark forces.”  I listen intently thinking.

“Is there a way to stop the Mlake?”

     Anne sighed.  “The way is different for all of us.”  I waited for a minute.  She didn’t say anything so I just ate my lunch.  Suddenly, Anne announced, “I’m afraid we’ll have to go looking for them.”

“Anne, what do you mean by us?”

     “There’s a special society for people like you and me who have been attacked by the Mlake.  We go around the world protecting people like you who it’s their  first time experiencing the Mlake before.”  She stopped.  I understood so far.  She started again.  “We’re what you call W.O.T.C.H.E.R.S.—Wilds, Olameers, Teams, Coes, Halameers, Ecutes, Ralameers.  W.O.T.C.H.E.R.S. are what you call all of us, but those are just the steps.  Right now you’re a Wild.”  She grinned as she said it.

So we’re going to go looking for  the Mlake?” I asked. 

“Not until we find out your secret weapon.”

“How do we find my secret weapon?” I asked much too cheerfully. 

     “We just test out things that you like and see if it has the power against the Mlake.”  Just then, the bell rang to go to class.  When I walked into class, I remembered the lot of kids absent.  I looked at Anne.  She just said it was okay, the Mlake just took them to scare me and they would be back. 

It is the time of day where the teacher reads aloud.  I jot down a list of things that I like.  It was everything I could think of from waterslides down to snowflakes.  After school, Anne and I walked to my house.  The whole way we talked about what were the most logical things for me to try.  When we got home we took everything into action.  We tried for hours, but nothing worked.  When we were done Anne looked confused.  I thought of everything I tried and what we didn’t.  I read the list aloud, “Waterparks, bowling, drawing, skiing, snowboarding, waterskiing, tubing, sledding, watching the snow fall, and dragons.”   Anne collapsed on my bed and groaned, “We’ve tried all that.” 

     Suddenly, the lights went out.  I heard a terrible screech and a bang.  I heard Anne call my name.  Just then, I remembered the ‘vision’ I had earlier today.  Books!  I grabbed one and opened it.  There was a bright light that lit the room and I could see it was coming from the book.  I saw the most horrible creature leave and not turn back.

 The next day at school we had perfect attendance.  I looked at Anne.  She looked at me.  “This may be the first time, but it won’t be the last that you will have to fight the Mlake,” she whispered.

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This is Abby's second self-published book.

Abby is an avid reader and wanted to write a story to encourage others to pick up a book.

You can check out some of her earlier works here.