I'm at home researching Azthia. I've been here staring at my laptop for hours but it seems there is little information about it. Ugh, I should've borrowed that book from the library. I was writing what I remembered in my notebook from the Azthia Chronicles I read in the school library when my mom called me for dinner.
I shut off my laptop and headed downstairs. "Liz, I heard from Kenji that you were sent to the principal's office," Luke said. Damn it!
"Why were you sent to the principal's office?" Dad asked with a stern face. Ugh! Why would Kenji tell my brother that?! That loudmouth. Quick Lizzie, think of something.
"Nothing, Mr. Jones and I just talked about...uhh…about my valedictorian candidacy." I nervously said. I stuffed my mouth with food so I wouldn't spill anything. They can't know about what happened. They'll be disappointed.
"How was your day, Liz?" my mom asked. I swallowed the food in my mouth and said, "It was...umm...okay. We have this group project in history about different dimensions. Mom, can we do our group project here?" I should've asked this before we decided to do it here.
"Sure, as long as you're going to do your project. If you take too long, your groupmates can spend the night here." Mom said.
"Dimensions are not real, sis. Your teacher doesn't know anything. Also, mom, can my friends spend the night too?" Luke said then took a bite of his food.
"Do you have a group project too?" Mom asked. He nodded his head and mom gave him the stare like she's distinguishing if he's lying or not. "Are you sure?" she asked again. He shook his head. "That's what I thought." In this family, lying is not allowed, else you'll be walking out the door. Our parents are saints, seriously.
I rolled my eyes. "Anyway, how about you, bro? No trouble today?" I said and drank water. He stuck his tongue out. My brother is a troublemaker at his school along with his friends. Sadly, we're not in the same school...anymore. He got expelled from Titan Academy, so now he's in another school, Milled Stone Academy.
"Your brother was in trouble today. He pranked one of his teachers." Dad said and shook his head in disappointment.
"You pranked a teacher?! Did you get suspended?" I asked. He rolled his eyes and continue to eat. "Yup, he got suspended for a week," Dad said.
After supper, I went back to my room to continue my research. I was reading an article when my phone chimed. It was a message from Adrian to our group chat.
Adrian: Liz, the deets for tomorrow.
Right.
Me: Right after school, we go straight to my house. Bring extra clothes and a uniform. You'll spend the night here if we can't finish it early.
Kate: Noted.
Candice: Noted, leader.
Erica: Ugh, sleepover? No thanks. Just send what I need to do, and I'll do it.
Me: You have to be here, Erica.
Erica: Ugh, why?
Me: Because I said so and I don't trust you. Knowing you, you'll just be paying someone to do it for you.
I tossed my phone on my bed. Ugh, I hate Erica. So entitled. So Karen. I did my research until I fell asleep.
"Liz…" I heard someone whispered through my ear. "Liz, wake up." I groaned. "Liz, you're going to be late," Mom said. I sat up straight, still half asleep. Must've fallen asleep while researching.
"Did you sleep late? Come on, breakfast is ready," She said and walked out of my room. I fell asleep on my desk… I got up...still sleepy...to get ready. I took a bath, fixed my hair, and put on my uniform. Titan Academy's uniform is kinda cool. White blouse, with a black blazer with the school logo on the left chest and black skirt. I really like it.
When I finished getting ready, I went down to eat breakfast. They were already at the table waiting for me. Another important thing in my family is we eat together.
"You're late. I thought you're punctual," my brother said while texting. I rolled my eyes. "I am, but I slept late last night," I said.
"I can tell. Your eyebags are waving at me," Luke said and laughed. I rolled my eyes again. Calm down, Liz. He's your brother. "Why did you sleep late last night? Are you in a call with your boyfriend?" he teased. I glared at him. What boyfriend? I don't have a boyfriend.
"That's enough, Luke. Good morning, honey," Dad said. I said good morning back, and I started to eat my breakfast. Mmm, pancakes and bacon...yum!
"Lizzie, can you take the school bus today? Your dad and I have a meeting today," Mom said. Me? Taking the bus? No way...but on the other hand, I don't have to hear Luke teasing me on the way to school…
"Meeting? This early?" Luke asked. It's still 6 am.
"Sure, mom. I'll take the bus," I said and finished my breakfast. After breakfast, they dropped me off at the bus stop. This is my first time taking the bus. We're not poor, but we're not that rich either.
I took the bus, and Luke went with mom and dad because as per their words, they're gonna pass Milled Stone Academy. After getting off the bus, it's a short walk to school.
When I got to the gate, Adrian and Mia were there. "Liz, did you take the bus?" Mia asked.
"I did. How did you know?" I asked back as I came closer to them. "You are usually dropped off by your parents near the school gate, and seeing as how you just walked through..." Mia said like it's obvious. Well...it is obvious.
"Alex and Ken are probably late again. I'm gonna go to the library, wanna come?" Mia said. We nodded and followed. We're the 'good students' of the group. I'm not saying that Alex and Ken are bad but...yeah…
"Are you guys done with our project?" Mia asked
"Not yet, but we're almost there. I just hope everyone in our group participates later," I said. As we set foot in the library, we parted ways to find books that can be helpful for our project. I tried to look for the book that I was reading yesterday but I can't seem to find it. Maybe someone borrowed it? Or they relocated it?
I decided to use other books that have Azthia topics in them. I sat beside Mia who is researching too. "This is so hard," she complained. I looked over to see what she's doing.
"What's hard?" I asked. She groaned and showed me her notebook. "Liam doesn't want to do it so I'm stuck here, gathering trivia about Solaria. Did you know there's not much information about it?" she said.
"Did you try looking on the internet?" I asked while flipping through pages.
"I did, last night. Not much in there either," she replied. I was about to speak when Adrian approached us. "Isn't this the one that you're looking for?" he asked then put a book in front of me.
It was the history book of Azthia. "It is. Where did you find it? I searched every shelf here. I couldn't find it." I said.
"Did you even look up? It was on the top shelf," he said and sat down. "Oh right, even if you found it, you couldn't reach it," he added and smirked. I heard Mia chuckle. Wow, getting roasted by my friends…
"I am not short, you're just tall," I said. I was flipping through pages when I saw a picture of the castle of Azthia. I suddenly got a feeling that I know the place, but I've never been there. Also, it was destroyed 16 years ago.