Surprise

Madison is a short half Asian girl with a really bright smile.

She's the one madam Rebecca assigned to give me the tour.

She had just finished showing me round the school and know we where standing in front of the cafeteria "now pay attention because this is the most important part"

I rolled my eyes though she's really nice I noticed she can be a bit dramatic "it's just the cafeteria"

"It isn't just the cafeteria, this is where highschool really is"

She pushed the door open in the most dramatic fashion and all eyes turned to us.

I froze but she just kept walking while dragging me along with her.

"The school is divided into two, the supernaturals control most of the school's most important cliques like the football team and the cheer squad" by then most of the students where back to concentrating on their gossip "but their are some mundanes who are strong and don't mind standing up for themselves which is why a few of them also have places on those teams"

She pointed to a table at the middle of the cafeteria full of girls in skimpy cloths and guys talking in loud voices "that's the popular kids table, for the supernaturals it depends on the level of your powers if you're able to reach a level 12 you'll be accepted on the table" she paused "I'm a level 7".

I chuckled "I don't know what level I am"

"Don't worry you'll take a placement test soon to see what level you are" I nodded.

I looked at the table again and noticed the guy from this morning. He looked at me like he knew everything I was hiding.

Though he's cute he really gives of a weird vibe and I really think he's hiding something.

Something important and I'm gonna find out whatever it is. I held his gaze and he smirked before looking away.

"Now back to what I was saying, as for the mundanes if the supernaturals like you and think you'll fit in on the table they'll allow you sit with them" I nodded again "as for the tables"

She pointed to one in the corner where they were all eating vegetables"that one is for the hipsters" she pointed to another one mostly consisting of books than food "nerds or geeks whichever you wanna call them"

She finished showing me around the cafeteria from an empty table by the wall where we sat.

"So that's everyone" frankly I was overwhelmed.

"Well then" I took out my meatloaf and dug in sharing some with Maddie.

I finished lunch and my next few periods without trouble even though it was my first time doing subjects like spell casting and alchemy.

They told me I would have my test by Friday.

Soon it was time for the short break and I was ready to go get the surprise from my mom's old locker.

Maddie already showed me where the old lockers are stored and I made my way to the back of the school where they were located.

The place gave off a very creepy vibe but I shook it off thinking its probably because the light bulb is blown and I have to use my phone flashlight.

But there was something else, a kind of lingering feeling deep inside of me that kept creeping me out. It was like someone was watching me even though I checked around more than fifty times.

I hastily made my way to the locker I recognized to be my mom's and thankfully it wasn't locked.

Inside was a brown package addressed to whomever it may concern.

I grabbed and scurried out if the creepy corner.

I decided I would explore it from The comfort of my room.

The last few periods rolled around without a sight of the guy from this morning. I was glad, the guy creeped me out a bit.

Turns out I take last period literature with Maddie so she ended up chatting my ear off while I nodded politely and talked were I was required.

When the closing bell rang I practically sprinted out of The school towards the car.

I was quiet through out the drive. Mason tried to indulge me but I stayed quiet eventually he stopped.

I made my way upstairs to my room and locked the door behind me before taking the package out of my bag.

I took of the cover and inside it were two books.

One was labeled memories with lots of glitter and the other one was a brown tattered book that looked like it had survived multiple wars.

I opened the glittery book labeled memories and realized it was a scrapbook.

On the first page sat a letter addressed to whomever it may concern.

I recognized the handwriting right away it belonged to my mom.

I opened the letter and it read as follows;

Dear whoever this is,

Hi I'm Ariel and with me is my best friend Felicia. If you're reading this it means either I or Felicia told you where to find it which means you need help.

Now I don't know what you need help with but it will probably have something to do with silverrell.

If you just joined silverrell you probably know by now that you need to be a level 12 supernatural to be popular and seeing as you're reading this right now you aren't.

The other book is a spell book written by me and Felicia.

If you can master those spells and follow the instructions in the scrapbook then you'll have no problem fitting in.

And if this is not the solution to your problem then I want you to remember that "something only stays hidden when you aren't searching"

Lots of love and lots of luck

Ari and fel

I put down the piece of paper and repeated the words "something only stays hidden when you aren't looking" I analyzed it for a moment before I said "what the fuck does that mean?" Is this her way of telling me that there's something hidden I should be looking for?.

I started flipping through the scrapbook and on the first page was a picture of my mom at about my age with her arms around a pretty girl with honey blonde hair and tanned skin.

underneath it in my moms neat handwriting it said;

Step one choose your allies.

In the photo my mom was labeled ari and the pretty girl behind her was labeled fel.

This is fel. I think I'll have to look her up.

I decided to put aside the scrapbook and instead check out the weird spell book.

On the first page written boldly in read was "something only stays hidden when you are not searching"

I gulped and kept reading.

The package wasn't what I expected it may not have gotten me any closer to the person behind my moms death but at least the spells here will help me with my placement test.

Or so I thought.

After reading through all the spells I realized they were all garbage.

They were nothing serious like defense magic they were all just silly party tricks like levitating and cooking.

So much for preparing me for the test.

This book is garbage I don't know what my mom thought I would find but I definitely can't find it here.

I was about to return the book to the box when I noticed that the box wasn't empty.

At the bottom of the box was a piece of paper which was totally blank except for the phrase; "what remains hidden" which was written really tiny at the end.

I picked up the piece of paper and realized it was the last page of the spell book which had been ripped out.

I wonder what this means.

What if this paper isn't blank?

I run to the dresser and pick up one of my candles which I quickly light.

I chant the spell which I know by memory 'Show me that which is hidden lumina'. The flannel burns a little brighter and I quickly put the last page in the flame.

I watch it go up in flames but instead of burning to ashes it is restored and now has words on it.

I turned of the candle and inspected the paper. I noticed that the words written on the paper was actually a spell to show that which is hidden from the naked eye.

I quickly realize that the book is not actually complete. My mom and her friend fel cast a level nine spell to make sure no one saw the contents of their book unless they wanted the person to.

I begin chanting the spell with one hand placed on the book and soon it starts to grow hot and emit a bright glow.

I do not take my hand off, as I finish chanting the spell the book stops glowing and is now back to its normal temperature.

I opened the book and gone were the baby spells in place of those are complex higher level spells.

Now that's what I'm talking about.

It ranged from combat to speaking to the dead to reading people's minds.

I immediately started studying it. If I'm ever gonna be a level 12 witch and become powerful enough to use the spell that helps talk to spirits I need to practice.

I packed up the scrap book and put it under the bed where I knew grandma Maggie or Abuela won't find it.

I put the spell book in my drawer and started on all the homework and notes I missed. Madison was gracious enough to lend me her notes.

When it's midnight I will go to the basement and start practicing my spells.

About two hours later i heard abuela's voice calling me down for dinner.

At the head of the table say grandma Maggie and beside her an unexpected visitor.

It was my uncle max. The last time I saw him was thanksgiving dinner 7 years ago. He's actually my mom's step brother from grandpa Gary.

My mom always spoke fondly of him even though they weren't close. I didn't even find out they were step siblings till about a year ago.

He smiled when he saw me but it looked forced "hello Merida"

I smiled at his childhood nickname for me. I still remember him always ruffling my red hair when I was younger. He calls me Merida after the Disney princess with red hair like mine.

"Hello uncle max" he looked a lot different from last time I saw him. His once smooth Jaw now housed a full beard. His eyes looked tired and his once shaggy hair was now trimmed to a professional hairstyle "long time no see"

"I know last time I saw you, you were barely as tall as my elbow and now you're probably the same height as me" he smiled sadly before he asked "how are you holding up?"

"It's hard but you know me I'm strong" I chuckled sadly.

"Your uncle max flew all the way from Italy to see you after he heard the news" grandma Maggie said "he's going to stay with us till Friday"

"Oh cool, how's Andy?" Andy is my uncle son. I've never seen him in person before because they live in Italy and my uncle never brings him to family gatherings. He was born with out the use of his legs so he has used a wheelchair since birth he should be around four years younger than me.

"Oh you know boys he's doing good" he laughed as he pulled out his phone and gestures for me to come see "one of these days you're gonna have to meet him he's always asking when he's gonna meet his only cousin"

He showed me a picture of him and Andy on a ferry in Italy. Andy's mom passed away during child birth so it's always been him and uncle max.

He kept on showing me pictures and the general atmosphere in the dining room was pretty cosy.

We had dinner while uncle max told me stories of he and my mom during high school.

I made a mental note to ask him about Felicia. After dinner I made my way upstairs and set an alarm to wake me up at midnight.

++++++++++++++++

Hey so what do you all think about max and Maddie.

Personally I love max but do you think he could be behind the murder? Nah he's to sweet for that right.

I know he's back story is really sad with the crippled son and the dead wife but life's hard sometimes you know.

So tell me what you think in the comments or dm me your thought.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

~jassmin❤️