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"Amber! Just because there's only one week left doesn't mean you can fall asleep in class! You're staying after the bell rings."
Amber blinked open her eyes and saw her Calculus teacher standing before her, looking down with an angry expression on his face. A few kids snickered but she gave them her evil eye and they quieted down.
"Yaes sir," she answered with her southern accent. The bell rang a few moments later and everyone got up and left the room, a few lingering so that they could hear how she would get scolded, but Mr Palazio (Calculus teacher) shooed them away.
When the last person left he looked at Amber solemnly, "What's wrong?"
She sighed, "What do you mean what's wrong?"
"I mean, you're a very bright girl, but you don't put any of your intelligence to good use! What's wrong?"
"I guess I just think school isn't all that important." The response came out more like a question.
"Now Amber, you need to start taking things seriously, how are you going to get into a good college with an attitude like that?"
Amber's face burned red, "I'm not going to college, okay? My family can't afford it!"
"Well maybe if you worked harder in school or did an outside activity you could get a scholarship-"
"What is this? 'Try to make Amber feel bad about something she can't change' day? It's too late for that! I failed Senior year twice now and I barely missed flunking it again this time! I'm just going to marry a rich man or something."
"Now that's no way to think-"
"Yes it is, and it's the right way too. Because it's reality for me." With that Amber stormed off. She didn't really know what she'd meant by that, but it sounded true to her. Ignoring Mr. Palazio's calls for her to come back, she exited the school and got on the bus, finding her friend Violet and sitting beside her.
She didn't talk the whole way home because she didn't know what to say.Finally the bus stopped and pulled onto their street.
Violet and Amber got off and stood beside the road for a minute.
"I was thinking we could celebrate you're not failing Senior year tonight," Violet said after a moment, smiling. She had also been held back for two years.
Amber tried to smile, "How?"
"Pranking that grumpy old neighbor of yours?"
"What kind of prank?" she asked as they walked up her driveway.
"I was thinking something along the lines of faking a haunted home."
"A little risky, don't you think?"
"What have we got to lose?" Violet asked with a smile, intending her question to be funny.
But Amber frowned, "Nothing I guess," she said, the truth not really making her very happy. At least Violet's parents were rich enough to buy her into college. Amber had nothing like that...



((Sorry, I had to get off the computer before I could post ><))

Sidera sat up.
How did she do that?
She blinked.
How did she do that?
She could feel a tightness in her chest.
She had a chest?
She could not recall how she was able to do these strange things. She could not do them as a star.
She was in a dark place, illuminated by her own light, not unusual to her, and she could feel the cold air around her, but she was not cold at all.
She tried to move up, like she could when she was a star. She could look everywhere, she could see, as a star. All stars could. They could see anything they liked, all it took was a little bit of strength. She could move, not like she could see, but she could move along with the rhythm of the galaxy, she could hear her fellow brothers and sisters singing.
Then she remembered the blackness. So dark it blocked out her sibling's light. With the darkness came fear, for even though many stars went into the great blackness at the center of the galaxy, this one had come for her far too soon.
And then, there was nothing.
No feeling, no sight, just nothingness for what seemed like forever and forever.
Finally, Sidera materialized in the form of a small human, though she wasn't sure why. She remembered stumbling.
How did she do that?
And running.
How did she do that?
And fainting.
How did she do that?
And then waking up.
How did she do that? How did she do anything anymore when she wasn't a great and powerful star? What had become of her brothers and sisters? She had to know, but she couldn't free herself from the straps holding her down.
How were they doing that?
She sighed (How?) and relaxed her body, praying that whatever was going to happen would somehow sort itself out on its own.

Sidera heard clunking noises, and boy's voice. She remembered boy voices. The planets that used to circle around her were filled with voices. Voices full of joy and happiness, voices without a trace of sorrow, guilt, greed, or evil. But here, the voices were tainted with all sorts of bad things she wasn't used to. She heard the boy's voice yell loudly as the light from under the door disappeared.
Then she heard footsteps, the sound of a flashlight clicking on and a jiggling of the doorknob. Her light dimmed with fear and there was a clicking sound, like some one trying to pick a lock.
Sidera tried to wiggle out of the straps and maybe hide, but she couldn't, for the straps were no looser then they had been.
Then the door opened.
And a boy's face appeared.
And she screamed.

"Are you sure you know how to do this?" Amber asked Violet who was picking a lock on the back door of their neighbor's house.
"Of course I know how to do this!" she whispered angrily, frustrated her friend doubted her lock-picking skills. "Aha!" she said happily when the final c***k clicked into place. She turned the knob and tried pushing open the door, but it was stuck.
"Here, I'll help," Amber announced, approaching the door and pushing as well. Suddenly it lurched forward and the two girls tumbled onto the floor. They froze, listening for any sounds. "We need to be more careful! We almost got ourselves arrested!" Amber whispered frantically.
"Whatever, the point is that we weren't. Now where should we set up?"
"Basement, that's probably the creepiest room in this house."
"Basement it is."
The two girls closed the door behind them and snuck around the house. None of the downstairs lights were on except for one in a lobby-like area.
"Amber, I think I found the stairs to the basement," Violet exclaimed, her voice quiet for fear she might be heard. They cautiously walked down the stairs. Every time the stairs creaked, they paused and listened for sounds. When they reached the base of the stairwell they heard a shrill scream and dropped their equipment.
"What was that??" Violet asked frantically.
"I don't know, but suddenly I don't think being here is such a good idea! What if it is haunted!" Amber answered, her voice full of fear. The lights were off, only the flashlights were allowing them to view the area. The two girls clung to each other, not knowing what to do. Then Amber noticed other light from farther away. "O-over there," she stuttered.
"You want to go towards the light?" Violet asked, puzzled and shocked.
"Might as well...."

"God Dammit Amber, you've done it again! Did you hear that? He has a weapon!!" Violet whispered, her voice cracking.
"Hold up, he doesn't know we're just girls trying to prank our neighbor, maybe if we reveal ourselves he won't attack!" Amber suggested hopefully.
"And what if he doesn't? What if the moment you step out of the shadows he uses his weapon to hurt you! Amber, I can't let some one do that to you! You're my only friend! Who else is going to get me through summer school?!"
Amber raised an eyebrow at that, "Summer School?" Then she shook her head, "I'm going to reveal myself Vi."
"Amber! Wait!" But it was too late, she was already emerging from the darkness, hands raised as a sign of surrender. Violet hung her head down, sighed, and joined her friend.
"It's just girls," Amber said bravely.
"Just girls," Vi echoed nervously.

Amber glanced at Violet who was shaking in her boots.
"We should get out of here, make a run for it while his back is turned!" She suggested in a panicked, quiet voice. Amber just shrugged her shoulders.
"You can run if you'd like, but I don't have anywhere to be, besides, there's something funky going on around here, and I want to know what!" she whispered back. Violet shook her head and grabbed her friend's arm before she could follow the boy.
"Oh no you don't! We could've gotten killed tonight because of your silly antics!"
"And might I remind you whose idea it was to come here in the first place? You wanted to come here, so we're staying, unless you're chicken," Amber giggled.
Violet frowned, "What did you say?"
"Chicken! Bak Bak Bak Baakk," Amber folded her arms into her armpits and strutted around like a chicken.
"Stop it! I'm not chicken! Now c'mon!" Violet nearly shouted, then she tugged Amber along by the ear and followed the boy. "What's the second thing you wanted kid?" she asked fiercely, the chicken situation maker her a lot more rash and ignorant.
"Vi-"
"Shush child," Violet said, treating Amber like a young kid.

Amber bent down and aimed the flashlight where the boy told them to, but Violet was not ready to help out someone who threatned to kill them.
"I'll call you kid if I want, you're not the only badass around here (Oh noes language ><)."
"Vi-" Amber tried, but Violet wouldn't hear it.
"I'm not going to help this guy out and I highly doubt he'll call the cops on us."
"Violet, just do what he says okay," then in a lower voice she continued, "Remember the weapon?"
"I have a weapon too," Violet whispered back, her eyes glinting devilishly. When she got called chicken, she went all out being un-chicken.
"Now what's the second thing you wanted kid, and you better tell us or we'll call the cops on you!" It was a long shot, but she doubted someone like him was buddy buddy with the police.
"Vi?" Amber's voice went deadly quiet.
"What?"
"If there's no light, what's that?" Violet followed her friend's gaze to blue light coming from under a door.