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A JOURNEY BEGINS
My house was just on the outskirts of the island's capital, a simple home with just the bare essentials. It was just me and my little sister, Annabella, who wasn't so little anymore as she was just starting her first semester of college. She gets her money from student loans, and I used to help around the college for some extra cash. The house we live in is a big house divided into three parts, a duplex with an extra section. We had one of its thin halves, with a small kitchen, a cozy living area, and a compact upstairs with two rooms and a bathroom.
It's enough for both me and my sister, or rather, we've grown accustomed to it. Annabella was the one who kept the house running anyway. She was always there to make sure everything was in order and that both of us had a warm meal to eat.
"Then I made the light in the room go on, with the switch off! It was for a few seconds, but still, I'm getting stronger. It doesn't sting as much as before either." Ryan said through the speaker on my cellphone, as I was getting my things ready to leave. A morning call from Ryan meant he was in a good mood, which is almost every day.
"Yeah, that definitely sounds like you're getting stronger. So, what's this dance we're going to? And is it really fancy? Because I don't have fancy clothes, you know that." I replied, very concerned. I don't know how to dance nor do I have any clothes for a dance party.
"Oh, I ain't going to that. I wasn't invited." Ryan said quickly and kept talking about turning things off and on again with his power.
"Wait, wait. You aren't going to be there?! So who?" Now I'm confused, I thought the whole group would be attending but if Ryan won't be there, who?
I could hear Ryan being annoyed by my questions but only because he wanted to keep ranting about his powers. "Fuck man, I don't know. Ivory, Kyriah and I think that's it. It's a dance show for a charity by some friends of them. I personally know only one of them, but they're friends from Ivory that live in Ororena.'"
City of Ororena. That's where the rich people live. Now, for sure, I won't be able to afford any clothes to wear for the dance.
"Are you sure? That's a bit weird considering she just met me yesterday and I don't even know who this Kyriah is." I asked Ryan
Still annoyed, Ryan replied, "Dude, it's fine. Yeah, you just met her yesterday but I've been talking you up since forever and you already knew the others, even if by name only. Kyriah is Ivory's best friend and roommate. She's part of the group but she's mostly always working or in her room reading or painting. She's cool and she sometimes hangs out with us but she mostly keeps to herself. Now can I go back to telling you the different ways I can use my powers?"
"Before that, I wanted to ask." A curious thought just popped into my head. How long did Ryan know I had these, cells, in me? Was it before we were friends or just a coincidence? I wanted to know but before I could even ask him, I had opened my room door and the smell of eggs and bacon seduced my senses. "I'm sorry but I'll ask you later because I'm starving."
"Fine, but it won't be by phone call so that you can't hang up next time." He hung up while I headed to the kitchen to eat.
Annabella always knows around what time I'm going to get up and whenever I get out of my room, she already has my breakfast served. She has always liked to cook, so much that she never let me learn it, she wanted to do it all herself. From as far as I can remember, Annabella had always cooked.
"Good morning!" My bug-eyed cherry sister said while putting my buttered-covered egg sandwich on the table, my favorite. I noticed her looking at my bag pack. "That's why you came out a little later from your room. Had so much fun last night that you'll be going out for some more?" She turned her back on me. She is my sister but she also carries the Mom energy around.
"I actually enjoyed the protest. I met a few people and I had fun." I said proudly while eating my crust-free sandwich.
She turned back to me, "And now?" She raised her right eyebrow as she asked me.
"Ryan introduced me to his group of friends and one of them invited me to a dance show. Happy?" I said with a fake grin and she did the same, mocking me.
"Are you gonna go soon and ditch our morning chats? The coffee is still hot." She waited for an answer.
Now that I think about it, Ivory didn't tell me what time and if I had to drive to her house or if she was going to teleport here to teleport me back. That'd be weird, especially with my sister here.
Annabella leaned back while she took a sip of her coffee "Or maybe it was just a prank to get your hopes up and they're actually ditching you." She noticed my worried face.
"I'm sure they'll call me." I don't have her number and she doesn't have mine, but I'll just ask Ryan for it. "I'll be right back." I got up, leaving my breakfast behind, and quickly headed to the living room to call Ryan.
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"Mhmm." hummed Annabella, with a hint of skepticism in her voice. But as I reached for my phone, I noticed an unexpected sight outside the window - a white car parked in front of our house, in it, I saw the familiar green hair of Ivory, who seemed to be deep in thought with her head resting on her hand. I stepped outside to greet her. The clanking of the metal gates caught Ivory's attention, causing her to jump in surprise as she looked up and saw me approaching her.
"Good morning Ellion!" She greeted me with enthusiasm. "I don't have your number so I wouldn't have known when you would've been ready so I decided to wait out here until you were. That'd be easier."
I smiled back at her, I admit I felt a little relieved and nervous that she was here because it meant the invitation was real. "I was just about to call Ryan to ask for your number. I'm glad you're here."
"Yeah, because it would be weird to just drop unannounced by my house." She smirked at me while heading inside my house. "I need to use the bathroom. And I'm thirsty." I don't know if she's overly friendly, but I liked how confident she was.
Ivory opened the screen door, crossed the living room, and entered the kitchen. Annabella was taken aback by Ivory's unique appearance. "Hi, I'm Ivory, I'm here to pick up Ellion. Where's the bathroom? I really got to pee." Annabella pointed to where it was without saying a word. "Thanks!" She replied with a warm smile.
"Well, I can see why you like her. She's, very... something. Not what I picture with you." She took another sip of her cup
"It's really not like that. She's fun and bold, as you can see, but not like that." I started to stutter as I talked.
"Oh god, you're blushing!" She shouted so Ivory could hear.
"Hey! Annie!" Fuck, now she'll think I like her or something. She put her hand on her mouth, holding back her laughter.
Ivory came out of the restroom, almost running. "Alright, give me that bottled water Ellion," she said, extending her hand towards me. I realized that I had completely forgotten about it. "I thought you might want coffee instead," I said, trying to salvage the situation.
Ivory took the cup of coffee Annabella had poured for her and grinned. "That's even better! Good decision-making, your date is going to love you."
Annabella's eyes widened in surprise, as did mine. She opened her mouth as if to speak, but Ivory quickly interrupted with a goodbye and a reminder that we needed to leave.
As we left, Ivory chuckled and said, "You got saved there, huh?" I knew she was joking, but I didn't want to think about it. "I knew you were just teasing," I replied.
"It's kind of a double date, Kyriah and I both had plus ones and I invited Charles and you, for Kyriah," she explained, as if this was a normal thing.
I couldn't help but feel a little nervous. Girls and powers, what was this? "I'm sorry, I don't know her and I'm sure she doesn't know me, so this feels a bit weird," I said.
Ivory's momentarily frown turned into a small laugh. "It's not like that. I'm bringing you with me so we can get to know each other better and you can meet my old friends. They've had their abilities for years and have practically perfected it, at least to a point. Whenever someone wants to join the group, they're the one who trains them to awaken their unique ability. They're the ones we started this group with years ago."
"We?" I asked surprised. I thought she was the leader of this group alone.
"Me and Kyriah. I know you haven't met her but she's my co-leader. And she's pretty cute too but you ain't her type anyways." She chuckled at her comment. "Don't worry about any of that stuff. This weekend is for us to see if we can expose that power of yours."
I felt a knot form in my stomach. On one hand, I was excited to be a part of something like this. On the other hand, I worried that their expectations for me were too high. I've never been into much into the island's politics or gone much to these protests, for our rights. Honestly, I've never done anything extraordinary in this life. I couldn't help but think that as soon as they realized I didn't have any of these so-called 'Clemons Cells.' I'd be out of the group for good.
I had a million questions, but I didn't want to overwhelm her or make things uncomfortable.
"So, what do you do? You know, besides being in literally every protest there is on the island?" I asked, remembering that every news report regarding a protest on the island—whether it was about dumping toxic waste into the lagoons or burning toxic waste at a town landfill—always seemed to mention Ivory. She was there for any cause that meant helping the people.
"I was raised on the south island of Amaracuya, but after the freak flood that occurred, I moved back here with Kyriah and instantly joined the protests. I was fascinated by the revolutionary leader, Mateos, at that time. I tried to go to college, but it really wasn't for me. My mind was never there; it always lingered on the people here and how so many are suffering without a voice. Well, one person can't be heard, but many can make a difference. And that has been my purpose: to free this island and give it back to the people," Ivory said with enthusiasm. She seemed to enjoy talking about this.
"That's very noble of you. And I imagine the others feel the same. So, that house we were in last night, is it yours? It's rare to see someone our age own a house here on Vanity," I asked.
"Well, it's everyone's. It's for the team. Kyriah and I used to jump around from apartment to apartment until Ryan and Alexander stumbled upon the house, abandoned but with a light on. And you know how Ryan is, so he went in and saw that it had electricity and running water. It was just dirty and dusty but empty inside. We then fixed it up. There aren't many people in that area due to the high rent; many have moved away. It was as if the island was giving us our very own base," Ivory said with a warm smile. "But I know it's due to the government's negligence." she then shifted her tone to a serious one.
Ivory then got up on the Highway Roses, where one could see the beach from afar. She rolled down the windows and let the breeze in. The smell of the beach had always been refreshing and soothing to me. And so I gave in and decided to sit back and enjoy the ride to Ororena.
They are not paying attention to us at all [https://img.wattpad.com/d9330988516267a819e6448ef8a2a47c9fd9cf2c/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f474b666773656c53774a374146413d3d2d313333383932333639372e313761396162333235336162316435323138373532333435343239342e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
Name: Annabella (A.K.A. Annie)
Character Info: Ellion's younger sister. Despite her age, she assumes the role of caretaker and often acts more like a mother than a sibling. This role extends to an unusual fascination with the news, a habit of always watching the world's happenings. They share a deep bond and a mutual responsibility they've shared throughout their lives.