Jewel Girl Volume 1: Chapter 1, Pink Sapphire

Chapter 1: Pink Sapphire

   Kim woke up with a sharp pain in her back. At first, she thought it was just herself missing all her friends. A day off school was fun, sure, but it made her anxious. She was glad that it was school again. So she laid back and tried to relax. A moment later she really regretted it-- The pain was back. Kim sat up and rubbed her eyes. The pain was partially gone, but she felt like something very, very powerful was very near; she couldn't say why. If she was given a choice, she would think it was all her imagination. But nevertheless, she turned around to see all her sheets hiding the strange thing. As she slowly uncovered it, the strange feeling of not being alone found it’s way into Kim. But as she lifted off the final sheet, she discovered what it was--the crystal Pink Sapphire. Kim’s eyes widened as the precious jewel sparkled and glimmered in the streaks of sunlight flooding into her room from the window as if they knew what a great moment this was. Kim lay down and held it up to her own eyes. It didn’t look... It didn’t look normal. It seemed to have a human being inside. Maybe not exactly a human, but you know what I mean. The being was fast asleep. After being jiggled in the stone, then put down, it decided to bang on the side of the jewel, waving and somehow trying to communicate with Kim. But Kim knew nothing of what it was, who it was, or what it wanted. So Kim went to school early that day. She brought the stone with, jiggling in her back pocket. Then she scanned the playground for people she knew. There was Tim, Tess and Trish, the triplets, Kate, the over-popular girl (You would THINK she’d be nice!), Julie, the girl obsessed with magic, and Fiona, Summer and Jennifer, Kim’s best friends and pretty much crystal experts. She decided to go over to Fiona, Summer and Jennifer(Jenna for short) and ask them what they thought of the crystal before taking any chances and telling it to the wrong people. So she trotted over to “their” corner of the playground--nobody else dared go there-- and immediately started conversing with Jenna until Fiona finally asked, “Hey, what’s that in your pocket?” and Summer chimed in, “Yeah! It looks pretty cool.” Kim blushed a little. Noticing this, Summer said, “Ooh, is it a gift from your Boy-friend? Oh boy!” They all giggled, including Kim, and so she explained her strange morning. Jenna seemed confused. “You say you found it in your bed?” she asked, “and it seemed to have a human being in it? Are you sure you aren’t just seeing things? Because I don’t see anything.” Yeah,” said Fiona. “I don’t see anything either. Err, I mean nothing in the stone, I mean... Oops, I mea--” At that moment, the bell rang to come inside. Kim sighed and walked slowly towards the door.
By the time school was almost over, Kim had butterflies in her stomach. Was she just seeing things? Were they lying and playing a prank on her? Which one it was, she couldn't tell.  She was nervous that she was losing her mind. She even thought that after this, her diary would become so weird that she could even publish it as a fantasy novel and nobody would think it was even based on a true story. Even though it actually would be true. Soon, Julie came over to sit next to her. Apparently, she'd heard the "gossip" from Jenna, Fiona and Summer, because she said, "Hey, can I see that crystal? I don't think anythings wrong with you for seeing what others can't. You wouldn't believe how crazy everyone thought I was when I proved that I'd actually caught a goblin. The truth is, my dog caught it. I just like to think that I'm related to a famous goblin-catcher!" Kim smiled. Julie was actually really nice. She pulled out the jewel for her to examine. "Hmmm," said Julie. "I think there could be something in here, but I don't know what. I'll do the magic Conoro Test on it tomorrow, then we'll see. The Conoro Test is a magic test. I tried it on a sidewalk, and sure enough, I soon found a little sprite stuck in a crack. It shows if anything is alive. And it's always right. ALWAYS."
When she got home, Kim got into her room and shut the door. She took the pink sapphire back out and looked at it again, turning it over and over. The being was still visible, but had gotten a bit more detailed. Though all visible of it was a silhouette, you could clearly see it was wearing a long dress, high heels, and that it had long hair tied in two buns at a three-quarter angle on it's head. Kim drew some pictures of what she thought it would look like: Red, blond, brown or black hair, with and without freckles, blue, green or even purple eyes-- The possibilities were endless. She continued to sketch until she heard a tiny voice. "Kimberly!" it called. "Kimberly, you do believe! You do!" Kim whipped around. "Nobody calls me 'Kimberly' anymore." she snapped, then, seeing who it was she was talking to, gasped in surprise, clasping her hands over her mouth.