This is Jamaasian Middle, a fictional story about what would happen if I was to meet my Blogger friends in real life, at my very own middle school! There are many other stories, written by none other than my Blogger buddies themselves, that have a similar idea and include "Jamaasian" in the title. This one was based off of AJKraft and Lostfairy's version, Jamaasian High! I hope you enjoy my version! If you'd like to be mentioned in the story, and you know me fairly well, please ask in the comments below (way, way below), and I will try my best to answer back and add you in! Enjoy... JAMAASIAN MIDDLE: THE NEW BEGINNING!!!
Jamaasian Middle: The New Beginning
Chapter 1
Swirlshine barged into her brightly colored room and flopped on her canopy bed with a sigh. Today had not been good to her. She had been through 4 tests, an athletic class that almost seemed to kill her, and a rather lonely lunch. And, to top it all off, she had heard her friend, whom she had never thought of as inappropriate, swearing that morning. All while completely ignoring Swirl to watch boy band videos with another friend. Swirl would've joined in, but she wasn't into that band, or ANY boy bands, for that matter. Plus, she was way too shy to do or say anything about the situation anyway. So she didn't.
All the day's events didn't leave much happiness in her at all. Swirl groaned, brushing her brown hair out of her face.
"Today was HORRIBLE! Could it have gone well? Yes! Did it? NO! Just my typical bad luck, I guess."
She got up to set her glasses on her foldable art table, and as she did, her eyes drifted to the sketchbook on top of it.
Maybe I should draw.
The girl thought for a moment, but couldn't think of a single thing to draw that wasn't a cat. "Forget it", she said out loud, sitting back on her bed again. Staring at the black screen of her phone, she almost immediately thought of her blog, and then her Blogger friends. Images of her friends' main animals popped into her head, like Lostfairy's deer, Kara's hyena, and Kraft's snow leopard. Swirlshine turned to lay on her stomach and glared at the wall.
"My blogger friends wouldn't abandon me. They wouldn't cuss behind my back. They wouldn't get caught up with all the divas and popular kids. They'd encourage me, and help me out." She sighed. "I wish they were here right now."
Please, scoffed a voice in her head. They're not, and they'll never be. They live all over the world, for Pete's sake! Do you think they're going to jump through some kind of "Blogger Portal" to see you?
"A girl can dream", she replied in a whisper. "A girl can dream."
Her eyelids were starting to droop, so she put her phone up, snuggled into the bed's covers, and closed her eyes. Just before she fell asleep, one last wish sounded in her head.
I wish we all went to the same school.
Chapter 2
The next thing Swirl felt was a force shaking her body, and she slowly opened her eyes. She could just make out the shape of her mother looming over her.
"Hurry and get up! You'll make your sister and brother late to school!" she yelped.
"Wait...what? I thought it was Saturday..." Swirlshine moaned, closing her eyes again.
" Yesterday was Monday", her mom stated, looking confused. Swirl just growled under her breath.
So today is Tuesday. Delightful. I've got the entire week ahead of me.
Dragging herself up, Swirl slowly got dressed, putting a yellow jacket with green clovers on over her typical t-shirt. Staring into her closet, her eye was drawn to the many necklaces hanging on her jewelry holder.
"Why not?" she decided, and chose a necklace with a brown swirl charm, which suited her quite well, in her opinion.
"Let's get this fun, test-filled show on the road..." she grumbled sarcastically, for she was always annoyed and grumpy in the mornings.
Finally sitting down to a bowl of cereal, she scarfed it down quickly, shoved binders and folders into her already heavy backpack, and walked out the door behind her father, locking it behind her. Since her dad worked as a teacher at her school, she rode there in his truck every morning, and stayed in his class until the tutorials bell rang.
Once she heard that exact bell, Swirlshine walked down to the gym, where the kids of her grade hung out until the bell for first period sounded. Walking to where her friend Dancer usually sat, she found her talking with Cassidy, a girl she and Swirl had met last year, and Ella and Emma, the popular but kind twins. Swirl sighed inwardly. As usual, as long as Emma, Ella, and Cassidy were there, she was ignored. Trying to blot out Dancer's language in the background, she turned on her phone, put her earbuds in, and listened to Owl City tunes until everyone started to stand up and walk through the gym's doors. Swirl walked at a quick pace to her first period class-math. Not that she cared to do math at the moment, but at least it was a decent distraction.
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Swirl walked down the hallway, filled with kids, to social studies. Math hadn't been too hard, but, of course, she still wasn't fond of it.
She was walking blindly, her head in the clouds, so she didn't notice the student standing right in front of her. Crashing into the person, she and Swirl fell to the ground.
Quickly standing up before she could get trampled on by the other students, Swirl turned to face the girl on the floor.
"Oh gosh, I'm sorry!" she apologized. "Are you okay?"
The girl, who had long brown hair and brown eyes, sat up and straightened her glasses.
"Yes, I'm fine! I guess that was my fault. I didn't know the hallways here would be so crowded!" She brushed a strand of hair out of her face. "I'm new here."
"Oh, you are?"
"Yeah. Do you know where..." The new student looked at a piece of paper in her hand. "Mr. Brown's class is?"
"Oh, yeah! I have him fourth period! Just go down that hallway until you pass the cross-hall, and his door is the first one of the right", Swirl answered.
The girl smiled. "Thanks. Hey, is he a nice teacher?"
Swirl nodded. "He's awesome! You'll love having him!"
Letting out a sigh of relief, the girl grinned. "Oh, good!"
Suddenly, the tardy bell sounded. Swirl looked up and realized that most of the kids in the hallways were gone now.
The new student looked up, too. "Oh gosh, I guess I better go! Don't want to be late on my first day!" She started to dash off, but then turned back around to face Swirl. " You were a big help, thanks! Oh! By the way, my name's Lostfairy."
Swirl froze, her mind whirling.
Maybe I just heard her wrong.
" What?" she questioned, still in shock. But the girl had gone.
No.. no.. it can't be! Her name's... Lostfairy!?
But... but that's one of my Blogger friends' names!
Swirl stood with her mouth open until realization flashed in her mind. I'm going to be late!
But, racing down the hallway to her second period class, her mind was still on the girl.
Lostfairy.
Chapter 3
It was lunchtime, and Swirl was jogging down the hallway, trying to get to the cafeteria before the crowds did. Just as she decided to slow down a bit, the bell rang, and kids started flooding out of doors and around her. Swirl sighed, and, not wanting to weave her way through them all, walked the rest of the way.
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After coming back from washing her hands, Swirl was prepared to get through another friendless lunch. But, just as she sat down at her usual table, she heard another person coming over. Turning, she recognized Lostfairy,
"Hey", she greeted Swirl warmly.
Swirl smiled. "Hi!"
"Sorry if this sounds completely weird, but could I maybe sit with you today? I haven't met many other people here yet."
"Sure!" Swirl replied. "I don't mind!"
Lostfairy sat down beside her. Swirl glanced upward again to see another girl, one with blonde hair, watching Lost.
Lost looked up too. "Oh! Sorry! Can my other friend sit here too? You and her are the only ones I've met so far."
Swirl nodded and scooted over to make room for the other girl, who sat on the other side of Lost. She turned to Swirl. "My name's Kraft. With a K."
Kraft?!
"Your name's... Kraft? Like, for real?" Despite being surprised and somewhat startled, Swirl actually hoped that what she was silently thinking was actually true.
"Well, actually, it's AJKraft, but most people call me Kraft", the blonde-haired girl replied, grinning. "Why?"
"Oh...uh...I was just...making sure", Swirl answered quickly.
Kraft and Lostfairy seemed satisfied with that answer. They all ate a few bites of their lunches, until Lostfairy spoke.
"Oh wow, I realized I haven't even asked what your name is yet!" she said, looking at Swirl.
"Don't worry, it's fine! I'm Swirlshine. Swirl for short."
Lostfairy's eyes suddenly grew wide, and, leaning over the table, Swirl saw that Kraft wore the same expression.
"What? What is it?" Swirl glanced around, wondering if they both guessed what she had.
"Oh, sorry. It's just... well... I thought it was just an odd coincidence, meeting someone else named AJKraft... but the truth is...", Lost stuttered, "I've actually got an online friend named Swirlshine. And she's a LOT like you."
"Same here!" Kraft sounded as surprised as Lostfairy did.
"You know...I thought the same thing", Swirl confessed.
"You don't think...", Kraft said, looking bewildered.
An idea flashed in Swirl's brain. "I know! Kraft, what's the name of a song that you created? Answer honestly", she added.
"Well, I made the WHEAT FIELDS AND COWS song! Though it's not like-"
"Lostfairy", Swirl interrupted Kraft's loud exclamation, "What do we- er, you and Swirlshine, I mean- say to each other when you leave?"
"Um...huggle?"
Swirl's heart almost leaped out of her chest. It's really them.
"You...you got the questions correct...", Swirlshine stammered. "It's really you, Kraft and Lost! And...and you're here!"
The three girls stared at each other, jaws gaping.
"How is this happening?" Kraft questioned.
I've been wondering the same thing.
"No idea", answered Lostfairy, looking bewildered.
I wished for it! I wished for it, and it actually came true! Swirl answered in her mind.
"Well, however it happened, let's make the most of it!" Kraft said cheerfully. "This IS what all of us wanted, right?!"
Swirlshine, finally snapping out of her awestruck trance, nodded. "Now that you're here, I'm not letting you leave!" she joked, grinning. Giving the two a huge hug, she thought her heart would almost burst with happiness.
I got my wish. This is really happening. Lostfairy and Kraft now go to my school!
Chapter 4
Walking down to their advisory classes, Swirl, Kraft, and Lost were side by side, chatting and laughing.
It's almost like we've known each other forever, thought Swirl.
Well, I guess that's halfway true!
Swirl still couldn't get over the fact that two of her Blogger friends had somehow made their way to her school. She had even asked if they had come through some kind of portal, but they had both said no.
"Hey Swirl", Kraft said, snapping Swirl back into the world. "What teacher do you have for advisory?"
"I've got Ms. Rodgerson today. What about you?"
Kraft smiled. "Rodgerson!"
"Hey, same here!" Lost exclaimed, looking at her schedule.
"Awesome!" Swirl grinned back at them.
This is literally the best day EVER!
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In advisory, the trio sat at the same table and talked some more. They discussed some Animal Jam related things until Swirl felt a tap on her shoulder. Turning, she became face-to-face with a girl that looked a lot like her: dark brown eyes and brown hair, although with a hint of red. She wore jeans and a purple turtleneck, an outfit that Swirl didn't see too often, but immediately liked anyway.
"So are guys talking about Animal Jam? I actually play that game too, and I've met a lot of great friends because of it!" the girl said to her.
Kraft, Lost, and Swirl all exchanged glances.
Lost asked, "What's your name?"
"Karalee", she answered. "What are you guys' names?"
"You actually know them already." said Kraft.
"Do the names Lostfairy, AJKraft, and Swirlshine sound familiar to you?" Swirl asked, looking intently at Karalee.
Kara's happy expression suddenly turned to one of shock. "How do you know those names? Are you reading my mind somehow or something?"
Swirl sighed. "Well, you see..."
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After explaining everything to Kara, the Blogger group expanded to let her in. Lost had the same 6th period class as Swirl, while the others went elsewhere. Swirl was disappointed that Kraft and Kara didn't have many classes with her, but she was very excited to see Lost again. All through 5th period, her mind was barely on her work, although of course she still did it. Finally, when 6th period rolled around, Swirl stepped into her art class to find Lostfairy sitting in the once-empty seat next to hers. She grinned at Swirl, who walked over and sat her bag down.
"I'm glad I've got another friend who has this class now!" Swirl exclaimed.
Lostfairy nodded. Swirlshine pulled her sketchbook out from her stuffed backpack.
"Can I see some of your art?" Lost asked.
"Of course! I'm a lot better drawings in real life than online... or at least that's what I think!" Swirl laughed, handing Lost her sketchbook. Lost flipped eagerly through the pages and gasped.
"Woah! These are REALLY good, Swirl!"
Swirl blushed. "Thanks. Although I don't draw nearly as good as some people in this class do."
Lost nudged her playfully. "Don't be so hard on yourself. Besides, everyone's got a different style, right?"
"True!" Swirl replied.
The bell rang, and as Ms. Rodgerson walked in the door, Lost and Swirl grew silent and ready to work. But, although she seemed calm on the outside, Swirl actually wanted to bounce around the room like a maniac. Her friends were here, at this very school, and that was all that mattered to her at the moment.
Chapter 5
After doing her homework that night, which didn't take as long as Swirl expected, she watched an episode of Austin And Ally, then went to her room to go to bed. She fixed the covers, turned off the lights, and lay down on her bright pink pillow, surrounded by various stuffed animals. She closed her eyes, but her mind was racing, and a minute or two later, she opened them again and sat up. Staring at the ceiling, she thought once again of her Blogger friends, like she had the night before.
So I've met Kraft, Lost, and Kara now. But what about the others? How come I haven't seen them yet? Are they even at my school, or is it just 3 of my friends who happened to be here? After realizing that the questions she was forming wouldn't be answered in her room at midnight, she settled down again.
I wonder who I'll meet tomorrow?, she wondered.
Guess there's only one way to find out.
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At school, Swirl, Kraft, Kara, and Lost sat together in the gym. Kraft was showing everyone a hilarious lip-reading video on her new iPad, when suddenly, another girl walking by caught Swirl's eye. She had on a white shirt with light gray designs all over it, and her brown hair was put in pigtails. She obviously must've noticed Swirl staring at her, because she turned and peered at her from behind blue-rimmed glasses.
Where have I seen that outfit before? Swirl thought. Then it hit her.
"Gracie!" she shouted, just as the girl started to walk off.
The brown-haired girl with glasses paused and turned to look at Swirl again, a confused expression on her face.
Yes! That IS her name!
"It's me! Swirl! And... and Lost, and Kraft, and Kara!" She motioned around at the other girls, who looked up as well.
The girl, Gracie, blinked. "That... that's not possible..."
"Apparently it is now", Kara said with a shrug.
"We are the bloggers", Lost added. "Promise!"
Gracie stared for a moment. "Woah", she breathed.
Swirl nodded, and Lost scooted over to make room for Gracie to sit.
Gracie settled down beside her. "How is this happening? How are we all at the same school?"
Swirl shrugged. "I don't know. But to be honest, I don't really care how! We're all meeting each in real life, and we'll get to see each other every day now!"
Gracie smiled. "You're right! This is so cool, seeing the bloggers in real life like this!"
"What?!"
The group turned to see two similar-looking girls, one with her blonde hair in a braid, and the other with more brown-ish hair and a tan shirt with green swirls all over it, standing a few feet away. They both exchanged a glance, then looked back at the 5 girls.
"Sorry" the one with the braid apologized. "But we heard you saying something about bloggers, and we have some friends who are bloggers too!"
Wait a minute!
"Sarah?! Ja?!" Swirl gasped.
The two girls' eyes widened. "So it IS you, Swirl?!" the one who looked like Ja said. She motioned at each of the other bloggers in turn. "And Lost, Kara, Gracie, and Kraft?"
All the girls nodded when their name was said.
"YES!" Sarah pumped her fist in the air. "We always knew we'd finally meet you guys in real life one day!"
"And now we are! I have no idea how this happened, but it's AWESOME!" Ja said happily.
Swirl nodded. "Yeah!"
"It's great to see you guys!" Lost greeted them. Sarah and Ja grinned.
"Now gather round guys: it's time for STORYTIME WITH KRAFT!" Kraft yelled, and the 7 girls watched as Kraft showed them the rest of the video.
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Walking down the hallway to science class, Swirl felt blissfully happy, her head in the clouds. That is, until she almost ran into the wall as a result.
Just before she reached her classroom, she heard loud talking, and turned her head to see two girls, who she immediately knew were "divas", kick a book on the floor away from another girl's feet in the crosshall. The divas giggled as the girl, looking frustrated, tried to pick it up, but the divas only moved it away again.
"You know, this isn't funny!" the girl said through gritted teeth.
One of the divas raised an eyebrow. "Really? It looks pretty funny to us!" She glanced at the book's cover. "And who even reads stuff like this anyway?"
Swirl couldn't stand it anymore. She walked right up to the group and stood by the girl being teased.
"She can read whatever she wants. It's not your business. And how would you like it if someone did all this to you?" she told the divas in a calm voice.
The diva girls only stared. "It's not your business to get in our business."
"Actually, this time it is. Now stop." Swirl shot back.
A second later, the tardy bell rang, meaning there was only 1 minute left to get to class. The rude girls groaned.
"The only reason we're leaving is because of the bell. Not because you told us to." said one of them.
"Yeah, we don't take orders from nerds!" sniffed the other.
Then they both turned their backs on Swirl and the other girl and walked off together.
Swirl rolled her eyes. Walking over to the book on the ground, she picked it up and handed it back to the girl who had been teased.
"Thanks" the girl said, looking a little embarrassed.
"No problem. Don't pay attention to those girls. They're just divas who think they're better than others."
The girl smiled slightly. "You can say that again." Suddenly, her eyes rested on Swirl's chest, and, looking down, Swirl realized that she was looking at her necklace.
"Your necklace... it looks so familiar...", the girl told her, looking as if she were trying to figure out where it came from.
Realization flashed in Swirl's mind.
"What's your name?" she asked the girl.
The girl looked up. "I'm Gfox. What's your name?"
"You know it! It's me, Swirlshine!" Swirl replied eagerly.
Gfox's eyes widened. "Sw... Swirlshine? But-"
Swirl interrupted her. "I'll tell you everything later, Meet me at the water fountains at lunch. Okay?"
Gfox stared for a moment, then nodded. "Okay."
And then, at that, both girls turned and raced off in opposite directions to their classes.
Chapter 6
That day, at lunch, Swirl and her friends had told Gfox everything, and she certainly seemed excited. Now, it was the next day, Thursday, and Swirl couldn't wait to see who she met next.
Let's see. I've met Lost, Gracie, Kraft, Kara, Sarah, Ja, and Gfox. That leaves... Purple, Flora, Fang, Violet, Canine, and...oh right, Penguin! Swirl listed all her Blogger friends' names in her head at basketball practice that day. Maybe I'll even see some famous jammers somehow!
It was 4:30, which meant that all of Swirl's friends had gone home 30 minutes ago. Sadly, though, she had to stay in basketball until 6. She sighed. She liked playing basketball, but there were some negatives to playing it at school. In her opinion, she stayed up at school WAY too long. She always finished in darkness, and she missed coming home in daylight to the clear, blue sky.
The second problem was the gameplays. Oh yes, Swirl knew that gameplays were essential to a good game, but she felt that the coaches made up quite a lot, and she couldn't remember them all half of the time.
Why can't we just trust our instincts and play the game, instead of taking up time trying to remember tons of plays that the other team will just ruin?, Swirl always thought to herself.
"SWIRLSHINE!"
A loud yell snapped Swirl out of her own mind.
"SWIRLSHINE! GO!"
Turning, she saw that it was her turn to run the current play, and she sheepishly ran out onto the court. That just reminded her of the third problem: her teammates. Most were nice, but there were those few who always yelled when she did something wrong, which Swirl hated.
Looking around at the girls running the play with her, she groaned inwardly. One of the girls on the court was, of course, Kayley, a girl who, as far as Swirl was concerned, hated her. And since Swirl didn't exactly enjoy people who hated her for no reason, the feeling was mutual. She tried to avoid Kayley the best she could, but sometimes, there was just no escape.
After running through the play a few times, Swirl got to sit out, and she was quite glad about that. All of a sudden, she heard the door to the gym open, and in stepped...
"Gracie?" Swirl said, surprised.
Gracie smiled, then stepped forward to let another girl through the doorway.
"Kara? What are you guys doing here?"
But that wasn't all. More people were behind Kara and Gracie, and after a few seconds, they all turned and faced Swirlshine, grinning.
"And Sarah, Ja, Lost? And Kraft and Gfox? Okay guys, what's going on? Why are you all here?" Swirl asked, eyes wide.
"We've come to cheer you on!', said Ja excitedly.
"GO CHICKENS!" yelled Kraft, drawing confused looks from the other basketball players.
Swirl stifled a laugh. "We're the Leopards, you know!"
"Yeah", replied Kraft. "But chickens would be much better. Chickens ALWAYS win."
Imagining a chicken mascot, Swirl giggled. The group of Animal-Jam-lovers walked over to the bleachers and sat down.
"Swirlshine?" Swirl turned to see her coach staring at her and her friends.
"Are these your friends?" she asked Swirl.
Swirl nodded.
"Can we stay and watch, Miss?" pleaded Lost. "We promise we won't distract anyone."
The rest of the Bloggers all nodded.
Swirl's coach looked a little rushed, so all she said was "Okay", before walking off again. "Come on, Swirlshine, your turn on the court."
Swirl glanced at her loyal friends, then gave them a nod and ran off. From where she was standing, she could hear Hayley and her friend, Leah, muttering to each other.
"Who the heck are those girls? And why are there so many of them?"
"I know, right!? I think they're Swirlshine's friends."
"Oh." Hayley sounded surprised.
Swirl glared at them. Did they think that I didn't have friends? Is that so hard to believe?
But she didn't have time to deal with divas at the moment. Once again, her friends had gotten her out of a tough situation, and she was now determined to do her best for them. And so, as the scoreboard time began counting down, Swirl gave it her best effort.
Chapter 7
A week later, Swirl was in her 3rd period class, ELA, writing a paper for the district assessment about being positive. Considering that when Swirl tried to be positive about something, the negative effect always happened, she had to go against her own thoughts writing it.
I wish the district would give us some better topics. Why not let us write a fiction story for once?
Then, the 6th grade bell rang, making Swirl jump a little, before she started to put everything away. At her school, there was a bell that rang for the 6th graders, 4 minutes before the 7th and 8th graders' bell did, so that the halls would be less crowded. It didn't seem like it was working to clear anything except the halls the 7th and 8th graders didn't go in, but it's not like any student could do anything about it.
Her friend, Raina, whom she had met in elementary, turned to her. Raina had drifted further away from Swirl too, but, unlike Dancer, she still talked to Swirl kindly from time to time when she had the chance, so therefor, Swirl didn't hold anything against her. She felt in her heart that Raina didn't mean to ignore her, but somehow, she didn't feel the same about Dancer
"Dancer hasn't been too nice lately", Raina commented in a low voice.
"How? What's she doing?" Swirl asked, curious.
"She's been trying to make me jealous about tons of things, and when I told her not to post something about my other friend, Leah, on Instantjam, she told me it wasn't my business and posted it anyway." Raina said, looking slightly annoyed. "And guess what else?"
"What?"
"The other day, I heard her tell her friend 'I don't need no Jesus!" Raina told her, making her voice sound sassy.
"WHAT!?" Swirl gasped, shocked.
"Yeah. I told her she had gone too far with that, and she said 'I was just kidding', but she didn't look like she was." Raina shook her head. "I'm not sure what she's turned into these days, but I don't like it at all."
"I wouldn't blame you if you decided you didn't want to be her friend anymore... ", Swirl muttered distractedly. All of a sudden, their bell rang, and the kids in the room ran out the door. Raina followed them, and Swirl did, too, but a lot slower.
Her mind was whirling. She really said that? Why would she do that?! Oh, Dancer. What happened to the old you? What happened to my friend?
Well, I know one thing. Raina was right. She did go too far with that comment. Too far for me.
And, with that, Swirl angrily kicked the thoughts of Dancer out of her head with one last silent comment to herself.
If she's done with the Lord, then I'm done with her. For good.
She walked off to 4th period, setting her mind on her lunch with her friends instead.
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But, at the lunch she was so looking forward to, the same thoughts drifted back into her wandering mind.
"You okay, Swirl?" asked Lost, who was sitting next to her. Swirl looked up, startled.
"Oh. Yeah, I'm fine", she sighed.
"You sure? You don't seem like it." said Ja from across the table.
"I am."
"You can tell us." Lost said with a smile.
Swirl decided to give in. "Okay. The thing is..."
"WHAT!?" yelped Gracie and Sarah, sounding just like Swirl earlier when she had heard the news.
Swirl nodded grimly. "That's what Raina said she said."
Gracie, Kara, Sarah, and Ja all stared at each other in shock, but Lost looked at Swirl.
"So, Dancer is your old friend? The one who now ignores you?"
Swirl nodded again.
To her surprise, Lost wrapped her arms around her warmly.
"Huggle!", she said, grinning.
Swirl smiled back. "Thanks."
"So, do you still want to be friends with Dancer?" Gracie said from beside Kara and Sarah.
"Honestly...no. Not after that comment."
All her friends nodded in agreement.
"Hey, just remember, us Bloggers will always have your back!" said Lost.
"That's right!" all the others chorused.
"And to prove it, here's a drawing of a chicken on your back!" Kraft announced, shoving a paper towards Swirl.
Swirl laughed. "You really do love chickens!"
"They are my heart and soul", Kraft said jokingly, sitting up straighter and making a jokingly-serious face.
Swirl giggled again. "Thanks, you guys!"
"Hey, do guys wanna come over to my house on Saturday?" asked Sarah. "Like, for a sleepover?"
"I'll have to ask my mom", replied Swirl.
"Me too", said Lost.
"But it sounds fun! I'll ask and tell you tomorrow!" Swirl said, grinning at Sarah.
"Same here!" said Gracie, Kara and Lost in unison.
"I can probably go", said Kraft. "Can we have marshmallows there?"
"Sure!" laughed Sarah. "As long as we aggressively roast them!" She shot a knowing look at Swirl, who laughed and agreed.
"I bet I can come, too", Gfox joined in.
"And I live with Sarah, so I'm obviously coming." Ja told them.
"Great! Let's all check with our parents tonight! Hopefully they'll agree!" Sarah gave a small clap of her hands.
"I can't wait!" yelled Kraft and Swirl together.
Chapter 8
That night, Swirl looked up from her phone at her mom, who was sitting across the room on the couch.
"Hey, Mom?" said Swirl.
"Yeah?"
"Could I maybe have a sleepover with my friends on Saturday?" Swirl asked in the nicest-sounding tone she could use.
"What friends? Like, Raina and Dancer?" her mom questioned suspiciously.
"No...not them." And definitely not Dancer, that's for sure.
"Then who?"
"My Blog- I mean... my new friends...that I met at school." Swirl stopped herself from saying "Blogger" just in time. If she had told her mom that these were her online friends, she'd never believe her, and probably wouldn't agree to the sleepover at all. But her mom didn't seem any more doubtful, so Swirl still had a bit of hope.
"Hmm...", her mom replied. "Do you mean, like, a sleepover here?"
"Uh...no...at my friend Sarah's house."
Her mom frowned. "Swirlshine, you know I don't like letting you go to people's houses I don't know."
"Please", begged Swirl. "Everyone else is going! And I know them and trust them! Promise!"
Silence.
"Well... I guess if all of your other friends are for sure going... then... fine. You can go." her mom finally answered.
"Thanks, Mom! And I'll ask Sarah for the directions to her house tomorrow!" Swirl said excitedly. Her mom gave her a nod, and off Swirl went to her room to text her friends the news.
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It was Friday, the next day, and, walking out of her 5th period classroom, Swirl felt blissfully happy. She had gotten everything locked into place for the sleepover, and nothing was going to mess it up!
All of a sudden, a thought flashed across her mind.
Wait... I still haven't met some of my Blogger friends yet! I wonder if they're around the school somewhere... then I can get them to come, too!
Walking down the hallway, Swirl tried to focus on finding the outfits her friends wore in the crowd of kids around her.
Let's see... Purple wears a purple scarf and a Head Flower... Flora wears an orange Fox Hat and a green Bow...Fang has a black and white Top Hat...Violet- wait! Is that...?
Swirl stood on her toes to peer over the heads of the human sea, and caught a glimpse of a girl with dark hair and a purple flower in it.
"Purple?" she called out, weaving her way towards the girl, who looked up after hearing her name.
Yes! It is her!
Finally reaching Purple, she noticed that she stared at her Wizard Hat with a puzzled look on her face.
"Your outfit... it looks so familiar. I-"
"Purple!" Swirl shouted. "It's me, Swirlshine! The blogger Swirlshine!"
Purple blinked, and glanced at Swirl's Wizard Hat and necklace once more. "That's... amazing! How are you here?!"
"No idea", Swirl answered honestly. "But listen. The other Bloggers and I are having a sleepover at Sarah's house tonight. Can you ask your parents if you can come? I'll get Sarah to tell you the directions to her house."
Purple paused for a moment, then said, "Okay, I'll ask them."
"Great!" Swirl replied. "And, if you need someone to sit with at lunch, come find all of us!"
Purple smiled, nodded, then sprinted away down the hall.
*********************************************************************************
Saturday afternoon, Swirl jumped out of her mom's car with her things, waved goodbye, and then leaped up the steps to Sarah's home. Just as she rang the doorbell, another car pulled up, and Kraft came out, along with another girl who wore a Fox Hat, Crescent Necklace, and a green Bow on her back.
"Guess who I found", Kraft shouted, hauling her Minecraft sleeping bag out of her car.
"Flora?" Swirl gasped, just as Sarah opened the door.
Flora grinned and waved. "Hey Swirl! Hi, Sarah!"
Sarah's eyes widened. "Flora! Yay, you could come! And hi, Swirl! Come on, the others are all here already!"
Swirl, Kraft, and Flora nodded, then ran into Sarah's nicely decorated house. Immediately, Gfox ran up and gave them all a huge hug.
"YES! YOU GUYS MADE IT!" she yelled happily.
Swirl laughed. "Of course!"
Just then, Ja, Gracie, Kara, Purple, Lost, and another boy that Swirl didn't know, walked down the stairs.
"Oh yeah! Swirl, Kraft, Flora, this is Pob! He hasn't been at school for the past few days, since he'd been feeling sick", Sarah told her.
"Yeah, but I'm feeling a lot better now!" Pob said, waving at Swirl and the others.
"Come up to Sarah and Ja's room! It's super cool!" said Gfox, tugging Swirl's arm. She then dashed up the stairs, Swirl, Kraft, and the others right behind her.
After a moment, Swirl found herself standing in a brightly colored room, filled with Animal Jam toys, books, and many other things that Swirl couldn't even begin to name.
"Woah...", she commented, awestruck. "This is awesome!"
Gfox, Sarah, and Ja ran and leaped onto Sarah's bed, laughing.
"So, what should we do, guys?" Gracie asked, Kara by her side.
"I know!", Kraft yelped quickly. "Did you get those marshmallows, Sarah?"
"Yep, sure did!"
"Then let's use 'em!"
"Yeah! We can make s'mores!" Lost said.
"I thought you'd never ask", said Ja, before dashing off with Sarah to get the marshmallows.
Chapter 9
After eating their homemade s'mores, the Bloggers played Animal Jam, watched a movie, and much more, until they all were lying in their beds and sleeping bags in Sarah's shared bedroom with Ja.
"Are you guys tired?" Flora asked from across the room.
Swirl shrugged. "No. Not yet, anyway."
"Same here", agreed Kraft, Kara, Gfox, and Gracie at the same time.
"Me neither." sighed Flora.
"I guess we can just talk for a while." Lost suggested. The others nodded.
Swirl propped herself up on arms and looked around the dark room.
"Hey, you know what? I guess it's not really needed anymore, but, to visit you guys whenever I wanted, I sure wish we had-"
"THE BLOGGER PORTAL!" all the girls chorused, including Swirl.
Lost looked like she was about to say something else, but, all of a sudden, a glaring white light flashed in the corner of Swirl's eye. Lost and the others must have seen it too, because they all turned to stare at Sarah's closed closet door.
"What IS that!?" Purple shrieked. Swirl backed away on her hands and knees towards her, as did all the other Bloggers.
The light shone again, growing brighter and brighter. The group of friends shielded their eyes with their hands, until, suddenly...
BAM!
The closet doors swung open, despite no one touching them. Everyone jumped up, startled, and backed towards the other side of the room. Sarah and Ja's cat, Smokey, sprinted out of the room. Swirl squeezed her eyes shut, fearing that she may be blinded by the mysterious glow.
After a few seconds, she slightly opened one eye. The white light was now gone, and she could see a faint green light. She opened her eyes all the way.
There, in the center of Sarah's closet, was a glowing, light green, swirling circle. It had white lines that shifted and moved constantly, sometimes turning into darker green square shapes before changing back again.
"What... but... how...", Ja stuttered, looking bewildered.
"What is it?" asked Flora.
Swirl wondered the same thing, until the idea hit her in the head like a falling stone.
"It's... It's...", she stammered.
"It's what?!" said Kara, staring intently at her.
"It's... a portal. The Blogger Portal", she whispered.
Her friends all stared, but, out of all of them, not one looked doubtful of what Swirl had just said.
"That's... incredible!" gasped Gracie.
"It's been out there the whole time! I knew it!" yelled Kraft, pumping a fist in the air.
"Yeah... but why is it just appearing now?" muttered Lost thoughtfully.
They all thought for a moment, until Sarah's exclamation broke the silence.
"Maybe it has something to do with us all being in the same place, and saying the same thing all together?" she guessed
Ja nodded. "Yeah, that could be it."
The Animal-Jammers turned back to the portal.
"It looks just like the ones in the Animal Jam Adventure Base Camp!" noticed Kara.
"And like my Masterpiece", Swirl added.
"So... now that the Blogger Portal has appeared in Sarah's house... does that mean that it's appeared in all of our houses now?" Gfox questioned.
Purple shrugged. "Only one way to find out!"
"Yeah... but can that way wait until tomorrow afternoon? We've still got the rest of a sleepover tomorrow!" Kraft pointed out.
"Of course!" Purple replied. "We'll all find out tomorrow."
"What should we do about this portal, guys?" Swirl asked. "I'm pretty sure Sarah's parents don't want to see a huge, bright green, swirling blob in the middle of her closet."
"Let's just close the doors for now", decided Ja. "I bet it'll still be there tomorrow, and then we'll figure out how to hide it."
"Well, in that case", yawned Flora, "let's go to sleep, because NOW I'm tired." The others nodded, got into their sleeping bags and beds, and lay down.
Swirl's mind raced, making her think she would never fall asleep, but, 5 minutes later, she was out.
Chapter 10
"Bye guys!" Swirl called out as she walked out the doorway towards her mom's car the next afternoon. She waved at Flora and Lost, who were among the last to leave, and then at Sarah, Pob, and Ja.
"Don't forget about it!" Sarah yelled back, shooting Swirl a knowing look. Swirl stared back, confused, for just a moment.
"Oh, yeah! I won't!" she said, finally realizing that her friend meant the Blogger Portal. Waving one last time, she stepped into the car, loaded up her things, and then they were off.
*********************************************************************************
Back at her house, Swirl unloaded all of the stuffed animals she had brought and set them back on her bed. After she was done unpacking, she glanced around, then immediately started to look around the room.
Come on... it's got to be in here somewhere! she thought as she peeked inside her closet. Still nothing.
Maybe... it's inside a wall somehow? It was an odd thought, but, considering that a portal had appeared out of nowhere at Sarah's house, she felt certain that the same thing should be able to happen here.
Walking all around her room, she put her hands to the wall and felt all around for some kind of-
Wait... what the heck is a portal supposed to feel like?
She honestly had no idea, but she guessed that it would just seem... different. She put her ear to the wall she was closest to, wondering if portals made some kind of audible noise, before a voice sounded, startling her.
"Swirl?"
Swirl leaped up, stumbled, and fell backwards into her bed. Rubbing her leg, she glanced up to see her mom standing in the doorway.
"What are you doing? Are you okay?" her mom asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine", Swirl answered, standing up. "I was just, uh, looking for a thing I dropped, and you scared me, that's all."
"Oh, sorry!" said her mom. "I just came in to tell you that lunch is ready."
"Okay, I'll be there in a second", Swirl told her. Her mom nodded and stepped out, closing the door behind her. Swirl let out a sigh and sat on her bed. She thought about how stupid she must look, petting the walls and stumbling about, and snickered.
Oh well... it's for the Blogger Portal, after all!
She continued her search, finally reaching her closet. Touching the wall behind the door, she gasped. Half of her arm had disappeared into it!
Swirl pulled her arm back with a yelp of surprise. "What's happening?", she muttered warily. Then her eyes widened, and, all of a sudden, there it was. A portal, identical to the one she'd seen at Sarah's, was now there, embedded in the wall.
"Yes! I found it!" Swirl cheered. "But... how do I work it?"
Nothing seemed to be triggered by her words.
"Well... okay. Maybe I just... imagine who I want to go to? I mean, it's kinda from my imagination, in a way, right? And that IS how I imagined it working!"
Deciding on that idea, Swirl formed a vivid image of Lostfairy in her mind behind closed eyes, took a deep breath, and stepped through the green circle.
When she opened her eyes again...
She was standing in a completely different room. A girl, sitting at a desk, turned around and stared in shock.
"Lost!" exclaimed Swirl.
"Swirl? Where did you come from!?" Lost yelped.
"From the Blogger Portal! I found it in my closet, stepped through it, and here I am now. Yours must be right here, where I came through", Swirl told her.
Lost's eyes widened. "Woah... cool!" She laughed. "Portals appearing in walls are just a normal thing for you now, huh?"
"Yeah... my life is now officially too weird for words", Swirl replied jokingly.
"Well, I'm gonna see where else mine leads! See you, Lost!" Swirl waved a goodbye to her friend and leaped back into her room.
Wow! I can't believe all of that worked! Swirl thought, and grinned to herself.
Oh yeah! Lunch! Suddenly remembering, she raced out to the kitchen.
*********************************************************************************
That Monday, it was back to school, and at lunch, Swirl told her friends about how she had found and operated the Blogger Portal. Several of them reported similar things happening as well. Then, right in the middle of their conversation, the bell sounded.
"Come on, we gotta go!' said Gfox, getting up. The rest gathered their things and walked down to their next classes together. Then, as the group walked by, Swirl heard a voice that she knew could only belong to one of the diva girls in the school.
"Look at that group of nerds", it said quietly. Another girl laughed. Swirl looked over her shoulder.
The others must have heard too, because Gfox said "Excuse me?" and whirled around. The rest of the group did, too, and glared at the divas, who stared back at them as if they were the most unthreatening things they'd ever seen.
"What did you just say?" Sarah asked suspiciously.
"I said you all are nerds. I mean, just look at you. It's obvious that you guys are nowhere near popular", one answered, raising an eyebrow while the other nodded and flipped her long brown hair to the side.
Swirl glared at them. She hadn't dealt with bullies before...but no one was going to say this to her and her friends.
Chapter 11
"It's not like we exactly care about your rude opinion!" blurted Swirl, narrowing her eyes.
"Just leave us alone. We're not doing anything to you", Gracie put in.
The girls only rolled their eyes.
"We heard you talking about some game called 'Animal Jam'. Do you really play that?" one asked in a surprised-sounding tone.
"Yes, we do", replied Kraft coolly, not hesitating even a little. "Is that a problem?"
The divas giggled. "You do know that game's for, like, 8 year olds, right!?"
"Tell that to the famous YouTubers in high school and college who play it", muttered Swirl. "Now, can you please let us get to our classes without all this drama?"
"Excuse me, but you started this fight." commented the second diva.
"Yeah!" said the first.
Gfox rolled her eyes, turned, and began to walk away. The others turned, too, and Swirl was about to follow her, until the first diva stepped in front of Gfox and shoved her backwards.
"Hey! Don't push our friend!" Ja yelled. Even Kraft looked mad.
"Trying to run away? I knew you guys were afraid', exclaimed the diva, putting her hands on her hips.
"We are not looking for a fight." growled Lost, fixing her backpack over her shoulders .
The divas looked at each other, and then back at the Bloggers.
"Oh, I think you are."
"Can I punch them now?" asked Gfox, sounding furious.
"Look who's brave now", said the second girl.
"Oh, be quiet!" yelled Swirl, rage building up inside of her.
"Excuse me, you little brat, but we don't take orders from you!" the first diva shot back.
"And we know pretty much everyone in the grade, so the fact that we've never even seen you shows how popular you aren't." the second one said immediately after.
"Excuse me, but don't you talk to our friend that way! Ever!" yelled Sarah furiously.
"Or you'll get the fight you've been looking for!" blurted Gfox. Flora nodded behind her.
Swirl gritted her teeth, the flame of anger now burning brightly in her stomach. She glanced around the hall.
Kids were standing along the sides, watching the two groups argue. Some looked uneasy, but others had eyes that seemed to plead for a fight. One girl, with purple hair and a purple Spiked Collar around her neck, seemed to be smirking a little, but she stayed quiet.
Something about that look seems familiar, thought Swirl. I just can't quite put my finger on it.
"Please. A rat would put up a better fight than you", the first diva told the Bloggers.
"Excuse me, Kenley?" said a voice. Swirl jumped, then turned around to see the principal standing behind her.
"Oh... hi, Mr. Rebock..." stuttered the first diva, trying to sound calm.
"Kenley, don't you dare try to act innocent. I heard everything you said to this group. You and your friend are coming with me to the office." Mr. Rebock said sternly. Then he made a motion with his hand, and the two girls glared one last time at the Bloggers before walking sulkily down to the office.
Mr. Rebock turned to the others.
"Please come to my office tomorrow, two of you, so we can discuss what those two did." The group nodded, and the principal walked off behind the divas.
"Well, that was close." Sarah sighed in relief. "I didn't really want a fight."
"Me neither", agreed Swirl. "But now we've got to go to Mr. Rebock's office tomorrow."
"Well, only two of us", said Gracie. "I can go, if you want."
"And I'll go, too", added Lost.
"Are you sure? I don't want you guys to get in trouble!" said Swirl worriedly.
"It'll be fine." Lost replied. "We won't get in trouble. None of us will."
I hope you're right, thought Swirl, and together, she and her friends walked down the rest of the hallway and bolted into their advisory rooms.
Chapter 12
"It was fine, like we thought", Gracie assured Swirl the next day at lunch. "We told Mr. Rebock everything that happened, and he understood."
"I didn't see that Kenley girl around today, or her friend", added Lost.
"Maybe they got suspended?" guessed Swirl.
Gfox let out a groan. "I hope so...pushing me like that. If they didn't, there's obviously something wrong with the world these days."
Swirl and the others nodded.
"I honestly hope we never see them again." commented Sarah, making a face.
"Me too", replied Swirl. "Me too..."
*********************************************************************************
What's going on...?
Swirl was floating in pitch blackness. Her feet were resting on nothing but air. Yet, somehow, there she was, hovering, yet not falling anywhere. How had she gotten here? She didn't seem to remember a thing.
Total blackness... what is this place? Why am I here?
Then, everything around her began to turn blue, although it was still a very dark shade of it. Still, she could just make out- wait, were those bubbles? Her vision seemed to be blurred, yet she had no idea why. She rubbed her eyes, but it did no good. She still couldn't see clearly.
This is so- AHH!
Suddenly she was falling. She didn't know where she was falling to- she didn't even know how she knew she was falling at all. All she saw were unclear bubbles flying past her against a dark blue background.
Swirl wasn't too frightened at first. Nothing around her seemed to be harmful, and plus, she was pretty sure everything that was happening was something created by her imagination anyway.
But then her lungs suddenly began to tighten.
Swirl realized this, and immediately started to panic. Fighting for breath, she tried to reach out, hoping there was something on the way down that she could grab onto, but her arm seemed to move in slow motion, and besides, there was nothing but blue and bubbles. She tried to scream, but nothing came out.
It kept getting harder and harder to inhale. Panicking, Swirl twisted and thrashed around in the air.
No no NO! What's happening!? Why can't I breathe?!
Then her eyes began to close, although she was not controlling them, and her breathing and heartbeat slowed. Something unseen hit her forcefully...
...and she opened her eyes to find herself on carpeted ground. She felt hot but cold at the same time, and realized she was sweating. Panting wildly, she looked around. She was on the floor of her bedroom.
"I... guess it was a dream..." Swirl muttered to herself, still half in shock. "Yeah... only a dream..."
I've never had a nightmare like that. Why was I falling? Why couldn't I breathe? Her mind swam with questions that she was sure no one could answer. Standing up, she climbed back into her bed, flopped onto her side, and tried to fall back asleep. But every time she closed her eyes, the nightmarish scene crept back into her head.
Sighing, she opened her eyes and let her mind wander.
I've never had such a... vivid dream before. Maybe it means something...
But what?
Chapter 13
The dream was still on her mind the whole weekend, and on Monday morning as well. It was as if some kind of magnet was pulling her brain and thoughts back to it.
It's got to mean something, then. she thought to herself. I just have no idea what.
"Swirl? What're you doing?" asked a voice.
Swirl snapped out of her zoned-out trance and looked up at Gracie, who was watching her with a concerned expression on her face.
"Oh, sorry!" she apologized to her friend. "I'm just thinking."
"About what?" asked Lost, peeking around Gracie.
Swirl sighed. "This weird dream I had. I can't stop thinking about it. I was in blackness, and then I suddenly just started to fall. All I could see was dark blue and... maybe bubbles. I'm not sure. Everything was so blurry."
"I've never had a dream like that before..." said Sarah. "That sounds kind of freaky."
"It was." Swirl nodded. "I also couldn't breathe, either. It was like my throat just tightened or something, and it kept getting worse and worse." She shuddered at the memory.
"Well, remember, it was just a dream." Kara commented. "So that means it won't really happen."
"I'm not so sure", Swirl replied doubtfully. "It felt so... real. And it won't get out of my head. I think... it might mean something."
"Mean something? Like what?" questioned Ja.
Swirl shrugged. "I have no idea. Other than something bad."
They all looked at each other for a moment.
"I doubt it means anything, Swirl. Don't worry." said Purple reassuringly. "Remember, it was just a dream, like Kara said."
"Yeah. There's only, like, a .5% chance that it'll come true." Kraft added.
Swirl sighed. "I really hope you guys are right."
*********************************************************************************
"Hey!" Flora suddenly yelled at lunch later that day.
Swirl nearly jumped out of her skin. "AH!" she yelped, almost falling off of her seat.
"Oh, sorry!" Flora apologized.
Swirl laughed. "It's fine! 'Hey' what?"
"I had an idea! You know how it's warm here, even right now, in the winter?"
"Yeah", the group replied.
"Well, that means that we could even go swimming! Want to go to the lake on Saturday?", Flora asked hopefully.
"That sounds awesome! I'm asking my mom as soon as I get home!" Swirl exclaimed.
"Me too!" chorused Kraft, Gfox, Sarah, and Lost.
"Great! Text me when you get an answer from your parents!", said Flora.
*********************************************************************************
After some convincing, Swirl's mom had finally agreed to let her go. All the other Bloggers had gotten permission from their parents, too. Now, that Saturday, Swirl was in the car, driving to the lake to meet her friends.
"I've never actually been to the lake before! What's it like?" she asked her mom.
"Like a lake", her mom joked. She suddenly halted and parked the car. "We're here!"
Swirl grabbed her stuff and raced out of the car. The air felt warm, perfect for swimming, and sunlight shone on the lake's surface, making it look silver.
"Swirl! You're here!" called a voice, and, squinting, she made out the shape of Lost at the bottom of the hill.
"Come on!" her friend called, and Swirl raced down the slope to follow her.
Chapter 14
"Hey, wait for me!" Swirl called as Sarah leaped into the lake with a huge splash. Walking around the edge of the water, she took the easier way, wading into the shallow end, Lost right behind her. She expected the water to be freezing cold, but instead, it seemed to feel almost warm, yet still refreshing, somehow. She grabbed the rocky edge of the lake and walked out farther and farther, until she finally pushed off and into the the deeper water. Glancing behind her, she saw that Lost hadn't followed her. Swirl gave her a questioning look, and her friend motioned for her to come back towards her.
"What's up?" Swirl asked.
"Oh, I just wanted to tell you that... well... I can't exactly swim." Lost said hesitantly.
"That's fine!" Swirl replied. "It's not like I'm a good swimmer, either! I'm pretty much afraid to go underwater. That's why I didn't jump in like Sarah. Besides", she added, "we won't be spending too much time in the deep parts, anyway!" She heard a splashing noise behind her, and turned to see Gfox, Kraft, and Kara coming towards the shallower end.
"You guys okay?" Kara questioned, glancing from Lost to Swirl.
"Yep! Just fine!" said Lost, and Swirl nodded.
"You guys wanna play a game?" asked Kraft.
"Yeah!" chorused Lost, Sarah, Swirl, and Kara, calling the others over. Swirl grinned, but, for some reason, she suddenly felt a sinister, unknown feeling inside of her.
Why do I feel... nervous? she wondered worriedly.
Then she gave a small shake of her head.
I'm always nervous about something. It's normal. Just forget about it.
Blinking, she turned and waded towards the other Bloggers.
*********************************************************************************
After lunch, the group was ready to go back in the water. Gfox turned to Swirl as they were walking into the lake again.
"Hey, want to have a contest?"
"I DO!" yelled Kraft from behind her.
"Me too!" said Gracie and Kara.
"Us too!" said Ja, Sarah, and Pob, and Flora agreed.
"Okay", Swirl decided, after a slight hesitation. "What kind of contest?"
"Let's see who can make the biggest splash!" Gfox said.
"Can Purple and I be the judges?" Lost asked from dry land, eyeing the deck.
The group nodded.
"That's fine! So, you and Purple will judge us, and see whoever makes the biggest splash, okay?"
"Gotcha!" replied Purple.
The competitors raced up to the short, wooden deck, sticking out into the deepest end of the lake.
Swirl felt a sudden, slight bolt of panic strike her heart, but it faded quickly.
You've done stuff like this before, don't you remember? It's easy. Not like anything bad will happen. As soon as she thought it, she regretted it. Knowing her luck, she'd jinxed it, and she'd probably trip and fall or something now.
You can't change that now. Quit letting fear take over your life, she scolded herself silently. Then she walked towards the rest of the Bloggers to where they were all standing in a line on a grassy, open patch of land. Gfox stood in the front.
"Ready?" asked Purple. Gfox nodded determinedly. Zooming down the deck, she leaped at the end, landing in the water with a huge splash.
"Nice!" commented Kraft, who was next in line. "Now my turn..."
*********************************************************************************
Finally, it was Swirl's turn. Staring at where the deck ended, she narrowed her eyes.
Let's do this.
"Go!" Gfox yelled, giving the signal.
Swirl burst into action, running as fast as she could. At a certain spot, she leaped, certain that she had judged the distance correctly.
She was wrong.
Her foot hit the edge of the wood, and pain stabbed through it. Instinctively, she tried to turn and check it, but before she could do anything, she plunged into the water. Caught off guard, Swirl took a painful breath in, held it, and thrashed about in the water, trying to swim back to the surface. Her heart began to race with panic, and her mind whirled. Where was the surface? She couldn't see anything, other than rocks, bubbles, and her own arms flailing in front of her. She frantically tried to remember what she had learned her whole life about what to do if you got stuck underwater, but all her thoughts were jumbled together in panic, and she couldn't separate a single bit of knowledge.
Then, something sharp, which hurt much more than the wood of the deck, banged into the back of her head. Everything went black for a split second, and the panic in her heart rose until Swirl thought she would have a heart attack. It finally cleared, but her vision was still much blurrier than usual. Now, all she could make out were blobs. She glanced up, eyes narrowed, but she couldn't see anything but green-blue lake water.
Help! she attempted to scream. I'm going to drown!!! But her lungs filled with even more water, and she closed her mouth again, realizing too late what a bad idea it was to open it in the first place.
Everything is bubbles, she thought. Bubbles and dark-
Then she paused.
The bubbles, the darkness- it all seems familiar.
And I know why.
My dream.
It wasn't just a dream... it... it was a warning. About what's happening now. I shouldn't have just dismissed it! And now I can't do anything to prevent it. I...
Her thoughts began to become fuzzy, just like her vision. Suddenly, an odd sense of calmness washed over her. She felt as if time had frozen around her. Her mind stopped spinning, and everything seemed to move in slow-motion. Her vision grew darker, and her eyes began to close.
I never could. I never could've prevented this. This was meant to happen...
Then, something wrapped around her arm, interrupting her peaceful state of mind. The thing yanked her, but she didn't have the strength to stop it. She let herself be dragged up, higher and higher, until finally, she felt a sudden breeze blow across her face. Blinking open her eyes, but only to slits, she recognized the blurred shape of the dock, the ground barely beyond it, and the faces of her friends, dragging her to shore.
But she couldn't manage to keep her eyes open any longer, and slowly, she let them close and her mind give way to nothingness, and the echoing sound of her own heartbeat in her ears faded away.
*********************************************************************************
"Swirl!"
What? Who is that?
"SWIRL!" The voice shouting from the darkness got louder.
I'm right here! Why do you sound so frightened? Who are you?!
"Swirl, wake UP!!!"
I'm... trying... she replied, until realizing that no words were being spoken. Finally, she forced open her eyes.
The shapes were blurred, like before, at first, but after a second, she began to make out the faces of Lost, Sarah, and Gracie looming over her. After regaining most of her vision, she saw the rest of her friends behind them. Every single one stared at her, eyes wide with fear.
"What... what... happened...?" Swirl managed to ask hoarsely, throat stinging with pain.
"You're okay!" Lost gasped with relief.
"You almost drowned, Swirl!" added Kara's worried voice from somewhere behind her.
Everything rushed back to Swirl at that moment- the deck, leaping off of it, falling, hitting her head, the darkness...
With an effort, Swirl lifted her head off the ground.
"Luckily, Kara dove underwater super fast and managed to grab you and drag you back up to the surface", said Gracie.
Swirl peered around her and stared at Kara.
"Thank you", she murmured. Then she looked around. "All of you."
Kara just continued to look at her, but Swirl saw pure relief in her eyes as well.
"Can you get up now?" questioned Purple. Swirl nodded. Her friends helped her up, and together, they walked towards the table where they had set up.
Chapter 15
About an hour and a half later, Swirl was back in her mom's car once again, feeling almost completely normal again. Stepping into the vehicle, she had realized that she had no idea how to tell her mom that she had almost drowned on a harmless trip to the lake.
Maybe I just shouldn't tell her. She'd totally freak out if I tried to say anything. She might not even believe me, anyway.
"So, how was it?" her mom asked from the driver's seat beside Swirl.
"Good", she replied, confident that her voice was giving nothing away.
"Everything was fine, right? Nothing bad happened?" Her mom was asking her normal, overly-curious questions, and the tension in Swirl's heart relaxed a bit.
"Nope, everything was fine!" she replied cheerfully.
Her mom nodded. "Good."
*********************************************************************************
Finally at home, Swirl flopped exhaustedly onto her bed, the same way she had when all of this had started. When she first met her Blogger friends in real life. Imagining them, her trail of thought randomly lead to her incident at the lake.
I still can't believe I almost drowned. Thank goodness my friends were there to rescue me. She shivered, remembering the feeling of being pushed under by the water.
All of a sudden, the door to her room opened. Still a bit jumpy, Swirl immediately sat up, startled.
Her mom stepped into her room.
"Oh, hi", Swirl said, her heart beginning to beat a bit faster.
"Gracie's mom texted me that you almost drowned by running off a dock. Is that true?" Her mom's face was serious.
Swirl's heart pounded, and she swore the room got warmer at that very second.
Darn! I forgot that we told Gracie's mom everything! Of course she's tell my mom- what was I thinking?!
Her mom was still waiting for an answer. "Well?"
Swirl hesitated. "Well... um... yes?"
Her mom's eyes flashed. "You seriously almost drowned?"
"My friends saved me...", Swirl pointed out, but her mom obviously didn't seem to care.
"And you ran off a dock?! Why on earth would you do something like that?!"
"Well, actually, I, uh, tripped off of it..."
"You tripped off a dock?"
"Yeah... I was trying to run and jump in, and I tripped and hit my foot. But my Bl- I mean... my friends- jumped in and helped me!" she repeated.
"And why were you planning to run and jump off a dock in the first place?" her mom asked suspiciously, clearly not willing to give up the argument.
"Well, me and my friends were-"
"Your friends started all this?" Her mother's voice still sounded furious.
"No! It was all my fault! I misjudged my leap!" Swirl replied quickly, shocked.
Her mom stared, her expression clearly saying "You're lying."
"I'm serious!" Why won't she believe me?
"Well, Swirl, I have no choice. You are not allowed to go anywhere with those friends of yours anymore."
Swirl's pounding heart almost stopped right then and there. "W-what?"
"You heard me. They can't come over here, and you can't go to their houses, or anywhere else with them. I may even talk to your teachers and see if they can keep you apart from them when they can at school, if you refuse to stay away from them at first. Nothing like that is ever happening again."
"No! I told you, it wasn't their fault at all! What, do you think they did it on purpose or something!?" Swirl snapped angrily.
Her mom glared at her. "They apparently started the game you were playing, and they obviously had no idea how dangerous it was. And look what ended up happening!"
"It was a complete accident on my behalf! And they're my friends, for Pete's sake! Are you crazy?!" She knew she shouldn't be talking this way to her mom, but at this point, she couldn't stop herself.
"They're obviously careless and don't know anything about staying safe! How do you know something like this won't happen again?" her mom argued.
"How do you know!? You weren't even there to see how it happened!" Swirl shot back.
Her mom shook her head. "Sorry, Swirlshine, but I'm sticking with my rule. Stay away from those girls. If I hear of you all being together, you'll be in even more trouble when you get home."
And with that, her mom marched out of the room, slamming the door behind her.
Swirl stared at where she had disappeared, still horrified. She had no idea what to say, what to do, what to even think.
She's... she's gone insane! She can't be serious, right? Why would she do that!? Her whole body seemed to be frozen with shock.
Then she sat up straighter, glaring at the wall.
Sorry, Mom. But this is the one rule that I'm not going to follow.
Chapter 16
Walking into school on Monday, Swirl still felt the painful sting of her mom's words.
How am I going to tell all of them?
"Hey Swirl!" called a voice.
Swirl looked up to see all the Bloggers sitting in a circle on the gym floor. Sarah was waving her over. Warily, she glanced around to make sure no teachers were watching, then went towards them.
Her friends seemed to have noticed her odd behavior. Gracie and Lost were eying her, a puzzled look on their faces.
"Swirl?" Gracie said as Swirl came up to them.
Swirl looked around again, then noticed one of the adults looking in her direction. She froze.
"Uh, guys, follow me over here", Swirl told her friends, walking to the back corner of the gym.
Kraft and Purple shared a confused look, while Lost blinked after her. After a few seconds, they followed.
Sitting down again, Kara finally asked the question Swirl was dreading.
"Alright, Swirl, what's going on?"
"Well..." Swirl hesitated a moment, but then, knowing that she's have to break the truth sometime, continued.
"My... mom talked to me yesterday. She found out about the... uh... incident... and now she doesn't really... want me around you guys." she said slowly.
"What?! Why?" Gracie asked, sounding horrified.
Swirl sighed. "I think she thinks it's all of you guys' fault that I almost... uh... you know. I tried to tell her it wasn't, but she wouldn't listen. She thinks you guys were being careless, and it resulted in... well... you know."
Her friends stared at her, eyes wide. Swirl shrank back.
"But we weren't being careless! Why would she think that!?" said Flora, bewildered.
Swirl shook her head. "I don't know."
All of a sudden, Gfox turned away.
" You know... her mom does have a point. But it's just one person's fault. Mine."
Swirl blinked at her. "What? Why would it be your fault?"
"Because I started it." Gfox answered. "I started the whole thing!" Her voice cracked.
"Gfox, that's not true", Swirl replied.
"Yeah! It just happened! None of us caused it!" added Lost.
Gfox looked up again, saying nothing.
"Trust me, Gfox. You had nothing to do with this. None of you guys did. It was my mistake, and only mine." Swirl told her friend.
Gfox sighed. "If you say so."
Swirl looked at her friend for another long moment, then turned forward again.
"But... why did you bring us over here, Swirl?" questioned Purple.
"Well... that's the thing. My mom doesn't even want us near each other at school. She said she's going to tell my teachers to keep us apart." Swirl answered, looking down at the ground.
"What?!" everyone chorused.
Swirl nodded, still not looking up. "That's what she said."
"Well, then, we'll just have to make sure no teachers see us together, right?" said Kraft's voice. Swirl glanced up and saw she had a determined look on her face.
"Yeah! We can't let one rule keep us apart!" added Ja.
Swirl allowed herself to smile. "You're right. We're a team. I'm not going to let my mom stand in between us!"
A second later, the bell for first period rang. Swirl and her friends got up and trudged out the door, avoiding the teacher by the door of the gym.
Once they were out, they walked down the halls, together, aware of the rule, but not caring anyways.
Chapter 17
Swirl plopped down onto her bed with a loud sigh. It had been harder than she thought to keep away from her teachers around the school. Finally, though, she was home, and she couldn't have been more relieved.
Her gaze drifted to her closet, and she suddenly remembered the Blogger Portal.
Oh, right! When I'm here, I can just go through the Blogger Portal to get to my friends!
She got up and walked to where the portal was hidden in her wall, and stuck her hand through it. Then she paused.
Wait a minute... I almost forgot about my other friends! I wonder if I can link the portal to their houses somehow...
As if it had somehow heard her thoughts, the portal flashed blue. Swirl blinked.
Hmm... well, maybe if I... picture where I want to go... it'll work?
It's worth a shot, she silently told herself.
She stood in front of the portal, which flashed dark blue once again.
Hmm... let's try... Penguin! she thought. Picturing Penguin in her mind wasn't hard, as she could remember everything he wore on his arctic wolf: a Rare Hood With Feather, a green Spiked Collar and Wristband, and green Samurai Swords on his back. Finally certain that she had remembered enough, she closed her eyes and stepped through the portal.
After a few seconds, she opened her eyes again, and found herself staring right at a boy who looked a lot like...
"Penguin? Is that you?" she asked excitedly.
The boy looked at her oddly for a moment, but finally, realization flashed in his eyes.
"Swirlshine?"
Swirl grinned. "So it is you!"
"Yeah, it's me!" Penguin said, straightening his hat. "But... how are you... in here?"
"The entire story is sorta long", Swirl told him. "But, long story short, I came through the Blogger Portal."
"Wait... are you saying that the Blogger Portal is actually real?" Penguin sounded astonished.
"Sure am! Look, come see for yourself." Swirl pointed to where the portal was hidden in the wall.
"Put your hand right there." she told him.
Penguin looked skeptical, but, after a brief hesitation, he did as Swirl said. His hand disappeared into the wall, and he recoiled with a gasp.
"See? It's right there, and it's linked to all the Blogger's homes! All you have to do is think about where you want to go, and it takes you there!" Swirl explained to her friend.
"Woah..." Penguin breathed. Swirl nodded.
"I think I'm gonna see where else the portal can take me. You want to come, Penguin?" Swirl asked, stepping towards the portal again.
"I wish I could", Penguin replied sullenly. "But I have homework to do."
"That's okay, I understand." Swirl reassured her friend. "See you around, Penguin!" As she waved, she knew exactly where she wanted to go next. She pictured it, then stepped through...
When she felt her feet resting on solid ground, she looked up to see a brand new room with a color scheme of black, gray, and red. No one was in the room, but, as she looked around, she spotted a picture of a black and white arctic wolf with a red design on its fur. It was wearing a tall, striped hat, a black collar, and a wristband that matched.
Yep, this is 2Fang's house, alright.
Swirl waited another minute, but when no one came in the room, she sighed.
I guess I'll have to wait a bit longer to meet Fang. Oh well...
"Alright then", she said to herself. "Next up, Custard!"
A few seconds later, she stood in a new room. No one was there, but suddenly, the doorknob turned, and a girl with glasses, blue eyes, and dirty blonde hair came walking in. When she spotted Swirl, she jumped back in surprise.
"Ahh! Who on Earth are you?! What are you doing in my room?!" she asked suspiciously. These wary questions didn't surprise Swirl- if someone she'd never met randomly appeared in HER room without warning one day, she's probably end up throwing an Animal Jam figurine at them or something.
"Custard, it's me! Swirlshine!"
Custard blinked. "Swirlshine?"
Swirl nodded. "Yeah, it's really me! I came here through the Blogger Portal!" She explained the portal like she had explained it to Penguin, and her friend looked very surprised afterwards.
"How is that even possible?" she wondered in a hushed voice.
Swirl shrugged. "Dunno. But anyways, I'm off to try and find some more of the Bloggers. You want to come with me? It won't take long."
Custard thought for a moment, then said "Okay, sure!" And off they went to another Blogger's house.
At the end of the day, she listed the names of the Bloggers she had met in her head: Penguin, Custard, Cookycupcake, and iLoppio. She still had yet to meet Fang, but she wasn't worried about finding her. She'd turn up eventually.
As Swirl said goodbye to Custard for the night, she thought of her room, stepped through the wall, and walked back into her room, flopping onto her bed like she had done before.
I can't believe that the Blogger Portal can lead us to so many places! she said in her head. I wonder where else it'll take us.
Then, from out of the blue, she remembered her mom's rule, and her heart sank once again.
Chapter 18
Finally, after another long, stressful week, Saturday had arrived, and Swirl was more than ready for it. When she woke up, everyone else in her family was asleep, but she wasn't tired anymore, so she decided to test out the Blogger Portal again. She was pretty sure all her friends would be awake by now, since she normally slept in very late on weekends. Walking into her closet, she touched a certain spot on the wall, and the swirling, green portal became visible.
Who should I try and find today? Maybe I could see if Fang is home this time, or-
Suddenly, an idea flashed into her mind.
This portal links to all my Blogger friends... right? So, I wonder... maybe I can get to my friends who quit blogging through here, too?
"It's worth a shot", she muttered quietly to herself, wanting to try something new. "Hmm, okay, how about... Ferretlove?"
Ferretlove had been an author, alongside Gracie, and others, on the Animal Jam Community Blog. Swirl remembered talking and role-playing with Ferretlove many times on Animal Jam, and she was a very kind and funny person.
Imagining Ferretlove, she closed her eyes, stepped forward, and...
"AH!" Swirl yelped as a force pushed her backwards. She grabbed onto the wall, trying to avoid bumping into her carefully-organized shelves of toys behind her.
That was weird. It's never done that before.
Warily, she tried again, but the same, invisible force shoved back on her. It was almost as if someone was standing in front of her and trying harder and harder to prevent her from going through the portal.
Swirl sighed. "Guess I can't get to them after all..." She wasn't too discouraged, though. With a shrug, she trudged back to her bed, where she picked up her Warriors book and began to read.
*********************************************************************************
A few hours later, a bored Swirl went back through the portal to visit her friends again. She jumped through, and found herself in Lost's familiar room.
"Ah!" Lost exclaimed, quickly turning around. "Oh, it's you, Swirl!"
"Sorry if I scared you", Swirl replied sheepishly.
"It's okay. Hey, are you as bored as I am?" her friend asked her. Swirl nodded.
"If you want, I can take you, and some of the others, once I've gathered them, to see the other Bloggers." Swirl suggested.
"Other Bloggers?"
"You know... Custard, Cooky, Penguin..." Swirl listed some of the first few names that popped into her head.
"Ohh! Sure, let's do that!" said Lost, looking excited.
"Great! Let's go get some of the others, too", added Swirl. Her friend nodded, and, agreeing on Gracie's house, they both leaped through Lost's portal to her.
"Hey guys!" Gracie greeted them. "What's up?"
Swirl and Lost explained what they were going to do, and Gracie agreed to go with them. Together, they rounded up Sarah, Kara, and Kraft, and the six went through the Blogger Portal, time after time, to pay visits to their other Blogger friends.
Finally, Swirl realized that she had to go back. "It's almost lunchtime for me", she added. The group decided to go with Swirl to take her back home.
When she arrived, she turned to say goodbye to her friends, but then stopped as she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. She froze and whirled around.
"Um... guys?" She pointed at her closet's wall.
The Blogger Portal, usually glowing a bright green, seemed... dimmer. In fact, the green was a much darker shade than it should have been, and the white designs inside of it swirled around much, much slower than usual.
"Is... that normal?" Sarah asked worriedly.
Swirl shook her head. "I've never seen it look like this before."
"Maybe we're using it too much?" Kraft guessed.
"How do you use a portal 'too much'?" asked Gracie.
Kraft shrugged. "I don't know, but it's not like any of us are portal experts or anything."
"Maybe it just does that after being used a lot", Kara suggested. "It might be best to leave it alone for today, though, just in case."
The rest nodded, and Swirl sighed. "Okay, if you say so."
Her friends leaped back through the portal, leaving Swirl alone in her room. She stared at the now-slowly swirling mass of green, still doubtful.
I really hope nothing's happening to it, she thought to herself. This is something that I can't afford to lose.
Chapter 19
A few days later, the portal hadn't gotten better. In fact, Swirl was convinced that the shade of green was getting a little bit darker each day. Every time she looked at it, she tried to guess what was happening.
Maybe Kraft was right, and I am using it too often. Or maybe it needs to be... charged, or something. After all, it just appeared one day, so it's not like I know how everything works. Or what if-
Ideas and questions flew through Swirl's brain every time, but she tried to shake off her worries. Still, though, she decided against using it every day. Instead, she decided to play Animal Jam, which, because of the recent events, she hadn't played in quite a few months.
After logging on and exploring all the new features the newest update had brought, she clicked on her animal's den. Almost a second later, a tan fox, with midnight-blue eyes and gray ears and paws, appeared at the entrance. She wore a black Jamaaliday Scarf, Clover Leg Warmers, headphones, and a Feather Tail, and her nametag read "Eternal Thefox"
"Rachel!" Swirl typed happily, recognizing her long-time AJ friend at once.
"Hi Swirl!" Rachel typed back.
The two talked for a while, discussing their school lives and hobbies, until, suddenly, a lightbulb went off in Swirl's brain.
"Rachel", she typed, "I'll be right back."
Without waiting for a reply, she dashed off to her closet, where the Blogger Portal sat. She thought of Rachel, walked forward, took a deep breath... and froze.
This is risky, what I'm about to do, she realized. The Blogger Portal has been acting so weird lately. How I can trust it to take to me to the correct place?
She shook her head, clearing the worried thoughts. I've still got to try.
For the second time, she closed her eyes and walked forward, through the portal.
*********************************************************************************
After a few moments, she still didn't feel ground underneath her feet. Starting to worry, she dared to open an eye.
Instead of standing in a room, she seemed to be floating. Bright, neon colors of all kinds swirled around her, and everything was silent. After thinking for a moment, she realized that the portal must not have taken her all the way to her destination. Instead, it had dropped her off in the void between the two portals.
But the question is... how do I get out of here?
She glanced around, hoping to spot a portal that she could somehow go towards, but all she saw were bright shades of green, yellow, and pink. She began to panic.
If there's no entrance or exit I can go through, then I'm trapped, with no way out.
Trying to calm herself, she closed her eyes once more, but only for a second or two. When she opened them again, she was relieved to see that the random colors around her had disappeared. Instead, she found herself in a house, with a roof over her head, and her feet resting safely on solid ground.
Looking up, she saw a girl sitting at a desk, obviously playing on some kind of device. Swirl noticed that she wore the same black headphones as Rachelcatpaws.
"Rachel?" she asked warily, in a quiet voice.
The girl whirled around in alarm, jumping when she saw Swirl. "Who are you?"
"Rachel, it's me! Swirlshine!"
Her friend stared at her. "That... that's not possible."
"It is now, apparently, thanks to the Blogger Portal", Swirl told her.
Rachel still didn't move. Swirl got the feeling that she was going to ask her to prove that she really was Swirlshine, but, after giving her a good look, her friend seemed to relax.
"It's really you?" she said finally.
"Yeah! I came here through the Blogger Portal!" Swirl replied.
Rachel blinked. "The Blogger Portal?" she asked, sounding a bit confused.
Swirl nodded. "Come here, I'll show you."
After explaining the portal to her friend, Swirl glanced at her watch, which still showed the time in her state. It read "10:05".
"Oh gosh! It's getting late!" Swirl gasped. "I better get back home."
"Alright", her friend replied. "But come and visit again soon!"
"I will!" Swirl promised. But, turning back to the wall where Rachel's portal sat, she remembered what had happened before.
"What's the matter?" Rachel asked.
Swirl sighed. "It's just... the portal has been acting... a bit weird for me lately. Don't worry, though", she added, noticing her friend's concerned expression. "I'll get back home just fine."
Rachel nodded. "Okay, if you say so."
Swirl thought about her room, in as much detail as she could, squeezed her eyes shut, and leaped. She didn't open her eyes, however much she wanted to, until she was sure that she was standing on her own carpeted floor.
Good! No problems this time! Although it did take a bit longer...
Swirl glanced back at her portal, but nothing seemed to have changed. Shrugging, she began to walk over to her bed.
Then, a noise, unlike anything Swirl had ever heard before, sounded. She whirled around, startled, and raced back to the portal.
It was darkening.
Before her very eyes, the bright white lines inside the Blogger Portal faded into a light gray, and stopped swirling. The main green color became darker and darker... until, all of a sudden, the whole portal turned black. Pitch black.
Chapter 20
Swirl stared in horror at the dark Blogger Portal.
What... what happened?!
Oh no... oh no no no... please don't let it be ruined!
"Maybe... uh... this is a normal color change, or something..." she tried to reassure herself out loud, but when she attempted to walk through, she slammed into some kind of invisible force- the same one that had prevented her from getting to Ferretlove- and let out a yelp of pain, rubbing her head.
No no no no no... it can't be broken!
She slowly tried to stick her arm through the dark mass. After a few inches, the same force stopped her hand from going any farther.
She stepped back, finally accepting that nothing would work. Her mind whirled in panic.
"I need to tell my friends about this..." she muttered to herself. "Maybe they're having the same problem."
Quickly, she pulled out her phone, and texted all the Bloggers in a group chat.
"Something is wrong with my Blogger Portal", she typed. "Can you get to my house through yours?"
After a minute, Gracie replied "No, it won't let me go to your house."
"Same here", Gfox chimed in.
All the others said the same thing: that their portals wouldn't lead to Swirl's house.
"Do yours look normal to you?" Swirl typed urgently.
"Yeah, mine looks fine to me", Lost said.
"Mine too", added Kraft and Flora.
Swirl groaned. Going back over to the unmoving portal, she examined every little thing she could.
The very center of the portal, usually a blinding white light, was now a dull black, like the rest of the portal. The white symbols and lines inside the once-healthy portal were dark purple and gray, and frozen in place. Nothing seemed to move at all. Worst of all, it wasn't blending in anymore. Usually, when Swirl walked away, she looked back to see the portal camouflage itself in the wall. Now, when she walked out of her closet and peeked back in, it didn't seem to do anything to automatically hide itself.
Suddenly, she heard her doorknob being turned, and Swirl leaped out of the closet just as her sister opened the door.
"Velvet, you scared me!" Swirl scolded her, letting out a breath of relief.
"Sorry", she replied. Her eyes drifted to the open closet door. "What were you doing in there?"
Swirl's heart began to pound. "None of your business", she told her sister calmly.
Without warning, Velvet burst into her room, making a break for her closet. Swirl grabbed her by the shirt and yanked her back.
"I said it was none of your business!" she snapped, burning with a mix of anger and anxiety.
"What are you hiding in there?!" Velvet yelped, trying to struggle free.
Swirl pulled her out of her room and into the hallway outside of her door. She sighed, trying to calm herself down.
"I'm not hiding anything. I'm just trying to... draw... something, and it's personal, okay?" She tried to speak as coolly and innocently as she could, but she braced herself, in case Velvet tried to bolt in again.
"Can I see it?" Velvet asked.
"No. I said it's personal. I'll come out of here in a bit, okay?"
And with that, she closed the door. Once she was sure her sister was far away, she walked back over to her closet again.
"That was close", she muttered in a low tone. She could've easily discovered the Blogger Portal!
Flipping off her closet light, she added, "I better stay on guard."
*********************************************************************************
Once back at school on Monday, Swirl told her friends about the broken Blogger Portal at lunch, the only place teachers weren't constantly on their backs. They all looked shocked, and said that their portals had never done anything like that before.
"Why would it have done that?" wondered Ja. "And only to you?"
Swirl shook her head. "I have no idea, but there has to be some way to fix it!"
Gracie thought for a moment, then said, "Maybe it has to be charged or something."
"Yeah, but with what? I don't know what I have that would charge a portal." Swirl sighed dejectedly.
Just then, the bell to go to advisory rang. The group of Bloggers got up and walked towards the door. Swirl hung at the back of the group, dragging her feet along the tile floor. She focused her eyes on the ground, so she realized too late that someone had stopped in front of her, and slammed into them awkwardly.
"Sorry!" Swirl gasped. "I-"
She cut off as she saw who she had knocked over. She was staring straight into the face of Kenley, the girl who had bullied her and her friends!
Kenley stared for a moment, an angry expression on her face, but as she began to recognize Swirl, her frown turned into a smirk.
"Well well, it's one of the Animal Jam nerds again! Good to see you!" she said in a sarcastically sweet tone.
"Swirl?"
Swirl looked up to see her friends walking back towards her.
"Are you ok-" Lost began, but then stopped just as Swirl had, a horrified expression on her face.
"Hey, the whole gang is here!" Kenley continued, getting to her feet and smiling even wider.
"Oh no... not her again!" Gfox muttered next to Swirl's ear.
"It's not like I wanted to see you, either", Kenley shot back, hearing Gfox's comment. "But this clumsy one slammed right into me!" She pointed at Swirl is disgust.
"I said sorry", Swirl growled through gritted teeth.
"Mmm hmm", the diva replied, obviously not caring about Swirl's apology a bit. She glanced around at the circle of Bloggers. "Are you guys supposed to be threatening?" she snorted, raising an eyebrow at Sarah's clenched fists hanging at her side.
"Look, could you just let us go our separate ways and not argue?" Lost asked, a hint of irritation in her calm voice.
Kenley laughed. "That's what a coward would do."
"You know, we can report you to Mr. Rebock again!" Swirl snapped at her. "I suggest you watch what you're saying to us!"
Kenley turned around to face her, eyes burning with anger. In one quick movement, she darted behind Swirl and shoved her hard with one hand. Swirl toppled onto the ground, and when she looked back up, Kenley was standing over her, a challenge in her eyes.
"And just how are you going to go and get him, hm? Go ahead, try."
"Get away from her!" Kraft screeched, sounding furious.
"Nobody pushes our friend!" added Ja.
Kenley laughed. "Nobody tells me what to do, either."
"Don't worry, we'll go get the principal", said Gfox, turning around with Sarah to race towards the office.
Kenley lashed out, grabbed Sarah by the arm, and flung her away from the door.
"Sarah!" the Bloggers gasped as her shoulder slammed hard into the wall. Luckily, she got up a few seconds later, holding her arm, but nevertheless okay. She gave a small nod to her friends to show that she was fine, then stepped back towards Gfox again. Kenley took a step forward.
"Unless you want to get thrown a second time, I wouldn't try that again", she warned Sarah, who backed up a step.
Swirl stood up and faced the rude diva again. "Don't you dare do that my friends!" she snarled, her anger overflowing. "Now GET OUT OF HERE and LEAVE US ALONE!"
Kenley paused and stared at her. She seemed to be considering walking away and finding something better to do, but Swirl knew she'd never do that in front of others, and stayed tensed. Still, she was too slow as, all of a sudden, the girl yanked Swirl's shirt collar, pulling her closer to her. Swirl struggled to pull away, but Kenley was gripping her shirt hard. Swirl braced herself, knowing that she'd most likely be flung into the brick wall like Sarah.
The hand on her shirt collar was yanked away forcefully, and she fell to the ground. Swirl looked up to see a girl with dark brown hair and pale skin grabbing onto Kenley's backpack. Angrily, the girl pushed Kenley away from the group of Bloggers, and when the diva got up and tried to come back, she was only shoved away again.
"Stay away from them." the girl growled. "I will get the principal."
Swirl was about to shout out and warn the girl that Kenley would only try to trap her, but, as Kenley came towards her, the girl spun around and grabbed her by the arm.
"Nice try", she said in a sarcastic tone. "Now get out of here."
Kenley tried to pull free, but the girl held her arm tightly.
"Fine!" she yelped a few seconds later. "Now let go of me!"
The girl obeyed, and Kenley, with a last furious glare at Swirl, walked off down the hall. The mysterious girl walked back over to Swirl, and held out a hand to help her up. Swirl took it, staring into bright blue eyes.
"Thanks", she told the girl. "You really helped a lot."
The girl shrugged. "No problem. I couldn't let anyone get pushed around by someone like that."
When she turned to talk to Sarah, Swirl noticed that her maroon jacket had a design with two red wings on the back, and she was wearing a flower headband.
Where have I seen that before?
Then it came to her. "Frozen?" she yelped in surprise. "Is that you?"
The girl turned and nodded. "That's my name, alright. I know who you are", she interrupted as Swirl started to speak again. "I would know that outfit anywhere. You're Swirlshine!"
Swirl nodded breathlessly.
"You've been here the whole time? How come we've never seen you around?" Kara asked, sounding surprised.
Frozen shrugged. "I could ask you the same question."
Realization suddenly hit Swirl like a bullet. "The bell rang ages ago! We're all late!"
Purple groaned. "What are we going to say to our teachers?"
Flora shook her head. "Don't worry about it for now. Come on, before we're even later!"
The group and Frozen raced down the hallway, splitting up as they each went into a different classroom.
As Swirl walked into her advisory room, thoughts flowed through her mind.
Well, with the help of Frozen, we got rid of Kenley for now. But there's still a problem...
What's wrong with the Blogger Portal?
Chapter 21
Swirl tossed and turned about in her bed later that night. Her mind clearly didn't want to shut down. It seemed to be happening a lot lately. Groaning, she finally sat up, blinking her eyes as they adjusted to the darkness of her room, and stared at her closet door in despair.
She just couldn't get the Blogger Portal off her mind. All that day, she had been distracted, trying to figure out what was wrong with it. Still, though, she had absolutely no ideas.
It has to be fixable though... right?
"All this worrying is making my head hurt", Swirl murmured to herself, rubbing her forehead. She let her mind wander for a moment or two, hoping she'd be able to think of something else. However, it just led her to the memory of her mother yelling at her, and blaming her friends for her accident at the lake. Swirl winced as she remembered how she'd felt when she was drowning.
If I can't see my friends much at school or while I'm with my mom... then the Blogger Portal is the only other way. And now I've ruined it.
Despite the fact that the portal had randomly broken down in front of her, Swirl couldn't help feeling that it was somehow her fault that it was on the fritz. It was her portal, after all! And maybe using it after Kara had advised her not to had used the last bit of its energy.
She shook her head. She had to get some sleep. Lying back down again, she closed her eyes and attempted to calm her mind.
A few minutes later, she was fast asleep.
*********************************************************************************
"Swirlshine!"
An angry voice broke into Swirl's deep slumber, startling her so much that she almost fell off the bed. Rubbing sleep from her eyes, she glanced up to see her mom standing over her. She didn't look happy.
"What's going on?" Swirl muttered drowsily, slowly sitting up.
"What is that in your closet?" her mom asked.
Swirl froze.
Oh no. Please don't let it be that...
"W-what do you mean?" she stuttered, hoping she wasn't giving anything away.
"The giant grey hole in the wall?" her mom went on, raising her voice.
"I... don't know what you're talking about..."
Suddenly, her mom grabbed her arm, dragging her out of bed and over to her closet. To Swirl's dismay, she did point at the dark, unmoving Blogger Portal.
"That." Her mom folded her arms across her chest and stared at Swirl, whose heart sank.
I guess it was pretty easy to notice, not being able to disappear and all. Still, though... I wasn't prepared for it to be noticed so soon.
"I don't know what that's-" she began, but, as she looked at her mother's expression, she dropped the act.
"Um... well", she murmured slowly, looking at the ground sheepishly. "It's... a... portal?"
Her mom raised an eyebrow. "A portal."
Swirl nodded, raising her gaze but not her head.
"Swirl, there is no such thing as a portal!" her mom groaned.
"Then what do you call this?" Swirl shot back, holding out an arm to indicate the Blogger Portal. "This is an actual portal, and it-" She paused, deciding that keeping quiet about what, or who, it led to would be a smart idea.
Swirl's mother stared at her, then at the portal, then back again.
"This leads to your friends doesn't it? The ones I told you to stay away from", her mom finally said, as if she had read Swirl's mind.
Swirl blinked and didn't answer.
For a moment, her mom just glared, looking tremendously annoyed. Then, she turned back towards the portal.
"I'm seeing what this 'portal' does and stopping this once and for all." She walked towards it, about to step through.
Swirl's heart began to race, but she forced herself to calm down. If she couldn't get through it, there was no way her mom could... right? Plus, her mom wasn't a blogger, and it was a Blogger Portal, after all, so surely it only allowed bloggers to pass through?
"You can't -" Swirl started to warn her mom that her efforts were in vain, but all of a sudden, just as her mom put one arm through, the portal began to glow with a white aura. For a brief moment, Swirl thought that the portal might finally be returning to its normal, healthy state once again.
This is probably the worst time it could do that... but if it's finally fixed...
A shattering noise sounded, making Swirl jump and her mom jump back in surprise. More noises came from the portal, like glass breaking, and Swirl's eyes widened.
What's going on?!
Then, slowly, the white glow disappeared, and, after a few moments of nothing but silence, Swirl began to think it was over.
She was wrong. A few seconds later, the circular mass's dark black background was shattered by a blinding light. It shone brightly, overtaking the portal and forcing Swirl to shield her eyes.
When she opened them again, the light had, once again, died away, and all was quiet.
Is it over now?
The portal suddenly grew fuzzy. The sides, usually perfectly outlined, became a blur, and the designs inside of it were barely visible.
Then, as Swirl watched, the portal began to dissolve in front of her.
"No!" she shrieked. She raced over to the shrinking Blogger Portal and placed her hands on the edges of it, hoping to keep it from becoming any smaller. In her heart, she knew it wouldn't do any good at all, but she didn't care. She had to try to stop it somehow!
As its size decreased, pieces of black fell from the portal and onto the floor. It looked as if they were formed from dark glass. Swirl fell to the ground and desperately tried to pick them up, but as soon she touched them, they dissolved into nothingness.
And suddenly, with one last eerie screeching noise, the portal disappeared completely.
Swirl stared at the now-empty wall, paralyzed in horror.
No... no... no no no!
She touched the place where the portal had been, with the small, clinging hope that the portal had just become invisible, like it used to. But, to her dismay, her hand touched plain old wall.
Fighting back tears, she whirled around to face her mom.
"You did this!" she yelled furiously. "You tried to go through it, and now it's gone forever!"
"It was never supposed to be here in the first place!" her mom snapped back.
"Yes! Yes it was! It was my portal, made for me and the Bloggers! And you broke it!" Deep down, Swirl knew that lashing out wasn't a good idea, but she was too distraught at the moment to care.
Her mother took a step forward. "Swirl, watch what you're saying!" she said in a loud warning tone.
"Why don't you watch what you get into?" Swirl growled. "This portal was never your business!"
"Oh, really? I think my daughter sneaking off through some kind of futuristic contraption to see friends I told her to stay away from is definitely my business."
"NO, IT WAS NOT!" Swirl screamed. "IF YOU HAD STAYED AWAY FROM THE PORTAL, NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE HAPPENED!"
Her mom's eyes widened for a second, then narrowed into furious, blazing slits. She grabbed Swirl's arm once again, this time more forcefully, and took her over to her bed.
"You're grounded, Swirl. Congratulations on your first time", she said, sarcastic, but still livid.
"Fine by me!" Swirl scoffed in reply.
Her mom just turned, walked out of the room, and slammed the door loudly behind her.
Finally attempting to control her temper, Swirl took a few deep breaths. After she was sure that she was cooled down, and that her mother was truly gone, she got up and walked back to her closet. A single piece of the deceased portal still lay on the ground. Swirl reached to pick it up, but, like the other pieces, it faded into dust as soon as her hand touched it. Her rage returning for a moment, she let out a yell, slamming her fist into the wall, then stared sorrowfully at the place the portal had once been.
It was gone. Shattered. Crushed. Her only eternal link to her Blogger friends was destroyed... forever.
And suddenly, with a start, she opened her eyes.
Chapter 22
Swirl stared around her room, blinking in confusion, wondering what was going on. The memories of her dream came rushing back to her a second later, and she gasped. Leaping out of bed, she scrambled frantically towards her closet, hesitating before she swung open the door.
The Blogger Portal was still there, dark and unmoving, just like the night before. Swirl let a loud sigh of relief.
Thank goodness! It was just a dream!
Then she remembered her visit to the lake. Before the incident had happened, she had dreamed that she was drowning. It was as if her dream was somehow trying to warn her.
What if that dream was a warning too? Does that mean that the Blogger Portal really will disappear?
Swirl narrowed her eyes. "Not on my watch", she promised in a whisper.
She squinted across the room at her alarm clock, which read "4:30 AM".
4:30?! I woke up in the middle of the night!
With one last look at the portal, she turned, closed the door, and went back to bed.
*********************************************************************************
"Guys!" Swirl called out to her friends, racing over to them from across the gym.
The group of Bloggers looked up at her arrival.
"What's going on, Swirl?" asked Purple.
Swirl sat down and took off her backpack.
"I had another dream last night", she began.
"You mean, like the one you had before?" questioned Gracie.
"Well... kind of. It wasn't the same dream, though. This one was much different." Swirl answered.
"What was it about? Tell us!" urged Ja.
Swirl sighed. "It was weird. My mom had somehow found the Blogger Portal... and when she touched it, it just... fell apart."
Lost's eyes widened. "Fell apart?"
"Yeah. It literally shattered and then disappeared."
"Do you think... that this could be like your last dream?" wondered Flora, echoing Swirl's thoughts. "That one actually came true. What if this one does, too?"
Frozen, who was sitting beside Gracie and Kara, looked confused. "Last dream?"
"Before we met you, I had a dream where I felt like I was drowning", Swirl explained. "And, a few days later... it came true."
"You almost drowned?!" Frozen gasped in horror.
Swirl nodded. "I'm okay now, though", she said with a shrug, not wanting to talk about that subject.
"I hope this dream doesn't come true!" commented Kraft. "Blogger Portals can't break... can they?"
Swirl shrugged again. "I have no idea. I really hope they can't, though."
Secretly, she wondered if her Blogger Portal was somehow dying. Maybe that was why it wouldn't let her through, and why it looked so... dark. Still, though, she clung on to the hope that it'd soon return to normal, pushing the thought out of her head.
"Don't worry though", Swirl said finally. "I'm going to make sure that no one finds the portal."
Her friends nodded.
"We wish you luck", said Gracie, putting her arm over Swirl's shoulder.
Swirl grinned. "Thanks."
I think I'm going to need it.
*********************************************************************************
That night, Swirl was drawing in her room, with her headphones on and her phone close by. She glanced up for what felt like the 50th time, relieved to see no one in her doorway. Then she turned towards her closet. She normally turned the light on and opened the door, but today, she purposely left it closed and dark, trying to hide the Blogger Portal.
The entire day, she had kept a close eye on everyone in her family, making sure that no one went off into her room without her knowing. Luckily, nothing had made them seem suspicious, and now, Swirl smiled at what a good job she was doing keeping the portal a secret.
I can't keep this up forever, though. I need to find some way to fix it, and soon.
Shaking her head, Swirl went back to her drawing. However, a minute or two later, a loud pop sounded from somewhere inside her room.
Startled, Swirl jumped, then immediately looked towards her room's main door. It was still closed.
Maybe someone came through the Blogger Portal, Swirl thought, taking her headphones off, getting up, and cautiously walking over to her closet. Although I've never heard it make that noise before. Plus, isn't it on the fritz, anyway? How could someone get through it?
When she opened the door, she yelped and leaped back. Rachel was sitting on the floor, clutching a small purple stone in her hand.
"Sorry! Didn't mean to startle you, Swirl!" she apologized, getting up and walking out into the room.
Swirl smiled. "You're fine! I'm just a bit jumpy right now." Then she paused. "Wait a minute. How did you get here, anyway?"
Rachel held up the stone, which was covered in silver and bronze swirls. As Swirl looked closer, she noticed odd symbols carved onto one side.
"I found this after you left that one night", she told her. "It allows me to teleport here." She glanced up. "Why do you ask?"
Well... my portal isn't exactly working at the moment", Swirl sighed. When Rachel gave her a confused look, she added, "I don't know why. It just turned grey one day, and now it won't let me through."
"Ohh!" replied Rachel. "So that's why it looked so dark!"
Swirl blinked.
"I used the stone to come here a few days ago, when I first found it", Rachel explained. "And when I did, your portal looked dark and... dead, in a way, I guess you could say."
"Yeah, it's been like that", said Swirl. "I honestly have no idea how to fix it."
"That's why I'm here", her friend replied with a grin.
Swirl blinked. "Can you fix it?" she asked hopefully.
"No... or not yet, anyway", Rachel said. "But I'm hoping we'll find out how!" She smiled.
"Thanks", Swirl responded, accepting the offer of help. "Come on."
With a wave of her hand, she led her friend to the broken Blogger Portal.
I really hope we do find the problem, she thought. But... what if it can't be fixed? What if it really is broken forever?
Chapter 23
Rachel stepped up to the portal and stared for a moment. Then, whipping a notepad out of her pocket, she quickly began to jot down notes.
Swirl stood a few feet behind her, watching nervously.
Notes... that's a good sign, right? Yeah... it has to be...
Finally, Rachel looked up. Without saying a word, she took her Portal Stone and held it close to the Blogger Portal.
A dim light suddenly flashed from somewhere inside the darkness, disappearing less than a second later. Swirl gasped.
"Look", Rachel said in a hushed tone. She held the stone closer.
With another flash, the portal's color gradually began to get brighter, finally stopping at a light gray.
"But... how...", Swirl stuttered, awestruck.
Rachel looked at Swirl and shrugged. "I don't know for sure."
Swirl stared at the portal again. Slowly, she attempted to stick her hand through it. Instead of being immediately halted by the "invisible wall", her arm was able to go at least halfway through it before being stopped.
"Does your portal stone somehow help give it power?" she guessed, removing her hand.
Rachel nodded. "I think so. There must be some kind of... magic. Magic that's shared between the Blogger Portals." She put the purple stone back in her pocket, and Swirl watched as the portal's color became dark again.
"Then... that must mean my portal doesn't have enough power", Swirl concluded. "Right?"
"Right", her friend agreed.
"But... why?"
Rachel glanced down at her notes. "Well... that's what I'm trying to figure out. There aren't really any clues that lead to an answer, at least, not that I see."
Swirl sighed.
"Did any of the other bloggers have any ideas on what could be happening?" Rachel asked, beginning to examine the portal again.
"Well... Gracie did say that it may need to be charged by something", Swirl said, remembering her friend's words.
"By what though?", Rachel murmured, looking thoughful.
Swirl shook her head. "I don't know. Though, I-"
"Swirl!" a voice called out. "Time for dinner!"
"Oh, that's my mom." Swirl told her friend. "I don't want to kick you out or anything, but-"
"No problem, I understand! I have to get home anyway", Rachel replied. "My parents will wonder why I'm being so quiet!" She put her hand in her pocket once again, bringing out her portal stone. "Bye! See you later, Swirl!" she said, waving.
"Bye!" Swirl repeated.
And, with a blinding flash, Rachel disappeared.
*********************************************************************************
Swirl thought about what on earth might charge a portal over and over that night, hoping that a clue would reveal itself to her. Somehow, she was sure that she was getting close to solving the mystery, but she still came up with no ideas.
I just don't see how I'm supposed to know how to fix it, if it just appeared one day! she said to herself silently.
By now, she was busy playing Animal Jam. She aimlessly moved her animal around her den, but the countless Masterpieces of Blogger Portals that her friends had created didn't help ease her worries.
Just then, a white-and-tan bunny, wearing a bow and a tiny top hat, appeared beside her wolf.
"Oh, hey Violet", Swirl typed, recognizing her friend.
"Hello Swirl!" the bunny typed back. "How have you been?"
"Well... the Blogger Portal is-" Swirl stopped typing mid-sentence, suddenly realizing something.
Wait a minute. I haven't seen Violet at my school yet! I wonder if she even has a Blogger Portal, she remarked silently. I guess she should, since she's a blogger too. Though it's not like I could use it to see her right now, anyway.
She deleted her last sentence and started over. "Violet", she began. "You know the Blogger Portal?"
"Yeah", her friend typed back. "What about it?"
And Swirl began to tell her friend the whole story.
*Chapter 24*
After talking with Violet for a while, Swirl finally said goodbye to her friend, logged off, and closed the lid of her laptop. She still hadn't made any progress on the broken-portal issue, but Violet had confirmed that, after a few minutes of looking around her room, she had a hidden Blogger Portal as well.
With a sigh, Swirl took her headphones off and stood up. The rest of her family was asleep, so the house was silent. Quietly, she tiptoed over to her phone, grabbed it, and went into her room. Once she had sat down, she turned her phone on, surprised to see a message waiting for her. She quickly began to read through it, but suddenly stopped at a certain word.
Camp? But I thought...
Swirl darted into her closet to look at her calendar. The upcoming Sunday was marked with a note that read "Leaving for camp".
Swirl's eyes widened in surprise. That was only a week away!
Normally, she enjoyed going to camp every year, during the first week of summer. However, with the recent portal malfunction, and the case so close to being cracked, Swirl definitely didn't feel ready to leave for so long.
That's seven whole days without the portal and my friends!
She groaned quietly to herself. Just what I need right now.
Shaking her head, she put her phone away and lay down on her bed, staring at the ceiling. She didn't want to go to bed. All she wanted at the moment was to fix the Blogger Portal. She told herself that she wouldn't fall asleep, but, within a few minutes, she was out.
*********************************************************************************
A week later, Swirl sat in the front seat of her mom's car, officially on her way to camp. After school had finally ended, she had told her friends about the trip. They had all been disappointed she was leaving for so long, but they had wished her a fun time, promising they'd text her if anything about the portals changed.
"Sorry we can't come with you!" Sarah had apologized.
"Our parents have plans for us this week", Ja had added.
"We'll see you in a week, though!" Gracie said, smiling.
Swirl tapped her foot, thinking. Since school was over, there wouldn't be any more bullies to deal with, and she wouldn't have to worry about her mom's rule.
Still, though... if the Blogger Portal doesn't work soon, I won't be able to see my friends for the entire summer!
She pushed the thought out of her mind, focusing on the scenery outside the window, and waited to arrive at camp.
*********************************************************************************
Swirl spread her blankets out over the mattress she had chosen in her cabin, attempting to make them look straight. Once she was satisfied, she sat down, allowing herself a moment to rest, and looked around the room.
All around her, girls were unpacking their suitcases and making their own beds. A lot of them seemed to be good friends already, picking bunks and chatting together. It was a painful reminder that Swirl didn't have any friends in the cabin, and that all her real friends were back home, but she immediately shook off her disappointment.
I enjoy it more when I'm by myself, anyway. That way, I can walk around and do whatever I want.
Suddenly, a girl with light brown hair and a white shirt sat down beside her. Swirl blinked, wondering why a stranger she'd never met before was sitting on her bed.
"Hi! I'm Brook!" the girl introduced herself.
"I'm Swirl..." Swirl replied hesitantly, still confused.
The girl, Brook, began to jabber on about random topics, obviously not realizing that she was invading Swirl's privacy. Swirl did her best to answer questions and listen, but she began to wonder if the girl would ever stop talking. Finally, Brook got up and went over to her own bed, leaving Swirl, who let out a quiet breath of relief, alone.
That was... odd, she thought to herself. But at least she seemed friendly enough. Maybe I will have a friend here after all.
As soon as she thought this, her mind drifted back to the Blogger Portal. She shook her head to push away the silent questions that were forming.
There's nothing I can do about it here. Plus, it's been a while since I truly relaxed.
I'll enjoy camp while I'm here, she finally decided. But once I get home, it's back to the portal. If I don't fix the problem soon... it could end up like it did in my dream.
She shuddered, remembering the details of her nightmare perfectly.
"I promised I wouldn't let that happen", Swirl murmured out loud in a hushed voice. "And I'm keeping my promise."
Chapter 25
The gray Blogger Portal sat before Swirl's unfocused eyes. Almost as soon as her vision had cleared, it began to shudder violently. Swirl, heart racing, tried to take a step back, but her feet seemed to be rooted to the ground.
What's happening now?
An odd noise sounded. Swirl could have sworn she'd heard it before, but she couldn't remember where. However, she knew it wasn't good.
Then, cracks began to appear in the portal. A tiny piece of the dark mass fell to the ground, dissolving into dust.
And, just like that, the whole portal began to shatter.
No no no! This is just like-
That's when it hit her: She was dreaming! The noise, the breaking portal- all of it had happened before. Sure, it was happening in a different way, but it was still very similar to her recent nightmare.
However, Swirl didn't want to relive that nightmare again. She tried again to move and fell, off balance, onto the ground. Looking up, she saw the portal dissolve into nothing, just like the broken pieces.
Then, suddenly, the background faded into blackness. Swirl's feet soon rested on empty air, and she had no idea if she was somehow falling, or just floating in midair.
Wake up! she mentally screamed. Wake up!
She tried to sit up, and, almost immediately, something hard banged against her head. With a yelp of pain, Swirl finally opened her eyes to her cabin. Looking up, she saw that she must have hit the roof of the bunk. Despite her injury, Swirl let out a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness that's over. Why do I keep having that nightmare?
Swirl looked around the pitch-black cabin, letting her eyes adjust to the darkness. No one else seemed to be awake. Quietly, Swirl reached inside her bag for her phone. Taking it out, she read the time.
"4:15?" she muttered in an annoyed whisper. "No wonder. Why can't this dream happen closer to morning?"
She lay back down, closing her eyes once again.
I don't see how I can stop the dream from coming, she thought to herself. But I do need to figure out what's going on with that portal soon. Very soon.
*********************************************************************************
That afternoon, as she was sitting reading on her bunk, Swirl heard her phone make a "ding" noise. Immediately looking up and checking it, she found a message from Lost waiting for her.
"Hi Swirl! How's camp going?" her friend had typed.
"Good", Swirl typed back. "Although I do wish you guys were here! And..."
"And what?" Lost asked after a moment.
"I had the nightmare again. The one about the Blogger Portal breaking."
"Maybe that's just because you're thinking about it so much", her friend guessed.
"Maybe", Swirl replied. "But what if it's some kind of warning?"
"Don't worry, Swirl! Nothing like that will happen anytime soon! Just have fun at camp", Lost urged her. "And when you get back, you can work on fixing it again!"
Swirl sighed in real life. "Alright", she texted back. "But tell me if anything else happens!"
"We will", Lost promised.
Putting her phone away, Swirl finally stood up, deciding to take a walk around the camp. Glancing around the room, she raced out the door, slowing down when she had rounded the corner.
Good. Brook isn't following me.
Lately, the girl had stuck to her like glue. She was quite nice, and Swirl didn't mind hanging out with her for a while, but now, she couldn't seem to get a moment to herself. Everywhere she went, Brook insisted on following her there.
I wish she wasn't so... clingy, Swirl commented silently. I need some time to myself!
Luckily, though, she had slipped out unseen. Walking down the dirt road, she gazed around at the surrounding hills, enjoying her time alone.
It is nice to just enjoy the nature out here, without having to worry too much about the Blogger Portal. Maybe I will have fun here, after all.
*********************************************************************************
Two days later, Swirl was walking back from lunch when she felt her phone buzz inside her pocket. Whipping it out, Swirl stared at the screen. A message from Gracie had popped up.
"Swirl!", the text read. "Are you there!?"
Swirl's heart began to beat a little faster.
"Yes", she typed back. "Why? What's going on?"
"Well..." her friend replied. "Just now, I was trying my Blogger Portal, and when I tried again to teleport to your place, a piece of something fell through the portal."
"What!? What was it!?" Swirl typed urgently.
"I'm... not really sure", her friend told her. "It did look kind of like a piece of black glass, I guess, but I'm not sure where it came from. When I tried to touch it, though, it faded away."
Swirl stared, unblinking, for a moment at her phone screen.
A piece of black glass that fades away... I've seen that before! In my-
Oh no...
Her nightmare was unfolding before her very eyes.
Chapter 26
Swirl's mind whirled in terror, and she stood, frozen, for a bit longer, until Gracie finally sent another text.
"Swirl? Are you still there?"
"Yes, I am", Swirl replied. But the portal may not be.
"Sorry, Gracie, I gotta go", she told her friend. "See you later." Not waiting for a reply, she put her phone back in her pocket and walked off. She desperately wanted to go home, to check on the portal, but she knew there was no way she could do that, not when home was 3 hours away.
Delightful. she grumbled in her mind. It just had to get worse the one week I'm not there. The whole thing could be gone by the time I get back! The thought of coming back home to nothing but an ordinary wall made Swirl even more worried, and she shook her head to try and clear the thought.
Reaching her cabin, she pushed open the door, walked over to her bunk, and immediately flopped down onto the mattress. A small group of girls sat on a bunk near the door, talking quietly, but other than that, the place was empty.
"Good", she muttered quietly, hoping the other few girls in the room hadn't heard. "Peace and quiet." After a while, her eyelids began to droop. She almost gave in to the wave of tiredness, but a thought flashed through her mind.
What if you have that dream again?
She sat up quickly, trying to prevent herself from falling asleep, but her sleepiness soon overtook her, and she lay back down again and closed her eyes.
There's nothing I can do about it, anyway. I know I'll keep having it. It won't stop. Not until the portal is fixed.
*********************************************************************************
"Finally!" Swirl commented to herself days later. "The end of the week!"
It was finally time to go home. The rest of the week had gone by faster than Swirl had expected, and now, at last, she could go home and check on the Blogger Portal. Bouncing impatiently on her toes, she watched as everyone loaded their luggage into their own group's bus. Come on, she willed them silently. I have to get home!
Finally, everything, and everyone, was on the bus. Swirl jumped in the front seat of her mom's car, and, within a few minutes, they were on their way home.
*********************************************************************************
As soon as she was back in her house, Swirl dashed into her room. She hesitated a moment at her closet door, wondering what she'd find.
Please, don't let the portal be gone!
When she opened the door, she found the black Blogger Portal sitting in the same place as always. Swirl let out a sigh of relief. She had been worrying about nothing!
But... then... where did that piece of 'black glass' that came through Gracie's portal come from?
She examined the portal closely. There were no major holes, as far as she could see. However, when she stuck her hand through the dark mass as a test, she swore she could feel some kind of a hole in the invisible wall that rendered the portal useless.
"I hope that's not serious", she muttered. "And that there aren't any more."
Running her hand along the odd surface, though, she could feel no more gaps or cracks.
Good. The less holes, the better.
Closing her closet door again, she wandered out into the kitchen. Her eyes drifted around, until, finally, they rested on her laptop.
I really missed playing AJ while I was gone, she commented silently. And blogging, of course!
She paused. When was the last time she had been on her blog, anyway? Thinking back through the months, she couldn't remember any recent times that she had used her computer for anything other than Animal Jam.
But I talk to the Bloggers all the time, now that I know them in real life! I guess there just isn't much of a reason to blog anymore.
And suddenly, the solution, the answer to the question she had been asking herself for months, came to her.
Chapter 27
That's it!
It all made perfect sense to her now! Finally, Swirl understood what Gracie had meant by "a clue in the name". It was called a Blogger Portal, meaning that it must be linked to her own blog!
That must be why it turned black! Blogging must somehow give it power!
But then, her mind drifted back to Rachel's visit. Her Portal Stone had somehow given Swirl's portal power when it was nearby.
I guess it responds to that kind of magic. Blogger magic, she thought silently. But I wonder...
Grabbing her laptop, Swirl raced back into her room, ignoring a confused glance from her sister, Velvet, along the way, and flung open the closet door once again.
The Blogger Portal still looked the same as it had for months- on the inside, at least. However, Swirl could now see a faint green aura around the edges of the dark mass. Realizing what was happening, she took a step closer, and held her computer out in front of it.
The aura gradually grew more vivid, along with the pitch-black color of the portal, until, finally, they refused to brighten any more. Swirl moved the laptop a bit closer, but still nothing happened.
No... that's not enough power, she commented to herself in her mind.
But hopefully, what I'm going to do later will be.
*********************************************************************************
As soon as she was allowed on her computer, Swirl immediately clicked on her blog.
It's been forever since I've done that, she remarked silently.
Clicking on "New Post", she began to type as fast as she could, eager to see the results of her idea. She explained everything that she had found out about the Blogger Portal, how it worked, and what powered it. Finally, she finished, and hit "Post". At the exact same moment, a loud noise came from her room.
"What was that?" Velvet asked, looking up from her game.
"Oh... something must have fallen over in my room", Swirl replied quickly, trying to sound casual. "I'll go check."
She walked over to her door at a normal pace, but, as soon as it closed, she made a mad dash for the closet. As soon as she looked inside it, she gasped.
The Blogger Portal was cracking!
No... I should have known it would come true!
Horrified, Swirl watched as a black piece of the portal broke off, like a piece of glass, and fell to the ground. Quickly, she picked it up, slightly confused to find that it wasn't fading away, and tried to put it back in its place, hoping it would stick back somehow.
I must have overwhelmed it somehow! Please, fix!
Then she paused. Instead of seeing her wall through the gap the piece had left, something bright green shone in the hole. Around it, more black bits of the portal crumbled and fell to the ground, and the green patch grew bigger and bigger as Swirl watched, wondering whether she should be confused or amazed.
Wait a minute! Could it be...?
Finally, only one black piece clung to the now-green surface. Cracks swiftly formed throughout it, and, with a shatter, the black bits fell to the ground. As Swirl watched, all the segments of the broken portal wavered at once, and, with a burst of sparkles, disappeared. The lime-green circle began to emit a harsh white light, which grew so bright that Swirl had to turn away. Within a few seconds, the light faded, and Swirl opened her eyes again. Whirling around, she watched as white lines and circles began to appear in the green mass. A larger, glowing circle appeared in the center. The designs began to circle around, and, with a last surge of magic, everything was quiet again.
Swirl stared in complete awe at the bright, healthy portal sitting in front of her. Still a bit dazed, she slowly stuck her arm through the green. Her hand hit nothing.
It's back to normal! she yelled inside her mind, snapping out of her entranced state. The Blogger Portal is back to normal again! It worked!
Badly wanting to tell someone, anyone, about what had just happened, she closed her eyes and leaped through the portal, letting her mind wander.
Opening her eyes again, she found herself in a very familiar room. At her desk, Lostfairy whirled around in surprise.
"Swirl! How...but... I thought your portal didn't work!" she stammered in confusion.
"It didn't", Swirl answered. "But it does now!"
"You mean you fixed it?" Lost gasped.
"Yep!" replied Swirl, grinning.
"How?"
"The portal is linked to my blog with some kind of Blogger magic", she explained to her friend. "I hadn't blogged for a long time, so it didn't have enough power anymore. All I had to do was post, though, and it suddenly came back to life!"
"Woah..." Lost breathed in awe. Swirl nodded in agreement.
"At least now you know how to fix it if it ever 'breaks' again!" commented Lost.
"Yeah!" Swirl replied. "Well, I'd better get back to my own house! Everyone there will wonder why I haven't come out of my room yet!" she said with a laugh.
"Alright", Lost said. "Oh, and do you want me to tell the others about what happened with your portal?"
"Yes, please! I won't have a chance to tell everyone tonight!" Swirl replied. Putting one foot through Lost's portal, she turned and gave a little salute.
"See ya, Lost!" she told her friend.
"Bye!" came the reply, and Swirl stepped all the way through the portal and teleported home.
Chapter 28
A day later, as Swirl sat in her room, doodling, a faint noise came from her closet. After a moment of confusion, Swirl realized it had come from the Blogger Portal.
Wow. It's been a while since I heard that sound, she thought to herself.
Her closet door opened, and out stepped Gracie, Kraft, and the rest of the bloggers.
"Hi Swirl!" Sarah greeted her, waving from behind Ja.
"Hey guys!" Swirl said back.
"So, it looks like the Blogger Portal is working well again", Kara commented, looking back at where the green portal sat embedded in the wall.
"Lost told us what happened", Gracie added.
"Yeah! I can't believe I only had to blog again for it to return to normal! Still, though, I'm just glad it's back", Swirl told them, with a grateful nod at Lost.
Movement sounded outside her door. Jumping a little, Swirl put her finger to her lips, signaling for her friends to be quiet. They nodded and obeyed, freezing in place and staring at the door.
"Swirl?" came her sister's voice. "What are you doing in there?"
"Oh... just... stuff", stammered Swirl anxiously.
"Stuff?"
"Yeah...", she answered, trying to sound innocent, but doing a horrible job at it.
"Uh... okay." To her relief, her sister did not try to open the door, and, when she was sure she was gone, Swirl let out a breath of relief.
"That was close", she sighed.
"I didn't know you had a sister!" said a voice in the back of the group. The rest of the bloggers parted to reveal a girl Swirl had never seen before. She wore a gray Heart Locket, a Heart Bracelet, and a red Fox Hat, and her hair was tied back in a ponytail. As Swirl looked closer, she saw that the girl's dark gray hairbands were studded with tiny red jewels, just like the Rocker Tail Rings on Animal Jam.
"Oh yeah!" exclaimed Kara. "Swirl, this is-"
"Crazcat?" Swirl gasped, recognizing the blogger's outfit at once.
"Yep!" Craz replied, grinning. "Gracie told me about the Blogger Portal, and it turns out that I have one too! So I came here with all of them"-she nodded at the other bloggers- "to visit you!"
Swirl smiled. Another Blogger that could use the portals!
"You know..." Ja murmured suddenly. "I've always wondered... do you think that ALL bloggers have some kind of Blogger Portal?"
"Hmm... I don't know", replied Purple. "I guess it's possible."
"Yeah", Gfox put in, "but I think it has to do with how close this group of bloggers is. Even if I'm not exactly one anymore", she added, looking down.
"You're still a blogger to us!" Swirl told her. The rest of the group nodded, and Gfox grinned.
They talked for a bit longer, until, finally, everyone had to go back home. Swirl said goodbye to her friends, and, one by one, they stepped through the Blogger Portal and teleported away.
It's so nice to have the portal working again, Swirl thought happily.
Suddenly, as she was about to close the door, there was one last flash of light, and Sarah jumped back through the portal.
"Oh yeah! We forgot to tell you!" she said breathlessly. "Could you somehow convince your mom to take you to the park on Saturday?"
"To the park? Why?" Swirl asked her friend.
"We're all going to try and meet up there", Sarah told her. "Can you try?"
Swirl hesitated a moment, then nodded. "Okay. I don't know how easy it'll be, but I'll try."
"Awesome! Bye, Swirl!" Sarah said with a wave, and then she stepped back through the portal and was gone.
She poked her head out her bedroom door. "Hey Mom?"
"Yeah?" Her mom turned around to face her.
"Could we go to the park on... um... I don't know, Saturday, maybe?" Swirl asked, trying to make it sound as if she was just casually picking a day.
"Why Saturday?" wondered her mom.
"Oh... I don't know", Swirl said calmly. "I just thought that'd be a good day to go."
Her mom looked at her strangely for a moment. "Well, okay", she finally said. "I don't think we have anything to do that day, and plus, it'd be good to get out of the house."
Swirl grinned. "Thanks."
Retreating into her room again and closing the door, she went back to her sketchbook.
That was easy, she reflected silently. Ever since the Blogger Portal... revived, everything seems to be going so smoothly.
Shrugging to herself, she went back to drawing.
Chapter 29
Finally, it was Saturday. Swirl leaped out her mom's car and glanced around the park, looking for her friends. After a moment, she spotted them, a little ways across the park. Sarah turned and noticed Swirl, and she greeted her with a wave. Swirl waved back, then tilted her head towards her mom, indicating to stay out of sight. Sarah nodded, understanding, then dashed off.
Velvet bounced up beside Swirl, along with her brother, Jason. Swirl sighed inwardly. She had wanted to be taken to the park alone, so that she could slip away for a bit, but her mother had insisted on bringing her siblings. She'd just have to get past them somehow.
She and her family walked over to the playground, where Velvet and her brother immediately climbed onto the playground. Swirl looked around again, seeing her friends were not in the same place anymore. Suddenly, someone tapped her on the shoulder, and Swirl turned to see Sarah standing behind her.
"Sarah!" Swirl exclaimed happily.
"Hey Swirl!" Sarah said back. "Can you come over to the other side of the park? We want to talk about something in private."
Swirl looked back at where her mom was standing. She was watching her brother, so she didn't notice her talking to Sarah, but it was only a matter of time before she did.
"Okay", Swirl said, turning back to her friend. "But wait over there for me, so that my mom doesn't notice you and get mad."
"Gotcha", Sarah replied, then ran off to another spot in the park.
Swirl wandered up to her mom. "Hey Mom?" she asked causually. "I'm gonna go over to that spot in the park, okay?"
Her mom glanced up at her. "You know I don't like you wandering off like that? Why do you want to go over there, anyway?"
"Oh... uh..." Swirl stuttered, annoyed that she hadn't come up with an excuse ahead of time. "Some friends of mine from... school are over there. You'll be able to see me if something's wrong", she added as her mom gave her a doubtful look. "I'll be fine."
Her mom thought for a moment. "Alright", she finally said. "But come back over here when you're done."
"Got it!" Swirl said, then raced away to where her blogger friends were sitting, at a picnic table, slightly hidden behind a clump of trees.
"I'm here", Swirl panted, sitting down on the wooden bench beside Frozen. "What did you want to talk about?"
Kara looked around the table. "Well", she said after a moment, "We figured that, if we ever want to walk around normally as friends, we should figure out a way to get your mom to let us, Swirl."
Swirl blinked. "That might be hard. She really doesn't want me around you guys."
"We know", replied Sarah. "But we have to do something."
Swirl nodded in agreement. "But what?"
"Well, that's what we're trying to figure out", Kara told her. "We don't want you to get in trouble, though. Maybe we could-"
Suddenly, a loud gasp sounded from behind Swirl. Startled, she whirled around. A girl was staring the group of bloggers, an amused look on her face. With a start, Swirl realized it was Kenley, the rude diva who had teased them in school.
"Well well, look who it is!" she exclaimed, raising an eyebrow. "The group of gamer nerds. Didn't expect to see you here."
Gracie stood up. "Why are you here, Kenley?"
"What, I can't walk around a public park just because YOU don't want me to?" Kenley said with a glare.
"She means, why are you over here? Bothering us?" Swirl put in, glaring back at the diva.
"Oh, well, I just happened to spot you guys here, and I'm very surprised!" Kenley said. "I thought that you idiots usually just stay inside and play your little kid game. What's it called again? Animal Jam?"
"Kenley, we've seriously done nothing to you", Ja groaned, rolling her eyes. "Why do you insist on being so rude to us all the time?"
"That's none of your business", Kenley snapped. "And even if it was, I wouldn't tell you."
Ja rolled her eyes again.
"Anyway", the diva sighed, regaining her calm manner again, "I just came to tell you that I'm sure your little friend's mom will love to here all about how your little meeting over here."
Fear began to flood over Swirl internally, but she remained calm. "What are you talking about?" she asked the diva, narrowing her eyes.
"You know what I mean." Kenley replied with a sneer. "I heard everything you guys said a minute ago. How you don't want anyone knowing about it." She leaned over Swirl threateningly. "So I'm going to tell your secret and ruin your little geek-group for good."
"You wouldn't dare do that", Frozen growled.
Kenley just flashed a mischievous smile. "Watch me."
And with that, she skipped off to the other side of the park, leaving Swirl and her friends staring desperately after her.
Chapter 30
Swirl stood, frozen, as her mind raced to come up with a plan. She looked around at her friends, who looked just as horrified as she was.
"What are we going to do?" Sarah whispered despairingly, glancing at Swirl.
Swirl didn't answer, just kept staring ahead at Kenley, who was getting closer and closer to where her mom sat. An idea popped into her head, but it was a stupid one, and she tried to push it to the back of her mind.
Lost turned to look at her. "Swirl?"
Finally, she couldn't stand it anymore. With a sudden burst of speed, Swirl took off towards Kenley. When she reached her, she grabbed her arm, yanking her backwards. The diva whirled around.
"What are you doing!?" she gasped, trying to pull away.
Swirl kept a firm grip, and finally, Kenely stopped struggling and glared up at her.
"No." Swirl said forcefully. "You're not going anywhere."
The diva tried to dash off, but Swirl tugged her back again.
"I said, you're not going anywhere." She glared back at Kenley.
Deep inside her, a tiny voice screeched.
What are you doing!? Are you nuts!? Stop!
Swirl ignored it. Every nerve, every reflex, every part of her body, was fueled with rage.
"I'm going over there, and a little brat like you isn't going to stop me!" Kenley growled, sounding furious as well.
"Oh, yes I am." Swirl narrowed her eyes threateningly. In one swift movement, she yanked the diva backwards and pulled her against a tree trunk, pinning her by the shoulders. Kenley yelped in surprise.
"Let me go!' she shrieked, flailing about.
Swirl shook her head. "Not until you promise to leave us alone." Kenley just rolled her eyes, and Swirl lowered her voice menacingly.
"I'm tired of you, Kenley. I'm tired of you bullying me and my friends when we did nothing to you. You have no reason to be so rude to us. Now, you can stay right here all day long, or you can be the better person and apologize. I'm not letting you go until you do."
The girl blinked. Once more, she tried to dash away, but Swirl just pulled her back and tightened her grip even more.
"Told you." Swirl raised an eyebrow. "Now, what's your decision?"
Kenley blinked again, her stubborn expression slowly betraying more and more of her fear. She was silent for a long while, and Swirl tapped her foot on the ground.
"Well?"
All of a sudden, she was pushed backwards, and she fell to the ground awkwardly with a loud shriek of pain. Kenley stood over her.
"You think you're so threatening, don't you?" she said with an evil grin. "Well, nice try."
"KENLEY!" A loud exclamation sounded from behind the diva, and she spun around in surprise. Swirl looked around her, spotting a lady who looked quite similar to Kenley herself.
"What are you doing!?" the woman gasped.
"Mom! I... well... this girl..." Kenley stuttered nervously.
The woman grabbed Kenley by the arm. "You and I are going to have a talk about this!" And with that, she stormed off, dragging Kenley along beside her.
Swirl picked herself up off the ground and stared after them, still fuming.
"Swirl!"
She turned to see her friends skidding to a halt behind her.
"Woah..." breathed Lost, clearly awestruck. "I... I've never seen you act like that before!"
The rest of the bloggers nodded.
Swirl looked around at them, her anger finally melting away. She backed away, realizing what she had done.
"I... I'm sorry! I didn't mean to... I was just angry, and..."
"We know." Sarah said, coming up to stand beside her. "Don't be sorry!"
Gfox nodded. "You showed her that we couldn't be pushed around!"
"We're not mad at you or anything", added Flora.
Swirl breathed out a sigh. "I'm sorry", she apologized again. "I kinda lost control. She's just been bugging us for so long, and that was the last straw for me."
"We understand", Lost told her, and Swirl gave another sigh of relief.
"Now, let's go back and finish what we came here to do", Kara said, already leading the group back to the picnic table.
Swirl turned to follow her, but saw someone out of the corner of her eye. Wondering if Kenley had broken away from her mom and returned for revenge, she whirled back around.
Her mom stood, watching her, a grim expression on her face, and Swirl froze in horror. The rest of her friends, still headed towards the table, turned to see what was keeping her. When they saw Swirl's mom, their eyes widened, and they, too, stopped in their tracks.
"Swirl", her mom said finally, her voice surprisingly calm. "Are these the girls I specifically told you not to go off with?" She glanced up at the group of bloggers, who didn't say a word.
Swirl stayed silent, too, her heart pounding again.
"Well?"
"Um... I... yes..." Swirl stammered awkwardly. "But-"
"Swirl!" Her mom's voice was harsh now. "You did the one thing I told you to never do again! That's it. I-"
"Wait!"
Swirl turned to see the bloggers racing back towards her again. Gracie and Lost stopped on either side of her.
"Er... Swirl's mom", Gracie began, not knowing what to address her by. "We can explain everything."
Swirl's mother stared at her, a slight curiosity showing in her eyes.
"That day at the lake was an accident, like Swirl told you", Gracie continued. "We never tried to do anything to hurt Swirl, we promise. She's our friend."
Gfox pushed through the crowd to stand in front of Swirl. "I was the one who suggested jumping off the dock. It... was my fault." She lowered her head
Swirl stared at her friend, touched at how she tried to take the blame for her. Shaking her head, she stepped in front of Gfox again.
"No, it wasn't." she said, glancing back at her friends. "It was mine. I just tripped off, that's all. No one else had anything to do with it. And", she added, staring her mom right in the eye, "You didn't listen to the whole story. They didn't drown me- they saved me."
The bloggers nodded.
"Please, don't get Swirl in trouble", Lost pleaded quietly. "We didn't mean any harm."
Swirl's mom looked from Swirl to the bloggers, and then back again, obviously thinking. Finally, she sighed, and fixed her gaze on Swirl.
"I shouldn't have kept you away from your friends", her mom said, her gaze softening. "I just did that because... I didn't want anything like that to happen again. But, you're okay, and-" She paused. "I'm sorry."
Swirl listened in awe.
I've... I've never heard her sound like that before.
Her mom smiled at the bloggers. "You all are free to be with Swirl whenever you want."
Swirl stared silently for a moment. Then, with a burst of energy, she leaped into the air.
"YES!" she screeched gleefully, bouncing up and down. "Thank you, Mom!"
Her mom smiled, nodded, and turned and walked away. Swirl faced her friends.
"Wow..." Kara gasped, not knowing what to say. "I... wow."
Swirl grinned and nodded back at her.
"It's finally over! We don't have to sneak around anymore!" squealed Sarah happily, giving Swirl a hug. "This is awesome!"
Looking back at her mom once more, Swirl felt the same way.
Chapter 31
"We should seriously have some kind of party to celebrate this", Ja commented, flopping down onto a chair. Three days had passed since the situation at the park, and now, the group of bloggers sat together in Gracie's room, invited over for the day.
"You mean what happened at the park?" Sarah asked.
Ja nodded.
Swirl thought for a moment. "I know!" she said finally. "Why don't we have another sleepover, but at my house this time?"
"Are you sure your mom will be okay with it?" Gracie asked, looking over at Swirl.
Swirl nodded. "Besides, you guys haven't seen anything but my room so far!"
"Alright!" Flora exclaimed. "Then let's all ask our parents tonight."
"And if everything goes well, we can have a party, just like Ja wanted!" Sarah bounced happily. "It'll be a 'Yay-Swirl's-mom-will-let-us-hang-out-now' party!"
Swirl laughed. "Nice name."
"How did you ever think of it?" Kara added sarcastically, looking amused.
Sarah grinned and shrugged innocently.
"You guys!" Kraft suddenly yelled. "We should totally roast marshmallows again, like we did at Sarah's sleepover!"
"Oooh! And we need some bold bananas!" Gracie added, leaping up.
"And don't forget Gatorade for Gatorade Island!" Swirl put in.
Lost laughed. "This will be more like a Blogger-meme party!"
Swirl opened her mouth to reply, but, all of a sudden, her vision blurred, and the room went black for a split second before returning to normal. As her eyes focused again, she saw her friends watching her with concerned looks on their faces.
"Swirl? Are you alright?" Frozen asked, eyes wide.
Swirl blinked and rubbed her head. "Yeah, I'm just fine."
"You're sure?" Purple asked worriedly.
Swirl nodded. "Yeah. I don't feel sick or anything. Something kinda weird just happened. I'm fine now, though. I promise."
"Okay..." Lost sighed, still sounding slightly doubtful.
"Swirlshine! Karalee!"
Swirl turned to see Gracie's mom standing in the doorway.
"Your moms are here to pick you up!"
"Aw!" Ja moaned. "Is it that time already?"
"Guess so", sighed Swirl. "I'll see you all later!"
"Me too!" Kara said with a wave.
"Bye!" the bloggers chorused, and Swirl and Kara turned and walked to the front door.
Swirl opened the door. "Bye Kara!" she called, already making her way towards her mom's car.
"Wait!" Kara yelled after her. Swirl turned around. Kara beckoned her closer with a hand, and Swirl obeyed.
Kara put her hands on Swirl's shoulders, and her gaze was suddenly serious. "Something may happen, and we don't make it to the sleepover... we may never see each other again. I just wanted to say... thanks for being such a good friend."
Swirl blinked in confusion. "What may happen? And why would we never see each other again?"
But Kara was already walking away. "Bye Swirl!" she called over her shoulder, sounding completely normal again. She stepped into her mom's car.
"Wait! Kara!" Swirl shouted after her friend, but Kara didn't appear to hear as the car door shut and she drove away.
Swirl stared after the departing vehicle, still puzzled.
What was Kara talking about? she wondered silently. It's like she was warning me about something...
But what?
*********************************************************************************
A few days later, Swirl paced by her front door, waiting for her friends to arrive. They had all gotten permission from their parents to come to the sleepover, and Swirl's mom had also agreed to let everyone come over and stay the night.
Swirl sighed and sat down on the couch, tired of pacing. She let her mind wander, and, almost immediately, Kara's words sounded in her head. Swirl had pondered their meaning for ages, but she still had no idea what they meant. She planned to ask Kara about it when she arrived.
All of a sudden, a knock sounded at the door. Swirl leaped up and opened it, finding Gracie, Lost, Kraft, and Frozen on her doorstep.
"Yay! You guys are here!" she squealed happily, hugging them hard.
Gracie laughed. "Swirl, you just saw us yesterday!"
Swirl grinned sheepishly.
"Kara, Sarah, and the rest of the group will be here in a bit", Frozen told her.
"Good", Swirl replied. Then I can finally talk to Kara!
Swirl introduced her friends to her sister and brother, and then showed them around the house.
"Oooh! You got bold bananas!" Gracie yelled excitedly as she glanced in the kitchen.
"Yup!" Swirl nodded.
Another knock sounded, and this time, Swirl, Kraft, Frozen, Gracie, and Lost all raced to open it.
"Hey guys!" Purple said with a wave. Behind her were Flora, Sarah, Ja, and Kara.
"Hi guys!" Swirl greeted them. As they stepped in, Swirl pulled Kara aside.
"Kara", she said, lowering her voice. "What did you mean a few days ago?"
Kara blinked. "A few days ago?"
"Yeah."
Her friend looked puzzled. "What do you mean?"
"You said something about never seeing each other again, and something happening." Swirl told her. Doesn't she remember?
"I... I never said anything like that", Kara replied, looking genuinely confused.
"You don't remember?" Swirl heart sank.
Kara shook her head. "No... I don't remember saying anything about that."
"Oh... I guess it was just a dream or something, then", Swirl sighed. "Nevermind. It wasn't important."
Kara gave her a long look, then finally shrugged. "Okay... if you're sure..."
Swirl nodded, then walked off to join the others, Kara by her side.
Why doesn't remember saying that? Swirl thought silently. How am I supposed to stop whatever's supposedly coming if I don't know what it is?
Chapter 32
A few hours later, Swirl led her friends into her room. She sat down on her bed, along with Lost and Purple, and the rest of the bloggers gathered in a circle on the floor.
"So, what should we do now?" Ja asked.
Swirl looked at the group of bloggers. I feel like I'm forgetting something... or someone.
"I know!" she exclaimed, jumping up. "Why don't we go hang out with some of the other bloggers for a bit?"
"Other bloggers? But we're all here!" Flora replied.
"Not all of us", Swirl corrected. "What about Canine, Rachel, and Craz?"
"Oh yeah!" replied Sarah. "Yeah, let's go see them!"
The bloggers stood up and followed Swirl to her closet, where the Blogger Portal shone a bright, healthy green.
It's hard to believe it was ever broken, she commented silently.
Swirl faced the group. "Follow me. Let's go to Craz's first", Swirl told them. Turning back to the portal, she closed her eyes, formed an image of Craz in her mind, and leaped through. For a few moments, she could feel herself floating, until, finally, she felt solid ground touch her feet and opened her eyes.
Craz was already in her room, and she whirled around as Swirl appeared.
"Swirl!" she greeted happily.
Just then, the other bloggers came through the portal, leaping out to stand by Swirl.
"And all of us!" Sarah added, waving.
"Hey guys!" Craz acknowledged the group. Then she paused. "What are all of you doing together? Didn't you tell me that Swirl's mom didn't want you guys hanging out?"
"We got it all sorted out", Swirl replied. "It's kind of a long story."
"But now, we're having a sleepover at Swirl's house!" Purple put in.
Craz grinned. "Cool!"
"You could come back with us, if you want", Swirl offered, hoping her friend didn't think she had excluded her purposely.
"That's okay", Craz responded. "I don't want to cause your parents to ask any awkward questions about you-know-what." She pointed at the spot in the wall where her Blogger Portal was hidden.
"Are you sure?" Swirl pressed.
Craz nodded. "My parents will wonder where I've gone after too long, anyway." She turned around and flipped open her computer lid. "But while you guys are here, want to see the picture I've been working on?"
"Yeah!" the bloggers chorused, then clustered around Craz's desk to see.
The group talked with Craz for a little while longer, then said their goodbyes and gathered around the Blogger Portal.
"Where to next?" Lost asked.
"Let's try Canine's!" Swirl decided, closing her eyes and jumping through the portal a moment later. When she blinked open her eyes, she found herself in a room she had never seen before. As she looked around, the rest of the bloggers piled in through the portal after her.
Footsteps suddenly sounded, and a girl pushed open the door. She wore a yellow Spiked Wristband and a purple spiked necklace, and her hair was tied back with a dark gray hairband, dotted with light gray.
The girl jumped back in surprise. "Who are-" She stopped, studying Swirl's outfit closely.
"I'd recognize that look anywhere!" she finally exclaimed. "Is that you, Swirl?"
"Yep!" Swirl replied with a grin.
The girl glanced behind her. "And Sarah... Flora... all of you?"
The group nodded.
"I'm glad we finally get to meet you, Canine!" Swirl said to the girl.
Canine blinked. "But... how are you all here?"
"Well, you know how we always used to joke about the Blogger Portal?" Ja began.
Canine nodded.
"Well, it's not a joke anymore!" finished Kara, sticking a hand through the seemingly normal wall. "Feel."
Canine walked over and warily stuck her arm out like Kara. Half of it disappeared into the portal, and she jumped back in surprise. The bright green portal revealed itself for a moment, then became invisible once more as Canine stepped away.
"Cool, huh?" Sarah said with a grin.
Canine nodded, still studying the portal. "Awesome."
*********************************************************************************
After talking a little with Canine, the group continued on to see iLoppio, one of Swirl's old blogger friends, and then jumped back through the portal to visit Violet. Swirl had offered to let Violet come along to see Rachel, and now, her friend stood by her side in front of the Blogger Portal. She stared at it warily.
"Don't worry, it won't hurt you", Swirl assured her. "And it transports you really fast, just like we said. All you have to do is imagine the person you want to see in your head. Just follow us."
Violet nodded. "Okay." She seemed confident now, so Swirl closed her eyes, imagined Rachel, and leaped.
After the familiar flying sensation, she blinked open her eyes to find herself in Rachel's room. A moment later, the rest of the bloggers appeared behind her.
"Is Rachel here?" Lost asked, glancing around the room.
Swirl shook her head. "Doesn't look like it."
Suddenly, a blinding white light shone in the center of the room, and a strong breeze began to blow. The light glowed brighter and brighter, and Swirl and the others shielded their eyes. Finally, it died away, along with the wind, and Swirl looked up to see Rachel, holding her Portal Stone in her hand.
"Oh, there you are, Swirl!" Rachel exclaimed, getting up off the floor. She looked down at her stone. "I'm glad this actually took me to you!"
"What do you mean?" Swirl said, confused. "I thought Blogger Portals only lead to our rooms."
"They do", Rachel replied. "But I've found out that this Portal Stone can actually take me to wherever you are! It brought me back here, and I was thinking that it had made a mistake somehow. Guess it was right, though!"
"Woah", Swirl breathed. "Cool."
Rachel grinned. "Yeah." She paused. "Wait... how are you here, anyway? Isn't your Blogger Portal broken?"
"It was. Luckily, it's all fixed now!" Swirl told her friend.
"Great!" Rachel replied. She crossed the room and sat down on her bed. "So, what are you guys doing?"
"We're having a sleepover at Swirl's house!" Sarah answered excitedly.
"Sorry I couldn't invite you, Rachel", Swirl apologized. "My mom's pretty strict about who comes over and stuff-"
"Oh, that's okay", Rachel cut in. "No need to apologize. I'm pretty busy this week, anyway." She sat down on her bed. "So, what's been going on for you?"
Swirl laughed. "A lot, for once!" She and the bloggers told her about how the Blogger Portal had fixed itself, the encounter with Kenley, and her mom finally lifting her strict rule.
"Wow", Rachel commented after Swirl finished. "That is a lot of events!"
Swirl nodded. "Luckily, though, everything seems to be fine now!" She glanced down at her watch. "I guess we should be getting back, though." She looked up again at her friend. "My mom still doesn't know about the Blogger Portal, and she'll definitely wonder why we all randomly disappeared."
"Alright", Rachel sighed. "I guess I'll see you later, Swirl."
Swirl opened her mouth, about to reply, but a sudden jolt of pain passed through her, and her vision went black. She instinctively bent over, gasping in horror. Again? What's happening to me? The slight pain had disappeared, but it still took several moments before she could see anything again. Once her vision had been completely restored, she glanced up to see the bloggers and Rachel staring at her, troubled looks on all their faces.
"Swirl, are you okay?" Rachel asked her worriedly. "Are you sick?"
Swirl nodded, standing upright again. "I'm fine. This... this has happened before."
"Twice in one week? Are you sure that's not dangerous?" Gracie asked, sounding doubtful.
"Well... I... I don't know", Swirl stammered. "But I feel just fine now. I'm... I'm sure it was nothing."
Lost gave her a long look, her eyes full of concern.
"I promise, I'm fine now", Swirl told her friend.
"Okay..." she sighed, sounding as unconfident as Swirl felt.
"Alright.. well, I guess we better get back to my house, Rachel", she said after a moment, trying to shake off her feelings of doubt.
"Okay", Rachel responded. "See you later, Swirl!"
"Bye!" Swirl said back, giving a little wave. Then, imagining her home, she leaped through the Blogger Portal once again.
Chapter 33
The rest of the afternoon went by in a blur, and soon, Swirl's friends piled into her room, ready to sleep through the night. But, although she was tired, Swirl's mind still swam with thoughts.
I honestly have no idea what happened to me at Rachel's house. What the heck is going on? she wondered desperately. Something deep inside of her told her that it wasn't anything good. Pushing her growing fear away, Swirl climbed into her bed and got comfortable.
"It's so nice to have no major problems at the moment", Gracie sighed, lying down in her sleeping bag.
"Yeah", Gfox agreed. "Now we can finally relax and just have fun!"
"It'd be nice if it could be this way forever, huh?" Sarah commented from across the room.
Yeah, Swirl replied in her head. It would.
But something tells me that it won't for long.
With one last inward sigh, she closed her eyes and drifted into the calming darkness of sleep.
*********************************************************************************
When she opened her eyes again, the room was still dark. Sitting up, Swirl leaned over to check the time on her alarm clock.
5:14? Why do I always seem to wake up at the earliest times?
Shaking her head, she lay down again and tried to fall back asleep, but her mind was awake once again, and buzzing with thoughts. After a few more minutes, she was still wide awake. Groaning to herself, she finally got up, carefully stepping over her friends to get to her closet. Keeping the light off, she stepped inside, sticking her hand through the Blogger Portal, which appeared as soon as she touched it. She stared at the swirling green circle, and somehow, it seemed to calm her.
This portal just appeared one day, she reflected silently. It truly is a mystery. All of this is. But it's an amazing mystery.
Feeling content, she was about to turn around and go back to bed, but her vision blurred in a familiar way, and then, she couldn't see a thing.
No! Not again!
She waited impatiently for her sight to return. When it did, she gasped at what she saw.
The walls of her closet were now filled with cracks, which grew bigger and bigger every second. A strange white light shone from them. The Blogger Portal flashed, as if it was a glitching electronic device, and its outline gradually grew fuzzy.
"What's going on now?" Swirl murmured quietly, gazing around her closet in horror.
All of a sudden, the once-skinny cracks split open, releasing the blinding white light. At the same moment, the Blogger Portal flashed and wavered frantically, and, within a moment, it had faded away into nothing. Before Swirl had time to realize what was happening, the walls began to fade as well, leaving only blackness behind. Everything was disappearing before her eyes, and the darkness threatened to consume her as well, only a couple feet away from where she was standing. Eyes wide, Swirl leaped backwards to avoid it, but she tripped and fell over something in the way.
"Ow!" came an exclamation from Kara. "What was that?" She sat up, staring at the girl lying awkwardly beside her. "Swirl?"
Swirl scrambled to her feet and pointed at the closet. "Look! Somethi-"
She broke off, gaping. The closet now looked completely normal, as if nothing had ever happened!
Kara blinked at it. "I don't see anything."
"But... it was... where... huh?" Swirl stuttered in shock.
Kara turned back to Swirl. "Swirl, are you okay?" she asked, sounding concerned.
"The closet was disintegrating!" Swirl gasped in a rather loud voice. She glanced around, but none of her other friends had woken up.
"No, it wasn't", Kara replied calmly. "Everything was perfectly normal. You must have been dreaming or something."
"But I-" Swirl began, then broke off with a sigh. "Yeah... maybe I was."
"Are you okay?" Kara repeated. "Odd things seem to be happening to you a lot lately."
Swirl shook her head. "I honestly don't know anymore." She walked back to her bed and flopped down onto it. "I'll tell you about what happened in the morning."
Kara watched her, a confused expression on her face, as Swirl turned over and closed her eyes.
That wasn't a dream, she told herself. I know what I saw, and that was definitely real.
Chapter 34
The next morning, after breakfast, Swirl gathered her friends around in her room to tell them about what happened in the night.
"What was it you wanted to tell us, Swirl?' Gracie asked, sitting down next to Kara and Ja.
Swirl glanced around at the group of bloggers. "Something... weird happened last night."
Purple's eyes widened. "What?"
"I woke up in the middle of the night, and I went to check the Blogger Portal. Once I had been in my closet for a minute or two... things started happening." She shuddered. "The walls and everything started to just... disappear around me." She looked over at Kara, grinning sheepishly. "Then I kinda tripped over Kara and woke her up. By the time I looked up again, though, everything was back to normal."
"You're absolutely sure that happened?" questioned Flora.
Swirl nodded. "I am. It didn't feel like a dream at all- it was too...clear."
Lost looked confused. "But... how could all that even be possible?"
"Do you think it may be because of the Blogger Portal, or something?" Gracie added.
Swirl shrugged. "I don't know. But it happened."
"Well then, maybe... maybe it was some kind of vision", suggested Kara. "It wasn't a dream, and no one else seemed to see or hear it."
Swirl thought for a moment, the idea making sense to her.
There was that warning from Kara a while ago, she remembered silently. Could that and this vision-thing be connected? And maybe the thing that keeps making me go blind for a short amount of time?
"Maybe", she finally replied. "But why would there be anything to worry about now?" She sighed. "I thought all the problems were finally taken care of."
"Maybe they are", Sarah replied. "We can't be sure that it was a vision, after all."
Flora nodded slowly. "It's possible that it was all just your imagination, and nothing else."
"You could be right, I guess", Swirl responded. "It was probably nothing. Let's just forget about it for now."
"Are you sure?" Lost asked, still looking a bit worried.
Swirl nodded. "Yeah. I can worry about that later." She grinned around at her friends. "Now come on. This is a slumber party, remember?"
*********************************************************************************
The last few hours of the sleepover were spent visiting a few other bloggers, via the Blogger Portal, and hanging around in Swirl's house. Finally, though, the time came for everyone to leave.
"Swirl!" Swirl's mom poked her head around the corner. "Karalee's and Flora's parents are here to pick them up!"
Flora sighed. "Guess we have to go."
"We'll be right back- we gotta grab our stuff", Kara said. The two disappeared into Swirl's room.
The same moment that Flora and Kara left the room, Swirl's vision started to go fuzzy again.
Oh no, she thought, stifling a groan. Not this again. This is beginning to annoy me.
She shook her head, hoping her vision would clear. Nothing happened.
Come on! she yelled silently. Not right now!
A familiar, but stronger, bolt of pain shot through Swirl's body, and she gasped out loud. She heard footsteps, and knew Kara and Flora had returned, although she couldn't see them clearly.
"Swirl?" came Gracie's voice from a few feet away.
Swirl opened her mouth to say something, but suddenly, she felt as if she had been frozen in ice. She struggled to snap out of it, but she couldn't move.
Come on, come on! Why can't I move?
At least my sight seems to be returning, she remarked silently as, gradually, the concerned faces of her friends grew clearer.
But, just as Swirl was convinced she felt fine again, the world went black. She waited a few moments, expecting her sight to return to normal again, just like it always did.
But nothing seemed to happen. She could see nothing, hear nothing, and she still felt as if she had been paralyzed.
What's happening to me!? her panicked mind screamed.
She floated in darkness, emptyness, for a few moments longer, but everything remained the same- black and soundless. Swirl's heart beat faster and faster, and she wondered if she would ever escape from this place.
Then, all of a sudden, unfocused shapes began to form in front of her eyes. Swirl leaned forward to get a closer look, relieved to find that she could move once again.
After a second, Swirl finally realized that the shapes were people. She squinted, wondering who they were, and immediately recognized an orange scarf, edged with blue on both ends, around someone's neck at the front of the group. She looked around at them, and noticed many other items that she had seen before.
These aren't just random people- these are my friends!
Finally, they appeared clear to her. Each one of them was surrounded by a warm yellow aura, one that seemed to calm Swirl by just looking at it. Still, though, she was utterly confused.
"W-What's going on?" Swirl asked fearfully.
The Bloggers didn't answer her question, but instead silently advanced towards Swirl. They seemed to move as one, and Swirl stayed where she was, awestruck. She glanced behind and all around her, wondering if she had returned to reality, but everything else still looked black.
"This is the last time we'll be seeing you, Swirl", came a voice. Swirl turned to see that Kara was standing in front of her. "For now, at least."
"Wait... what?" What does she mean?
"We'll see you in the Blogger Community", added Gracie, stepping forward to stand beside Kara.
Swirl took a small step backwards. "Guys... what's going on? Why-"
"You'll know soon enough", Kara interrupted.
The rest of the bloggers began to step up as well, forming a straight line.
"This isn't the end", Sarah said, quoting an Owl City song. She gave a small nod.
"Don't forget this", added Ja, coming up beside her sister.
The rest of the bloggers, including Craz, Rachel, Canine, and Violet, who hadn't even been at the slumber party, joined the line silently, until they all faced Swirl, who stood watching in awe and confusion.
"We'll always be your friends, Swirl", Lost told her softly.
Swirl felt herself trembling. "W-what are you talking about?" She glanced around. "Why... why is all of this happening?"
The Bloggers once again said nothing. Swirl opened her mouth to say something else, then stopped. The bloggers were fading before her very eyes. She looked around wildly, and saw that the blackness all around her was turning white. Strange but familiar pixels formed at the border of the darkness, then disappeared as the white swallowed them up.
This is it! This is just like my vision!
She turned around, then gasped as she realized that the bloggers were pixelating too. Yet they stood calmly, watching Swirl, as if nothing was out of the ordinary.
"Goodbye Swirl."
The whisper seemed to belong to all of the bloggers at once, and yet it was a voice all of its own. The outlines of Swirl's friends began to waver, and she gasped in horror.
"WAIT! NO!" she screamed, leaping forward, stretching out a hand, but, just as she reached them, they faded completely. Swirl seemed to fall in slow motion as the white nothingness overtook everything.
And suddenly, with a start, she woke up.
Chapter 35 (Outro)
Swirl sat up, wondering where she was. She glanced around wildly, panting as if she had been running. Finally, she recognized her own bedroom, and she relaxed, letting out a sigh of relief. Then she let all the memories come back to her- her friends, the Blogger Portal, Kenley, the vision, the odd blackness that had trapped her...
How much of that was real?
"Swirl!"
Swirl whirled around to see her mom standing in the doorway.
"Hurry up! You'll be late for school!" she said worriedly, turning to leave.
School? But I thought-
"Wait!"
Her mom looked over her shoulder. "What?
"What day is it?" Swirl asked her.
Her mom blinked. "It's Tuesday."
Swirl looked over at her window, noticing dawn light filtering through the blinds. "And... I still have school?"
Swirl's mom gave her an odd look. "Yes... why wouldn't you?"
Swirl shook her head. "I... I dunno. Whatever. That's all I needed to know."
Her mom stared at her a moment longer, then turned and left the room.
Swirl's mind whirled. Don't tell me that all of that was a dream!
She glanced around the room again, wondering if there was a way to find out.
Oh! I know! My wind pendant! I was wearing it the whole time in... whatever that was.
She held her breath, hoping to find herself still wearing it, and looked down.
No necklace hung around her neck.
Swirl flopped onto her back with a moan. Everything she had experienced- everyone she had met, every problem she had dealt with- hadn't been real. All it was was a dream- a story that her mind had silently created. Just her imagination. Swirl longed to slip back into sleep, to go back to that fictional world in her brain and stay there forever. She wanted the Blogger Portal, and the bloggers themselves. She wanted the life she had lived in her own mind.
"Swirl! Come on!" came her mom's impatient voice from outside her room.
Swirl sighed dejectedly. She couldn't go back. It wasn't possible. Best to just try and forget about it, I guess...
Forcing herself to get up, she walked over to her closet and grabbed her wind pendant necklace. She put it around her neck, gave it a longing look, then walked out of her room to get ready for school.
*********************************************************************************
Swirl rolled her eyes as the bell for first period rang. Standing up, she flung her heavy backpack over her shoulder, then trudged off towards her math classroom.
School was the last thing she wanted to deal with today. If she wasn't such a good student, she would gladly climb the fence around her school and run off into the cornfield next to it. She sighed. All she really wanted was to be back in the dream once more.
The crowded hallways seemed more cramped than ever, and several kids bumped into her on the way to her class, glaring at her as she passed. For once, Swirl didn't care.
She must have been lost in thought, because, all of a sudden, she slammed into someone, causing them both to fall to the ground.
"Oh gosh, sorry!" Swirl apologized, reaching out a hand to help the girl up.
Haven't I seen that beret she's wearing before?
The girl looked up at Swirl, and her eyes suddenly widened. "Swirl! There you are! We were looking for you this morning!"
Swirl just looked at her in bewilderment, immediately recognizing Lostfairy.
"Wait..." she finally answered. "'We'?"
Lost nodded, looking confused. "Yeah... you know, the bloggers?"
The warning bell rang, signifying that everyone had only a minute to get to class before they were counted tardy.
"Oh gosh! I guess I better hurry to class!" Lost gasped, picking her things up off the floor. "See you at lunch, Swirl!" And with a small wave, she raced off down the hall.
Swirl stared after her, eyes wide.
Maybe it wasn't a dream after all...
The End
Chapter 1
Swirlshine barged into her brightly colored room and flopped on her canopy bed with a sigh. Today had not been good to her. She had been through 4 tests, an athletic class that almost seemed to kill her, and a rather lonely lunch. And, to top it all off, she had heard her friend, whom she had never thought of as inappropriate, swearing that morning. All while completely ignoring Swirl to watch boy band videos with another friend. Swirl would've joined in, but she wasn't into that band, or ANY boy bands, for that matter. Plus, she was way too shy to do or say anything about the situation anyway. So she didn't.
All the day's events didn't leave much happiness in her at all. Swirl groaned, brushing her brown hair out of her face.
"Today was HORRIBLE! Could it have gone well? Yes! Did it? NO! Just my typical bad luck, I guess."
She got up to set her glasses on her foldable art table, and as she did, her eyes drifted to the sketchbook on top of it.
Maybe I should draw.
The girl thought for a moment, but couldn't think of a single thing to draw that wasn't a cat. "Forget it", she said out loud, sitting back on her bed again. Staring at the black screen of her phone, she almost immediately thought of her blog, and then her Blogger friends. Images of her friends' main animals popped into her head, like Lostfairy's deer, Kara's hyena, and Kraft's snow leopard. Swirlshine turned to lay on her stomach and glared at the wall.
"My blogger friends wouldn't abandon me. They wouldn't cuss behind my back. They wouldn't get caught up with all the divas and popular kids. They'd encourage me, and help me out." She sighed. "I wish they were here right now."
Please, scoffed a voice in her head. They're not, and they'll never be. They live all over the world, for Pete's sake! Do you think they're going to jump through some kind of "Blogger Portal" to see you?
"A girl can dream", she replied in a whisper. "A girl can dream."
Her eyelids were starting to droop, so she put her phone up, snuggled into the bed's covers, and closed her eyes. Just before she fell asleep, one last wish sounded in her head.
I wish we all went to the same school.
Chapter 2
The next thing Swirl felt was a force shaking her body, and she slowly opened her eyes. She could just make out the shape of her mother looming over her.
"Hurry and get up! You'll make your sister and brother late to school!" she yelped.
"Wait...what? I thought it was Saturday..." Swirlshine moaned, closing her eyes again.
" Yesterday was Monday", her mom stated, looking confused. Swirl just growled under her breath.
So today is Tuesday. Delightful. I've got the entire week ahead of me.
Dragging herself up, Swirl slowly got dressed, putting a yellow jacket with green clovers on over her typical t-shirt. Staring into her closet, her eye was drawn to the many necklaces hanging on her jewelry holder.
"Why not?" she decided, and chose a necklace with a brown swirl charm, which suited her quite well, in her opinion.
"Let's get this fun, test-filled show on the road..." she grumbled sarcastically, for she was always annoyed and grumpy in the mornings.
Finally sitting down to a bowl of cereal, she scarfed it down quickly, shoved binders and folders into her already heavy backpack, and walked out the door behind her father, locking it behind her. Since her dad worked as a teacher at her school, she rode there in his truck every morning, and stayed in his class until the tutorials bell rang.
Once she heard that exact bell, Swirlshine walked down to the gym, where the kids of her grade hung out until the bell for first period sounded. Walking to where her friend Dancer usually sat, she found her talking with Cassidy, a girl she and Swirl had met last year, and Ella and Emma, the popular but kind twins. Swirl sighed inwardly. As usual, as long as Emma, Ella, and Cassidy were there, she was ignored. Trying to blot out Dancer's language in the background, she turned on her phone, put her earbuds in, and listened to Owl City tunes until everyone started to stand up and walk through the gym's doors. Swirl walked at a quick pace to her first period class-math. Not that she cared to do math at the moment, but at least it was a decent distraction.
*********************************************************************************
Swirl walked down the hallway, filled with kids, to social studies. Math hadn't been too hard, but, of course, she still wasn't fond of it.
She was walking blindly, her head in the clouds, so she didn't notice the student standing right in front of her. Crashing into the person, she and Swirl fell to the ground.
Quickly standing up before she could get trampled on by the other students, Swirl turned to face the girl on the floor.
"Oh gosh, I'm sorry!" she apologized. "Are you okay?"
The girl, who had long brown hair and brown eyes, sat up and straightened her glasses.
"Yes, I'm fine! I guess that was my fault. I didn't know the hallways here would be so crowded!" She brushed a strand of hair out of her face. "I'm new here."
"Oh, you are?"
"Yeah. Do you know where..." The new student looked at a piece of paper in her hand. "Mr. Brown's class is?"
"Oh, yeah! I have him fourth period! Just go down that hallway until you pass the cross-hall, and his door is the first one of the right", Swirl answered.
The girl smiled. "Thanks. Hey, is he a nice teacher?"
Swirl nodded. "He's awesome! You'll love having him!"
Letting out a sigh of relief, the girl grinned. "Oh, good!"
Suddenly, the tardy bell sounded. Swirl looked up and realized that most of the kids in the hallways were gone now.
The new student looked up, too. "Oh gosh, I guess I better go! Don't want to be late on my first day!" She started to dash off, but then turned back around to face Swirl. " You were a big help, thanks! Oh! By the way, my name's Lostfairy."
Swirl froze, her mind whirling.
Maybe I just heard her wrong.
" What?" she questioned, still in shock. But the girl had gone.
No.. no.. it can't be! Her name's... Lostfairy!?
But... but that's one of my Blogger friends' names!
Swirl stood with her mouth open until realization flashed in her mind. I'm going to be late!
But, racing down the hallway to her second period class, her mind was still on the girl.
Lostfairy.
Chapter 3
It was lunchtime, and Swirl was jogging down the hallway, trying to get to the cafeteria before the crowds did. Just as she decided to slow down a bit, the bell rang, and kids started flooding out of doors and around her. Swirl sighed, and, not wanting to weave her way through them all, walked the rest of the way.
*********************************************************************************
After coming back from washing her hands, Swirl was prepared to get through another friendless lunch. But, just as she sat down at her usual table, she heard another person coming over. Turning, she recognized Lostfairy,
"Hey", she greeted Swirl warmly.
Swirl smiled. "Hi!"
"Sorry if this sounds completely weird, but could I maybe sit with you today? I haven't met many other people here yet."
"Sure!" Swirl replied. "I don't mind!"
Lostfairy sat down beside her. Swirl glanced upward again to see another girl, one with blonde hair, watching Lost.
Lost looked up too. "Oh! Sorry! Can my other friend sit here too? You and her are the only ones I've met so far."
Swirl nodded and scooted over to make room for the other girl, who sat on the other side of Lost. She turned to Swirl. "My name's Kraft. With a K."
Kraft?!
"Your name's... Kraft? Like, for real?" Despite being surprised and somewhat startled, Swirl actually hoped that what she was silently thinking was actually true.
"Well, actually, it's AJKraft, but most people call me Kraft", the blonde-haired girl replied, grinning. "Why?"
"Oh...uh...I was just...making sure", Swirl answered quickly.
Kraft and Lostfairy seemed satisfied with that answer. They all ate a few bites of their lunches, until Lostfairy spoke.
"Oh wow, I realized I haven't even asked what your name is yet!" she said, looking at Swirl.
"Don't worry, it's fine! I'm Swirlshine. Swirl for short."
Lostfairy's eyes suddenly grew wide, and, leaning over the table, Swirl saw that Kraft wore the same expression.
"What? What is it?" Swirl glanced around, wondering if they both guessed what she had.
"Oh, sorry. It's just... well... I thought it was just an odd coincidence, meeting someone else named AJKraft... but the truth is...", Lost stuttered, "I've actually got an online friend named Swirlshine. And she's a LOT like you."
"Same here!" Kraft sounded as surprised as Lostfairy did.
"You know...I thought the same thing", Swirl confessed.
"You don't think...", Kraft said, looking bewildered.
An idea flashed in Swirl's brain. "I know! Kraft, what's the name of a song that you created? Answer honestly", she added.
"Well, I made the WHEAT FIELDS AND COWS song! Though it's not like-"
"Lostfairy", Swirl interrupted Kraft's loud exclamation, "What do we- er, you and Swirlshine, I mean- say to each other when you leave?"
"Um...huggle?"
Swirl's heart almost leaped out of her chest. It's really them.
"You...you got the questions correct...", Swirlshine stammered. "It's really you, Kraft and Lost! And...and you're here!"
The three girls stared at each other, jaws gaping.
"How is this happening?" Kraft questioned.
I've been wondering the same thing.
"No idea", answered Lostfairy, looking bewildered.
I wished for it! I wished for it, and it actually came true! Swirl answered in her mind.
"Well, however it happened, let's make the most of it!" Kraft said cheerfully. "This IS what all of us wanted, right?!"
Swirlshine, finally snapping out of her awestruck trance, nodded. "Now that you're here, I'm not letting you leave!" she joked, grinning. Giving the two a huge hug, she thought her heart would almost burst with happiness.
I got my wish. This is really happening. Lostfairy and Kraft now go to my school!
Chapter 4
Walking down to their advisory classes, Swirl, Kraft, and Lost were side by side, chatting and laughing.
It's almost like we've known each other forever, thought Swirl.
Well, I guess that's halfway true!
Swirl still couldn't get over the fact that two of her Blogger friends had somehow made their way to her school. She had even asked if they had come through some kind of portal, but they had both said no.
"Hey Swirl", Kraft said, snapping Swirl back into the world. "What teacher do you have for advisory?"
"I've got Ms. Rodgerson today. What about you?"
Kraft smiled. "Rodgerson!"
"Hey, same here!" Lost exclaimed, looking at her schedule.
"Awesome!" Swirl grinned back at them.
This is literally the best day EVER!
*********************************************************************************
In advisory, the trio sat at the same table and talked some more. They discussed some Animal Jam related things until Swirl felt a tap on her shoulder. Turning, she became face-to-face with a girl that looked a lot like her: dark brown eyes and brown hair, although with a hint of red. She wore jeans and a purple turtleneck, an outfit that Swirl didn't see too often, but immediately liked anyway.
"So are guys talking about Animal Jam? I actually play that game too, and I've met a lot of great friends because of it!" the girl said to her.
Kraft, Lost, and Swirl all exchanged glances.
Lost asked, "What's your name?"
"Karalee", she answered. "What are you guys' names?"
"You actually know them already." said Kraft.
"Do the names Lostfairy, AJKraft, and Swirlshine sound familiar to you?" Swirl asked, looking intently at Karalee.
Kara's happy expression suddenly turned to one of shock. "How do you know those names? Are you reading my mind somehow or something?"
Swirl sighed. "Well, you see..."
*********************************************************************************
After explaining everything to Kara, the Blogger group expanded to let her in. Lost had the same 6th period class as Swirl, while the others went elsewhere. Swirl was disappointed that Kraft and Kara didn't have many classes with her, but she was very excited to see Lost again. All through 5th period, her mind was barely on her work, although of course she still did it. Finally, when 6th period rolled around, Swirl stepped into her art class to find Lostfairy sitting in the once-empty seat next to hers. She grinned at Swirl, who walked over and sat her bag down.
"I'm glad I've got another friend who has this class now!" Swirl exclaimed.
Lostfairy nodded. Swirlshine pulled her sketchbook out from her stuffed backpack.
"Can I see some of your art?" Lost asked.
"Of course! I'm a lot better drawings in real life than online... or at least that's what I think!" Swirl laughed, handing Lost her sketchbook. Lost flipped eagerly through the pages and gasped.
"Woah! These are REALLY good, Swirl!"
Swirl blushed. "Thanks. Although I don't draw nearly as good as some people in this class do."
Lost nudged her playfully. "Don't be so hard on yourself. Besides, everyone's got a different style, right?"
"True!" Swirl replied.
The bell rang, and as Ms. Rodgerson walked in the door, Lost and Swirl grew silent and ready to work. But, although she seemed calm on the outside, Swirl actually wanted to bounce around the room like a maniac. Her friends were here, at this very school, and that was all that mattered to her at the moment.
Chapter 5
After doing her homework that night, which didn't take as long as Swirl expected, she watched an episode of Austin And Ally, then went to her room to go to bed. She fixed the covers, turned off the lights, and lay down on her bright pink pillow, surrounded by various stuffed animals. She closed her eyes, but her mind was racing, and a minute or two later, she opened them again and sat up. Staring at the ceiling, she thought once again of her Blogger friends, like she had the night before.
So I've met Kraft, Lost, and Kara now. But what about the others? How come I haven't seen them yet? Are they even at my school, or is it just 3 of my friends who happened to be here? After realizing that the questions she was forming wouldn't be answered in her room at midnight, she settled down again.
I wonder who I'll meet tomorrow?, she wondered.
Guess there's only one way to find out.
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At school, Swirl, Kraft, Kara, and Lost sat together in the gym. Kraft was showing everyone a hilarious lip-reading video on her new iPad, when suddenly, another girl walking by caught Swirl's eye. She had on a white shirt with light gray designs all over it, and her brown hair was put in pigtails. She obviously must've noticed Swirl staring at her, because she turned and peered at her from behind blue-rimmed glasses.
Where have I seen that outfit before? Swirl thought. Then it hit her.
"Gracie!" she shouted, just as the girl started to walk off.
The brown-haired girl with glasses paused and turned to look at Swirl again, a confused expression on her face.
Yes! That IS her name!
"It's me! Swirl! And... and Lost, and Kraft, and Kara!" She motioned around at the other girls, who looked up as well.
The girl, Gracie, blinked. "That... that's not possible..."
"Apparently it is now", Kara said with a shrug.
"We are the bloggers", Lost added. "Promise!"
Gracie stared for a moment. "Woah", she breathed.
Swirl nodded, and Lost scooted over to make room for Gracie to sit.
Gracie settled down beside her. "How is this happening? How are we all at the same school?"
Swirl shrugged. "I don't know. But to be honest, I don't really care how! We're all meeting each in real life, and we'll get to see each other every day now!"
Gracie smiled. "You're right! This is so cool, seeing the bloggers in real life like this!"
"What?!"
The group turned to see two similar-looking girls, one with her blonde hair in a braid, and the other with more brown-ish hair and a tan shirt with green swirls all over it, standing a few feet away. They both exchanged a glance, then looked back at the 5 girls.
"Sorry" the one with the braid apologized. "But we heard you saying something about bloggers, and we have some friends who are bloggers too!"
Wait a minute!
"Sarah?! Ja?!" Swirl gasped.
The two girls' eyes widened. "So it IS you, Swirl?!" the one who looked like Ja said. She motioned at each of the other bloggers in turn. "And Lost, Kara, Gracie, and Kraft?"
All the girls nodded when their name was said.
"YES!" Sarah pumped her fist in the air. "We always knew we'd finally meet you guys in real life one day!"
"And now we are! I have no idea how this happened, but it's AWESOME!" Ja said happily.
Swirl nodded. "Yeah!"
"It's great to see you guys!" Lost greeted them. Sarah and Ja grinned.
"Now gather round guys: it's time for STORYTIME WITH KRAFT!" Kraft yelled, and the 7 girls watched as Kraft showed them the rest of the video.
*********************************************************************************
Walking down the hallway to science class, Swirl felt blissfully happy, her head in the clouds. That is, until she almost ran into the wall as a result.
Just before she reached her classroom, she heard loud talking, and turned her head to see two girls, who she immediately knew were "divas", kick a book on the floor away from another girl's feet in the crosshall. The divas giggled as the girl, looking frustrated, tried to pick it up, but the divas only moved it away again.
"You know, this isn't funny!" the girl said through gritted teeth.
One of the divas raised an eyebrow. "Really? It looks pretty funny to us!" She glanced at the book's cover. "And who even reads stuff like this anyway?"
Swirl couldn't stand it anymore. She walked right up to the group and stood by the girl being teased.
"She can read whatever she wants. It's not your business. And how would you like it if someone did all this to you?" she told the divas in a calm voice.
The diva girls only stared. "It's not your business to get in our business."
"Actually, this time it is. Now stop." Swirl shot back.
A second later, the tardy bell rang, meaning there was only 1 minute left to get to class. The rude girls groaned.
"The only reason we're leaving is because of the bell. Not because you told us to." said one of them.
"Yeah, we don't take orders from nerds!" sniffed the other.
Then they both turned their backs on Swirl and the other girl and walked off together.
Swirl rolled her eyes. Walking over to the book on the ground, she picked it up and handed it back to the girl who had been teased.
"Thanks" the girl said, looking a little embarrassed.
"No problem. Don't pay attention to those girls. They're just divas who think they're better than others."
The girl smiled slightly. "You can say that again." Suddenly, her eyes rested on Swirl's chest, and, looking down, Swirl realized that she was looking at her necklace.
"Your necklace... it looks so familiar...", the girl told her, looking as if she were trying to figure out where it came from.
Realization flashed in Swirl's mind.
"What's your name?" she asked the girl.
The girl looked up. "I'm Gfox. What's your name?"
"You know it! It's me, Swirlshine!" Swirl replied eagerly.
Gfox's eyes widened. "Sw... Swirlshine? But-"
Swirl interrupted her. "I'll tell you everything later, Meet me at the water fountains at lunch. Okay?"
Gfox stared for a moment, then nodded. "Okay."
And then, at that, both girls turned and raced off in opposite directions to their classes.
Chapter 6
That day, at lunch, Swirl and her friends had told Gfox everything, and she certainly seemed excited. Now, it was the next day, Thursday, and Swirl couldn't wait to see who she met next.
Let's see. I've met Lost, Gracie, Kraft, Kara, Sarah, Ja, and Gfox. That leaves... Purple, Flora, Fang, Violet, Canine, and...oh right, Penguin! Swirl listed all her Blogger friends' names in her head at basketball practice that day. Maybe I'll even see some famous jammers somehow!
It was 4:30, which meant that all of Swirl's friends had gone home 30 minutes ago. Sadly, though, she had to stay in basketball until 6. She sighed. She liked playing basketball, but there were some negatives to playing it at school. In her opinion, she stayed up at school WAY too long. She always finished in darkness, and she missed coming home in daylight to the clear, blue sky.
The second problem was the gameplays. Oh yes, Swirl knew that gameplays were essential to a good game, but she felt that the coaches made up quite a lot, and she couldn't remember them all half of the time.
Why can't we just trust our instincts and play the game, instead of taking up time trying to remember tons of plays that the other team will just ruin?, Swirl always thought to herself.
"SWIRLSHINE!"
A loud yell snapped Swirl out of her own mind.
"SWIRLSHINE! GO!"
Turning, she saw that it was her turn to run the current play, and she sheepishly ran out onto the court. That just reminded her of the third problem: her teammates. Most were nice, but there were those few who always yelled when she did something wrong, which Swirl hated.
Looking around at the girls running the play with her, she groaned inwardly. One of the girls on the court was, of course, Kayley, a girl who, as far as Swirl was concerned, hated her. And since Swirl didn't exactly enjoy people who hated her for no reason, the feeling was mutual. She tried to avoid Kayley the best she could, but sometimes, there was just no escape.
After running through the play a few times, Swirl got to sit out, and she was quite glad about that. All of a sudden, she heard the door to the gym open, and in stepped...
"Gracie?" Swirl said, surprised.
Gracie smiled, then stepped forward to let another girl through the doorway.
"Kara? What are you guys doing here?"
But that wasn't all. More people were behind Kara and Gracie, and after a few seconds, they all turned and faced Swirlshine, grinning.
"And Sarah, Ja, Lost? And Kraft and Gfox? Okay guys, what's going on? Why are you all here?" Swirl asked, eyes wide.
"We've come to cheer you on!', said Ja excitedly.
"GO CHICKENS!" yelled Kraft, drawing confused looks from the other basketball players.
Swirl stifled a laugh. "We're the Leopards, you know!"
"Yeah", replied Kraft. "But chickens would be much better. Chickens ALWAYS win."
Imagining a chicken mascot, Swirl giggled. The group of Animal-Jam-lovers walked over to the bleachers and sat down.
"Swirlshine?" Swirl turned to see her coach staring at her and her friends.
"Are these your friends?" she asked Swirl.
Swirl nodded.
"Can we stay and watch, Miss?" pleaded Lost. "We promise we won't distract anyone."
The rest of the Bloggers all nodded.
Swirl's coach looked a little rushed, so all she said was "Okay", before walking off again. "Come on, Swirlshine, your turn on the court."
Swirl glanced at her loyal friends, then gave them a nod and ran off. From where she was standing, she could hear Hayley and her friend, Leah, muttering to each other.
"Who the heck are those girls? And why are there so many of them?"
"I know, right!? I think they're Swirlshine's friends."
"Oh." Hayley sounded surprised.
Swirl glared at them. Did they think that I didn't have friends? Is that so hard to believe?
But she didn't have time to deal with divas at the moment. Once again, her friends had gotten her out of a tough situation, and she was now determined to do her best for them. And so, as the scoreboard time began counting down, Swirl gave it her best effort.
Chapter 7
A week later, Swirl was in her 3rd period class, ELA, writing a paper for the district assessment about being positive. Considering that when Swirl tried to be positive about something, the negative effect always happened, she had to go against her own thoughts writing it.
I wish the district would give us some better topics. Why not let us write a fiction story for once?
Then, the 6th grade bell rang, making Swirl jump a little, before she started to put everything away. At her school, there was a bell that rang for the 6th graders, 4 minutes before the 7th and 8th graders' bell did, so that the halls would be less crowded. It didn't seem like it was working to clear anything except the halls the 7th and 8th graders didn't go in, but it's not like any student could do anything about it.
Her friend, Raina, whom she had met in elementary, turned to her. Raina had drifted further away from Swirl too, but, unlike Dancer, she still talked to Swirl kindly from time to time when she had the chance, so therefor, Swirl didn't hold anything against her. She felt in her heart that Raina didn't mean to ignore her, but somehow, she didn't feel the same about Dancer
"Dancer hasn't been too nice lately", Raina commented in a low voice.
"How? What's she doing?" Swirl asked, curious.
"She's been trying to make me jealous about tons of things, and when I told her not to post something about my other friend, Leah, on Instantjam, she told me it wasn't my business and posted it anyway." Raina said, looking slightly annoyed. "And guess what else?"
"What?"
"The other day, I heard her tell her friend 'I don't need no Jesus!" Raina told her, making her voice sound sassy.
"WHAT!?" Swirl gasped, shocked.
"Yeah. I told her she had gone too far with that, and she said 'I was just kidding', but she didn't look like she was." Raina shook her head. "I'm not sure what she's turned into these days, but I don't like it at all."
"I wouldn't blame you if you decided you didn't want to be her friend anymore... ", Swirl muttered distractedly. All of a sudden, their bell rang, and the kids in the room ran out the door. Raina followed them, and Swirl did, too, but a lot slower.
Her mind was whirling. She really said that? Why would she do that?! Oh, Dancer. What happened to the old you? What happened to my friend?
Well, I know one thing. Raina was right. She did go too far with that comment. Too far for me.
And, with that, Swirl angrily kicked the thoughts of Dancer out of her head with one last silent comment to herself.
If she's done with the Lord, then I'm done with her. For good.
She walked off to 4th period, setting her mind on her lunch with her friends instead.
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But, at the lunch she was so looking forward to, the same thoughts drifted back into her wandering mind.
"You okay, Swirl?" asked Lost, who was sitting next to her. Swirl looked up, startled.
"Oh. Yeah, I'm fine", she sighed.
"You sure? You don't seem like it." said Ja from across the table.
"I am."
"You can tell us." Lost said with a smile.
Swirl decided to give in. "Okay. The thing is..."
"WHAT!?" yelped Gracie and Sarah, sounding just like Swirl earlier when she had heard the news.
Swirl nodded grimly. "That's what Raina said she said."
Gracie, Kara, Sarah, and Ja all stared at each other in shock, but Lost looked at Swirl.
"So, Dancer is your old friend? The one who now ignores you?"
Swirl nodded again.
To her surprise, Lost wrapped her arms around her warmly.
"Huggle!", she said, grinning.
Swirl smiled back. "Thanks."
"So, do you still want to be friends with Dancer?" Gracie said from beside Kara and Sarah.
"Honestly...no. Not after that comment."
All her friends nodded in agreement.
"Hey, just remember, us Bloggers will always have your back!" said Lost.
"That's right!" all the others chorused.
"And to prove it, here's a drawing of a chicken on your back!" Kraft announced, shoving a paper towards Swirl.
Swirl laughed. "You really do love chickens!"
"They are my heart and soul", Kraft said jokingly, sitting up straighter and making a jokingly-serious face.
Swirl giggled again. "Thanks, you guys!"
"Hey, do guys wanna come over to my house on Saturday?" asked Sarah. "Like, for a sleepover?"
"I'll have to ask my mom", replied Swirl.
"Me too", said Lost.
"But it sounds fun! I'll ask and tell you tomorrow!" Swirl said, grinning at Sarah.
"Same here!" said Gracie, Kara and Lost in unison.
"I can probably go", said Kraft. "Can we have marshmallows there?"
"Sure!" laughed Sarah. "As long as we aggressively roast them!" She shot a knowing look at Swirl, who laughed and agreed.
"I bet I can come, too", Gfox joined in.
"And I live with Sarah, so I'm obviously coming." Ja told them.
"Great! Let's all check with our parents tonight! Hopefully they'll agree!" Sarah gave a small clap of her hands.
"I can't wait!" yelled Kraft and Swirl together.
Chapter 8
That night, Swirl looked up from her phone at her mom, who was sitting across the room on the couch.
"Hey, Mom?" said Swirl.
"Yeah?"
"Could I maybe have a sleepover with my friends on Saturday?" Swirl asked in the nicest-sounding tone she could use.
"What friends? Like, Raina and Dancer?" her mom questioned suspiciously.
"No...not them." And definitely not Dancer, that's for sure.
"Then who?"
"My Blog- I mean... my new friends...that I met at school." Swirl stopped herself from saying "Blogger" just in time. If she had told her mom that these were her online friends, she'd never believe her, and probably wouldn't agree to the sleepover at all. But her mom didn't seem any more doubtful, so Swirl still had a bit of hope.
"Hmm...", her mom replied. "Do you mean, like, a sleepover here?"
"Uh...no...at my friend Sarah's house."
Her mom frowned. "Swirlshine, you know I don't like letting you go to people's houses I don't know."
"Please", begged Swirl. "Everyone else is going! And I know them and trust them! Promise!"
Silence.
"Well... I guess if all of your other friends are for sure going... then... fine. You can go." her mom finally answered.
"Thanks, Mom! And I'll ask Sarah for the directions to her house tomorrow!" Swirl said excitedly. Her mom gave her a nod, and off Swirl went to her room to text her friends the news.
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It was Friday, the next day, and, walking out of her 5th period classroom, Swirl felt blissfully happy. She had gotten everything locked into place for the sleepover, and nothing was going to mess it up!
All of a sudden, a thought flashed across her mind.
Wait... I still haven't met some of my Blogger friends yet! I wonder if they're around the school somewhere... then I can get them to come, too!
Walking down the hallway, Swirl tried to focus on finding the outfits her friends wore in the crowd of kids around her.
Let's see... Purple wears a purple scarf and a Head Flower... Flora wears an orange Fox Hat and a green Bow...Fang has a black and white Top Hat...Violet- wait! Is that...?
Swirl stood on her toes to peer over the heads of the human sea, and caught a glimpse of a girl with dark hair and a purple flower in it.
"Purple?" she called out, weaving her way towards the girl, who looked up after hearing her name.
Yes! It is her!
Finally reaching Purple, she noticed that she stared at her Wizard Hat with a puzzled look on her face.
"Your outfit... it looks so familiar. I-"
"Purple!" Swirl shouted. "It's me, Swirlshine! The blogger Swirlshine!"
Purple blinked, and glanced at Swirl's Wizard Hat and necklace once more. "That's... amazing! How are you here?!"
"No idea", Swirl answered honestly. "But listen. The other Bloggers and I are having a sleepover at Sarah's house tonight. Can you ask your parents if you can come? I'll get Sarah to tell you the directions to her house."
Purple paused for a moment, then said, "Okay, I'll ask them."
"Great!" Swirl replied. "And, if you need someone to sit with at lunch, come find all of us!"
Purple smiled, nodded, then sprinted away down the hall.
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Saturday afternoon, Swirl jumped out of her mom's car with her things, waved goodbye, and then leaped up the steps to Sarah's home. Just as she rang the doorbell, another car pulled up, and Kraft came out, along with another girl who wore a Fox Hat, Crescent Necklace, and a green Bow on her back.
"Guess who I found", Kraft shouted, hauling her Minecraft sleeping bag out of her car.
"Flora?" Swirl gasped, just as Sarah opened the door.
Flora grinned and waved. "Hey Swirl! Hi, Sarah!"
Sarah's eyes widened. "Flora! Yay, you could come! And hi, Swirl! Come on, the others are all here already!"
Swirl, Kraft, and Flora nodded, then ran into Sarah's nicely decorated house. Immediately, Gfox ran up and gave them all a huge hug.
"YES! YOU GUYS MADE IT!" she yelled happily.
Swirl laughed. "Of course!"
Just then, Ja, Gracie, Kara, Purple, Lost, and another boy that Swirl didn't know, walked down the stairs.
"Oh yeah! Swirl, Kraft, Flora, this is Pob! He hasn't been at school for the past few days, since he'd been feeling sick", Sarah told her.
"Yeah, but I'm feeling a lot better now!" Pob said, waving at Swirl and the others.
"Come up to Sarah and Ja's room! It's super cool!" said Gfox, tugging Swirl's arm. She then dashed up the stairs, Swirl, Kraft, and the others right behind her.
After a moment, Swirl found herself standing in a brightly colored room, filled with Animal Jam toys, books, and many other things that Swirl couldn't even begin to name.
"Woah...", she commented, awestruck. "This is awesome!"
Gfox, Sarah, and Ja ran and leaped onto Sarah's bed, laughing.
"So, what should we do, guys?" Gracie asked, Kara by her side.
"I know!", Kraft yelped quickly. "Did you get those marshmallows, Sarah?"
"Yep, sure did!"
"Then let's use 'em!"
"Yeah! We can make s'mores!" Lost said.
"I thought you'd never ask", said Ja, before dashing off with Sarah to get the marshmallows.
Chapter 9
After eating their homemade s'mores, the Bloggers played Animal Jam, watched a movie, and much more, until they all were lying in their beds and sleeping bags in Sarah's shared bedroom with Ja.
"Are you guys tired?" Flora asked from across the room.
Swirl shrugged. "No. Not yet, anyway."
"Same here", agreed Kraft, Kara, Gfox, and Gracie at the same time.
"Me neither." sighed Flora.
"I guess we can just talk for a while." Lost suggested. The others nodded.
Swirl propped herself up on arms and looked around the dark room.
"Hey, you know what? I guess it's not really needed anymore, but, to visit you guys whenever I wanted, I sure wish we had-"
"THE BLOGGER PORTAL!" all the girls chorused, including Swirl.
Lost looked like she was about to say something else, but, all of a sudden, a glaring white light flashed in the corner of Swirl's eye. Lost and the others must have seen it too, because they all turned to stare at Sarah's closed closet door.
"What IS that!?" Purple shrieked. Swirl backed away on her hands and knees towards her, as did all the other Bloggers.
The light shone again, growing brighter and brighter. The group of friends shielded their eyes with their hands, until, suddenly...
BAM!
The closet doors swung open, despite no one touching them. Everyone jumped up, startled, and backed towards the other side of the room. Sarah and Ja's cat, Smokey, sprinted out of the room. Swirl squeezed her eyes shut, fearing that she may be blinded by the mysterious glow.
After a few seconds, she slightly opened one eye. The white light was now gone, and she could see a faint green light. She opened her eyes all the way.
There, in the center of Sarah's closet, was a glowing, light green, swirling circle. It had white lines that shifted and moved constantly, sometimes turning into darker green square shapes before changing back again.
"What... but... how...", Ja stuttered, looking bewildered.
"What is it?" asked Flora.
Swirl wondered the same thing, until the idea hit her in the head like a falling stone.
"It's... It's...", she stammered.
"It's what?!" said Kara, staring intently at her.
"It's... a portal. The Blogger Portal", she whispered.
Her friends all stared, but, out of all of them, not one looked doubtful of what Swirl had just said.
"That's... incredible!" gasped Gracie.
"It's been out there the whole time! I knew it!" yelled Kraft, pumping a fist in the air.
"Yeah... but why is it just appearing now?" muttered Lost thoughtfully.
They all thought for a moment, until Sarah's exclamation broke the silence.
"Maybe it has something to do with us all being in the same place, and saying the same thing all together?" she guessed
Ja nodded. "Yeah, that could be it."
The Animal-Jammers turned back to the portal.
"It looks just like the ones in the Animal Jam Adventure Base Camp!" noticed Kara.
"And like my Masterpiece", Swirl added.
"So... now that the Blogger Portal has appeared in Sarah's house... does that mean that it's appeared in all of our houses now?" Gfox questioned.
Purple shrugged. "Only one way to find out!"
"Yeah... but can that way wait until tomorrow afternoon? We've still got the rest of a sleepover tomorrow!" Kraft pointed out.
"Of course!" Purple replied. "We'll all find out tomorrow."
"What should we do about this portal, guys?" Swirl asked. "I'm pretty sure Sarah's parents don't want to see a huge, bright green, swirling blob in the middle of her closet."
"Let's just close the doors for now", decided Ja. "I bet it'll still be there tomorrow, and then we'll figure out how to hide it."
"Well, in that case", yawned Flora, "let's go to sleep, because NOW I'm tired." The others nodded, got into their sleeping bags and beds, and lay down.
Swirl's mind raced, making her think she would never fall asleep, but, 5 minutes later, she was out.
Chapter 10
"Bye guys!" Swirl called out as she walked out the doorway towards her mom's car the next afternoon. She waved at Flora and Lost, who were among the last to leave, and then at Sarah, Pob, and Ja.
"Don't forget about it!" Sarah yelled back, shooting Swirl a knowing look. Swirl stared back, confused, for just a moment.
"Oh, yeah! I won't!" she said, finally realizing that her friend meant the Blogger Portal. Waving one last time, she stepped into the car, loaded up her things, and then they were off.
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Back at her house, Swirl unloaded all of the stuffed animals she had brought and set them back on her bed. After she was done unpacking, she glanced around, then immediately started to look around the room.
Come on... it's got to be in here somewhere! she thought as she peeked inside her closet. Still nothing.
Maybe... it's inside a wall somehow? It was an odd thought, but, considering that a portal had appeared out of nowhere at Sarah's house, she felt certain that the same thing should be able to happen here.
Walking all around her room, she put her hands to the wall and felt all around for some kind of-
Wait... what the heck is a portal supposed to feel like?
She honestly had no idea, but she guessed that it would just seem... different. She put her ear to the wall she was closest to, wondering if portals made some kind of audible noise, before a voice sounded, startling her.
"Swirl?"
Swirl leaped up, stumbled, and fell backwards into her bed. Rubbing her leg, she glanced up to see her mom standing in the doorway.
"What are you doing? Are you okay?" her mom asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine", Swirl answered, standing up. "I was just, uh, looking for a thing I dropped, and you scared me, that's all."
"Oh, sorry!" said her mom. "I just came in to tell you that lunch is ready."
"Okay, I'll be there in a second", Swirl told her. Her mom nodded and stepped out, closing the door behind her. Swirl let out a sigh and sat on her bed. She thought about how stupid she must look, petting the walls and stumbling about, and snickered.
Oh well... it's for the Blogger Portal, after all!
She continued her search, finally reaching her closet. Touching the wall behind the door, she gasped. Half of her arm had disappeared into it!
Swirl pulled her arm back with a yelp of surprise. "What's happening?", she muttered warily. Then her eyes widened, and, all of a sudden, there it was. A portal, identical to the one she'd seen at Sarah's, was now there, embedded in the wall.
"Yes! I found it!" Swirl cheered. "But... how do I work it?"
Nothing seemed to be triggered by her words.
"Well... okay. Maybe I just... imagine who I want to go to? I mean, it's kinda from my imagination, in a way, right? And that IS how I imagined it working!"
Deciding on that idea, Swirl formed a vivid image of Lostfairy in her mind behind closed eyes, took a deep breath, and stepped through the green circle.
When she opened her eyes again...
She was standing in a completely different room. A girl, sitting at a desk, turned around and stared in shock.
"Lost!" exclaimed Swirl.
"Swirl? Where did you come from!?" Lost yelped.
"From the Blogger Portal! I found it in my closet, stepped through it, and here I am now. Yours must be right here, where I came through", Swirl told her.
Lost's eyes widened. "Woah... cool!" She laughed. "Portals appearing in walls are just a normal thing for you now, huh?"
"Yeah... my life is now officially too weird for words", Swirl replied jokingly.
"Well, I'm gonna see where else mine leads! See you, Lost!" Swirl waved a goodbye to her friend and leaped back into her room.
Wow! I can't believe all of that worked! Swirl thought, and grinned to herself.
Oh yeah! Lunch! Suddenly remembering, she raced out to the kitchen.
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That Monday, it was back to school, and at lunch, Swirl told her friends about how she had found and operated the Blogger Portal. Several of them reported similar things happening as well. Then, right in the middle of their conversation, the bell sounded.
"Come on, we gotta go!' said Gfox, getting up. The rest gathered their things and walked down to their next classes together. Then, as the group walked by, Swirl heard a voice that she knew could only belong to one of the diva girls in the school.
"Look at that group of nerds", it said quietly. Another girl laughed. Swirl looked over her shoulder.
The others must have heard too, because Gfox said "Excuse me?" and whirled around. The rest of the group did, too, and glared at the divas, who stared back at them as if they were the most unthreatening things they'd ever seen.
"What did you just say?" Sarah asked suspiciously.
"I said you all are nerds. I mean, just look at you. It's obvious that you guys are nowhere near popular", one answered, raising an eyebrow while the other nodded and flipped her long brown hair to the side.
Swirl glared at them. She hadn't dealt with bullies before...but no one was going to say this to her and her friends.
Chapter 11
"It's not like we exactly care about your rude opinion!" blurted Swirl, narrowing her eyes.
"Just leave us alone. We're not doing anything to you", Gracie put in.
The girls only rolled their eyes.
"We heard you talking about some game called 'Animal Jam'. Do you really play that?" one asked in a surprised-sounding tone.
"Yes, we do", replied Kraft coolly, not hesitating even a little. "Is that a problem?"
The divas giggled. "You do know that game's for, like, 8 year olds, right!?"
"Tell that to the famous YouTubers in high school and college who play it", muttered Swirl. "Now, can you please let us get to our classes without all this drama?"
"Excuse me, but you started this fight." commented the second diva.
"Yeah!" said the first.
Gfox rolled her eyes, turned, and began to walk away. The others turned, too, and Swirl was about to follow her, until the first diva stepped in front of Gfox and shoved her backwards.
"Hey! Don't push our friend!" Ja yelled. Even Kraft looked mad.
"Trying to run away? I knew you guys were afraid', exclaimed the diva, putting her hands on her hips.
"We are not looking for a fight." growled Lost, fixing her backpack over her shoulders .
The divas looked at each other, and then back at the Bloggers.
"Oh, I think you are."
"Can I punch them now?" asked Gfox, sounding furious.
"Look who's brave now", said the second girl.
"Oh, be quiet!" yelled Swirl, rage building up inside of her.
"Excuse me, you little brat, but we don't take orders from you!" the first diva shot back.
"And we know pretty much everyone in the grade, so the fact that we've never even seen you shows how popular you aren't." the second one said immediately after.
"Excuse me, but don't you talk to our friend that way! Ever!" yelled Sarah furiously.
"Or you'll get the fight you've been looking for!" blurted Gfox. Flora nodded behind her.
Swirl gritted her teeth, the flame of anger now burning brightly in her stomach. She glanced around the hall.
Kids were standing along the sides, watching the two groups argue. Some looked uneasy, but others had eyes that seemed to plead for a fight. One girl, with purple hair and a purple Spiked Collar around her neck, seemed to be smirking a little, but she stayed quiet.
Something about that look seems familiar, thought Swirl. I just can't quite put my finger on it.
"Please. A rat would put up a better fight than you", the first diva told the Bloggers.
"Excuse me, Kenley?" said a voice. Swirl jumped, then turned around to see the principal standing behind her.
"Oh... hi, Mr. Rebock..." stuttered the first diva, trying to sound calm.
"Kenley, don't you dare try to act innocent. I heard everything you said to this group. You and your friend are coming with me to the office." Mr. Rebock said sternly. Then he made a motion with his hand, and the two girls glared one last time at the Bloggers before walking sulkily down to the office.
Mr. Rebock turned to the others.
"Please come to my office tomorrow, two of you, so we can discuss what those two did." The group nodded, and the principal walked off behind the divas.
"Well, that was close." Sarah sighed in relief. "I didn't really want a fight."
"Me neither", agreed Swirl. "But now we've got to go to Mr. Rebock's office tomorrow."
"Well, only two of us", said Gracie. "I can go, if you want."
"And I'll go, too", added Lost.
"Are you sure? I don't want you guys to get in trouble!" said Swirl worriedly.
"It'll be fine." Lost replied. "We won't get in trouble. None of us will."
I hope you're right, thought Swirl, and together, she and her friends walked down the rest of the hallway and bolted into their advisory rooms.
Chapter 12
"It was fine, like we thought", Gracie assured Swirl the next day at lunch. "We told Mr. Rebock everything that happened, and he understood."
"I didn't see that Kenley girl around today, or her friend", added Lost.
"Maybe they got suspended?" guessed Swirl.
Gfox let out a groan. "I hope so...pushing me like that. If they didn't, there's obviously something wrong with the world these days."
Swirl and the others nodded.
"I honestly hope we never see them again." commented Sarah, making a face.
"Me too", replied Swirl. "Me too..."
*********************************************************************************
What's going on...?
Swirl was floating in pitch blackness. Her feet were resting on nothing but air. Yet, somehow, there she was, hovering, yet not falling anywhere. How had she gotten here? She didn't seem to remember a thing.
Total blackness... what is this place? Why am I here?
Then, everything around her began to turn blue, although it was still a very dark shade of it. Still, she could just make out- wait, were those bubbles? Her vision seemed to be blurred, yet she had no idea why. She rubbed her eyes, but it did no good. She still couldn't see clearly.
This is so- AHH!
Suddenly she was falling. She didn't know where she was falling to- she didn't even know how she knew she was falling at all. All she saw were unclear bubbles flying past her against a dark blue background.
Swirl wasn't too frightened at first. Nothing around her seemed to be harmful, and plus, she was pretty sure everything that was happening was something created by her imagination anyway.
But then her lungs suddenly began to tighten.
Swirl realized this, and immediately started to panic. Fighting for breath, she tried to reach out, hoping there was something on the way down that she could grab onto, but her arm seemed to move in slow motion, and besides, there was nothing but blue and bubbles. She tried to scream, but nothing came out.
It kept getting harder and harder to inhale. Panicking, Swirl twisted and thrashed around in the air.
No no NO! What's happening!? Why can't I breathe?!
Then her eyes began to close, although she was not controlling them, and her breathing and heartbeat slowed. Something unseen hit her forcefully...
...and she opened her eyes to find herself on carpeted ground. She felt hot but cold at the same time, and realized she was sweating. Panting wildly, she looked around. She was on the floor of her bedroom.
"I... guess it was a dream..." Swirl muttered to herself, still half in shock. "Yeah... only a dream..."
I've never had a nightmare like that. Why was I falling? Why couldn't I breathe? Her mind swam with questions that she was sure no one could answer. Standing up, she climbed back into her bed, flopped onto her side, and tried to fall back asleep. But every time she closed her eyes, the nightmarish scene crept back into her head.
Sighing, she opened her eyes and let her mind wander.
I've never had such a... vivid dream before. Maybe it means something...
But what?
Chapter 13
The dream was still on her mind the whole weekend, and on Monday morning as well. It was as if some kind of magnet was pulling her brain and thoughts back to it.
It's got to mean something, then. she thought to herself. I just have no idea what.
"Swirl? What're you doing?" asked a voice.
Swirl snapped out of her zoned-out trance and looked up at Gracie, who was watching her with a concerned expression on her face.
"Oh, sorry!" she apologized to her friend. "I'm just thinking."
"About what?" asked Lost, peeking around Gracie.
Swirl sighed. "This weird dream I had. I can't stop thinking about it. I was in blackness, and then I suddenly just started to fall. All I could see was dark blue and... maybe bubbles. I'm not sure. Everything was so blurry."
"I've never had a dream like that before..." said Sarah. "That sounds kind of freaky."
"It was." Swirl nodded. "I also couldn't breathe, either. It was like my throat just tightened or something, and it kept getting worse and worse." She shuddered at the memory.
"Well, remember, it was just a dream." Kara commented. "So that means it won't really happen."
"I'm not so sure", Swirl replied doubtfully. "It felt so... real. And it won't get out of my head. I think... it might mean something."
"Mean something? Like what?" questioned Ja.
Swirl shrugged. "I have no idea. Other than something bad."
They all looked at each other for a moment.
"I doubt it means anything, Swirl. Don't worry." said Purple reassuringly. "Remember, it was just a dream, like Kara said."
"Yeah. There's only, like, a .5% chance that it'll come true." Kraft added.
Swirl sighed. "I really hope you guys are right."
*********************************************************************************
"Hey!" Flora suddenly yelled at lunch later that day.
Swirl nearly jumped out of her skin. "AH!" she yelped, almost falling off of her seat.
"Oh, sorry!" Flora apologized.
Swirl laughed. "It's fine! 'Hey' what?"
"I had an idea! You know how it's warm here, even right now, in the winter?"
"Yeah", the group replied.
"Well, that means that we could even go swimming! Want to go to the lake on Saturday?", Flora asked hopefully.
"That sounds awesome! I'm asking my mom as soon as I get home!" Swirl exclaimed.
"Me too!" chorused Kraft, Gfox, Sarah, and Lost.
"Great! Text me when you get an answer from your parents!", said Flora.
*********************************************************************************
After some convincing, Swirl's mom had finally agreed to let her go. All the other Bloggers had gotten permission from their parents, too. Now, that Saturday, Swirl was in the car, driving to the lake to meet her friends.
"I've never actually been to the lake before! What's it like?" she asked her mom.
"Like a lake", her mom joked. She suddenly halted and parked the car. "We're here!"
Swirl grabbed her stuff and raced out of the car. The air felt warm, perfect for swimming, and sunlight shone on the lake's surface, making it look silver.
"Swirl! You're here!" called a voice, and, squinting, she made out the shape of Lost at the bottom of the hill.
"Come on!" her friend called, and Swirl raced down the slope to follow her.
Chapter 14
"Hey, wait for me!" Swirl called as Sarah leaped into the lake with a huge splash. Walking around the edge of the water, she took the easier way, wading into the shallow end, Lost right behind her. She expected the water to be freezing cold, but instead, it seemed to feel almost warm, yet still refreshing, somehow. She grabbed the rocky edge of the lake and walked out farther and farther, until she finally pushed off and into the the deeper water. Glancing behind her, she saw that Lost hadn't followed her. Swirl gave her a questioning look, and her friend motioned for her to come back towards her.
"What's up?" Swirl asked.
"Oh, I just wanted to tell you that... well... I can't exactly swim." Lost said hesitantly.
"That's fine!" Swirl replied. "It's not like I'm a good swimmer, either! I'm pretty much afraid to go underwater. That's why I didn't jump in like Sarah. Besides", she added, "we won't be spending too much time in the deep parts, anyway!" She heard a splashing noise behind her, and turned to see Gfox, Kraft, and Kara coming towards the shallower end.
"You guys okay?" Kara questioned, glancing from Lost to Swirl.
"Yep! Just fine!" said Lost, and Swirl nodded.
"You guys wanna play a game?" asked Kraft.
"Yeah!" chorused Lost, Sarah, Swirl, and Kara, calling the others over. Swirl grinned, but, for some reason, she suddenly felt a sinister, unknown feeling inside of her.
Why do I feel... nervous? she wondered worriedly.
Then she gave a small shake of her head.
I'm always nervous about something. It's normal. Just forget about it.
Blinking, she turned and waded towards the other Bloggers.
*********************************************************************************
After lunch, the group was ready to go back in the water. Gfox turned to Swirl as they were walking into the lake again.
"Hey, want to have a contest?"
"I DO!" yelled Kraft from behind her.
"Me too!" said Gracie and Kara.
"Us too!" said Ja, Sarah, and Pob, and Flora agreed.
"Okay", Swirl decided, after a slight hesitation. "What kind of contest?"
"Let's see who can make the biggest splash!" Gfox said.
"Can Purple and I be the judges?" Lost asked from dry land, eyeing the deck.
The group nodded.
"That's fine! So, you and Purple will judge us, and see whoever makes the biggest splash, okay?"
"Gotcha!" replied Purple.
The competitors raced up to the short, wooden deck, sticking out into the deepest end of the lake.
Swirl felt a sudden, slight bolt of panic strike her heart, but it faded quickly.
You've done stuff like this before, don't you remember? It's easy. Not like anything bad will happen. As soon as she thought it, she regretted it. Knowing her luck, she'd jinxed it, and she'd probably trip and fall or something now.
You can't change that now. Quit letting fear take over your life, she scolded herself silently. Then she walked towards the rest of the Bloggers to where they were all standing in a line on a grassy, open patch of land. Gfox stood in the front.
"Ready?" asked Purple. Gfox nodded determinedly. Zooming down the deck, she leaped at the end, landing in the water with a huge splash.
"Nice!" commented Kraft, who was next in line. "Now my turn..."
*********************************************************************************
Finally, it was Swirl's turn. Staring at where the deck ended, she narrowed her eyes.
Let's do this.
"Go!" Gfox yelled, giving the signal.
Swirl burst into action, running as fast as she could. At a certain spot, she leaped, certain that she had judged the distance correctly.
She was wrong.
Her foot hit the edge of the wood, and pain stabbed through it. Instinctively, she tried to turn and check it, but before she could do anything, she plunged into the water. Caught off guard, Swirl took a painful breath in, held it, and thrashed about in the water, trying to swim back to the surface. Her heart began to race with panic, and her mind whirled. Where was the surface? She couldn't see anything, other than rocks, bubbles, and her own arms flailing in front of her. She frantically tried to remember what she had learned her whole life about what to do if you got stuck underwater, but all her thoughts were jumbled together in panic, and she couldn't separate a single bit of knowledge.
Then, something sharp, which hurt much more than the wood of the deck, banged into the back of her head. Everything went black for a split second, and the panic in her heart rose until Swirl thought she would have a heart attack. It finally cleared, but her vision was still much blurrier than usual. Now, all she could make out were blobs. She glanced up, eyes narrowed, but she couldn't see anything but green-blue lake water.
Help! she attempted to scream. I'm going to drown!!! But her lungs filled with even more water, and she closed her mouth again, realizing too late what a bad idea it was to open it in the first place.
Everything is bubbles, she thought. Bubbles and dark-
Then she paused.
The bubbles, the darkness- it all seems familiar.
And I know why.
My dream.
It wasn't just a dream... it... it was a warning. About what's happening now. I shouldn't have just dismissed it! And now I can't do anything to prevent it. I...
Her thoughts began to become fuzzy, just like her vision. Suddenly, an odd sense of calmness washed over her. She felt as if time had frozen around her. Her mind stopped spinning, and everything seemed to move in slow-motion. Her vision grew darker, and her eyes began to close.
I never could. I never could've prevented this. This was meant to happen...
Then, something wrapped around her arm, interrupting her peaceful state of mind. The thing yanked her, but she didn't have the strength to stop it. She let herself be dragged up, higher and higher, until finally, she felt a sudden breeze blow across her face. Blinking open her eyes, but only to slits, she recognized the blurred shape of the dock, the ground barely beyond it, and the faces of her friends, dragging her to shore.
But she couldn't manage to keep her eyes open any longer, and slowly, she let them close and her mind give way to nothingness, and the echoing sound of her own heartbeat in her ears faded away.
*********************************************************************************
"Swirl!"
What? Who is that?
"SWIRL!" The voice shouting from the darkness got louder.
I'm right here! Why do you sound so frightened? Who are you?!
"Swirl, wake UP!!!"
I'm... trying... she replied, until realizing that no words were being spoken. Finally, she forced open her eyes.
The shapes were blurred, like before, at first, but after a second, she began to make out the faces of Lost, Sarah, and Gracie looming over her. After regaining most of her vision, she saw the rest of her friends behind them. Every single one stared at her, eyes wide with fear.
"What... what... happened...?" Swirl managed to ask hoarsely, throat stinging with pain.
"You're okay!" Lost gasped with relief.
"You almost drowned, Swirl!" added Kara's worried voice from somewhere behind her.
Everything rushed back to Swirl at that moment- the deck, leaping off of it, falling, hitting her head, the darkness...
With an effort, Swirl lifted her head off the ground.
"Luckily, Kara dove underwater super fast and managed to grab you and drag you back up to the surface", said Gracie.
Swirl peered around her and stared at Kara.
"Thank you", she murmured. Then she looked around. "All of you."
Kara just continued to look at her, but Swirl saw pure relief in her eyes as well.
"Can you get up now?" questioned Purple. Swirl nodded. Her friends helped her up, and together, they walked towards the table where they had set up.
Chapter 15
About an hour and a half later, Swirl was back in her mom's car once again, feeling almost completely normal again. Stepping into the vehicle, she had realized that she had no idea how to tell her mom that she had almost drowned on a harmless trip to the lake.
Maybe I just shouldn't tell her. She'd totally freak out if I tried to say anything. She might not even believe me, anyway.
"So, how was it?" her mom asked from the driver's seat beside Swirl.
"Good", she replied, confident that her voice was giving nothing away.
"Everything was fine, right? Nothing bad happened?" Her mom was asking her normal, overly-curious questions, and the tension in Swirl's heart relaxed a bit.
"Nope, everything was fine!" she replied cheerfully.
Her mom nodded. "Good."
*********************************************************************************
Finally at home, Swirl flopped exhaustedly onto her bed, the same way she had when all of this had started. When she first met her Blogger friends in real life. Imagining them, her trail of thought randomly lead to her incident at the lake.
I still can't believe I almost drowned. Thank goodness my friends were there to rescue me. She shivered, remembering the feeling of being pushed under by the water.
All of a sudden, the door to her room opened. Still a bit jumpy, Swirl immediately sat up, startled.
Her mom stepped into her room.
"Oh, hi", Swirl said, her heart beginning to beat a bit faster.
"Gracie's mom texted me that you almost drowned by running off a dock. Is that true?" Her mom's face was serious.
Swirl's heart pounded, and she swore the room got warmer at that very second.
Darn! I forgot that we told Gracie's mom everything! Of course she's tell my mom- what was I thinking?!
Her mom was still waiting for an answer. "Well?"
Swirl hesitated. "Well... um... yes?"
Her mom's eyes flashed. "You seriously almost drowned?"
"My friends saved me...", Swirl pointed out, but her mom obviously didn't seem to care.
"And you ran off a dock?! Why on earth would you do something like that?!"
"Well, actually, I, uh, tripped off of it..."
"You tripped off a dock?"
"Yeah... I was trying to run and jump in, and I tripped and hit my foot. But my Bl- I mean... my friends- jumped in and helped me!" she repeated.
"And why were you planning to run and jump off a dock in the first place?" her mom asked suspiciously, clearly not willing to give up the argument.
"Well, me and my friends were-"
"Your friends started all this?" Her mother's voice still sounded furious.
"No! It was all my fault! I misjudged my leap!" Swirl replied quickly, shocked.
Her mom stared, her expression clearly saying "You're lying."
"I'm serious!" Why won't she believe me?
"Well, Swirl, I have no choice. You are not allowed to go anywhere with those friends of yours anymore."
Swirl's pounding heart almost stopped right then and there. "W-what?"
"You heard me. They can't come over here, and you can't go to their houses, or anywhere else with them. I may even talk to your teachers and see if they can keep you apart from them when they can at school, if you refuse to stay away from them at first. Nothing like that is ever happening again."
"No! I told you, it wasn't their fault at all! What, do you think they did it on purpose or something!?" Swirl snapped angrily.
Her mom glared at her. "They apparently started the game you were playing, and they obviously had no idea how dangerous it was. And look what ended up happening!"
"It was a complete accident on my behalf! And they're my friends, for Pete's sake! Are you crazy?!" She knew she shouldn't be talking this way to her mom, but at this point, she couldn't stop herself.
"They're obviously careless and don't know anything about staying safe! How do you know something like this won't happen again?" her mom argued.
"How do you know!? You weren't even there to see how it happened!" Swirl shot back.
Her mom shook her head. "Sorry, Swirlshine, but I'm sticking with my rule. Stay away from those girls. If I hear of you all being together, you'll be in even more trouble when you get home."
And with that, her mom marched out of the room, slamming the door behind her.
Swirl stared at where she had disappeared, still horrified. She had no idea what to say, what to do, what to even think.
She's... she's gone insane! She can't be serious, right? Why would she do that!? Her whole body seemed to be frozen with shock.
Then she sat up straighter, glaring at the wall.
Sorry, Mom. But this is the one rule that I'm not going to follow.
Chapter 16
Walking into school on Monday, Swirl still felt the painful sting of her mom's words.
How am I going to tell all of them?
"Hey Swirl!" called a voice.
Swirl looked up to see all the Bloggers sitting in a circle on the gym floor. Sarah was waving her over. Warily, she glanced around to make sure no teachers were watching, then went towards them.
Her friends seemed to have noticed her odd behavior. Gracie and Lost were eying her, a puzzled look on their faces.
"Swirl?" Gracie said as Swirl came up to them.
Swirl looked around again, then noticed one of the adults looking in her direction. She froze.
"Uh, guys, follow me over here", Swirl told her friends, walking to the back corner of the gym.
Kraft and Purple shared a confused look, while Lost blinked after her. After a few seconds, they followed.
Sitting down again, Kara finally asked the question Swirl was dreading.
"Alright, Swirl, what's going on?"
"Well..." Swirl hesitated a moment, but then, knowing that she's have to break the truth sometime, continued.
"My... mom talked to me yesterday. She found out about the... uh... incident... and now she doesn't really... want me around you guys." she said slowly.
"What?! Why?" Gracie asked, sounding horrified.
Swirl sighed. "I think she thinks it's all of you guys' fault that I almost... uh... you know. I tried to tell her it wasn't, but she wouldn't listen. She thinks you guys were being careless, and it resulted in... well... you know."
Her friends stared at her, eyes wide. Swirl shrank back.
"But we weren't being careless! Why would she think that!?" said Flora, bewildered.
Swirl shook her head. "I don't know."
All of a sudden, Gfox turned away.
" You know... her mom does have a point. But it's just one person's fault. Mine."
Swirl blinked at her. "What? Why would it be your fault?"
"Because I started it." Gfox answered. "I started the whole thing!" Her voice cracked.
"Gfox, that's not true", Swirl replied.
"Yeah! It just happened! None of us caused it!" added Lost.
Gfox looked up again, saying nothing.
"Trust me, Gfox. You had nothing to do with this. None of you guys did. It was my mistake, and only mine." Swirl told her friend.
Gfox sighed. "If you say so."
Swirl looked at her friend for another long moment, then turned forward again.
"But... why did you bring us over here, Swirl?" questioned Purple.
"Well... that's the thing. My mom doesn't even want us near each other at school. She said she's going to tell my teachers to keep us apart." Swirl answered, looking down at the ground.
"What?!" everyone chorused.
Swirl nodded, still not looking up. "That's what she said."
"Well, then, we'll just have to make sure no teachers see us together, right?" said Kraft's voice. Swirl glanced up and saw she had a determined look on her face.
"Yeah! We can't let one rule keep us apart!" added Ja.
Swirl allowed herself to smile. "You're right. We're a team. I'm not going to let my mom stand in between us!"
A second later, the bell for first period rang. Swirl and her friends got up and trudged out the door, avoiding the teacher by the door of the gym.
Once they were out, they walked down the halls, together, aware of the rule, but not caring anyways.
Chapter 17
Swirl plopped down onto her bed with a loud sigh. It had been harder than she thought to keep away from her teachers around the school. Finally, though, she was home, and she couldn't have been more relieved.
Her gaze drifted to her closet, and she suddenly remembered the Blogger Portal.
Oh, right! When I'm here, I can just go through the Blogger Portal to get to my friends!
She got up and walked to where the portal was hidden in her wall, and stuck her hand through it. Then she paused.
Wait a minute... I almost forgot about my other friends! I wonder if I can link the portal to their houses somehow...
As if it had somehow heard her thoughts, the portal flashed blue. Swirl blinked.
Hmm... well, maybe if I... picture where I want to go... it'll work?
It's worth a shot, she silently told herself.
She stood in front of the portal, which flashed dark blue once again.
Hmm... let's try... Penguin! she thought. Picturing Penguin in her mind wasn't hard, as she could remember everything he wore on his arctic wolf: a Rare Hood With Feather, a green Spiked Collar and Wristband, and green Samurai Swords on his back. Finally certain that she had remembered enough, she closed her eyes and stepped through the portal.
After a few seconds, she opened her eyes again, and found herself staring right at a boy who looked a lot like...
"Penguin? Is that you?" she asked excitedly.
The boy looked at her oddly for a moment, but finally, realization flashed in his eyes.
"Swirlshine?"
Swirl grinned. "So it is you!"
"Yeah, it's me!" Penguin said, straightening his hat. "But... how are you... in here?"
"The entire story is sorta long", Swirl told him. "But, long story short, I came through the Blogger Portal."
"Wait... are you saying that the Blogger Portal is actually real?" Penguin sounded astonished.
"Sure am! Look, come see for yourself." Swirl pointed to where the portal was hidden in the wall.
"Put your hand right there." she told him.
Penguin looked skeptical, but, after a brief hesitation, he did as Swirl said. His hand disappeared into the wall, and he recoiled with a gasp.
"See? It's right there, and it's linked to all the Blogger's homes! All you have to do is think about where you want to go, and it takes you there!" Swirl explained to her friend.
"Woah..." Penguin breathed. Swirl nodded.
"I think I'm gonna see where else the portal can take me. You want to come, Penguin?" Swirl asked, stepping towards the portal again.
"I wish I could", Penguin replied sullenly. "But I have homework to do."
"That's okay, I understand." Swirl reassured her friend. "See you around, Penguin!" As she waved, she knew exactly where she wanted to go next. She pictured it, then stepped through...
When she felt her feet resting on solid ground, she looked up to see a brand new room with a color scheme of black, gray, and red. No one was in the room, but, as she looked around, she spotted a picture of a black and white arctic wolf with a red design on its fur. It was wearing a tall, striped hat, a black collar, and a wristband that matched.
Yep, this is 2Fang's house, alright.
Swirl waited another minute, but when no one came in the room, she sighed.
I guess I'll have to wait a bit longer to meet Fang. Oh well...
"Alright then", she said to herself. "Next up, Custard!"
A few seconds later, she stood in a new room. No one was there, but suddenly, the doorknob turned, and a girl with glasses, blue eyes, and dirty blonde hair came walking in. When she spotted Swirl, she jumped back in surprise.
"Ahh! Who on Earth are you?! What are you doing in my room?!" she asked suspiciously. These wary questions didn't surprise Swirl- if someone she'd never met randomly appeared in HER room without warning one day, she's probably end up throwing an Animal Jam figurine at them or something.
"Custard, it's me! Swirlshine!"
Custard blinked. "Swirlshine?"
Swirl nodded. "Yeah, it's really me! I came here through the Blogger Portal!" She explained the portal like she had explained it to Penguin, and her friend looked very surprised afterwards.
"How is that even possible?" she wondered in a hushed voice.
Swirl shrugged. "Dunno. But anyways, I'm off to try and find some more of the Bloggers. You want to come with me? It won't take long."
Custard thought for a moment, then said "Okay, sure!" And off they went to another Blogger's house.
At the end of the day, she listed the names of the Bloggers she had met in her head: Penguin, Custard, Cookycupcake, and iLoppio. She still had yet to meet Fang, but she wasn't worried about finding her. She'd turn up eventually.
As Swirl said goodbye to Custard for the night, she thought of her room, stepped through the wall, and walked back into her room, flopping onto her bed like she had done before.
I can't believe that the Blogger Portal can lead us to so many places! she said in her head. I wonder where else it'll take us.
Then, from out of the blue, she remembered her mom's rule, and her heart sank once again.
Chapter 18
Finally, after another long, stressful week, Saturday had arrived, and Swirl was more than ready for it. When she woke up, everyone else in her family was asleep, but she wasn't tired anymore, so she decided to test out the Blogger Portal again. She was pretty sure all her friends would be awake by now, since she normally slept in very late on weekends. Walking into her closet, she touched a certain spot on the wall, and the swirling, green portal became visible.
Who should I try and find today? Maybe I could see if Fang is home this time, or-
Suddenly, an idea flashed into her mind.
This portal links to all my Blogger friends... right? So, I wonder... maybe I can get to my friends who quit blogging through here, too?
"It's worth a shot", she muttered quietly to herself, wanting to try something new. "Hmm, okay, how about... Ferretlove?"
Ferretlove had been an author, alongside Gracie, and others, on the Animal Jam Community Blog. Swirl remembered talking and role-playing with Ferretlove many times on Animal Jam, and she was a very kind and funny person.
Imagining Ferretlove, she closed her eyes, stepped forward, and...
"AH!" Swirl yelped as a force pushed her backwards. She grabbed onto the wall, trying to avoid bumping into her carefully-organized shelves of toys behind her.
That was weird. It's never done that before.
Warily, she tried again, but the same, invisible force shoved back on her. It was almost as if someone was standing in front of her and trying harder and harder to prevent her from going through the portal.
Swirl sighed. "Guess I can't get to them after all..." She wasn't too discouraged, though. With a shrug, she trudged back to her bed, where she picked up her Warriors book and began to read.
*********************************************************************************
A few hours later, a bored Swirl went back through the portal to visit her friends again. She jumped through, and found herself in Lost's familiar room.
"Ah!" Lost exclaimed, quickly turning around. "Oh, it's you, Swirl!"
"Sorry if I scared you", Swirl replied sheepishly.
"It's okay. Hey, are you as bored as I am?" her friend asked her. Swirl nodded.
"If you want, I can take you, and some of the others, once I've gathered them, to see the other Bloggers." Swirl suggested.
"Other Bloggers?"
"You know... Custard, Cooky, Penguin..." Swirl listed some of the first few names that popped into her head.
"Ohh! Sure, let's do that!" said Lost, looking excited.
"Great! Let's go get some of the others, too", added Swirl. Her friend nodded, and, agreeing on Gracie's house, they both leaped through Lost's portal to her.
"Hey guys!" Gracie greeted them. "What's up?"
Swirl and Lost explained what they were going to do, and Gracie agreed to go with them. Together, they rounded up Sarah, Kara, and Kraft, and the six went through the Blogger Portal, time after time, to pay visits to their other Blogger friends.
Finally, Swirl realized that she had to go back. "It's almost lunchtime for me", she added. The group decided to go with Swirl to take her back home.
When she arrived, she turned to say goodbye to her friends, but then stopped as she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. She froze and whirled around.
"Um... guys?" She pointed at her closet's wall.
The Blogger Portal, usually glowing a bright green, seemed... dimmer. In fact, the green was a much darker shade than it should have been, and the white designs inside of it swirled around much, much slower than usual.
"Is... that normal?" Sarah asked worriedly.
Swirl shook her head. "I've never seen it look like this before."
"Maybe we're using it too much?" Kraft guessed.
"How do you use a portal 'too much'?" asked Gracie.
Kraft shrugged. "I don't know, but it's not like any of us are portal experts or anything."
"Maybe it just does that after being used a lot", Kara suggested. "It might be best to leave it alone for today, though, just in case."
The rest nodded, and Swirl sighed. "Okay, if you say so."
Her friends leaped back through the portal, leaving Swirl alone in her room. She stared at the now-slowly swirling mass of green, still doubtful.
I really hope nothing's happening to it, she thought to herself. This is something that I can't afford to lose.
Chapter 19
A few days later, the portal hadn't gotten better. In fact, Swirl was convinced that the shade of green was getting a little bit darker each day. Every time she looked at it, she tried to guess what was happening.
Maybe Kraft was right, and I am using it too often. Or maybe it needs to be... charged, or something. After all, it just appeared one day, so it's not like I know how everything works. Or what if-
Ideas and questions flew through Swirl's brain every time, but she tried to shake off her worries. Still, though, she decided against using it every day. Instead, she decided to play Animal Jam, which, because of the recent events, she hadn't played in quite a few months.
After logging on and exploring all the new features the newest update had brought, she clicked on her animal's den. Almost a second later, a tan fox, with midnight-blue eyes and gray ears and paws, appeared at the entrance. She wore a black Jamaaliday Scarf, Clover Leg Warmers, headphones, and a Feather Tail, and her nametag read "Eternal Thefox"
"Rachel!" Swirl typed happily, recognizing her long-time AJ friend at once.
"Hi Swirl!" Rachel typed back.
The two talked for a while, discussing their school lives and hobbies, until, suddenly, a lightbulb went off in Swirl's brain.
"Rachel", she typed, "I'll be right back."
Without waiting for a reply, she dashed off to her closet, where the Blogger Portal sat. She thought of Rachel, walked forward, took a deep breath... and froze.
This is risky, what I'm about to do, she realized. The Blogger Portal has been acting so weird lately. How I can trust it to take to me to the correct place?
She shook her head, clearing the worried thoughts. I've still got to try.
For the second time, she closed her eyes and walked forward, through the portal.
*********************************************************************************
After a few moments, she still didn't feel ground underneath her feet. Starting to worry, she dared to open an eye.
Instead of standing in a room, she seemed to be floating. Bright, neon colors of all kinds swirled around her, and everything was silent. After thinking for a moment, she realized that the portal must not have taken her all the way to her destination. Instead, it had dropped her off in the void between the two portals.
But the question is... how do I get out of here?
She glanced around, hoping to spot a portal that she could somehow go towards, but all she saw were bright shades of green, yellow, and pink. She began to panic.
If there's no entrance or exit I can go through, then I'm trapped, with no way out.
Trying to calm herself, she closed her eyes once more, but only for a second or two. When she opened them again, she was relieved to see that the random colors around her had disappeared. Instead, she found herself in a house, with a roof over her head, and her feet resting safely on solid ground.
Looking up, she saw a girl sitting at a desk, obviously playing on some kind of device. Swirl noticed that she wore the same black headphones as Rachelcatpaws.
"Rachel?" she asked warily, in a quiet voice.
The girl whirled around in alarm, jumping when she saw Swirl. "Who are you?"
"Rachel, it's me! Swirlshine!"
Her friend stared at her. "That... that's not possible."
"It is now, apparently, thanks to the Blogger Portal", Swirl told her.
Rachel still didn't move. Swirl got the feeling that she was going to ask her to prove that she really was Swirlshine, but, after giving her a good look, her friend seemed to relax.
"It's really you?" she said finally.
"Yeah! I came here through the Blogger Portal!" Swirl replied.
Rachel blinked. "The Blogger Portal?" she asked, sounding a bit confused.
Swirl nodded. "Come here, I'll show you."
After explaining the portal to her friend, Swirl glanced at her watch, which still showed the time in her state. It read "10:05".
"Oh gosh! It's getting late!" Swirl gasped. "I better get back home."
"Alright", her friend replied. "But come and visit again soon!"
"I will!" Swirl promised. But, turning back to the wall where Rachel's portal sat, she remembered what had happened before.
"What's the matter?" Rachel asked.
Swirl sighed. "It's just... the portal has been acting... a bit weird for me lately. Don't worry, though", she added, noticing her friend's concerned expression. "I'll get back home just fine."
Rachel nodded. "Okay, if you say so."
Swirl thought about her room, in as much detail as she could, squeezed her eyes shut, and leaped. She didn't open her eyes, however much she wanted to, until she was sure that she was standing on her own carpeted floor.
Good! No problems this time! Although it did take a bit longer...
Swirl glanced back at her portal, but nothing seemed to have changed. Shrugging, she began to walk over to her bed.
Then, a noise, unlike anything Swirl had ever heard before, sounded. She whirled around, startled, and raced back to the portal.
It was darkening.
Before her very eyes, the bright white lines inside the Blogger Portal faded into a light gray, and stopped swirling. The main green color became darker and darker... until, all of a sudden, the whole portal turned black. Pitch black.
Chapter 20
Swirl stared in horror at the dark Blogger Portal.
What... what happened?!
Oh no... oh no no no... please don't let it be ruined!
"Maybe... uh... this is a normal color change, or something..." she tried to reassure herself out loud, but when she attempted to walk through, she slammed into some kind of invisible force- the same one that had prevented her from getting to Ferretlove- and let out a yelp of pain, rubbing her head.
No no no no no... it can't be broken!
She slowly tried to stick her arm through the dark mass. After a few inches, the same force stopped her hand from going any farther.
She stepped back, finally accepting that nothing would work. Her mind whirled in panic.
"I need to tell my friends about this..." she muttered to herself. "Maybe they're having the same problem."
Quickly, she pulled out her phone, and texted all the Bloggers in a group chat.
"Something is wrong with my Blogger Portal", she typed. "Can you get to my house through yours?"
After a minute, Gracie replied "No, it won't let me go to your house."
"Same here", Gfox chimed in.
All the others said the same thing: that their portals wouldn't lead to Swirl's house.
"Do yours look normal to you?" Swirl typed urgently.
"Yeah, mine looks fine to me", Lost said.
"Mine too", added Kraft and Flora.
Swirl groaned. Going back over to the unmoving portal, she examined every little thing she could.
The very center of the portal, usually a blinding white light, was now a dull black, like the rest of the portal. The white symbols and lines inside the once-healthy portal were dark purple and gray, and frozen in place. Nothing seemed to move at all. Worst of all, it wasn't blending in anymore. Usually, when Swirl walked away, she looked back to see the portal camouflage itself in the wall. Now, when she walked out of her closet and peeked back in, it didn't seem to do anything to automatically hide itself.
Suddenly, she heard her doorknob being turned, and Swirl leaped out of the closet just as her sister opened the door.
"Velvet, you scared me!" Swirl scolded her, letting out a breath of relief.
"Sorry", she replied. Her eyes drifted to the open closet door. "What were you doing in there?"
Swirl's heart began to pound. "None of your business", she told her sister calmly.
Without warning, Velvet burst into her room, making a break for her closet. Swirl grabbed her by the shirt and yanked her back.
"I said it was none of your business!" she snapped, burning with a mix of anger and anxiety.
"What are you hiding in there?!" Velvet yelped, trying to struggle free.
Swirl pulled her out of her room and into the hallway outside of her door. She sighed, trying to calm herself down.
"I'm not hiding anything. I'm just trying to... draw... something, and it's personal, okay?" She tried to speak as coolly and innocently as she could, but she braced herself, in case Velvet tried to bolt in again.
"Can I see it?" Velvet asked.
"No. I said it's personal. I'll come out of here in a bit, okay?"
And with that, she closed the door. Once she was sure her sister was far away, she walked back over to her closet again.
"That was close", she muttered in a low tone. She could've easily discovered the Blogger Portal!
Flipping off her closet light, she added, "I better stay on guard."
*********************************************************************************
Once back at school on Monday, Swirl told her friends about the broken Blogger Portal at lunch, the only place teachers weren't constantly on their backs. They all looked shocked, and said that their portals had never done anything like that before.
"Why would it have done that?" wondered Ja. "And only to you?"
Swirl shook her head. "I have no idea, but there has to be some way to fix it!"
Gracie thought for a moment, then said, "Maybe it has to be charged or something."
"Yeah, but with what? I don't know what I have that would charge a portal." Swirl sighed dejectedly.
Just then, the bell to go to advisory rang. The group of Bloggers got up and walked towards the door. Swirl hung at the back of the group, dragging her feet along the tile floor. She focused her eyes on the ground, so she realized too late that someone had stopped in front of her, and slammed into them awkwardly.
"Sorry!" Swirl gasped. "I-"
She cut off as she saw who she had knocked over. She was staring straight into the face of Kenley, the girl who had bullied her and her friends!
Kenley stared for a moment, an angry expression on her face, but as she began to recognize Swirl, her frown turned into a smirk.
"Well well, it's one of the Animal Jam nerds again! Good to see you!" she said in a sarcastically sweet tone.
"Swirl?"
Swirl looked up to see her friends walking back towards her.
"Are you ok-" Lost began, but then stopped just as Swirl had, a horrified expression on her face.
"Hey, the whole gang is here!" Kenley continued, getting to her feet and smiling even wider.
"Oh no... not her again!" Gfox muttered next to Swirl's ear.
"It's not like I wanted to see you, either", Kenley shot back, hearing Gfox's comment. "But this clumsy one slammed right into me!" She pointed at Swirl is disgust.
"I said sorry", Swirl growled through gritted teeth.
"Mmm hmm", the diva replied, obviously not caring about Swirl's apology a bit. She glanced around at the circle of Bloggers. "Are you guys supposed to be threatening?" she snorted, raising an eyebrow at Sarah's clenched fists hanging at her side.
"Look, could you just let us go our separate ways and not argue?" Lost asked, a hint of irritation in her calm voice.
Kenley laughed. "That's what a coward would do."
"You know, we can report you to Mr. Rebock again!" Swirl snapped at her. "I suggest you watch what you're saying to us!"
Kenley turned around to face her, eyes burning with anger. In one quick movement, she darted behind Swirl and shoved her hard with one hand. Swirl toppled onto the ground, and when she looked back up, Kenley was standing over her, a challenge in her eyes.
"And just how are you going to go and get him, hm? Go ahead, try."
"Get away from her!" Kraft screeched, sounding furious.
"Nobody pushes our friend!" added Ja.
Kenley laughed. "Nobody tells me what to do, either."
"Don't worry, we'll go get the principal", said Gfox, turning around with Sarah to race towards the office.
Kenley lashed out, grabbed Sarah by the arm, and flung her away from the door.
"Sarah!" the Bloggers gasped as her shoulder slammed hard into the wall. Luckily, she got up a few seconds later, holding her arm, but nevertheless okay. She gave a small nod to her friends to show that she was fine, then stepped back towards Gfox again. Kenley took a step forward.
"Unless you want to get thrown a second time, I wouldn't try that again", she warned Sarah, who backed up a step.
Swirl stood up and faced the rude diva again. "Don't you dare do that my friends!" she snarled, her anger overflowing. "Now GET OUT OF HERE and LEAVE US ALONE!"
Kenley paused and stared at her. She seemed to be considering walking away and finding something better to do, but Swirl knew she'd never do that in front of others, and stayed tensed. Still, she was too slow as, all of a sudden, the girl yanked Swirl's shirt collar, pulling her closer to her. Swirl struggled to pull away, but Kenley was gripping her shirt hard. Swirl braced herself, knowing that she'd most likely be flung into the brick wall like Sarah.
The hand on her shirt collar was yanked away forcefully, and she fell to the ground. Swirl looked up to see a girl with dark brown hair and pale skin grabbing onto Kenley's backpack. Angrily, the girl pushed Kenley away from the group of Bloggers, and when the diva got up and tried to come back, she was only shoved away again.
"Stay away from them." the girl growled. "I will get the principal."
Swirl was about to shout out and warn the girl that Kenley would only try to trap her, but, as Kenley came towards her, the girl spun around and grabbed her by the arm.
"Nice try", she said in a sarcastic tone. "Now get out of here."
Kenley tried to pull free, but the girl held her arm tightly.
"Fine!" she yelped a few seconds later. "Now let go of me!"
The girl obeyed, and Kenley, with a last furious glare at Swirl, walked off down the hall. The mysterious girl walked back over to Swirl, and held out a hand to help her up. Swirl took it, staring into bright blue eyes.
"Thanks", she told the girl. "You really helped a lot."
The girl shrugged. "No problem. I couldn't let anyone get pushed around by someone like that."
When she turned to talk to Sarah, Swirl noticed that her maroon jacket had a design with two red wings on the back, and she was wearing a flower headband.
Where have I seen that before?
Then it came to her. "Frozen?" she yelped in surprise. "Is that you?"
The girl turned and nodded. "That's my name, alright. I know who you are", she interrupted as Swirl started to speak again. "I would know that outfit anywhere. You're Swirlshine!"
Swirl nodded breathlessly.
"You've been here the whole time? How come we've never seen you around?" Kara asked, sounding surprised.
Frozen shrugged. "I could ask you the same question."
Realization suddenly hit Swirl like a bullet. "The bell rang ages ago! We're all late!"
Purple groaned. "What are we going to say to our teachers?"
Flora shook her head. "Don't worry about it for now. Come on, before we're even later!"
The group and Frozen raced down the hallway, splitting up as they each went into a different classroom.
As Swirl walked into her advisory room, thoughts flowed through her mind.
Well, with the help of Frozen, we got rid of Kenley for now. But there's still a problem...
What's wrong with the Blogger Portal?
Chapter 21
Swirl tossed and turned about in her bed later that night. Her mind clearly didn't want to shut down. It seemed to be happening a lot lately. Groaning, she finally sat up, blinking her eyes as they adjusted to the darkness of her room, and stared at her closet door in despair.
She just couldn't get the Blogger Portal off her mind. All that day, she had been distracted, trying to figure out what was wrong with it. Still, though, she had absolutely no ideas.
It has to be fixable though... right?
"All this worrying is making my head hurt", Swirl murmured to herself, rubbing her forehead. She let her mind wander for a moment or two, hoping she'd be able to think of something else. However, it just led her to the memory of her mother yelling at her, and blaming her friends for her accident at the lake. Swirl winced as she remembered how she'd felt when she was drowning.
If I can't see my friends much at school or while I'm with my mom... then the Blogger Portal is the only other way. And now I've ruined it.
Despite the fact that the portal had randomly broken down in front of her, Swirl couldn't help feeling that it was somehow her fault that it was on the fritz. It was her portal, after all! And maybe using it after Kara had advised her not to had used the last bit of its energy.
She shook her head. She had to get some sleep. Lying back down again, she closed her eyes and attempted to calm her mind.
A few minutes later, she was fast asleep.
*********************************************************************************
"Swirlshine!"
An angry voice broke into Swirl's deep slumber, startling her so much that she almost fell off the bed. Rubbing sleep from her eyes, she glanced up to see her mom standing over her. She didn't look happy.
"What's going on?" Swirl muttered drowsily, slowly sitting up.
"What is that in your closet?" her mom asked.
Swirl froze.
Oh no. Please don't let it be that...
"W-what do you mean?" she stuttered, hoping she wasn't giving anything away.
"The giant grey hole in the wall?" her mom went on, raising her voice.
"I... don't know what you're talking about..."
Suddenly, her mom grabbed her arm, dragging her out of bed and over to her closet. To Swirl's dismay, she did point at the dark, unmoving Blogger Portal.
"That." Her mom folded her arms across her chest and stared at Swirl, whose heart sank.
I guess it was pretty easy to notice, not being able to disappear and all. Still, though... I wasn't prepared for it to be noticed so soon.
"I don't know what that's-" she began, but, as she looked at her mother's expression, she dropped the act.
"Um... well", she murmured slowly, looking at the ground sheepishly. "It's... a... portal?"
Her mom raised an eyebrow. "A portal."
Swirl nodded, raising her gaze but not her head.
"Swirl, there is no such thing as a portal!" her mom groaned.
"Then what do you call this?" Swirl shot back, holding out an arm to indicate the Blogger Portal. "This is an actual portal, and it-" She paused, deciding that keeping quiet about what, or who, it led to would be a smart idea.
Swirl's mother stared at her, then at the portal, then back again.
"This leads to your friends doesn't it? The ones I told you to stay away from", her mom finally said, as if she had read Swirl's mind.
Swirl blinked and didn't answer.
For a moment, her mom just glared, looking tremendously annoyed. Then, she turned back towards the portal.
"I'm seeing what this 'portal' does and stopping this once and for all." She walked towards it, about to step through.
Swirl's heart began to race, but she forced herself to calm down. If she couldn't get through it, there was no way her mom could... right? Plus, her mom wasn't a blogger, and it was a Blogger Portal, after all, so surely it only allowed bloggers to pass through?
"You can't -" Swirl started to warn her mom that her efforts were in vain, but all of a sudden, just as her mom put one arm through, the portal began to glow with a white aura. For a brief moment, Swirl thought that the portal might finally be returning to its normal, healthy state once again.
This is probably the worst time it could do that... but if it's finally fixed...
A shattering noise sounded, making Swirl jump and her mom jump back in surprise. More noises came from the portal, like glass breaking, and Swirl's eyes widened.
What's going on?!
Then, slowly, the white glow disappeared, and, after a few moments of nothing but silence, Swirl began to think it was over.
She was wrong. A few seconds later, the circular mass's dark black background was shattered by a blinding light. It shone brightly, overtaking the portal and forcing Swirl to shield her eyes.
When she opened them again, the light had, once again, died away, and all was quiet.
Is it over now?
The portal suddenly grew fuzzy. The sides, usually perfectly outlined, became a blur, and the designs inside of it were barely visible.
Then, as Swirl watched, the portal began to dissolve in front of her.
"No!" she shrieked. She raced over to the shrinking Blogger Portal and placed her hands on the edges of it, hoping to keep it from becoming any smaller. In her heart, she knew it wouldn't do any good at all, but she didn't care. She had to try to stop it somehow!
As its size decreased, pieces of black fell from the portal and onto the floor. It looked as if they were formed from dark glass. Swirl fell to the ground and desperately tried to pick them up, but as soon she touched them, they dissolved into nothingness.
And suddenly, with one last eerie screeching noise, the portal disappeared completely.
Swirl stared at the now-empty wall, paralyzed in horror.
No... no... no no no!
She touched the place where the portal had been, with the small, clinging hope that the portal had just become invisible, like it used to. But, to her dismay, her hand touched plain old wall.
Fighting back tears, she whirled around to face her mom.
"You did this!" she yelled furiously. "You tried to go through it, and now it's gone forever!"
"It was never supposed to be here in the first place!" her mom snapped back.
"Yes! Yes it was! It was my portal, made for me and the Bloggers! And you broke it!" Deep down, Swirl knew that lashing out wasn't a good idea, but she was too distraught at the moment to care.
Her mother took a step forward. "Swirl, watch what you're saying!" she said in a loud warning tone.
"Why don't you watch what you get into?" Swirl growled. "This portal was never your business!"
"Oh, really? I think my daughter sneaking off through some kind of futuristic contraption to see friends I told her to stay away from is definitely my business."
"NO, IT WAS NOT!" Swirl screamed. "IF YOU HAD STAYED AWAY FROM THE PORTAL, NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE HAPPENED!"
Her mom's eyes widened for a second, then narrowed into furious, blazing slits. She grabbed Swirl's arm once again, this time more forcefully, and took her over to her bed.
"You're grounded, Swirl. Congratulations on your first time", she said, sarcastic, but still livid.
"Fine by me!" Swirl scoffed in reply.
Her mom just turned, walked out of the room, and slammed the door loudly behind her.
Finally attempting to control her temper, Swirl took a few deep breaths. After she was sure that she was cooled down, and that her mother was truly gone, she got up and walked back to her closet. A single piece of the deceased portal still lay on the ground. Swirl reached to pick it up, but, like the other pieces, it faded into dust as soon as her hand touched it. Her rage returning for a moment, she let out a yell, slamming her fist into the wall, then stared sorrowfully at the place the portal had once been.
It was gone. Shattered. Crushed. Her only eternal link to her Blogger friends was destroyed... forever.
And suddenly, with a start, she opened her eyes.
Chapter 22
Swirl stared around her room, blinking in confusion, wondering what was going on. The memories of her dream came rushing back to her a second later, and she gasped. Leaping out of bed, she scrambled frantically towards her closet, hesitating before she swung open the door.
The Blogger Portal was still there, dark and unmoving, just like the night before. Swirl let a loud sigh of relief.
Thank goodness! It was just a dream!
Then she remembered her visit to the lake. Before the incident had happened, she had dreamed that she was drowning. It was as if her dream was somehow trying to warn her.
What if that dream was a warning too? Does that mean that the Blogger Portal really will disappear?
Swirl narrowed her eyes. "Not on my watch", she promised in a whisper.
She squinted across the room at her alarm clock, which read "4:30 AM".
4:30?! I woke up in the middle of the night!
With one last look at the portal, she turned, closed the door, and went back to bed.
*********************************************************************************
"Guys!" Swirl called out to her friends, racing over to them from across the gym.
The group of Bloggers looked up at her arrival.
"What's going on, Swirl?" asked Purple.
Swirl sat down and took off her backpack.
"I had another dream last night", she began.
"You mean, like the one you had before?" questioned Gracie.
"Well... kind of. It wasn't the same dream, though. This one was much different." Swirl answered.
"What was it about? Tell us!" urged Ja.
Swirl sighed. "It was weird. My mom had somehow found the Blogger Portal... and when she touched it, it just... fell apart."
Lost's eyes widened. "Fell apart?"
"Yeah. It literally shattered and then disappeared."
"Do you think... that this could be like your last dream?" wondered Flora, echoing Swirl's thoughts. "That one actually came true. What if this one does, too?"
Frozen, who was sitting beside Gracie and Kara, looked confused. "Last dream?"
"Before we met you, I had a dream where I felt like I was drowning", Swirl explained. "And, a few days later... it came true."
"You almost drowned?!" Frozen gasped in horror.
Swirl nodded. "I'm okay now, though", she said with a shrug, not wanting to talk about that subject.
"I hope this dream doesn't come true!" commented Kraft. "Blogger Portals can't break... can they?"
Swirl shrugged again. "I have no idea. I really hope they can't, though."
Secretly, she wondered if her Blogger Portal was somehow dying. Maybe that was why it wouldn't let her through, and why it looked so... dark. Still, though, she clung on to the hope that it'd soon return to normal, pushing the thought out of her head.
"Don't worry though", Swirl said finally. "I'm going to make sure that no one finds the portal."
Her friends nodded.
"We wish you luck", said Gracie, putting her arm over Swirl's shoulder.
Swirl grinned. "Thanks."
I think I'm going to need it.
*********************************************************************************
That night, Swirl was drawing in her room, with her headphones on and her phone close by. She glanced up for what felt like the 50th time, relieved to see no one in her doorway. Then she turned towards her closet. She normally turned the light on and opened the door, but today, she purposely left it closed and dark, trying to hide the Blogger Portal.
The entire day, she had kept a close eye on everyone in her family, making sure that no one went off into her room without her knowing. Luckily, nothing had made them seem suspicious, and now, Swirl smiled at what a good job she was doing keeping the portal a secret.
I can't keep this up forever, though. I need to find some way to fix it, and soon.
Shaking her head, Swirl went back to her drawing. However, a minute or two later, a loud pop sounded from somewhere inside her room.
Startled, Swirl jumped, then immediately looked towards her room's main door. It was still closed.
Maybe someone came through the Blogger Portal, Swirl thought, taking her headphones off, getting up, and cautiously walking over to her closet. Although I've never heard it make that noise before. Plus, isn't it on the fritz, anyway? How could someone get through it?
When she opened the door, she yelped and leaped back. Rachel was sitting on the floor, clutching a small purple stone in her hand.
"Sorry! Didn't mean to startle you, Swirl!" she apologized, getting up and walking out into the room.
Swirl smiled. "You're fine! I'm just a bit jumpy right now." Then she paused. "Wait a minute. How did you get here, anyway?"
Rachel held up the stone, which was covered in silver and bronze swirls. As Swirl looked closer, she noticed odd symbols carved onto one side.
"I found this after you left that one night", she told her. "It allows me to teleport here." She glanced up. "Why do you ask?"
Well... my portal isn't exactly working at the moment", Swirl sighed. When Rachel gave her a confused look, she added, "I don't know why. It just turned grey one day, and now it won't let me through."
"Ohh!" replied Rachel. "So that's why it looked so dark!"
Swirl blinked.
"I used the stone to come here a few days ago, when I first found it", Rachel explained. "And when I did, your portal looked dark and... dead, in a way, I guess you could say."
"Yeah, it's been like that", said Swirl. "I honestly have no idea how to fix it."
"That's why I'm here", her friend replied with a grin.
Swirl blinked. "Can you fix it?" she asked hopefully.
"No... or not yet, anyway", Rachel said. "But I'm hoping we'll find out how!" She smiled.
"Thanks", Swirl responded, accepting the offer of help. "Come on."
With a wave of her hand, she led her friend to the broken Blogger Portal.
I really hope we do find the problem, she thought. But... what if it can't be fixed? What if it really is broken forever?
Chapter 23
Rachel stepped up to the portal and stared for a moment. Then, whipping a notepad out of her pocket, she quickly began to jot down notes.
Swirl stood a few feet behind her, watching nervously.
Notes... that's a good sign, right? Yeah... it has to be...
Finally, Rachel looked up. Without saying a word, she took her Portal Stone and held it close to the Blogger Portal.
A dim light suddenly flashed from somewhere inside the darkness, disappearing less than a second later. Swirl gasped.
"Look", Rachel said in a hushed tone. She held the stone closer.
With another flash, the portal's color gradually began to get brighter, finally stopping at a light gray.
"But... how...", Swirl stuttered, awestruck.
Rachel looked at Swirl and shrugged. "I don't know for sure."
Swirl stared at the portal again. Slowly, she attempted to stick her hand through it. Instead of being immediately halted by the "invisible wall", her arm was able to go at least halfway through it before being stopped.
"Does your portal stone somehow help give it power?" she guessed, removing her hand.
Rachel nodded. "I think so. There must be some kind of... magic. Magic that's shared between the Blogger Portals." She put the purple stone back in her pocket, and Swirl watched as the portal's color became dark again.
"Then... that must mean my portal doesn't have enough power", Swirl concluded. "Right?"
"Right", her friend agreed.
"But... why?"
Rachel glanced down at her notes. "Well... that's what I'm trying to figure out. There aren't really any clues that lead to an answer, at least, not that I see."
Swirl sighed.
"Did any of the other bloggers have any ideas on what could be happening?" Rachel asked, beginning to examine the portal again.
"Well... Gracie did say that it may need to be charged by something", Swirl said, remembering her friend's words.
"By what though?", Rachel murmured, looking thoughful.
Swirl shook her head. "I don't know. Though, I-"
"Swirl!" a voice called out. "Time for dinner!"
"Oh, that's my mom." Swirl told her friend. "I don't want to kick you out or anything, but-"
"No problem, I understand! I have to get home anyway", Rachel replied. "My parents will wonder why I'm being so quiet!" She put her hand in her pocket once again, bringing out her portal stone. "Bye! See you later, Swirl!" she said, waving.
"Bye!" Swirl repeated.
And, with a blinding flash, Rachel disappeared.
*********************************************************************************
Swirl thought about what on earth might charge a portal over and over that night, hoping that a clue would reveal itself to her. Somehow, she was sure that she was getting close to solving the mystery, but she still came up with no ideas.
I just don't see how I'm supposed to know how to fix it, if it just appeared one day! she said to herself silently.
By now, she was busy playing Animal Jam. She aimlessly moved her animal around her den, but the countless Masterpieces of Blogger Portals that her friends had created didn't help ease her worries.
Just then, a white-and-tan bunny, wearing a bow and a tiny top hat, appeared beside her wolf.
"Oh, hey Violet", Swirl typed, recognizing her friend.
"Hello Swirl!" the bunny typed back. "How have you been?"
"Well... the Blogger Portal is-" Swirl stopped typing mid-sentence, suddenly realizing something.
Wait a minute. I haven't seen Violet at my school yet! I wonder if she even has a Blogger Portal, she remarked silently. I guess she should, since she's a blogger too. Though it's not like I could use it to see her right now, anyway.
She deleted her last sentence and started over. "Violet", she began. "You know the Blogger Portal?"
"Yeah", her friend typed back. "What about it?"
And Swirl began to tell her friend the whole story.
*Chapter 24*
After talking with Violet for a while, Swirl finally said goodbye to her friend, logged off, and closed the lid of her laptop. She still hadn't made any progress on the broken-portal issue, but Violet had confirmed that, after a few minutes of looking around her room, she had a hidden Blogger Portal as well.
With a sigh, Swirl took her headphones off and stood up. The rest of her family was asleep, so the house was silent. Quietly, she tiptoed over to her phone, grabbed it, and went into her room. Once she had sat down, she turned her phone on, surprised to see a message waiting for her. She quickly began to read through it, but suddenly stopped at a certain word.
Camp? But I thought...
Swirl darted into her closet to look at her calendar. The upcoming Sunday was marked with a note that read "Leaving for camp".
Swirl's eyes widened in surprise. That was only a week away!
Normally, she enjoyed going to camp every year, during the first week of summer. However, with the recent portal malfunction, and the case so close to being cracked, Swirl definitely didn't feel ready to leave for so long.
That's seven whole days without the portal and my friends!
She groaned quietly to herself. Just what I need right now.
Shaking her head, she put her phone away and lay down on her bed, staring at the ceiling. She didn't want to go to bed. All she wanted at the moment was to fix the Blogger Portal. She told herself that she wouldn't fall asleep, but, within a few minutes, she was out.
*********************************************************************************
A week later, Swirl sat in the front seat of her mom's car, officially on her way to camp. After school had finally ended, she had told her friends about the trip. They had all been disappointed she was leaving for so long, but they had wished her a fun time, promising they'd text her if anything about the portals changed.
"Sorry we can't come with you!" Sarah had apologized.
"Our parents have plans for us this week", Ja had added.
"We'll see you in a week, though!" Gracie said, smiling.
Swirl tapped her foot, thinking. Since school was over, there wouldn't be any more bullies to deal with, and she wouldn't have to worry about her mom's rule.
Still, though... if the Blogger Portal doesn't work soon, I won't be able to see my friends for the entire summer!
She pushed the thought out of her mind, focusing on the scenery outside the window, and waited to arrive at camp.
*********************************************************************************
Swirl spread her blankets out over the mattress she had chosen in her cabin, attempting to make them look straight. Once she was satisfied, she sat down, allowing herself a moment to rest, and looked around the room.
All around her, girls were unpacking their suitcases and making their own beds. A lot of them seemed to be good friends already, picking bunks and chatting together. It was a painful reminder that Swirl didn't have any friends in the cabin, and that all her real friends were back home, but she immediately shook off her disappointment.
I enjoy it more when I'm by myself, anyway. That way, I can walk around and do whatever I want.
Suddenly, a girl with light brown hair and a white shirt sat down beside her. Swirl blinked, wondering why a stranger she'd never met before was sitting on her bed.
"Hi! I'm Brook!" the girl introduced herself.
"I'm Swirl..." Swirl replied hesitantly, still confused.
The girl, Brook, began to jabber on about random topics, obviously not realizing that she was invading Swirl's privacy. Swirl did her best to answer questions and listen, but she began to wonder if the girl would ever stop talking. Finally, Brook got up and went over to her own bed, leaving Swirl, who let out a quiet breath of relief, alone.
That was... odd, she thought to herself. But at least she seemed friendly enough. Maybe I will have a friend here after all.
As soon as she thought this, her mind drifted back to the Blogger Portal. She shook her head to push away the silent questions that were forming.
There's nothing I can do about it here. Plus, it's been a while since I truly relaxed.
I'll enjoy camp while I'm here, she finally decided. But once I get home, it's back to the portal. If I don't fix the problem soon... it could end up like it did in my dream.
She shuddered, remembering the details of her nightmare perfectly.
"I promised I wouldn't let that happen", Swirl murmured out loud in a hushed voice. "And I'm keeping my promise."
Chapter 25
The gray Blogger Portal sat before Swirl's unfocused eyes. Almost as soon as her vision had cleared, it began to shudder violently. Swirl, heart racing, tried to take a step back, but her feet seemed to be rooted to the ground.
What's happening now?
An odd noise sounded. Swirl could have sworn she'd heard it before, but she couldn't remember where. However, she knew it wasn't good.
Then, cracks began to appear in the portal. A tiny piece of the dark mass fell to the ground, dissolving into dust.
And, just like that, the whole portal began to shatter.
No no no! This is just like-
That's when it hit her: She was dreaming! The noise, the breaking portal- all of it had happened before. Sure, it was happening in a different way, but it was still very similar to her recent nightmare.
However, Swirl didn't want to relive that nightmare again. She tried again to move and fell, off balance, onto the ground. Looking up, she saw the portal dissolve into nothing, just like the broken pieces.
Then, suddenly, the background faded into blackness. Swirl's feet soon rested on empty air, and she had no idea if she was somehow falling, or just floating in midair.
Wake up! she mentally screamed. Wake up!
She tried to sit up, and, almost immediately, something hard banged against her head. With a yelp of pain, Swirl finally opened her eyes to her cabin. Looking up, she saw that she must have hit the roof of the bunk. Despite her injury, Swirl let out a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness that's over. Why do I keep having that nightmare?
Swirl looked around the pitch-black cabin, letting her eyes adjust to the darkness. No one else seemed to be awake. Quietly, Swirl reached inside her bag for her phone. Taking it out, she read the time.
"4:15?" she muttered in an annoyed whisper. "No wonder. Why can't this dream happen closer to morning?"
She lay back down, closing her eyes once again.
I don't see how I can stop the dream from coming, she thought to herself. But I do need to figure out what's going on with that portal soon. Very soon.
*********************************************************************************
That afternoon, as she was sitting reading on her bunk, Swirl heard her phone make a "ding" noise. Immediately looking up and checking it, she found a message from Lost waiting for her.
"Hi Swirl! How's camp going?" her friend had typed.
"Good", Swirl typed back. "Although I do wish you guys were here! And..."
"And what?" Lost asked after a moment.
"I had the nightmare again. The one about the Blogger Portal breaking."
"Maybe that's just because you're thinking about it so much", her friend guessed.
"Maybe", Swirl replied. "But what if it's some kind of warning?"
"Don't worry, Swirl! Nothing like that will happen anytime soon! Just have fun at camp", Lost urged her. "And when you get back, you can work on fixing it again!"
Swirl sighed in real life. "Alright", she texted back. "But tell me if anything else happens!"
"We will", Lost promised.
Putting her phone away, Swirl finally stood up, deciding to take a walk around the camp. Glancing around the room, she raced out the door, slowing down when she had rounded the corner.
Good. Brook isn't following me.
Lately, the girl had stuck to her like glue. She was quite nice, and Swirl didn't mind hanging out with her for a while, but now, she couldn't seem to get a moment to herself. Everywhere she went, Brook insisted on following her there.
I wish she wasn't so... clingy, Swirl commented silently. I need some time to myself!
Luckily, though, she had slipped out unseen. Walking down the dirt road, she gazed around at the surrounding hills, enjoying her time alone.
It is nice to just enjoy the nature out here, without having to worry too much about the Blogger Portal. Maybe I will have fun here, after all.
*********************************************************************************
Two days later, Swirl was walking back from lunch when she felt her phone buzz inside her pocket. Whipping it out, Swirl stared at the screen. A message from Gracie had popped up.
"Swirl!", the text read. "Are you there!?"
Swirl's heart began to beat a little faster.
"Yes", she typed back. "Why? What's going on?"
"Well..." her friend replied. "Just now, I was trying my Blogger Portal, and when I tried again to teleport to your place, a piece of something fell through the portal."
"What!? What was it!?" Swirl typed urgently.
"I'm... not really sure", her friend told her. "It did look kind of like a piece of black glass, I guess, but I'm not sure where it came from. When I tried to touch it, though, it faded away."
Swirl stared, unblinking, for a moment at her phone screen.
A piece of black glass that fades away... I've seen that before! In my-
Oh no...
Her nightmare was unfolding before her very eyes.
Chapter 26
Swirl's mind whirled in terror, and she stood, frozen, for a bit longer, until Gracie finally sent another text.
"Swirl? Are you still there?"
"Yes, I am", Swirl replied. But the portal may not be.
"Sorry, Gracie, I gotta go", she told her friend. "See you later." Not waiting for a reply, she put her phone back in her pocket and walked off. She desperately wanted to go home, to check on the portal, but she knew there was no way she could do that, not when home was 3 hours away.
Delightful. she grumbled in her mind. It just had to get worse the one week I'm not there. The whole thing could be gone by the time I get back! The thought of coming back home to nothing but an ordinary wall made Swirl even more worried, and she shook her head to try and clear the thought.
Reaching her cabin, she pushed open the door, walked over to her bunk, and immediately flopped down onto the mattress. A small group of girls sat on a bunk near the door, talking quietly, but other than that, the place was empty.
"Good", she muttered quietly, hoping the other few girls in the room hadn't heard. "Peace and quiet." After a while, her eyelids began to droop. She almost gave in to the wave of tiredness, but a thought flashed through her mind.
What if you have that dream again?
She sat up quickly, trying to prevent herself from falling asleep, but her sleepiness soon overtook her, and she lay back down again and closed her eyes.
There's nothing I can do about it, anyway. I know I'll keep having it. It won't stop. Not until the portal is fixed.
*********************************************************************************
"Finally!" Swirl commented to herself days later. "The end of the week!"
It was finally time to go home. The rest of the week had gone by faster than Swirl had expected, and now, at last, she could go home and check on the Blogger Portal. Bouncing impatiently on her toes, she watched as everyone loaded their luggage into their own group's bus. Come on, she willed them silently. I have to get home!
Finally, everything, and everyone, was on the bus. Swirl jumped in the front seat of her mom's car, and, within a few minutes, they were on their way home.
*********************************************************************************
As soon as she was back in her house, Swirl dashed into her room. She hesitated a moment at her closet door, wondering what she'd find.
Please, don't let the portal be gone!
When she opened the door, she found the black Blogger Portal sitting in the same place as always. Swirl let out a sigh of relief. She had been worrying about nothing!
But... then... where did that piece of 'black glass' that came through Gracie's portal come from?
She examined the portal closely. There were no major holes, as far as she could see. However, when she stuck her hand through the dark mass as a test, she swore she could feel some kind of a hole in the invisible wall that rendered the portal useless.
"I hope that's not serious", she muttered. "And that there aren't any more."
Running her hand along the odd surface, though, she could feel no more gaps or cracks.
Good. The less holes, the better.
Closing her closet door again, she wandered out into the kitchen. Her eyes drifted around, until, finally, they rested on her laptop.
I really missed playing AJ while I was gone, she commented silently. And blogging, of course!
She paused. When was the last time she had been on her blog, anyway? Thinking back through the months, she couldn't remember any recent times that she had used her computer for anything other than Animal Jam.
But I talk to the Bloggers all the time, now that I know them in real life! I guess there just isn't much of a reason to blog anymore.
And suddenly, the solution, the answer to the question she had been asking herself for months, came to her.
Chapter 27
That's it!
It all made perfect sense to her now! Finally, Swirl understood what Gracie had meant by "a clue in the name". It was called a Blogger Portal, meaning that it must be linked to her own blog!
That must be why it turned black! Blogging must somehow give it power!
But then, her mind drifted back to Rachel's visit. Her Portal Stone had somehow given Swirl's portal power when it was nearby.
I guess it responds to that kind of magic. Blogger magic, she thought silently. But I wonder...
Grabbing her laptop, Swirl raced back into her room, ignoring a confused glance from her sister, Velvet, along the way, and flung open the closet door once again.
The Blogger Portal still looked the same as it had for months- on the inside, at least. However, Swirl could now see a faint green aura around the edges of the dark mass. Realizing what was happening, she took a step closer, and held her computer out in front of it.
The aura gradually grew more vivid, along with the pitch-black color of the portal, until, finally, they refused to brighten any more. Swirl moved the laptop a bit closer, but still nothing happened.
No... that's not enough power, she commented to herself in her mind.
But hopefully, what I'm going to do later will be.
*********************************************************************************
As soon as she was allowed on her computer, Swirl immediately clicked on her blog.
It's been forever since I've done that, she remarked silently.
Clicking on "New Post", she began to type as fast as she could, eager to see the results of her idea. She explained everything that she had found out about the Blogger Portal, how it worked, and what powered it. Finally, she finished, and hit "Post". At the exact same moment, a loud noise came from her room.
"What was that?" Velvet asked, looking up from her game.
"Oh... something must have fallen over in my room", Swirl replied quickly, trying to sound casual. "I'll go check."
She walked over to her door at a normal pace, but, as soon as it closed, she made a mad dash for the closet. As soon as she looked inside it, she gasped.
The Blogger Portal was cracking!
No... I should have known it would come true!
Horrified, Swirl watched as a black piece of the portal broke off, like a piece of glass, and fell to the ground. Quickly, she picked it up, slightly confused to find that it wasn't fading away, and tried to put it back in its place, hoping it would stick back somehow.
I must have overwhelmed it somehow! Please, fix!
Then she paused. Instead of seeing her wall through the gap the piece had left, something bright green shone in the hole. Around it, more black bits of the portal crumbled and fell to the ground, and the green patch grew bigger and bigger as Swirl watched, wondering whether she should be confused or amazed.
Wait a minute! Could it be...?
Finally, only one black piece clung to the now-green surface. Cracks swiftly formed throughout it, and, with a shatter, the black bits fell to the ground. As Swirl watched, all the segments of the broken portal wavered at once, and, with a burst of sparkles, disappeared. The lime-green circle began to emit a harsh white light, which grew so bright that Swirl had to turn away. Within a few seconds, the light faded, and Swirl opened her eyes again. Whirling around, she watched as white lines and circles began to appear in the green mass. A larger, glowing circle appeared in the center. The designs began to circle around, and, with a last surge of magic, everything was quiet again.
Swirl stared in complete awe at the bright, healthy portal sitting in front of her. Still a bit dazed, she slowly stuck her arm through the green. Her hand hit nothing.
It's back to normal! she yelled inside her mind, snapping out of her entranced state. The Blogger Portal is back to normal again! It worked!
Badly wanting to tell someone, anyone, about what had just happened, she closed her eyes and leaped through the portal, letting her mind wander.
Opening her eyes again, she found herself in a very familiar room. At her desk, Lostfairy whirled around in surprise.
"Swirl! How...but... I thought your portal didn't work!" she stammered in confusion.
"It didn't", Swirl answered. "But it does now!"
"You mean you fixed it?" Lost gasped.
"Yep!" replied Swirl, grinning.
"How?"
"The portal is linked to my blog with some kind of Blogger magic", she explained to her friend. "I hadn't blogged for a long time, so it didn't have enough power anymore. All I had to do was post, though, and it suddenly came back to life!"
"Woah..." Lost breathed in awe. Swirl nodded in agreement.
"At least now you know how to fix it if it ever 'breaks' again!" commented Lost.
"Yeah!" Swirl replied. "Well, I'd better get back to my own house! Everyone there will wonder why I haven't come out of my room yet!" she said with a laugh.
"Alright", Lost said. "Oh, and do you want me to tell the others about what happened with your portal?"
"Yes, please! I won't have a chance to tell everyone tonight!" Swirl replied. Putting one foot through Lost's portal, she turned and gave a little salute.
"See ya, Lost!" she told her friend.
"Bye!" came the reply, and Swirl stepped all the way through the portal and teleported home.
Chapter 28
A day later, as Swirl sat in her room, doodling, a faint noise came from her closet. After a moment of confusion, Swirl realized it had come from the Blogger Portal.
Wow. It's been a while since I heard that sound, she thought to herself.
Her closet door opened, and out stepped Gracie, Kraft, and the rest of the bloggers.
"Hi Swirl!" Sarah greeted her, waving from behind Ja.
"Hey guys!" Swirl said back.
"So, it looks like the Blogger Portal is working well again", Kara commented, looking back at where the green portal sat embedded in the wall.
"Lost told us what happened", Gracie added.
"Yeah! I can't believe I only had to blog again for it to return to normal! Still, though, I'm just glad it's back", Swirl told them, with a grateful nod at Lost.
Movement sounded outside her door. Jumping a little, Swirl put her finger to her lips, signaling for her friends to be quiet. They nodded and obeyed, freezing in place and staring at the door.
"Swirl?" came her sister's voice. "What are you doing in there?"
"Oh... just... stuff", stammered Swirl anxiously.
"Stuff?"
"Yeah...", she answered, trying to sound innocent, but doing a horrible job at it.
"Uh... okay." To her relief, her sister did not try to open the door, and, when she was sure she was gone, Swirl let out a breath of relief.
"That was close", she sighed.
"I didn't know you had a sister!" said a voice in the back of the group. The rest of the bloggers parted to reveal a girl Swirl had never seen before. She wore a gray Heart Locket, a Heart Bracelet, and a red Fox Hat, and her hair was tied back in a ponytail. As Swirl looked closer, she saw that the girl's dark gray hairbands were studded with tiny red jewels, just like the Rocker Tail Rings on Animal Jam.
"Oh yeah!" exclaimed Kara. "Swirl, this is-"
"Crazcat?" Swirl gasped, recognizing the blogger's outfit at once.
"Yep!" Craz replied, grinning. "Gracie told me about the Blogger Portal, and it turns out that I have one too! So I came here with all of them"-she nodded at the other bloggers- "to visit you!"
Swirl smiled. Another Blogger that could use the portals!
"You know..." Ja murmured suddenly. "I've always wondered... do you think that ALL bloggers have some kind of Blogger Portal?"
"Hmm... I don't know", replied Purple. "I guess it's possible."
"Yeah", Gfox put in, "but I think it has to do with how close this group of bloggers is. Even if I'm not exactly one anymore", she added, looking down.
"You're still a blogger to us!" Swirl told her. The rest of the group nodded, and Gfox grinned.
They talked for a bit longer, until, finally, everyone had to go back home. Swirl said goodbye to her friends, and, one by one, they stepped through the Blogger Portal and teleported away.
It's so nice to have the portal working again, Swirl thought happily.
Suddenly, as she was about to close the door, there was one last flash of light, and Sarah jumped back through the portal.
"Oh yeah! We forgot to tell you!" she said breathlessly. "Could you somehow convince your mom to take you to the park on Saturday?"
"To the park? Why?" Swirl asked her friend.
"We're all going to try and meet up there", Sarah told her. "Can you try?"
Swirl hesitated a moment, then nodded. "Okay. I don't know how easy it'll be, but I'll try."
"Awesome! Bye, Swirl!" Sarah said with a wave, and then she stepped back through the portal and was gone.
She poked her head out her bedroom door. "Hey Mom?"
"Yeah?" Her mom turned around to face her.
"Could we go to the park on... um... I don't know, Saturday, maybe?" Swirl asked, trying to make it sound as if she was just casually picking a day.
"Why Saturday?" wondered her mom.
"Oh... I don't know", Swirl said calmly. "I just thought that'd be a good day to go."
Her mom looked at her strangely for a moment. "Well, okay", she finally said. "I don't think we have anything to do that day, and plus, it'd be good to get out of the house."
Swirl grinned. "Thanks."
Retreating into her room again and closing the door, she went back to her sketchbook.
That was easy, she reflected silently. Ever since the Blogger Portal... revived, everything seems to be going so smoothly.
Shrugging to herself, she went back to drawing.
Chapter 29
Finally, it was Saturday. Swirl leaped out her mom's car and glanced around the park, looking for her friends. After a moment, she spotted them, a little ways across the park. Sarah turned and noticed Swirl, and she greeted her with a wave. Swirl waved back, then tilted her head towards her mom, indicating to stay out of sight. Sarah nodded, understanding, then dashed off.
Velvet bounced up beside Swirl, along with her brother, Jason. Swirl sighed inwardly. She had wanted to be taken to the park alone, so that she could slip away for a bit, but her mother had insisted on bringing her siblings. She'd just have to get past them somehow.
She and her family walked over to the playground, where Velvet and her brother immediately climbed onto the playground. Swirl looked around again, seeing her friends were not in the same place anymore. Suddenly, someone tapped her on the shoulder, and Swirl turned to see Sarah standing behind her.
"Sarah!" Swirl exclaimed happily.
"Hey Swirl!" Sarah said back. "Can you come over to the other side of the park? We want to talk about something in private."
Swirl looked back at where her mom was standing. She was watching her brother, so she didn't notice her talking to Sarah, but it was only a matter of time before she did.
"Okay", Swirl said, turning back to her friend. "But wait over there for me, so that my mom doesn't notice you and get mad."
"Gotcha", Sarah replied, then ran off to another spot in the park.
Swirl wandered up to her mom. "Hey Mom?" she asked causually. "I'm gonna go over to that spot in the park, okay?"
Her mom glanced up at her. "You know I don't like you wandering off like that? Why do you want to go over there, anyway?"
"Oh... uh..." Swirl stuttered, annoyed that she hadn't come up with an excuse ahead of time. "Some friends of mine from... school are over there. You'll be able to see me if something's wrong", she added as her mom gave her a doubtful look. "I'll be fine."
Her mom thought for a moment. "Alright", she finally said. "But come back over here when you're done."
"Got it!" Swirl said, then raced away to where her blogger friends were sitting, at a picnic table, slightly hidden behind a clump of trees.
"I'm here", Swirl panted, sitting down on the wooden bench beside Frozen. "What did you want to talk about?"
Kara looked around the table. "Well", she said after a moment, "We figured that, if we ever want to walk around normally as friends, we should figure out a way to get your mom to let us, Swirl."
Swirl blinked. "That might be hard. She really doesn't want me around you guys."
"We know", replied Sarah. "But we have to do something."
Swirl nodded in agreement. "But what?"
"Well, that's what we're trying to figure out", Kara told her. "We don't want you to get in trouble, though. Maybe we could-"
Suddenly, a loud gasp sounded from behind Swirl. Startled, she whirled around. A girl was staring the group of bloggers, an amused look on her face. With a start, Swirl realized it was Kenley, the rude diva who had teased them in school.
"Well well, look who it is!" she exclaimed, raising an eyebrow. "The group of gamer nerds. Didn't expect to see you here."
Gracie stood up. "Why are you here, Kenley?"
"What, I can't walk around a public park just because YOU don't want me to?" Kenley said with a glare.
"She means, why are you over here? Bothering us?" Swirl put in, glaring back at the diva.
"Oh, well, I just happened to spot you guys here, and I'm very surprised!" Kenley said. "I thought that you idiots usually just stay inside and play your little kid game. What's it called again? Animal Jam?"
"Kenley, we've seriously done nothing to you", Ja groaned, rolling her eyes. "Why do you insist on being so rude to us all the time?"
"That's none of your business", Kenley snapped. "And even if it was, I wouldn't tell you."
Ja rolled her eyes again.
"Anyway", the diva sighed, regaining her calm manner again, "I just came to tell you that I'm sure your little friend's mom will love to here all about how your little meeting over here."
Fear began to flood over Swirl internally, but she remained calm. "What are you talking about?" she asked the diva, narrowing her eyes.
"You know what I mean." Kenley replied with a sneer. "I heard everything you guys said a minute ago. How you don't want anyone knowing about it." She leaned over Swirl threateningly. "So I'm going to tell your secret and ruin your little geek-group for good."
"You wouldn't dare do that", Frozen growled.
Kenley just flashed a mischievous smile. "Watch me."
And with that, she skipped off to the other side of the park, leaving Swirl and her friends staring desperately after her.
Chapter 30
Swirl stood, frozen, as her mind raced to come up with a plan. She looked around at her friends, who looked just as horrified as she was.
"What are we going to do?" Sarah whispered despairingly, glancing at Swirl.
Swirl didn't answer, just kept staring ahead at Kenley, who was getting closer and closer to where her mom sat. An idea popped into her head, but it was a stupid one, and she tried to push it to the back of her mind.
Lost turned to look at her. "Swirl?"
Finally, she couldn't stand it anymore. With a sudden burst of speed, Swirl took off towards Kenley. When she reached her, she grabbed her arm, yanking her backwards. The diva whirled around.
"What are you doing!?" she gasped, trying to pull away.
Swirl kept a firm grip, and finally, Kenely stopped struggling and glared up at her.
"No." Swirl said forcefully. "You're not going anywhere."
The diva tried to dash off, but Swirl tugged her back again.
"I said, you're not going anywhere." She glared back at Kenley.
Deep inside her, a tiny voice screeched.
What are you doing!? Are you nuts!? Stop!
Swirl ignored it. Every nerve, every reflex, every part of her body, was fueled with rage.
"I'm going over there, and a little brat like you isn't going to stop me!" Kenley growled, sounding furious as well.
"Oh, yes I am." Swirl narrowed her eyes threateningly. In one swift movement, she yanked the diva backwards and pulled her against a tree trunk, pinning her by the shoulders. Kenley yelped in surprise.
"Let me go!' she shrieked, flailing about.
Swirl shook her head. "Not until you promise to leave us alone." Kenley just rolled her eyes, and Swirl lowered her voice menacingly.
"I'm tired of you, Kenley. I'm tired of you bullying me and my friends when we did nothing to you. You have no reason to be so rude to us. Now, you can stay right here all day long, or you can be the better person and apologize. I'm not letting you go until you do."
The girl blinked. Once more, she tried to dash away, but Swirl just pulled her back and tightened her grip even more.
"Told you." Swirl raised an eyebrow. "Now, what's your decision?"
Kenley blinked again, her stubborn expression slowly betraying more and more of her fear. She was silent for a long while, and Swirl tapped her foot on the ground.
"Well?"
All of a sudden, she was pushed backwards, and she fell to the ground awkwardly with a loud shriek of pain. Kenley stood over her.
"You think you're so threatening, don't you?" she said with an evil grin. "Well, nice try."
"KENLEY!" A loud exclamation sounded from behind the diva, and she spun around in surprise. Swirl looked around her, spotting a lady who looked quite similar to Kenley herself.
"What are you doing!?" the woman gasped.
"Mom! I... well... this girl..." Kenley stuttered nervously.
The woman grabbed Kenley by the arm. "You and I are going to have a talk about this!" And with that, she stormed off, dragging Kenley along beside her.
Swirl picked herself up off the ground and stared after them, still fuming.
"Swirl!"
She turned to see her friends skidding to a halt behind her.
"Woah..." breathed Lost, clearly awestruck. "I... I've never seen you act like that before!"
The rest of the bloggers nodded.
Swirl looked around at them, her anger finally melting away. She backed away, realizing what she had done.
"I... I'm sorry! I didn't mean to... I was just angry, and..."
"We know." Sarah said, coming up to stand beside her. "Don't be sorry!"
Gfox nodded. "You showed her that we couldn't be pushed around!"
"We're not mad at you or anything", added Flora.
Swirl breathed out a sigh. "I'm sorry", she apologized again. "I kinda lost control. She's just been bugging us for so long, and that was the last straw for me."
"We understand", Lost told her, and Swirl gave another sigh of relief.
"Now, let's go back and finish what we came here to do", Kara said, already leading the group back to the picnic table.
Swirl turned to follow her, but saw someone out of the corner of her eye. Wondering if Kenley had broken away from her mom and returned for revenge, she whirled back around.
Her mom stood, watching her, a grim expression on her face, and Swirl froze in horror. The rest of her friends, still headed towards the table, turned to see what was keeping her. When they saw Swirl's mom, their eyes widened, and they, too, stopped in their tracks.
"Swirl", her mom said finally, her voice surprisingly calm. "Are these the girls I specifically told you not to go off with?" She glanced up at the group of bloggers, who didn't say a word.
Swirl stayed silent, too, her heart pounding again.
"Well?"
"Um... I... yes..." Swirl stammered awkwardly. "But-"
"Swirl!" Her mom's voice was harsh now. "You did the one thing I told you to never do again! That's it. I-"
"Wait!"
Swirl turned to see the bloggers racing back towards her again. Gracie and Lost stopped on either side of her.
"Er... Swirl's mom", Gracie began, not knowing what to address her by. "We can explain everything."
Swirl's mother stared at her, a slight curiosity showing in her eyes.
"That day at the lake was an accident, like Swirl told you", Gracie continued. "We never tried to do anything to hurt Swirl, we promise. She's our friend."
Gfox pushed through the crowd to stand in front of Swirl. "I was the one who suggested jumping off the dock. It... was my fault." She lowered her head
Swirl stared at her friend, touched at how she tried to take the blame for her. Shaking her head, she stepped in front of Gfox again.
"No, it wasn't." she said, glancing back at her friends. "It was mine. I just tripped off, that's all. No one else had anything to do with it. And", she added, staring her mom right in the eye, "You didn't listen to the whole story. They didn't drown me- they saved me."
The bloggers nodded.
"Please, don't get Swirl in trouble", Lost pleaded quietly. "We didn't mean any harm."
Swirl's mom looked from Swirl to the bloggers, and then back again, obviously thinking. Finally, she sighed, and fixed her gaze on Swirl.
"I shouldn't have kept you away from your friends", her mom said, her gaze softening. "I just did that because... I didn't want anything like that to happen again. But, you're okay, and-" She paused. "I'm sorry."
Swirl listened in awe.
I've... I've never heard her sound like that before.
Her mom smiled at the bloggers. "You all are free to be with Swirl whenever you want."
Swirl stared silently for a moment. Then, with a burst of energy, she leaped into the air.
"YES!" she screeched gleefully, bouncing up and down. "Thank you, Mom!"
Her mom smiled, nodded, and turned and walked away. Swirl faced her friends.
"Wow..." Kara gasped, not knowing what to say. "I... wow."
Swirl grinned and nodded back at her.
"It's finally over! We don't have to sneak around anymore!" squealed Sarah happily, giving Swirl a hug. "This is awesome!"
Looking back at her mom once more, Swirl felt the same way.
Chapter 31
"We should seriously have some kind of party to celebrate this", Ja commented, flopping down onto a chair. Three days had passed since the situation at the park, and now, the group of bloggers sat together in Gracie's room, invited over for the day.
"You mean what happened at the park?" Sarah asked.
Ja nodded.
Swirl thought for a moment. "I know!" she said finally. "Why don't we have another sleepover, but at my house this time?"
"Are you sure your mom will be okay with it?" Gracie asked, looking over at Swirl.
Swirl nodded. "Besides, you guys haven't seen anything but my room so far!"
"Alright!" Flora exclaimed. "Then let's all ask our parents tonight."
"And if everything goes well, we can have a party, just like Ja wanted!" Sarah bounced happily. "It'll be a 'Yay-Swirl's-mom-will-let-us-hang-out-now' party!"
Swirl laughed. "Nice name."
"How did you ever think of it?" Kara added sarcastically, looking amused.
Sarah grinned and shrugged innocently.
"You guys!" Kraft suddenly yelled. "We should totally roast marshmallows again, like we did at Sarah's sleepover!"
"Oooh! And we need some bold bananas!" Gracie added, leaping up.
"And don't forget Gatorade for Gatorade Island!" Swirl put in.
Lost laughed. "This will be more like a Blogger-meme party!"
Swirl opened her mouth to reply, but, all of a sudden, her vision blurred, and the room went black for a split second before returning to normal. As her eyes focused again, she saw her friends watching her with concerned looks on their faces.
"Swirl? Are you alright?" Frozen asked, eyes wide.
Swirl blinked and rubbed her head. "Yeah, I'm just fine."
"You're sure?" Purple asked worriedly.
Swirl nodded. "Yeah. I don't feel sick or anything. Something kinda weird just happened. I'm fine now, though. I promise."
"Okay..." Lost sighed, still sounding slightly doubtful.
"Swirlshine! Karalee!"
Swirl turned to see Gracie's mom standing in the doorway.
"Your moms are here to pick you up!"
"Aw!" Ja moaned. "Is it that time already?"
"Guess so", sighed Swirl. "I'll see you all later!"
"Me too!" Kara said with a wave.
"Bye!" the bloggers chorused, and Swirl and Kara turned and walked to the front door.
Swirl opened the door. "Bye Kara!" she called, already making her way towards her mom's car.
"Wait!" Kara yelled after her. Swirl turned around. Kara beckoned her closer with a hand, and Swirl obeyed.
Kara put her hands on Swirl's shoulders, and her gaze was suddenly serious. "Something may happen, and we don't make it to the sleepover... we may never see each other again. I just wanted to say... thanks for being such a good friend."
Swirl blinked in confusion. "What may happen? And why would we never see each other again?"
But Kara was already walking away. "Bye Swirl!" she called over her shoulder, sounding completely normal again. She stepped into her mom's car.
"Wait! Kara!" Swirl shouted after her friend, but Kara didn't appear to hear as the car door shut and she drove away.
Swirl stared after the departing vehicle, still puzzled.
What was Kara talking about? she wondered silently. It's like she was warning me about something...
But what?
*********************************************************************************
A few days later, Swirl paced by her front door, waiting for her friends to arrive. They had all gotten permission from their parents to come to the sleepover, and Swirl's mom had also agreed to let everyone come over and stay the night.
Swirl sighed and sat down on the couch, tired of pacing. She let her mind wander, and, almost immediately, Kara's words sounded in her head. Swirl had pondered their meaning for ages, but she still had no idea what they meant. She planned to ask Kara about it when she arrived.
All of a sudden, a knock sounded at the door. Swirl leaped up and opened it, finding Gracie, Lost, Kraft, and Frozen on her doorstep.
"Yay! You guys are here!" she squealed happily, hugging them hard.
Gracie laughed. "Swirl, you just saw us yesterday!"
Swirl grinned sheepishly.
"Kara, Sarah, and the rest of the group will be here in a bit", Frozen told her.
"Good", Swirl replied. Then I can finally talk to Kara!
Swirl introduced her friends to her sister and brother, and then showed them around the house.
"Oooh! You got bold bananas!" Gracie yelled excitedly as she glanced in the kitchen.
"Yup!" Swirl nodded.
Another knock sounded, and this time, Swirl, Kraft, Frozen, Gracie, and Lost all raced to open it.
"Hey guys!" Purple said with a wave. Behind her were Flora, Sarah, Ja, and Kara.
"Hi guys!" Swirl greeted them. As they stepped in, Swirl pulled Kara aside.
"Kara", she said, lowering her voice. "What did you mean a few days ago?"
Kara blinked. "A few days ago?"
"Yeah."
Her friend looked puzzled. "What do you mean?"
"You said something about never seeing each other again, and something happening." Swirl told her. Doesn't she remember?
"I... I never said anything like that", Kara replied, looking genuinely confused.
"You don't remember?" Swirl heart sank.
Kara shook her head. "No... I don't remember saying anything about that."
"Oh... I guess it was just a dream or something, then", Swirl sighed. "Nevermind. It wasn't important."
Kara gave her a long look, then finally shrugged. "Okay... if you're sure..."
Swirl nodded, then walked off to join the others, Kara by her side.
Why doesn't remember saying that? Swirl thought silently. How am I supposed to stop whatever's supposedly coming if I don't know what it is?
Chapter 32
A few hours later, Swirl led her friends into her room. She sat down on her bed, along with Lost and Purple, and the rest of the bloggers gathered in a circle on the floor.
"So, what should we do now?" Ja asked.
Swirl looked at the group of bloggers. I feel like I'm forgetting something... or someone.
"I know!" she exclaimed, jumping up. "Why don't we go hang out with some of the other bloggers for a bit?"
"Other bloggers? But we're all here!" Flora replied.
"Not all of us", Swirl corrected. "What about Canine, Rachel, and Craz?"
"Oh yeah!" replied Sarah. "Yeah, let's go see them!"
The bloggers stood up and followed Swirl to her closet, where the Blogger Portal shone a bright, healthy green.
It's hard to believe it was ever broken, she commented silently.
Swirl faced the group. "Follow me. Let's go to Craz's first", Swirl told them. Turning back to the portal, she closed her eyes, formed an image of Craz in her mind, and leaped through. For a few moments, she could feel herself floating, until, finally, she felt solid ground touch her feet and opened her eyes.
Craz was already in her room, and she whirled around as Swirl appeared.
"Swirl!" she greeted happily.
Just then, the other bloggers came through the portal, leaping out to stand by Swirl.
"And all of us!" Sarah added, waving.
"Hey guys!" Craz acknowledged the group. Then she paused. "What are all of you doing together? Didn't you tell me that Swirl's mom didn't want you guys hanging out?"
"We got it all sorted out", Swirl replied. "It's kind of a long story."
"But now, we're having a sleepover at Swirl's house!" Purple put in.
Craz grinned. "Cool!"
"You could come back with us, if you want", Swirl offered, hoping her friend didn't think she had excluded her purposely.
"That's okay", Craz responded. "I don't want to cause your parents to ask any awkward questions about you-know-what." She pointed at the spot in the wall where her Blogger Portal was hidden.
"Are you sure?" Swirl pressed.
Craz nodded. "My parents will wonder where I've gone after too long, anyway." She turned around and flipped open her computer lid. "But while you guys are here, want to see the picture I've been working on?"
"Yeah!" the bloggers chorused, then clustered around Craz's desk to see.
The group talked with Craz for a little while longer, then said their goodbyes and gathered around the Blogger Portal.
"Where to next?" Lost asked.
"Let's try Canine's!" Swirl decided, closing her eyes and jumping through the portal a moment later. When she blinked open her eyes, she found herself in a room she had never seen before. As she looked around, the rest of the bloggers piled in through the portal after her.
Footsteps suddenly sounded, and a girl pushed open the door. She wore a yellow Spiked Wristband and a purple spiked necklace, and her hair was tied back with a dark gray hairband, dotted with light gray.
The girl jumped back in surprise. "Who are-" She stopped, studying Swirl's outfit closely.
"I'd recognize that look anywhere!" she finally exclaimed. "Is that you, Swirl?"
"Yep!" Swirl replied with a grin.
The girl glanced behind her. "And Sarah... Flora... all of you?"
The group nodded.
"I'm glad we finally get to meet you, Canine!" Swirl said to the girl.
Canine blinked. "But... how are you all here?"
"Well, you know how we always used to joke about the Blogger Portal?" Ja began.
Canine nodded.
"Well, it's not a joke anymore!" finished Kara, sticking a hand through the seemingly normal wall. "Feel."
Canine walked over and warily stuck her arm out like Kara. Half of it disappeared into the portal, and she jumped back in surprise. The bright green portal revealed itself for a moment, then became invisible once more as Canine stepped away.
"Cool, huh?" Sarah said with a grin.
Canine nodded, still studying the portal. "Awesome."
*********************************************************************************
After talking a little with Canine, the group continued on to see iLoppio, one of Swirl's old blogger friends, and then jumped back through the portal to visit Violet. Swirl had offered to let Violet come along to see Rachel, and now, her friend stood by her side in front of the Blogger Portal. She stared at it warily.
"Don't worry, it won't hurt you", Swirl assured her. "And it transports you really fast, just like we said. All you have to do is imagine the person you want to see in your head. Just follow us."
Violet nodded. "Okay." She seemed confident now, so Swirl closed her eyes, imagined Rachel, and leaped.
After the familiar flying sensation, she blinked open her eyes to find herself in Rachel's room. A moment later, the rest of the bloggers appeared behind her.
"Is Rachel here?" Lost asked, glancing around the room.
Swirl shook her head. "Doesn't look like it."
Suddenly, a blinding white light shone in the center of the room, and a strong breeze began to blow. The light glowed brighter and brighter, and Swirl and the others shielded their eyes. Finally, it died away, along with the wind, and Swirl looked up to see Rachel, holding her Portal Stone in her hand.
"Oh, there you are, Swirl!" Rachel exclaimed, getting up off the floor. She looked down at her stone. "I'm glad this actually took me to you!"
"What do you mean?" Swirl said, confused. "I thought Blogger Portals only lead to our rooms."
"They do", Rachel replied. "But I've found out that this Portal Stone can actually take me to wherever you are! It brought me back here, and I was thinking that it had made a mistake somehow. Guess it was right, though!"
"Woah", Swirl breathed. "Cool."
Rachel grinned. "Yeah." She paused. "Wait... how are you here, anyway? Isn't your Blogger Portal broken?"
"It was. Luckily, it's all fixed now!" Swirl told her friend.
"Great!" Rachel replied. She crossed the room and sat down on her bed. "So, what are you guys doing?"
"We're having a sleepover at Swirl's house!" Sarah answered excitedly.
"Sorry I couldn't invite you, Rachel", Swirl apologized. "My mom's pretty strict about who comes over and stuff-"
"Oh, that's okay", Rachel cut in. "No need to apologize. I'm pretty busy this week, anyway." She sat down on her bed. "So, what's been going on for you?"
Swirl laughed. "A lot, for once!" She and the bloggers told her about how the Blogger Portal had fixed itself, the encounter with Kenley, and her mom finally lifting her strict rule.
"Wow", Rachel commented after Swirl finished. "That is a lot of events!"
Swirl nodded. "Luckily, though, everything seems to be fine now!" She glanced down at her watch. "I guess we should be getting back, though." She looked up again at her friend. "My mom still doesn't know about the Blogger Portal, and she'll definitely wonder why we all randomly disappeared."
"Alright", Rachel sighed. "I guess I'll see you later, Swirl."
Swirl opened her mouth, about to reply, but a sudden jolt of pain passed through her, and her vision went black. She instinctively bent over, gasping in horror. Again? What's happening to me? The slight pain had disappeared, but it still took several moments before she could see anything again. Once her vision had been completely restored, she glanced up to see the bloggers and Rachel staring at her, troubled looks on all their faces.
"Swirl, are you okay?" Rachel asked her worriedly. "Are you sick?"
Swirl nodded, standing upright again. "I'm fine. This... this has happened before."
"Twice in one week? Are you sure that's not dangerous?" Gracie asked, sounding doubtful.
"Well... I... I don't know", Swirl stammered. "But I feel just fine now. I'm... I'm sure it was nothing."
Lost gave her a long look, her eyes full of concern.
"I promise, I'm fine now", Swirl told her friend.
"Okay..." she sighed, sounding as unconfident as Swirl felt.
"Alright.. well, I guess we better get back to my house, Rachel", she said after a moment, trying to shake off her feelings of doubt.
"Okay", Rachel responded. "See you later, Swirl!"
"Bye!" Swirl said back, giving a little wave. Then, imagining her home, she leaped through the Blogger Portal once again.
Chapter 33
The rest of the afternoon went by in a blur, and soon, Swirl's friends piled into her room, ready to sleep through the night. But, although she was tired, Swirl's mind still swam with thoughts.
I honestly have no idea what happened to me at Rachel's house. What the heck is going on? she wondered desperately. Something deep inside of her told her that it wasn't anything good. Pushing her growing fear away, Swirl climbed into her bed and got comfortable.
"It's so nice to have no major problems at the moment", Gracie sighed, lying down in her sleeping bag.
"Yeah", Gfox agreed. "Now we can finally relax and just have fun!"
"It'd be nice if it could be this way forever, huh?" Sarah commented from across the room.
Yeah, Swirl replied in her head. It would.
But something tells me that it won't for long.
With one last inward sigh, she closed her eyes and drifted into the calming darkness of sleep.
*********************************************************************************
When she opened her eyes again, the room was still dark. Sitting up, Swirl leaned over to check the time on her alarm clock.
5:14? Why do I always seem to wake up at the earliest times?
Shaking her head, she lay down again and tried to fall back asleep, but her mind was awake once again, and buzzing with thoughts. After a few more minutes, she was still wide awake. Groaning to herself, she finally got up, carefully stepping over her friends to get to her closet. Keeping the light off, she stepped inside, sticking her hand through the Blogger Portal, which appeared as soon as she touched it. She stared at the swirling green circle, and somehow, it seemed to calm her.
This portal just appeared one day, she reflected silently. It truly is a mystery. All of this is. But it's an amazing mystery.
Feeling content, she was about to turn around and go back to bed, but her vision blurred in a familiar way, and then, she couldn't see a thing.
No! Not again!
She waited impatiently for her sight to return. When it did, she gasped at what she saw.
The walls of her closet were now filled with cracks, which grew bigger and bigger every second. A strange white light shone from them. The Blogger Portal flashed, as if it was a glitching electronic device, and its outline gradually grew fuzzy.
"What's going on now?" Swirl murmured quietly, gazing around her closet in horror.
All of a sudden, the once-skinny cracks split open, releasing the blinding white light. At the same moment, the Blogger Portal flashed and wavered frantically, and, within a moment, it had faded away into nothing. Before Swirl had time to realize what was happening, the walls began to fade as well, leaving only blackness behind. Everything was disappearing before her eyes, and the darkness threatened to consume her as well, only a couple feet away from where she was standing. Eyes wide, Swirl leaped backwards to avoid it, but she tripped and fell over something in the way.
"Ow!" came an exclamation from Kara. "What was that?" She sat up, staring at the girl lying awkwardly beside her. "Swirl?"
Swirl scrambled to her feet and pointed at the closet. "Look! Somethi-"
She broke off, gaping. The closet now looked completely normal, as if nothing had ever happened!
Kara blinked at it. "I don't see anything."
"But... it was... where... huh?" Swirl stuttered in shock.
Kara turned back to Swirl. "Swirl, are you okay?" she asked, sounding concerned.
"The closet was disintegrating!" Swirl gasped in a rather loud voice. She glanced around, but none of her other friends had woken up.
"No, it wasn't", Kara replied calmly. "Everything was perfectly normal. You must have been dreaming or something."
"But I-" Swirl began, then broke off with a sigh. "Yeah... maybe I was."
"Are you okay?" Kara repeated. "Odd things seem to be happening to you a lot lately."
Swirl shook her head. "I honestly don't know anymore." She walked back to her bed and flopped down onto it. "I'll tell you about what happened in the morning."
Kara watched her, a confused expression on her face, as Swirl turned over and closed her eyes.
That wasn't a dream, she told herself. I know what I saw, and that was definitely real.
Chapter 34
The next morning, after breakfast, Swirl gathered her friends around in her room to tell them about what happened in the night.
"What was it you wanted to tell us, Swirl?' Gracie asked, sitting down next to Kara and Ja.
Swirl glanced around at the group of bloggers. "Something... weird happened last night."
Purple's eyes widened. "What?"
"I woke up in the middle of the night, and I went to check the Blogger Portal. Once I had been in my closet for a minute or two... things started happening." She shuddered. "The walls and everything started to just... disappear around me." She looked over at Kara, grinning sheepishly. "Then I kinda tripped over Kara and woke her up. By the time I looked up again, though, everything was back to normal."
"You're absolutely sure that happened?" questioned Flora.
Swirl nodded. "I am. It didn't feel like a dream at all- it was too...clear."
Lost looked confused. "But... how could all that even be possible?"
"Do you think it may be because of the Blogger Portal, or something?" Gracie added.
Swirl shrugged. "I don't know. But it happened."
"Well then, maybe... maybe it was some kind of vision", suggested Kara. "It wasn't a dream, and no one else seemed to see or hear it."
Swirl thought for a moment, the idea making sense to her.
There was that warning from Kara a while ago, she remembered silently. Could that and this vision-thing be connected? And maybe the thing that keeps making me go blind for a short amount of time?
"Maybe", she finally replied. "But why would there be anything to worry about now?" She sighed. "I thought all the problems were finally taken care of."
"Maybe they are", Sarah replied. "We can't be sure that it was a vision, after all."
Flora nodded slowly. "It's possible that it was all just your imagination, and nothing else."
"You could be right, I guess", Swirl responded. "It was probably nothing. Let's just forget about it for now."
"Are you sure?" Lost asked, still looking a bit worried.
Swirl nodded. "Yeah. I can worry about that later." She grinned around at her friends. "Now come on. This is a slumber party, remember?"
*********************************************************************************
The last few hours of the sleepover were spent visiting a few other bloggers, via the Blogger Portal, and hanging around in Swirl's house. Finally, though, the time came for everyone to leave.
"Swirl!" Swirl's mom poked her head around the corner. "Karalee's and Flora's parents are here to pick them up!"
Flora sighed. "Guess we have to go."
"We'll be right back- we gotta grab our stuff", Kara said. The two disappeared into Swirl's room.
The same moment that Flora and Kara left the room, Swirl's vision started to go fuzzy again.
Oh no, she thought, stifling a groan. Not this again. This is beginning to annoy me.
She shook her head, hoping her vision would clear. Nothing happened.
Come on! she yelled silently. Not right now!
A familiar, but stronger, bolt of pain shot through Swirl's body, and she gasped out loud. She heard footsteps, and knew Kara and Flora had returned, although she couldn't see them clearly.
"Swirl?" came Gracie's voice from a few feet away.
Swirl opened her mouth to say something, but suddenly, she felt as if she had been frozen in ice. She struggled to snap out of it, but she couldn't move.
Come on, come on! Why can't I move?
At least my sight seems to be returning, she remarked silently as, gradually, the concerned faces of her friends grew clearer.
But, just as Swirl was convinced she felt fine again, the world went black. She waited a few moments, expecting her sight to return to normal again, just like it always did.
But nothing seemed to happen. She could see nothing, hear nothing, and she still felt as if she had been paralyzed.
What's happening to me!? her panicked mind screamed.
She floated in darkness, emptyness, for a few moments longer, but everything remained the same- black and soundless. Swirl's heart beat faster and faster, and she wondered if she would ever escape from this place.
Then, all of a sudden, unfocused shapes began to form in front of her eyes. Swirl leaned forward to get a closer look, relieved to find that she could move once again.
After a second, Swirl finally realized that the shapes were people. She squinted, wondering who they were, and immediately recognized an orange scarf, edged with blue on both ends, around someone's neck at the front of the group. She looked around at them, and noticed many other items that she had seen before.
These aren't just random people- these are my friends!
Finally, they appeared clear to her. Each one of them was surrounded by a warm yellow aura, one that seemed to calm Swirl by just looking at it. Still, though, she was utterly confused.
"W-What's going on?" Swirl asked fearfully.
The Bloggers didn't answer her question, but instead silently advanced towards Swirl. They seemed to move as one, and Swirl stayed where she was, awestruck. She glanced behind and all around her, wondering if she had returned to reality, but everything else still looked black.
"This is the last time we'll be seeing you, Swirl", came a voice. Swirl turned to see that Kara was standing in front of her. "For now, at least."
"Wait... what?" What does she mean?
"We'll see you in the Blogger Community", added Gracie, stepping forward to stand beside Kara.
Swirl took a small step backwards. "Guys... what's going on? Why-"
"You'll know soon enough", Kara interrupted.
The rest of the bloggers began to step up as well, forming a straight line.
"This isn't the end", Sarah said, quoting an Owl City song. She gave a small nod.
"Don't forget this", added Ja, coming up beside her sister.
The rest of the bloggers, including Craz, Rachel, Canine, and Violet, who hadn't even been at the slumber party, joined the line silently, until they all faced Swirl, who stood watching in awe and confusion.
"We'll always be your friends, Swirl", Lost told her softly.
Swirl felt herself trembling. "W-what are you talking about?" She glanced around. "Why... why is all of this happening?"
The Bloggers once again said nothing. Swirl opened her mouth to say something else, then stopped. The bloggers were fading before her very eyes. She looked around wildly, and saw that the blackness all around her was turning white. Strange but familiar pixels formed at the border of the darkness, then disappeared as the white swallowed them up.
This is it! This is just like my vision!
She turned around, then gasped as she realized that the bloggers were pixelating too. Yet they stood calmly, watching Swirl, as if nothing was out of the ordinary.
"Goodbye Swirl."
The whisper seemed to belong to all of the bloggers at once, and yet it was a voice all of its own. The outlines of Swirl's friends began to waver, and she gasped in horror.
"WAIT! NO!" she screamed, leaping forward, stretching out a hand, but, just as she reached them, they faded completely. Swirl seemed to fall in slow motion as the white nothingness overtook everything.
And suddenly, with a start, she woke up.
Chapter 35 (Outro)
Swirl sat up, wondering where she was. She glanced around wildly, panting as if she had been running. Finally, she recognized her own bedroom, and she relaxed, letting out a sigh of relief. Then she let all the memories come back to her- her friends, the Blogger Portal, Kenley, the vision, the odd blackness that had trapped her...
How much of that was real?
"Swirl!"
Swirl whirled around to see her mom standing in the doorway.
"Hurry up! You'll be late for school!" she said worriedly, turning to leave.
School? But I thought-
"Wait!"
Her mom looked over her shoulder. "What?
"What day is it?" Swirl asked her.
Her mom blinked. "It's Tuesday."
Swirl looked over at her window, noticing dawn light filtering through the blinds. "And... I still have school?"
Swirl's mom gave her an odd look. "Yes... why wouldn't you?"
Swirl shook her head. "I... I dunno. Whatever. That's all I needed to know."
Her mom stared at her a moment longer, then turned and left the room.
Swirl's mind whirled. Don't tell me that all of that was a dream!
She glanced around the room again, wondering if there was a way to find out.
Oh! I know! My wind pendant! I was wearing it the whole time in... whatever that was.
She held her breath, hoping to find herself still wearing it, and looked down.
No necklace hung around her neck.
Swirl flopped onto her back with a moan. Everything she had experienced- everyone she had met, every problem she had dealt with- hadn't been real. All it was was a dream- a story that her mind had silently created. Just her imagination. Swirl longed to slip back into sleep, to go back to that fictional world in her brain and stay there forever. She wanted the Blogger Portal, and the bloggers themselves. She wanted the life she had lived in her own mind.
"Swirl! Come on!" came her mom's impatient voice from outside her room.
Swirl sighed dejectedly. She couldn't go back. It wasn't possible. Best to just try and forget about it, I guess...
Forcing herself to get up, she walked over to her closet and grabbed her wind pendant necklace. She put it around her neck, gave it a longing look, then walked out of her room to get ready for school.
*********************************************************************************
Swirl rolled her eyes as the bell for first period rang. Standing up, she flung her heavy backpack over her shoulder, then trudged off towards her math classroom.
School was the last thing she wanted to deal with today. If she wasn't such a good student, she would gladly climb the fence around her school and run off into the cornfield next to it. She sighed. All she really wanted was to be back in the dream once more.
The crowded hallways seemed more cramped than ever, and several kids bumped into her on the way to her class, glaring at her as she passed. For once, Swirl didn't care.
She must have been lost in thought, because, all of a sudden, she slammed into someone, causing them both to fall to the ground.
"Oh gosh, sorry!" Swirl apologized, reaching out a hand to help the girl up.
Haven't I seen that beret she's wearing before?
The girl looked up at Swirl, and her eyes suddenly widened. "Swirl! There you are! We were looking for you this morning!"
Swirl just looked at her in bewilderment, immediately recognizing Lostfairy.
"Wait..." she finally answered. "'We'?"
Lost nodded, looking confused. "Yeah... you know, the bloggers?"
The warning bell rang, signifying that everyone had only a minute to get to class before they were counted tardy.
"Oh gosh! I guess I better hurry to class!" Lost gasped, picking her things up off the floor. "See you at lunch, Swirl!" And with a small wave, she raced off down the hall.
Swirl stared after her, eyes wide.
Maybe it wasn't a dream after all...
The End
Author's Note: Most of the characters in this story are largely based off of my friends' personalities, and my character is the same! :D
can i be in it?
ReplyDeleteApearance Dark brown hair Brownish greenish eyes. Main look on aj grey top hat with a red ribbon in it rare mech angle wings diamond encrusted tail and gloves and a black scarf. personatly I love reading going outside and i tell puns alot (oh and cats, and warriors the books.)
Deletethis is me pob93 btw if you cound't tell
Deletepob93
Thanks Pob! I'll add you in soon! :)
DeleteBtw Swirl, idk if you have my IRL but just in case if you don't, I have blue eyes, and light brown hair (not exactly blonde) and have pink glasses.
ReplyDeleteGotcha ;)
DeleteJAMASSIAN PRESCHOOL CHAPTER 1 PEEPS
ReplyDeleteChapter 1
Ms. Liza Fman scammed meeeee" Aparri cried "Fman! No scamming!" Ms Liza exclaimed Aparri continued crying, while Bepper played with the cats. Suddenly she starting crying. "MS LIZA THIS CAT BIT ME, AND ANOTHER ONE SCRATCHED ME" Ms Liza put bandages on the wound. Meanwhile Julian was playing with the beans. BEANS BEANS BEAN!!! I WUV BEANS!! *spills beans on floor* "Ms. Liza, Julian spilled beans on the floor!" Wisteria complained. "This class is so hard." Ms Liza mumbled As she picked up the beans. Meanwhile Skorm crawled up to Wootmoo, "Woot, wanna buy my shirt?" "NO SELLING SHIRTS HERE!" Ms. Liza yelled "Skorm, go sit in a corner!"Skorm cried and sat in a corner.
STAY TUNED FOR CHAPTER 2 XDDDD
XDDD AWESOME!
DeleteXD That's an awesome story, Sarah! ROFL
Delete-Crazcatlover
(Credit to gracie) FAMOUS JAMMER SENIOR CARE PART 1
ReplyDeleteAparri sat in the corner next to Bepper. "I wish we didn't waste our lives with videos." Aparri said. "What? Speak up, ya old man!" Bepper looked up from her knitting. "Do any of you want to buy this Feathered Mask? It's 15 dollars." Skorm said wheeling up to her in his wheelchair. "Hey! I got better things to do with my money!" Aparri said. "Like what, ya old bag of flesh?" Skorm said. "What are you two even talking about? I can't hear a thing!" Bepper said. "HEY! DON'T YOU DARE TRY TO SCAM ME, FMAN!" They heard someone in the corner scream. "But sir, it's completely fair. Trust me. I played in Beta." "BETA WAS 45 YEARS AGO! I can't trust you, NO ONE CAN!" The man continued to scream.
XDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD YESH I NEEDED TO DO THIS! CHAPTER TWO COMIN SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!!!!!
~*FrozenWarrior*~
OH.
DeleteMy.
Gosh.
THIS IS GENIUS!!! KEEP IT UP FROZEN!!!! I LOVE IT! XDD!
*burst out laughing* LOL! *laughs super hard* Can I be in it? *puppy eyes*That would be super funny XDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
DeleteXDDD
DeleteOh my gosh, Old Swirl! XDD! I'd still be blogging!
I need help! Idk where to read AjKrafts Jamaasian high school! Plz help!
ReplyDeletehttps://animaljamfanfiction.blogspot.com/2016/08/new-blog.html
DeleteThen click the tab that says Jamaasian High! :D
CHAPTER 4 *This is not made to offend anyone, this is just everyone be really crazy XDDD)
ReplyDeleteSuddenly lots of other 4 year olds walked in
"MAKE WAY DAH BLOGGERS AND COMMENTERS ARE COMING THRU." Kraft yelled "OMG JULIAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Everyone trampled the other youtubers and ran up to Julian. "Can you sign my bean?!" Swirl asked "Mine tooo!" Lost yelled "Me too!" Kraft yelled, "ME TOOO" Ja yelled "ME TOOOOOOOOO" Pob yelled, "ME ONE THOUSAND AND EIGHTY FIVE BILLION!" Kara yelled "ME MILLION TIMES" Gracie yelled
XDDDDDD LOVE IT!
DeleteI was trying so hard not to laugh in real life 😂😂😂
DeleteMy dad would of been like, what's so funny?
Then I may have tell him about the story, he knows about Spinnybois, and sorta about beans, BUT WHOSE KRAFT AND POB?!
Yah. 😂
Remember, God made YOU!
O.O
DeleteOk, that was really funny! Except... I WOULD NEVER ASK JULIAN FOR AN AUTO!!! O,O
XD But seriously. I wouldn't.
Haha, same here. I wouldn't ask any famous jammer for an autograph. Plus, it's not like they'd listen. I'd just be another typical fangirl. XD!
DeleteLOL SIGN MY BEAN TOO JULIAN! Where are the other chapters? I MUST READ THEM XD
Delete-crazcatlover
HAPTER 4 *This is not made to offend anyone, this is just everyone be really crazy XDDD) I am doing it again becuz I didn't finish it last time XDX
ReplyDeleteSuddenly lots of other 4 year olds walked in
"MAKE WAY DAH BLOGGERS AND COMMENTERS ARE COMING THRU." Kraft yelled "OMG JULIAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Everyone trampled the other youtubers and ran up to Julian. "Can you sign my bean?!" Swirl asked "Mine tooo!" Lost yelled "Me too!" Kraft yelled, "ME TOOO" Ja yelled "ME TOOOOOOOOO" Pob yelled, "ME ONE THOUSAND AND EIGHTY FIVE BILLION!" Kara yelled "ME MILLION TIMES" Gracie yelled "ME ONE BILLION TRILLION BILLION!" Sarah yelled Swirl, Kraft, and Sarah ran towards the comic books that were for some reason there. "YEY WARRIOR CATS!" they screamed "WARRIORS IS FOR 4 YEAR OLDS!" Canine yelled "WE ARE 4!" Kraft yelled. "GOOD POINT!" Canine screamed "OH MY GOSH EVERYONE SIT DOWN!!" Liza screamed Suddenly all was quiet and everyone was sitting down. "BE QUIET OR I WILL GIVE YOU NO CANDY!" Liza yelled Nobody said a word till Frozen sat up and jumped on the candy bowl "MY CANDY!!!" Frozen screamed as she stuffed candy in her mouth "MINE!!!!!!!" Koolest yelled as she jumped by Frozen. "MINE AND MINE ALONE." Kraft yelled and yanked the plastic bowl of candy away. Suddenly there was a crack and suddenly it was raining candy! Everyone looked up and saw Kara with a BUNCH of candy. She jumped down from the mini slide. "COFFEE FLAVORED JELLYBEANS" she yelled Stuffing jellybeans in her mouth. "YAY!!! REESE'S PIECES" Sarah yelled "TWIZZLERSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS" Swirl yelled Suddenly a big giant cake landed in the middle of the room. Swirl and Sarah gasped and started talking in slow motion, suddenly EVERYTHING was slow motion! "Myyyyyy cheeeseeeecakeeee" Sarah said running towads it. "Mine tooooooo" Swirl said
MWAHAHA
XDD! Okay, I'm trying not to laugh!!!
DeleteThat literally sounds SO MUCH like me! And the cheesecake! XDDD!!!
OMG 😂😂😂😂 Best. Story. Ever. XDDD
DeleteRemember, God made YOU!
Oh gosh, that sounds like me when I was that age, OBSESSED WITH CANDY.
Delete~.*(FrozenWarrior)*.~
Fun fact-
DeleteI recently found a coffee bean in my coat pocket.
What does it mean?
I d o n ' t K n o w
-kraft
It means Kara and Julian2 are teaming up to take over the world.
Delete*Puts shades on* I'm good at this, guys. I'm totally the brains of this investigation.
XD!
Omg XDDDD THAT WOULD BE GOOD. IF KARA TOOK OVER THE WORLD THAT WOULD BE GREAT! SENSE WE ARE HER FRIENDS WE COULD GET ANYTHING WE WANTED!!!! LOL
DeleteOH MY GOSH
DeleteYOU ARE RIGHT MY FRIEND
XDD
YOU THINK I WANT TO RULE THE WORLD
DeleteTHE GLOBE
WITH ITS ONE ZILLION TINY PROBLEMS LIKE TRAFFIC AND SLOW INTERNET AND BAD COFFEE AND TWO ZILLION ACTUAL PROBLEMS LIKE HUNGER AND WAR AND POLLUTION AND THE GROWING CONCERN OF A WATER SHORTAGE AND *pant* *pant* *pant*
Not to mention that the one-world government is prophesied in Revelation and will usher in the apocalypse.
So yeah no thank you.
(DXplorergirl)
hi guys! if kara ruled the world i would be princess. also, i broke my arm. :(
Deleteif sis ruled the world i would be princess. oops i put the first comment replyed to the comment up above this one XD. btw i broke my arm :(
Delete@ Kara
DeleteSHUSH KARA YOU COULD FIX THESE PROBLEMS BECAUSE YOU ARE A BLOGGER AND IF BLOGGERS RULED THE WORLD IT'D BE BETTER THAN IT IS NOW
(If you think this is a long run-on sentence, I have an entire post that beats this out by... um... A LOT. XD!)
@ Cricket Lynn
XD! I'd be... um... well, actually, I'd just be Kara's friend. :P
I'm sorry about your arm! D:
Also, one more thing. I haven't seen you on my blog before (at least, I don't think), so I must give you the tradition author welcome. XD!
~Credit to Frozen warrior~
ReplyDeleteJamaasian Senior care part one
Aparri and Bepper was sitting, watching videos. Bepper chuckled. "Jammers nowadays!" She said as she licked her dentures. Aparri looked over at Bepper. "Eh? Speak up!" He said as he went back to eating applesauce. Julian2 entered, with a cane with a bean as a handle. "Hi beans! Er make room!" Wisteriamoon entered and wheeled over to Julian2 in her wheelchair. She plopped her dentures in his hand. "Er... I need these back when they are cleaned."
Part two coming soon :3
Lol, I like it!
DeletePart two here XD
ReplyDeleteJulian2 looked at wisteriamoon. "Er.. what is this for?" Wisteriamoon was already wheeled near Skorm. Skorm had a bag full of items. "Hey Wisteria! $90 dollars for the top hat!" Wisteriamoon rolled her eyes. "I'd rather spend my money getting GOLDEN dentures!" She said as she started crocheting.
XD, nice!
DeleteCHAPTER 5 IN WHICH THE TEACHER HAS A HEART ATTAACK
ReplyDeleteSarah and Swirl ran towards the cheesecake and started gobbling it up. Suddenly somebody yelled COCOA BANANA PINATA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! everyone turned around and saw Artymis with the paint. "TEACHER LOOK WHAT I DREW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" The teacher went over to see what Artymis had drawn. It was a picture of a Banana Pinata with hot cocoa pouring over it. It was incredibly realistic! The teacher gasped and staggered backwards into a pile of beans "MY BEAN TOWER!" Julian screamed Snowyclaw was painting a picture of a red panda in a tree eating marshmallows. TEACHER LOOK WHAT I MADEEEEEEEE! Snowy screamed. The teacher looked at it and gasped it was REALLY RELISTIC "G-g-g-good job!" the teacher stammered. She walked backwards into a pile of "CATS! BEANIE CATS! MY PRECIOUS BEANIE CATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Bepper screamed loudly everyone covered their ears. Suddenly the teacher Gasped and staggered forward and fell down on Julian's beans. Everyone stared. Sarah and Swirl looked up from their cheesecake. Gfox looked at the teacher. Should we do something? she asked. "WHAT" everyone said. Gfox just starred. Suddenly millions of balloons came down from the ceiling launched by Fman and Wretched. Everyone screamed so loud that several balloons popped making other teachers from other classes run in. Seeing the teacher on the floor they all called 991 "RECESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS" Fman yelled banging a bell. "YAYYYYYYYYYYYYY!" everyone ran out trampeling the teachers and Skorm who was sitting in his corner. Then he jumped up and ran out with the rest of the kids. Meanwhile the police arrived as well as the ambulance and carried the teacher on the stretcher.
WOO
XDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD, I love it!
DeleteI felt like everyone hated me in that part though................... MAYBE SOMEONE TOOK OVER MAH BODY AND THEN ACTED LIKE A MONKEY!
DeleteNah, I don't think anyone hated you there.
DeletePlus, we're all in Pre-K. No one REALLY hates anyone at that age. XD!
Animal Jam Grave yard part one.
ReplyDelete*muffled laughs*
"EWWWWW DID YOU FART?!" Gfox screams. "WE LIVE IN DIRT HOW WOULD WE FART?!?!?!" Sarah screamed. "STOP SCREAMING IM TRYING TO SLEEP HERE!" Gracie yells. *other ppl in graves facepalm* "THIS OLD GONE BODY AINT GONNA RECOVER BY GETTING YELLED AT!!!!!" Kraft screamed. "STOP SCREAMING!" Gracie screamed. "WHY DID YOU SAY TO STIP SCREAMING IF YOU SCREAMING ABOUT SCREAMING?!" Lost screamed. Everyone: ...........
XDDDDDDDDDD
DeleteAnimal jam graveyard part 2
ReplyDelete"I want a cheeseburger." Swirl groaned. "DUDE HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO EAT?! WE ARE DEAD!" Custard yelled. "I WANT TO STARE AT LE CHEESE BURGER!" Swirl said. Wisteriamoon wakes up. "CAN YA STOP?! IM IN THE MIDDLE OF MAKING ME A DIRT NECKLACE!" "How do you make a dirt necklace...?" Lost asks.
HAHA YES THAT'S ME!!!! THE PERSON WHO ALWAYS WANTS FOOD!!! YESSSS, XDD!
DeleteXDDDD
DeleteCHAPTER 6 IN WHICH SARAH SCREAMS LIKE A 4 YEAR OLD AND THE PRESCHOOLERS RAID THE CABNIT(oh wait! She IS 4 on this!)
ReplyDeleteWhen all the bloggers and youtubers trampled literally all the teachers to get inside, a lightbulb went out! "AHHHHHHHHHHHH THE DARRRRRRRRRRRRKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK SOMEBODY TURN ON THE LIGHTS!" Sarah screamed. Everybody covered their ears. "WAHHHHHHH TURN IT OOOON PLZZZZ" she sobbed "SARAH IT IS ONLY 1 BULB!" Pob exclaimed Sarah looked up and replied with one word. "O." Then, Kraft, Swirl, and Sarah ran towards the Warrior Books again. When suddenly the fire alarm went off! "COSMO. I TOLD YOU NOT TO HAVE THAT STUPID STAFF WITH THE CANDLE" a teacher screamed All the preschoolers ran towards the cabnit and each grabbed a bag of marshmallows "TOASTY MARSHMALLOWS!" Kraft screamed "FIZZY TOAST!" Sarah screamed "JAM JAM!" Gracie screamed CHICKADEES!" Custard screamed (Writers note: argh completely forgot to add custard! SORRY CUSTARD YOU WILL BE IN A LOT THIS CHAPTER) "IM GOING TO MAKE A MARSHMALLOW CAKE." Custard screamed Suddenly Aparri exclaimed "I WILL PUT OUT THIS FIRE! IM A HERO!!!!!" And jumped into the fire. "OH NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HE HAD THE BAG OF WARRIOR CAT BOOKS!!!!" screamed Pob, Kraft, Swirl and Sarah "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"
CLIFF HANGERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR :D XDD
That last part where Aparri jumped into the fire with the books made me laugh, XDD!!!
DeleteYes, that's me. All I care about are the beautiful books! XDD!
No seriously, I do care about books a ton. :P
Ah, imagine if all this happened in real life. I'd never have nothing to say ever again. XD!
XDD
DeleteI do too. XD I have like 10 series that me and Pob read every year. OK MAYBE LIKE 15. XDDDD
XDDDDDDDDDDDD If this happened in real life we would probably all be in a Insane Asylum XDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
XDDDDDD, 15 series!!?? That's a LOT!!!!
DeleteI made one appearance... now I'm toast O.O
DeleteGet it? "Toast" cuz of the fire? No? Okay. I'll go cry in the corner lol jk
DeleteI think it's reached a pretty intense point so like, I guess you can think about adding me now.
ReplyDeleteIRL: very dark (almost but not black) brown hair, same colour eyes, face, arms, legs, body.
CURRENT MAIN ANIMAL: well, I guess my current fox outfit is pretty okay. I change a lot.
TRAITS: I usually say things without thinking, occasionally this is annoying but yeah.
I am sometimes really outside box minded, eg: today we had this High Resolves thing and we had to "raise" money for Afghanistan, and spend it on stuff for them. One of the choices was an all you could eat buffet, and I thought that if we chose it, we would also have an all you can sell buffet. That way we would get tons more money. I'm just pretty proud of myself thinking of that.
I like Steven Universe.
If I made contact with the divas, I would either say nothing, attempt to say something smart/'funny', or say something completely unrelated but still somehow related. Because of the type of person I am, I would probably not hate them, but be like: "what if they just have insecurities that they have to put on us?" So sort of, I'm a positive and negative thinker at the same time, and probably at the wrong times XD.
I sort of like to draw, my drawings are usually trash on purpose but if I actually take time and effort to concentrate, I can draw decent.
I will probably try to make jokes, or try to break silence because I dunno. I don't use puns but maybe once a month I would.
Sometimes I can make up some sort of deep explanations for things, usually they don't even make sense but they do in my mind. At the moment, I think that this dream possibly symbolises Swirlshine, and her drowning in something that is not physically there, but is in her mind and is really annoying. Just made this up at the last minute but there.
Sorry if this was a long comment, have a good day :)
Gotcha! I'll try to add you in soon!
DeleteNow that I think about it, my theory could be true (but probably not) since you had the same sort of dream when you drowned.
DeleteYou said you were gonna publish a chapter tonight...:D
ReplyDelete*hovers over blog like some flying animal* NEED
CHAPTER
FEED
ME
A
CHAPTER
EHEHEHE IM WEIRD TIRED AND CONMENTING
COMMENTING^^
Lalalalala
Lucille Ball riding a unicorn monkey with a pie on her back..
Wow
She's a bold banana to be riding a unicorn monkey!
Imma write a jamaasian pre-k cuz I'm weird and tired rn
Credit 2 sarahkey8
Jamaa pre k
Gracie slowly walked into the preschool only to find about 20 kids throwing tantrums. "This is my new school?" Gracie asked with wide eyes. "YES CHILD COME IN COME IN" A lady with brown hair yelled to the girl weirdly.
"ONLY IF I GET GREEK YOGURT!!!" Gracie screamed as she ran into the preschool
She noticed a girl playing with kitties and had a kitty shirt on
"OM KITTIES ARE ALOUD IN SCHOOL?!?! WHY WASNT THERE PRE PRE SCHOOL!!! I WANT A SCHOOL KITTY!!!!" Gracie yelled ontop of her lungs. "HOI KID! IM COOLCAT!" CoolCat yelled back. "HI!!! CAN I PLZ TRADE FOR ONE OF YOUR KITTIES?!" Gracie asked as she wildly ran in circles around CoolCat and the kitties. "NOT FOR TRADE." She answered.
"OMG PLEASE ILL TRADE A HORSE COIN!!!" Gracie cried.
"HORSES?!?!" A girl yelled as she ran right smack-dab into Gracie. "I LOAF HORSES AND IM JA. JA LOVES HORSES USA!!!!" Ja yelled.
Suddenly
Crickets chirped.
Everyone stood there.
"Welp." Gracie said lowly.
She then walked over to le teachers desk. Some kid was at the teachers desk. "BUT TEACHER!
XD, there's your chapter! :D *Feeds to her*
DeleteWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
#BoldBananaRidingAUnicornMonkeyWithAPieOnHerBack
Oh gosh. XD!
YAAY JP-K!!!! XD!
I loaf it. Add me. XD!
WHAT DO YOU MEAN I CANT SELL MY HAT IN SCHOOL??!??!!!?!!" The child whined.
ReplyDelete"BECUZ ITS ILLEGAL. PLZ GO HOME." The teacher said.
"HAHA SKORM IS GETTING SUSPENDED." A kid said loudly. A girl stood, watching the teacher and Skorm argue.
"HOI. I ISH SARAH AND I LIKE BANANAS ACTUALLY NO I DONT HAHA." Sarah said with a broad smile. "EWWW BANANAS!!!!" Gracie said, flinching as if it was a bug near her. "HOW DARE U SAY THAT ABOUT MY CHILDREN!!!" Sarah screamed.
"WELL YOU EVEN SAID YOU DONT LIKE THEM!!" Gracie screamed back.
There was an awkward silence.
The two broke out laughing.
TBC tomorrow XD
*Claps* SO BEAUTIFUL!
DeleteXDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
DeleteOMG MY HEART WAS LEGIT POUNDING WHEN I READ THIS CHAPTER
ReplyDeleteWHEEEW SUSPENSION OF DISBELIEF
*cough cough* um anyways
WHY DOES THIS CHAPTER LEGIT BRING TEARS TO MY EYES
THIS IS SAAAAD XDDD
Calm down Gracie it's a story not real life O.o
Cri cri
GRACIE RELAX
XDDD
But really, if that did happen, I'd burst into tears 😬
Ahem
Enough of my heart racing and almost crying becuz I'm weird.. XDDD
Can't wait to see what happens next!
Remember, God made YOU!
Aww!
DeleteOkay, that comment made me smile!
ARG WHY ARE YOU GUYS SUCH GOOD FRIENDSS!!!??? XDD!
I can't wait either, XDD!
SUNDAY TIRED WARNING!!!
ReplyDeleteOMG I JUST READ CHAPTER 16!!
In the next chapter I would b like, "we shouldn't break the rules.. But I can't leave you guys!" then start breaking down in tears XDD then b like, "IM TALKING TO YOUR MOM!!!" *runs determinedly like a bold banana*
WHY AM I TELLING U HOW TO WRITE IT?!?! USE UR CREATIVE MIND
JUST IF U GET STUCK
U MAY USE MY SUGGESTIONS
OMGOMGOMGOMG IM
SO TIRED
UNICORNS CHASING RAINBOWS
OMG
AHHH
I NEED SLEEP
*automatic voice* The time is 10:44 PM.. Gracie will go go sleep in exactly 16 minutes..
I want sleep
I need sleep
JAMAASIAN PRESCHOOL
Chapter 1 part 2
Gracie screamed on top of her lungs "OMIGOSH I WANT YOUR HAT!!" She yanked skorms hat right off of his head. "OMG NO ITS MINE!" A girl with a clover jacket on screamed. "BTW IM SWIRLSHINE. I AM DESTINED FOR THAT HAT." She said loudly with a grin.
"Oh. Then here." Gracie said, giving Swirl the hat. "DUDE THATS MY HAT PAY MEH" Skorm cried. "ALRIGHT." Gracie said, with hesitation. She searched her boots, where she always kept her money. "HERE!" Gracie yelled as she put an old piece of gum and a toothpick in skorms hand. "THATS NUT MONEY!!!" He yelled. "OH WELP" Gracie said with a smile. Swirlshine sat down in a random seat that was green. And purple. THOSE COLORS DO NOT MATCH. Gracie screamed because of that. "Ur a bold banana to scream :D" swirl said happily. Gracie screamed again. "BOLD BANANA" Swirl screamed legit on top of her lungs. "I WANT
A
PICKLE." A girl screamed from behind the corner. Everyone besides me gasped. "BEPPER!!!!" Kids exclaimed. "WHOSE BEPPER?!?!?!?!" Gracie yelled. "SHES FAMOOOOOSE." A boy yelled. "MOO!! IM A COW." Gracie screamed. The room became silent. Crickets chirped. "Awkward." Gracie said with a smile a she took a bite of her Greek yogurt.
TBC!!!!
Remember, God made YOOU!!!!!!!!
So hyper
But so tired
Cri
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 OMG IM LAUGHING SO HARD!!!
DeleteYAAAAASSSS THIS JP CHAPTER WAS BESTTTTTTT!!!!!!!
Delete*bows* TANKS YOU XD
DeleteRemember, God made YOU!
CHAPTER 6 JAMAASIAN PRESCHOOL (OR WAS THAT KINDERGARTEN O.O)
ReplyDelete"MK EVERY SIT DOWN FOR STORY TIME" Gracie screamed, "IT BETTER BE ABOUT BANANAS" SARAH SCREAMED "NOPE ISH ABOUT HAIRY BROWNIES!" GRACIE YELLED "OMG NO IT HAS TO BE ABOUT CATS" CAT SCREAMED "NOO ABOUT CUSTARD FILLED DOUNUTS!" CUSTARD SCREAMED "NOO WARRIOR CATS!" KRAFT AND SWIRL SCREAMED, "FINE ITS ABOUT A.... SPECK!" GRACIE SCREAMED. "BUT WHY?" SARAH ASKED. "CUZ HORTAN HEARS A HOO DUHHH" GRACIE SCREAMED "OH DAT, I REMEMBER WATCHING IT WAS WHEN JA GOT HER HAPPY NAPPY" SARAH SCREAMED AGAIN, "OMG MY HAPPY NAPPER!! I GOT RID OF IT!" JA SCREAMED BACK.
Suddenly the door burst open! And the teachers came in. "OMG I THOUGHT OUR TEACHER HAD A HEART ATTACK!" JA SCREAMED
"Well we are the new teacherS." the teacher replied calmly.
Suddenly Julian ran up on the pile of books! "CHARGEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE" HE SCREAMED. THEN ALL THE LITTLE KIDS RAN FORTH, AND PINNED THE TEACHERS TO THE GROUND, AND TIED THEM TO THE GROUND WITH GUM AND BUBBLES. "HOW DID WE TIE THEM WITH BUBBLES?!" FOX SCREAMED "I HAVE NO IDEA" SARAH SCREAMED BACK. "I LOAF BUBBLES, SO ITS FINE WITH ME." FOX YELLED "WHY ARE WE YELLING!??!" SKORM SCREAMED, SUDDENLY SOMEBODY JUMPED ON SKORM AND STARTED BURYING HIM UNDER THE CONCRETE BECAUSE SKROM HAD SOLD ITEMS, AND FORGOTTEN TO GIVE THE KID HIS ITEM.
STAY TUNED KIDS
XDDDDDDDDDDDDDD!!!!!!!!
DeleteIT'S... TOO... GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! XDDD!
THE HAPPY NAPPER PART MADE ME LAUGH XDD!
"IT WAS WHEN JA GOT HER HAPPY NAPPY"
XDDD! I'm imagining a kid saying that.
OH MY GOSH
DeleteA SPECK
XDDDD HAPPY NAPPY XDDDDDD
THEY BURIED SKORM UNDER CONCRET?! Oh man, oh man XDD
KEEP UP THE FABULOUS WORK! XDDD
Remember, God made YOU!
XD
DeleteYAY TY YOU LIKE IT!! XDDD
WELL ITS TRU XDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
IKR
CHAPTER 7 OF JAMAASIAN STUFFFFF
ReplyDelete"LOOK AT MEH CHICKEN BANANA" KRAFT SCREAMED "I DONT LIKE BANANAS" SARAH SCREAMED "BUT YOU TALK ABOUT THEM ALL THE TIME" NAFFY SCREAMED "WELP IDC I ONLY LIKE THEM WHEN IM REALLY HUNGRY" "O THAT MAKES SENSE" CUSTARD YELLED
"HEY NO YELLING ONLY SCREAMING" FOX SCREAMED "YEAH" KARA SCREAMED "OMG THE LATEST ISSUE OF CHEESECAKE BANANA WARRIOR CATS IS OUT!!!!!!!!" SWIRL AND SARAH SCREAMED "WHY DO YOU GUYS READ THAT" LOST YELLED "UHM WE DONT KNOW" SWIRL ANSWERED "I SAID NO YELLING ONLY SCREAMING" SARAH SCREAMED "NO I SAID THAT" FOX REPLIED
"OMG YOU JUST REPLIED THATS NOT YELLING" SARAH SCREAMED "BUT THE STORY LOOKS WEIRD IF WE ONLY SAY SCREAMED!" LOST SCREAMED "WHAT WE ARE IN A STORY?!?" GRACIE SCREAMED TOSSING HER BOOK ONTO SOME KIDS HEAD, "UHM YEHHHH" LOST SCREAMED
Boom XD
XDDDD, very noice!
DeleteJAMAASIAN PRESCHOOL CHAPTER 1 PART 3.
ReplyDeleteGracie ate her Greek yogurt and started to cri. A kid name Nameless walked over to Gracie with CONCERN IN HER TINY HEART!! "Wuts wrong" Nameless asked. "IM SCARED ILL TURN INTO A POTATO INSTEAD OF A BANANA!!!" Gracie screamed. "YOU WILL NEVER TURN INTO A BANANA!" Nameless screamed back "O YUS I WILL. ITZ MY DREAM" Gracie cried. Nameless walked away as she licked a lollypoppy. THEN OUT OF THE BLUE, GELLYJONES TRAMPLED ON NAMELESS AND GRABBED HER LOLLY AND VANISHED, AS SHE TURNED INTO AN ELEPHANT. Nameless cri with Gracie. "SEE SEE SEEE SEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE PPL DO TURN INTO THINGZ" Gracie smiled happily as she spoke.
By now, Bepper was half way across the world, trying to get away from the fan girls. Now only half of la school is here, and the teacher got covered with rice. That made Gracie confused. "IM BORED!!!!!!!!!!" Swirl shine yelled from across the whole entire school. No one answered her, because... THE SCHOOL BELL RANG. GRACIE RAN OUTSIDE AND SARAH AND JA TRAMPLED OVER HER. "YO WILL PAY FOR THIS JA NINE EIGHT THREE AND SARAH KEY EIGHT!!!!" Gracie yelled, properly using their full names. "PAY FOR WHAT?" Sarah asked. "PAY FOR MY HEARTACHE." Gracie explained. "O" Sarah said. She ran over to Gracie and gave her a an old dried out flower for the payment. "THANK YOU." Gracie said as she stood to her feet.
That was the end to her long day. What would come tomorrow at preschool? No one knew. But Gracie had a strange idea, that she might just be going to preschool. She sighed dreamily. Because no one knew what a school year was. She was proud.
THAT WAS LONG
GOODNIGHT
Remember God made YOU
BYE
OH YESSSSSSSS!!!
DeleteFavorite line of story: " 'PAY FOR WHAT?' Sarah asked. 'PAY FOR MY HEARTACHE.' Gracie explained."
PAY. FOR. MY. HEARTACHE. PAY NOW!!!!!!!
Well, I realized I have not been introduced. I swear I don't mean to be begging but I do feel like I need to fill out a form, just in case :') This was copied and pasted from The Crazcatblog, just to tell you.
ReplyDeleteCharacter's Name (Name from the story only): Frozen Warrior ( Warrior is last name )
Girl or boy: Girl, duh.
Height (approximate is fine): 5.11 ( I b tiny )
Weight (approximate is fine, like skinny/average/plump): I'm skinny, but I have a bit of muscle in my legs and arms. ( Seriously, someone "complimented" me on my "Big Knees" several months ago. )
Hair color: DARK Brown, but with a little bit of a red tint in it, barely visible.
Eye color: Blue
Skintone: PALE. EXTREMELY PALE. Because I'm part Irish o.o
Hairstyle and length: Usually down, but sometimes in a braid, mostly for fancy occasions or if I feel fancy that day.
Clothes:
Top: White shirt with a blue snowflake on it
Pants/skirt: Jeans
Jacket, if applicable: I always have this on; Maroon jacket with vine and leaf patters sewn into it with lighter red string
Shoes: Heels on special occasions, but usually black sneakers.
Other: Flower headband. Fluffy anklets and bracelets ( Look at my Arctic Fox if you need to see what I mean XD )
YEH BOIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII imma type unicorn banana face with my eyes closed;
unicorn banana face OMG I DID IT :OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Now I try to type a verse from a song with my eyes closed.
a verse from a song with my eyes closed OOO I DID IT AGAIN
*~FrozenWarrior~*
You have been added, Froz! Thanks for the description! :D
DeleteYES THANK YOU I LOVE IT SO MUCH! That's legit me in real life XD
DeleteFavorite line: Frozen shrugged. "I could ask you the same question."
*~.FrozenWarrior.~*
Errrrr, I realize this MAY be a bit of a stickler-point here... but if you'll look closely on the Crazcatblog, you'll see she noted that I was the one who wrote that character-description form. Just wanted to write the fact down here to avoid any sort of confusion as to originality by other parties in the future -- I'm kind of a "be-prepared" person, I guess.
DeleteSorry for the intrusion. :P *nervously taps fingers together*
*leaves*
CX
(DXplorergirl)
@Frozen
DeleteYou're welcome! I'm glad you like how I wrote your character! :D
@Kara
Ohhh, I think I see what you mean now! Sorry if I gave credit to the wrong person for that! D:
@Kara
DeleteOh gosh, I'm so sorry! I had seen that there wasn't the background stuff and I didn't think it was the same. I feel bad now -wishes I could edit my comment because I feel bad-
*~.FrozenWarrior.~*
Hey, no problem at all. XD All that matters is that it's clear now. C:
DeleteThe reason why some character background quiz stuff got left out is because the whole character quiz is for an OC (Original Character), someone who could act very differently from the person who invented them. Here, we're writing about bloggers -- each other, who we already know -- and all the character bio stuff isn't necessary. :P
(DXplorergirl)
I wrote fanfiction :D Soon to be updated, this was written before the blogger portal broke :O
ReplyDeleteRachel lay awake that night thinking about what had happened with Swirl and her earlier that day. Her tablet and her black-and-purple headphones lay beside her on her nightstand, her glasses resting on it. She heaved a big sigh and turned on her side, fiddling with a strand of her messy chestnut hair.
“Crazy,” Rachel muttered to herself, thinking of Swirl again, thoughts continuing to rush by. She rubbed her tired eyes and silently got out of bed. Rachel walked over to her bookshelf. “Maybe reading will help me sleep,” she mumbled, tracing her hand along each row of books.
As Rachel traced the third row, she spotted something glinting on the shelf. She stopped and looked over at the glint. Whatever it was, it was gone. Brow furrowed, Rachel kept searching her bookshelf for a re-read. She saw the glinting again. Rachel looked back at the same spot. Again, nothing was there.
Alright then, wow. I must be so tired, I’m seeing things, Rachel thought, scanning the bottom row of books. She saw the glinting again, this time bronze and silver. She heard a faint voice in her head, but she could not make out what it was saying. It seemed familiar, like she had heard it earlier that day…
Swirl. Rachel turned her head slowly towards the glinting. Resting on her bookshelf was an odd purple stone, with silver and bronze swirls. It glinted like moonlight, and shone in a way that it seemed magical. She was timid to pick it up, but slowly, and carefully, she flipped the stone over. It had a wavy word on the back, with strange lettering.
Could be Latin… or Greek, maybe. Oh well. It’s just weird, Rachel thought to herself. She picked it up carefully, staring at the bold, curvy word, and the whimsical swirls covering the purple background of the rock. Rachel started to walk over to her nightstand.
Suddenly, it all started screaming in her head. Swirlshine. Swirlshine. Swirlshine. SWIRL.
Rachel abruptly felt a whirring sensation, like she was being flattened, but there was no pain. A second later, the flattening released, and the sensation stopped, leaving a faint ringing in her ears. She gasped for breath and slowly opened an eye. It was complete darkness.
In a second… it flashed to color.
More to come xD -Rachelcatpaws
Woooahhh!!! Rachel, that was awesome!! Great job on this!
DeleteOmg Swirl so you know how in your pet about creepy pets you put in how Caramel, Cookie's sister passed away (Or something like) first I thought she was a youtuber, then I thought you were making a joke about that you ate a caramel cookie, then I saw Gracie's comment and the reply you did to Fox about your guinie pig dieing Ik already commented about this but im typiong this with my eyes closed cuz im bored and yeah
ReplyDeleteOmg that was pretty good :oooo
XDDDD!
DeleteUh... yes... actually, there have been a lot of actual caramel cookies eaten by me. XDD!
Hey, it's not like I'm mad or anything, though! The angel guineas understand... XD!
I love JM <3 I love it so far and I'm pretty sure it will remain awesome :P
ReplyDeleteAw, thanks Flora!
DeleteOMG YES OMG XDDDDDDDDD Why did I have a feeling...
ReplyDelete~.*Must I say who I am XD*.~
XD, from the ~.* before and after, I know who it is!
DeleteOMIGOSH SWIRL!!!
ReplyDeleteTEARS CAME TO MY EYES AGAIN WHEN I READ CHAPTER 21!!! It was like *tears form in eyes* "She woke up." Me: :OOO
If you can make ME tear up on a story, you my friend, are a pretty good writing o.O
Ahhhhh amazing job! THIS REMAINS MY FAVE FANFICTION XD *slaps gold star on her shirt*
Remember, God made YOU!
Awww! Now I feel so accomplished!!! XD!
Delete(No, seriously though, this comment basically made my day, so thank yooou!)
AMAZING. My heart was racing until you woke up from the dream :O I can't wait to read what comes next!
ReplyDeleteBut what's that off in the distance...?
CHAPTER 2 OF MY FANFIC :D
Rachel closed her eyes tightly shut again, still coughing from the whirl. She could feel light trying to filter through her closed eyelids. She lay sprawled on some sort of ground. Her thoughts were racing, and she felt something cool and smooth in her hand. The stone. After Rachel had regained enough strength, she slowly opened her eyes and arose from the floor.
Neon colors bounced around her in a seemingly clear space. There were no shadows, and there seemed to be no walls or ground, although they felt solid. Rachel brushed off her knees and looked down at the stone in her hand. The squiggly word was glowing gold, and she could feel it emitting some sort of magic. Rachel examined it a bit before looking back up again. There was a great stone portal in front of where she stood. It appeared strangely familiar, like she had seen it somewhere before many times…
The portal had a dull black in the middle, slowly swirling around. Rachel’s eyes widened. “Is this Swirl’s Blogger Portal?” she muttered, walking over to it. She tried to walk through, but as she had gone in halfway, it knocked her back and she fell to the ground, which did not seem to hurt her. Frazzled, Rachel got back up from the transparent, colorful floor, and walked back over to the portal. She tried to put an arm through, but that same wall stopped her from doing so.
Rachel sighed in frustration, and looked back down at the stone. It was glowing stronger now. She paced around the neon space for several minutes, pondering the reasons why the portal would not let her through. If Swirl had gone through earlier, why couldn’t she?
There has to be something blocking the portal for some reason, Rachel thought. But I can’t fix it without knowing what.
Glaring at the portal, Rachel came to a decision. She looked down at the stone in her hands. “I will come back,” she murmured. “Mark my words, Portal. I will.” She closed her eyes and thought of home as she held the stone.
In a flash of light, she had gone from the colorful room to the floor next to her bookshelf. Overwhelmed by the sudden transportation, she took a breath and steadily regained strength. Her eyes fluttered open, and she looked down at the stone again. The word was not glowing anymore.
Curiosity coursed through her mind the entire night after she put the stone safely back on her bookshelf, hidden in plain sight.
Hope you enjoyed :D Great series so far!
-Rachelcatpaws
Aw, thanks Rachel! I'm very glad you like it!
DeleteI also hope you like the revised, much-better version. XD!
Ohhh my gosh! When I read this, I just had this really excited feeling inside of me, and... YEEEEEEEEEEYY!
I love how you also link it to my story. :)
And now, I think I'm gonna link this story to mine in the next chapter (if that's okay with you!)!
Your portal stone is epic. ;)
Thanks! :D
DeleteAwesome! I basically did in Chapter 22, XD!
JAMAASIAN PRESCHOOL CHAPTER 1 PART 4 PPLZ
ReplyDeleteO WAIT
WHERE WAS I
*looks*
OH YES ITS DAY TWO OK IM READY
Somehow CoolCat, Kara, Arctic, Sarah, and Ja Ja where standing in the middle of Gwracies room. "GET OUTTA BED, ITZ TIME FOR SHOOL. I WOULD KNOW, IM YOUR MOM." Sarah screamed as CoolCat pulled off my happy nappy sleeper comforter "NO IM HER MOM" Kara screamed back. I blinked multiple times, not awake
At all
"You ok? You look kinda funny" Ja said nervously. "I NEED MY GREEK YOGURT AND SOME COFFEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE"I said, my voice bein so loud it broke everyone's glasses and windows and um potatoes. "OMIGOSH YOU BROKE MY POTATO" CoolCat cried. "BUT O WELL" CoolCat said as she dabbed. "O MY GOODNESS DID U JUST DAB?!" Arctic questioned. I laughed slightly, then flung out of my happy nappy, grabbed pineapple Greek yogurt, and randomly ran to school even tho it was only 5 AM. I saw le teacher sleeping at HER DESK. "MS. PERSON! R U OKIE?! WHY U SLEEPIN AT A DESK BRO" I asked, yelling loudly "BECAUSE I HAVE TO STAY HERE AND KEEP WATCH ON MY PINEAPPLES." Ms person yelled
DEAD SILENCE.
"O" I mumbled
She then woke up, turned into an elephant, and stopped out the door. I stared at the elephant nervously. "Welp
I guess I'm la teacher now" I said with a mishchevious pineapple grin. Then everyone stormed in the school even tho it was 5:01 AM. "MUHAHAHA SIT DOWN STUDENTS WE DO COOKIE MATH!!!!!" I YELLED EXTREMLY LOUD.
TBC!!! XDDD
Remember, God made YOOOOOU
IM RLLY TIRED
OK
BYEEEEEE
XDDDDDDD, I'm loafing the randomness!
DeleteFavorite part (this is now a tradition):
"'BECAUSE I HAVE TO STAY HERE AND KEEP WATCH ON MY PINEAPPLES.' Ms. Person yelled.
Dead silence.
'O' I mumbled."
XDD!
*gives you an axe* CHOP THRU THAT WOOD AND GET THE BLOGGER PORTAl!! :D
ReplyDeleteWhy doesn't your mom understand *cries*
NU DONT WAKE UP
Oh.
*has it figured out I think*
XD
DeleteAs for that... um...
I'm actually not sure if I know the answer to that. I think I do, though.
Don't ask what those sentences I just typed mean. XD!
Not sure if it was good or bad you woke up, but its probs good because that means the broken portal was a dream
ReplyDeleteEven if the whole story was a dream
If the whole story was a dream chapter 22 should be you telling us about it... XDDD And then at the very very last sentence "Swirl saw something flicker in her closet"
Mwhaahahhaa
Ok I'm stramge
I'm just going to uhm
stop now....
XDDDDDDD
I'm glad it was a dream, even though it's a book and it's a fictional book and that never truly happened to me and stuff.
DeleteI'm not ending it on Chapter 22, thankfully. I'm trying to keep JM going for as long as possible! :)
I dunno how long that'll be, exactly... but I'll make a post about it when the ending draws near!
O,O GROUNDED for finding a portal? You should be given an award or something :P
ReplyDeleteHere's practically what would happen if my dad found out that I had a portal in my closet lol:
(Flora hears weird banging sounds. It's the portal, and it has stopped working. Flora tries to fixes it but fails -as always-)
Flora: DAAAAAD
Dad: WHAT, I'M READING THE NEWS RIGHT NOW
Flora: DAAD COME HERE I NEED YOUR HELPPPP
Dad: OK I'LL BE THERE IN 1 MINUTE
(15 minutes later)
Flora: DAAAAAD IT'S AN EMERGENCY
Dad: ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT, I'M COMING
(We are yelling because I usually am too lazy to go to the living room, where my dad usually reads the news and stay in my room :P)
Dad: What is it?
Flora: LOOK (shows le portal to Dad)
Dad: WHAT IS THIS? WHY IS THERE A HOLE IN YOUR CLOSET?
Flora: IT'S THE BLOGGER PORTAL DAAAAAD AND IT IS MALFUNCTIONAL. HALP ME PLS I HAVE TO FIX IT. AND IT'S NOT A HOLE, IT'S A MAGICAL GATEWAY THAT LEADS TO A PARALLEL UNIVERSE
Dad:(facepalms)And how is this thing supposed to work?
Flora: I DON'T KNOW BUT HELP MEEEEEE
(Suddenly, the portal lights up)
Dad: WHAT IS THIS????
Flora: I TOLD YOU ABOUT 20 SECONDS AGO DAAAAAD
(The portal becomes all dark and dull again)
Dad: Is this actually a thing? Does it work?
Flora: YES DAD AND YOU HAVE TO FIX IT. FIIIIIIIIIIIIIX IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT
Dad: (sticks his hand in the portal while holding his phone and takes pictures of what's inside. The pictures show a random bedroom.)
Dad: FLORA YOU ARE A SCIENTIST AND YOU DESERVE THE SCIENCE NOBEL AWARD LIKE WOW UR SO CLEVR
Flora: DAAAAAAAAAD, I DIDN'T CREATE THE PORTAL
(Ok, that was crazy. I'm under the weather today and I really hope my madness can prevent me from being utterly depressed and an aubergine -person who sits and does nothing all day long-)
Hehe, well, it was a dream, and plus, if I talked to my mom like that... uh...
DeleteLet's just say that things wouldn't end well for me. At all.
*Reads rest of comment*
XDDD
AWWWW NOOO I WANNA CREATE A PORTAL AND GET THE SCIENCE NOBEL AWARD!!!!!! :P
Aw! I really hope you feel better soon, Flora! :D
XDDDDD Omigoodness
Delete*what would happen to me*
Me: *SCREAMS*
Mom: ..?
Me: THE BLOGGER PORTAL ISNT WORKING!!!
Mom: Blogger portal..?
Me: REMEMBER? FROM WE ARE THE BLOGGERS? WELP ONE APPEARED IN MY ROOM AND NOW ITS BROKEN.
Mom: So it could go to Coolcats house and stuff?!
Me: YUS
Mom: Hang on lemme get your dad
*1 min later*
Dad: Whoa
What is that
Me: THE BLOGGER PORTAL DAD :D
Dad: .....?
Me: Erm- it's a long story- plz fix it
Dad: Mk.. I'll try
XDD actually I have no idea how my parents would react
How would I react even o.O I may freak out XD!
Remember, God made YOU!
XDD
DeleteMy parents would... um... uh...
Yeah, I have no idea either.
XDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
DeleteSunday crazy commentttttt
ReplyDeleteJamaasian preschool chapter 1 part 5 *i RLLY need to make this a book on meh blog XDDD*
*looks to see where I was*
O ye I became the teacher
I sat at leh teachers desk, next to leh teacher who was staring at her pineapples drowning out every word everyone said. "OKIE KIDS ITS SCIENCE TIME!!!!!!!" I screamed as I stood up and stood on the desk. Sarah groaned very loudly "NO. NO. SCIENCE." Sarah cried as she ate a banana. "I WANT A SMELLY WAFFLE WITH EGGS." CoolCat said as she walked up to the desk. "ORDER IN THE COURT!!" I screamed as I pulled a gavel out from under my pigtails and slammed it on the desk. "WHY ARE WE HAVING A COURT IN A SCHOOL?!" Bepper asked. Everyone became quiet. I broke the silence cuz I yelled, "A FAMOUS JAMMER ACTUALLY SPOKE!!!!!!" I said as I cried out a river made out of happiness.
Now for my traditional "Favorite part" comment. :)
DeleteFavorite part- "I said as I cried out a river made out of happiness."
XDD!
*glitch*
ReplyDeleteMY TEARS BECAME SO INSANE THAT THE WHOLE BUILDING FLOODED TO THE ROOF. "AAAHHHH I CANT SWIM!! IM IN PRESCHOOL I TOO LITTLE TO KNOW." Nameless yelled. "I KNOW HOW CAUSE I AM FAMOOSE." Some random kid from out of nowhere screamed. All of us were on the floor, surrounded in the water. "WHY ARE WE TALKING IF WE CANT BREATHE UNDER HERE..?" Cat asked. We all stared at each other. "Cuz we're bold bananas :)" Me and Swirl both said at once. "MY COFFEE IS GETTING SOGGY!!!" Kara cried. "AND MY HAPPY NAPPY IS GETTING TIRED!!!!" Ja said in distress.
DEAD SILENCE CAME OVER US.
"Erm
What?" I said nervously. "THIS IS SERIOUS!!!" Flora screamed. "SOMEONE CALL THE UNDERWATER POLICE!!" Fox cried.
We were still drowning in happy tears when...
TBC (:
Remember, God made YOU!
XDDDDDDD
Delete"'Cuz we're bold bananas :)'"
Yep, that sounds like me.
Favorite part- "'SOMEONE CALL THE UNDERWEAR POLICE!!' Fox cried."
Favorite part-"WHY ARE WE TALKING IF WE CANT BREATHE UNDER HERE..?" Cat asked. We all stared at each other. "Cuz we're bold bananas :)" Me and Swirl both said at once. "MY COFFEE IS GETTING SOGGY!!!" Kara cried.
DeleteSoggy coffee :o
Swiiiiiirl! It was underWATER police, not UNDERWEAR!! XDDDDDDDDDDDDD
Delete(DXplorergirl)
@Sarah
DeleteYeeeessss!
@Kara
*Rereads it*
Oh gosh you're right.
-Facepalms-
THIS IS MY LIFE OKAY GUYS
XDDDDDDDD I'M SORRYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!
AMAZING CHAPTER CAN'T WAIT :OOOOO *breathes* You're one step ahead of me in my story XD Well, here's another chapter :D Enjoy~
ReplyDeleteRachel put her head down on the cluttered school desk, wracking her brains for a solution for the Blogger Portal. She knew she had to observe it more, and collect a bunch of spare materials in case it required a mechanical fix, but she didn’t see how that would help. Sighing, Rachel looked up from the desk and grasped her sketchbook. The teacher would hate her for drawing in class, but the teacher was already preoccupied. Rachel opened to a blank page and started sketching the portal out, trying to draw each little detail. She drew her magical stone next to it.
Rachel had also figured out that the word on the back was Portam, which was Latin for “gate.” Close enough, it’s a portal stone, Rachel had thought.
In the middle of her drawing, Rachel heard a voice behind her. “Ah, now what’s this nerd drawing?” She turned around to see the smug face of Jason, an arrogant kid with a thirst for success. “You really oughta do your work, you know. Let me see that.” Rachel closed her sketchbook and shoved it in her bag, a stony expression growing across her face.
“Never disturb an artist while they are at work,” Rachel muttered through gritted teeth.
“Ah, now what was that, now?”
Rachel turned back around. “Shouldn’t you be doing your work as well?” She smiled sarcastically.
“You’re no fun.” Jason turned around and walked back to his desk.
Rachel shook her head as she heard the bell ring.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Neon colors bounced about as Rachel walked around the dark stone portal, clutching the Portal Stone. Concentration clouded her eyes as she studied the stone portal, the slowly moving swirl in the middle, and the grayish marbles embedded on either side of the frame. Every now and then she would reach an arm inside, feeling the solid brick middle. Rachel’s sketchbook lay on the floor with a pencil and eraser, with a better picture of the Blogger Portal and some measurements and calculations.
Rachel put a hand on one of the great gray marbles. It began whizzing and swirling faster, and she noticed that the one on the other side was doing the same. She yelped and stepped back, hastily writing her observation in the book. Shaken and shocked, Rachel looked back at the smooth gem. It was a lighter shade of gray now. It almost looked like it had shades of green in it now, and swirled faster. Rachel went back over to the same marble in fascination, and prodded at it. It turned back to the same shade of gray with a crackle of magic. She sighed.
“This is hopeless!” she shouted. Nothing happened. Rachel turned back around and looked down at her Portal Stone. She ran a finger along one of the glowing swirls. She held it up against the light to look at it, even though she had studied it many times previously. However, when she examined it against the colors, it seemed to glow brighter. Rachel gasped. The entire place was not just some barrier- it was magic. Full of possibilities. This stone didn’t only just take her to Swirl’s mysterious Blogger Portal- if she harnessed enough magic, Rachel would be able to teleport directly to Swirl herself!
Understanding coursing through her, Rachel turned back to face the portal. She took a breath in, closed her eyes, and held the stone up to the light. Her surprised yelp echoed through the room as she disappeared.
-Rachelcatpaws
WOAH!
DeleteThis story you're writing is epic, Rachel!
Okay, no, it's more than epic! It's... umm... breathtaking! Magnificent! Wonderful! Um... okay, I'll stop now. You get the idea.
You are actually giving me some much-needed ideas for future chapters, so thank you!!
I can't wait to see how this story turns out! I read that one sentence- "if she harnessed enough magic, Rachel would be able to teleport directly to Swirl herself!"- and I was just like "WOAH!" XD!
Tie-in fanfiction, possibly with many references to various fictional universes. Chapter One. Placed in JM at the end of Chapter Twenty-two.
ReplyDeleteSwirlshine tapped her finger on the Blogger Portal, Rachel looking on.
"So, it's been like this for a few days..." Turning to face Rachel, she asked, "Do you think there's anything you can do?"
Rachel looked at the teleportation stone in her hand, replying,
"I don't actually know... this kind of thing is --"
"Strange?" Swirlshine finished. "It doesn't exactly come with an instruction manual. Trust me, if it did, I'd have read it a long time ago."
Rachel turned with a choked gasp. There, standing quietly in the middle of Swirl's room, was a girl.
She was wearing a strange, very short dress -- and tights -- that looked like they were made out of a deep blue night sky. Around her forearms were thick bands of silver, and she wore boots of the same material.
In short, she looked like she wasn't from the same planet.
She was standing there without a sound, almost without moving. Her brown eyes seemed -- fearful. She was breathing rapidly.
Her mouth opened, and, in a hushed whisper, spoke one name.
"Swirlshine?"
(DXplorergirl)
WOAH
DeleteWOAH WOAH WOAH WOAH WOAH WOAH WOAH
WHO IS THE GIRL
I NEED TO KNOW
PLEASE TELL MEEEEE
Chapter Two.
DeleteThe girl's voice was choked and low.
"Why am I here...?" Seemingly horrified, she looked from her blue-covered hands, to Swirlshine, and back again. "...This isn't right."
"What's not right?" Swirlshine asked, puzzled.
"This --" she said, holding up her hands, "-- you --" motioning to Swirl, her voice rose in volume, finishing disjointedly,"-- me, here!" Shaking her head wildly, she exclaimed, "It's not right!"
Swirlshine and Rachel were staring at each other, naturally beginning to get scared by that point. An insane person was standing in Swirl's bedroom, and they had no idea how she got there.
"Who are you?" Rachel asked.
The brown-haired girl stared at her for a few seconds before finally replying:
"Nobody. At least -- nobody you need to know." Calmer now, she waved a hand across her face, looking away and muttering, "...Open up a whole can a' worms..."
She blew out a breath, releasing tension, then craned her head to look about the house with interest. "Nice place you got here." A tiny smile crept across her face.
Suddenly, an incredibly loud CRACKING sound came from somewhere else in the house! It sounded like a combination of an impossibly close clap of thunder and an explosion, mixed together into one.
A yellow blur raced into Swirlshine's room, red lightning streaking everywhere it went. It circled the room over and over at unbelievable speeds, creating wind that made a mess of the room -- and knocked over the carefully-arranged displays of toys in the closet beside the Blogger Portal.
"NOOOOOOOOOO!!" Swirlshine screamed into the whirlwind. "DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH TIME I SPENT ON THAT?"
The yellow blur abruptly stopped racing around the room, which was good. What was not good was that standing behind Swirlshine, gripping her close to him, was a man in yellow. He wore what looked like a superhero suit -- or a villain suit. His whole face was vibrating, obscuring his features; where his eyes should be was glowing bright red, like a dying star. He was staring at the strange girl.
Swirl's eyes bugged out. She froze.
Next to her ear, the Man In Yellow's hand hovered, vibrating. Threatening.
Panic shot up and down her spine as she felt his arm around her neck tighten.
There was no escape.
Eeheeheeheehee I'm so mean with the cliffhangers. XDDDDD CX Sorry to leave you in such a spot, Swirl. (Both in the story and in real life....) :P
(DXplorergirl)
Teehee, I know who she is...... XD
Delete@Kara
DeleteNO NO NO I NEED TO READ MORE!!!!! THERE IS A SUPERVILLAIN IN MY ROOM! I NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENSSS!
XD!
@Lost
:O
Tell meeeeeeeeee
Swirl, here's a drawing of the mystery girl! �� I'm putting in the URL for you to copy-and-paste in the search bar, but if it doesn't work, it's also on my Adobe Drawings page on my blog! ��
Deletehttps://dxplorergirl.files.wordpress.com/2016/10/img_5096-1.png
(DXplorergirl)
*Freaks out at the amazing art*
DeleteOkay okay I'll analyze now.
What's odd is that she looks like me... XD!
I also REALLY want that outfit she's wearing. It's so starry and night-sky-ish and... yeah. XDD!
Awwww! Thank you so much! CX
DeleteReally? XD Cool! However, there's already a Swirlshine in the story. :P
The outfit is actually velvet, even if it LOOKS like she's wearing a night sky. XD It started years ago, when I filled in some clothing drawings with a night-sky-pattern paint bucket, and I never looked back. XD
(I just really wanna say... I AM SO HAPPY WITH THAT HAND. It's JUST the right size -- about as tall as the face of the character -- and hands are a real challenge for me. *screeches* YES!! XDDDD)
(DXplorergirl)
P.S. I intend to write more tie-in chapters soon! Don't wanna leave you stuck with a supervillain's hand vibrating next to your head. D:)
Chapter Three.
Delete(So sorry. I left you hanging for far too long with this one.)
The girl spent a second staring blankly at the two of them. (She seemed to do a lot of staring.) Abruptly, she shook her head and began walking directly toward Swirlshine and the supervillain, oddly unguarded.
"No, no, we don't have time for this," she said to the Man In Yellow, placing her velvet-covered hand lightly on his arm -- the one that gripped Swirlshine, not the one that vibrated. "I don't know how to get home."
"What are you talking about?" The Man In Yellow said disdainfully, his voice warped by the same vibration that blurred his face.
"The breach," the girl said. "It took us to this place, and -- and I don't know how to get back."
"Just another Earth in the multiverse", the distorted voice returned. "It's a simple matter to return."
"This place isn't in the same multiverse!" the girl hissed, a wild look in her eyes.
Whatever that means, Swirl thought.
The words had an effect on the Man In Yellow, however. His hand stopped vibrating, the grip he had on Swirl loosening.
Swirlshine, being a sensible person, took full advantage of the chance to slip away. She ran to stand beside Rachel, both of them staring at the strange pair of individuals who had invaded Swirlshine's house.
The Man In Yellow finally stopped vibrating. The red light began to fade, revealing two human eyes. He removed his cowl, staring at the girl intently.
"What do you mean, 'the same multiverse'?"
(DXplorergirl)
Chapter Four.
DeleteRachel, Swirlshine, and the two strangers were gathered around the countertop-island in Swirl's kitchen. ( - (Swirl, I don't know if you had an island in your house before, but you do now, for story purposes. CX Hope you enjoy it!) - ) Rachel grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl on the counter and bit into it.
"Swirlshine, I am really glad your parents aren't home yet."
"Yet," Swirl said apprehensively, while beginning to peel an orange.
"Me, too." The mystery girl spoke with her mouth full of Red Delicious. "They would be freakin' out right now. I'm freakin' out right now!" Rolling her eyes at the realization, she took another bite.
"Sooooooooooo," Rachel started. "who exactly are you again?"
"I," the Man In Yellow said as he picked up a Granny Smith and sat down, "am the Reverse-Flash." He tossed the apple in the air and caught it, smiling amiably at the girls.
Swirl furrowed her eyebrows. She wasn't buying into the 'nice' act, not after his vibrating hand almost made contact with her skull. Hey, wait a minute....
"Isn't that -- that guy Lost keeps talking about?"
The Reverse-Flash looked pointedly at the mystery girl. She averted her eyes, grimacing.
"That'ssssss..." she pinched the bridge of her nose, scrunching her face up. "-- really, really hard to explain." She turned towards Swirl and Rachel, introducing herself. "And, I'm, uh -- Midnight," she said, giving a little wave. "Hi."
"Rachel." Rachel waved back.
"Swirlshine."
"So," the Reverse-Flash began, "Now that we're all introduced, what exactly do you mean by 'not in the same multiverse'?"
"Errrrrr, that's -- okay, um," Midnight's eyes darted all over as she tried to come up with a suitable explanation, her knuckles tapping rapidly on the countertop. "wh.... Can I use that?" she asked, pointing to a notepad nearby that had a pen and highlighter sitting on top of it.
"Uh, okay," Swirl said, flipping it to a blank page and handing it to her.
(DXplorergirl)
Oooooooohhhhhh niiiiiiiiiiiceeeeeeee!
Delete"Awright then." Midnight clicked the pen and drew a + sign on the paper. "So this is one universe. One Earth, one 'way things are'. For the purpose of the explanation, I'm just gonna say that this is our universe -- the one you and I just came from," she said, motioning between her and the Reverse-Flash.
Delete(You can enter these addresses in your search bar to see what Midnight is drawing.)
https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_fTQ-5FP3Yk/WTY_BYTP9UI/AAAAAAAAHTk/aJZbBz1Dwu0KKx3lVRoPuzY-SpGvNns7QCLcB/s320/aj-story-illustration-one-universe.PNG
"We call it Earth-One. There's other universes, too... other Earths, parallel to ours (Earth-Two, Earth-Three...), and they've all got different histories, and the people who live there often have different jobs, and even personalities -- but the faces and names of the people on each Earth are usually the same, as far as I've seen." She said, drawing more +s to represent other Earths.
https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TGj9prejHZE/WTY_BM1HYNI/AAAAAAAAHTc/OAF_SPd5xwkD1ElIpfie333zIJJWGN8vgCEw/s320/aj-story-illustration-many-universes.PNG
"That -- all those Earths together, with similar attributes and people and even laws of physics and science (yes, they can be different sometimes) -- that's called a multiverse. They're pretty close together -- and travel between them is fairly easy, by the use of dimensional 'breaches'. All those separate universes are collectively called the multiverse." She drew a circle around the plus signs.
https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_jder2EHrF4/WTY_BY2eo4I/AAAAAAAAHTg/lBmk5d0qZDwmwA4E0oBXyB6T0yKhs_oqQCEw/s320/aj-story-illustration-one-multiverse.PNG
"That looks like a Ritz cracker," Rachel said.
Midnight laughed.
"Yeah, it does!" Tapping the pen on the multiverse-Ritz-cracker, she continued, "That's our multiverse." Looking at the Reverse-Flash, who seemed to be getting impatient, she added, "And I know you knew all that --"
"We didn't!" Swirl put in. "And you're telling us all this is real? Like, really real?"
"Oh, yes!" Midnight affirmed, nodding as if it were a completely ordinary fact. "Now, what you may not know," she added, angling her pen toward the Reverse-Flash, "is that though the number of similar-but-different Earths inside this multiverse is practically infinite -- more than anyone could ever see or even know of -- there's more than just one multiverse out there." Hurriedly, she drew out another Ritz-cracker-like object on the notepad.
(TBC. Comment too long. Image addresses.)
(Okay then. This is the second Ritz-cracker multiverse.)
Deletehttps://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ijg4wqjflRM/WTY_BjTb7ZI/AAAAAAAAHTo/RSEOMqwhveQ3F1xp0RobRHloMFfynQh0wCEw/s320/aj-story-illustration-two-multiverses.PNG
"This, is another multiverse. Another set of similar-but-different worlds, another set of people, and (possibly), another set of 'rules' for the operation of things like -- like Newton's Laws... and quantum mechanics especially," she listed, putting a bit of emphasis on the last item. "For example, time travel works vastly differently in other multiverses. Some paradoxes occur in one multiverse, they're proven false in another, there are even some where time travel isn't even possible at all!" She seemed to be a little unhappy about the thought. "But the most important thing is --" she drew several more circles around the first multiverses;
https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BdZss7HEVJI/WTY_BCrrKmI/AAAAAAAAHTU/7fJ1diGynlERiNzM6rE0NdwNS1y5JoTlwCEw/s320/aj-story-illustration-many-multiverses.PNG
"There are lots of multiverses out there. Tons. There are just as many -- if not more! -- than there are single universes in any given multiverse. The possibilities are as broad as the scope of human imagination," she said, spreading her hands apart to express the idea of a broad distance. "It's a -- a multiverse of multiverses! I guess you could call it a... multi... plex?" she said, thinking about a googolplex. "Yeah," she grinned, nodding. Picking up the highlighter, Midnight wrote the newly-minted title in large letters across the crude diagram of the way she saw the world(s).
https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RcdG37GFTaQ/WTY_BLNGjqI/AAAAAAAAHTY/KXnvYdezma0Pzftd3qDXky4hBecs0iOGgCEw/s320/aj-story-illustration-multiplex.PNG
"Does... that make any sense?" Midnight asked, suddenly wondering how the others around the island would react to the bombshell that had just been dropped on the way they perceived reality.
There was silence for a minute.
"And you didn't mention this before -- why?" the Reverse-Flash asked, the inflection in his voice indicating she really should have said something about a fact with such an enormous effect on interdimensional science!
"I -- I didn't think it was significant... I didn't think travel between multiverses was even possible! Well -- okay, no... it has been done once... twice!" Her face brightened with realization, her pointer finger tapping on the counter. "That I know of," she added.
"What was the catalyst for the touching of multiverses in both instances?" the Reverse-Flash asked, leaning forward on the island.
"In the first case, I have no idea." Midnight shook her head. "I just know that it happened. In the second case, it was the result of a gigantic anomaly that threatened to wipe out both worlds involved...." Midnight's eyes got huge, and her hand crept up to cover her mouth. "Ohhhhhhhhh, crap, we could be in trouble!"
(DXplorergirl)
:O
DeleteThis. Is. Getting. So. Good.
I HAVE HAD A BREAKTHROUGH
DeleteI GOT ALL STUCK
BUT NOW I AM SOMEWHAT LESS STUCK
I still have no idea how to write an acceptable plot though. *face and noise of disgusted frustration*
Still, this'll get us a ways yet. XD
*writes*
(DXplorergirl)
XDDD! However you plan to write it, I MUST READ MORE! XD!
Delete(Oh gosh I almost typed MORA instead of MORE. XDD!)
Okay so here's a teeny chapter bUT THE NEXT ONE WILL BE REALLY LONG I PROMISE
DeleteChapter Six
Rachel and Swirlshine were staring at Midnight with shocked eyes. The Reverse-Flash actually... seemed... scared. He was never scared. And that sent an icy spike of fear into Midnight's stomach.
"Okay," he started, "how do we prevent that?"
"I... don't... know...." Midnight's voice was becoming squeaky.
The two girls were sitting across the table -- silently. Their eyes were wide.
Midnight looked at them, her expression suddenly becoming less fearful, and more regretful. Oh... I've scared them, she thought. I'm sorry, she apologized in her head.
Swirlshine's mouth opened.
"Uhhhmmmmmm.... Oh-kaaaaay... so that's bad," she stated, somewhat in shock.
"Well -- maybe," Midnight replied, her brow furrowing as she looked down, thinking. "We don't really know what's causing this."
"What about that device in your room?" The Reverse-Flash asked Swirlshine. "It's a portal gateway, isn't it." He stated the question as if it were fact.
"It's -- well -- " Swirlshine fidgeted in her seat, lowering her eyebrows as she looked at him. That guy was giving her the creeps. "Yes. But...."
Reverse-flash raised his eyebrows expectantly, waiting for her to finish.
"But?"
Swirlshine wasn't about to tell him it went to her friends' houses.
"But it doesn't go to other dimensions, it just goes to places on THIS planet."
"Okay, then how does it work? Maybe we can make it go to parallel universes. ...Do you even know how it works?"
Reverse-Flash was still speaking patiently (and somewhat as if he was talking to a pair of two-year-olds -- he had been like that for most of the conversation), but Midnight was sensing small changes in his voice that indicated he was baaarely starting to lose his cool. On the side, she noted that it must have required a little bit of pride-swallowing to actually ask how something worked, considering the fact that he was a scientific genius on his Earth.
Swirlshine and Rachel looked at each other.
"...We're working on that."
(DXplorergirl)
OKAY OKAY OKAY this is probably because it's less than fifteen minutes 'til midnight (I almost said Midnight) and my impulse control is shot, but HERE IS CHAPTER SEVEN and I have nothing scheduled for tomorrow now.
DeleteOh well you're getting to enjoy it now, so I guess that's really better. XD
Chapter Seven
Within minutes, everyone was gathered in front of the Blogger Portal. Rachel had her Portal Stone, and was explaining how it has some kind of an effect on the "B.P.", but not much of one.
The Reverse-Flash stared at the portal intently throughout the story, arms crossed. Abruptly, he turned to Midnight, who was standing next to him.
"You try it," he said, somewhat vaguely.
"Wha -- Me?" Midnight pulled a doubtful face. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah, you," he said, motioning a finger in the portal's direction. "Try powering it."
"What?" Swirlshine asked, wariness in her voice. "How is she gonna do that?"
"She's got energy-manipulation powers," the Reverse-Flash answered as Midnight walked the few steps to the Blogger Portal, and set her velvet-covered hands on either side of the stone frame.
"Rrrright." Can it get any weirder? Swirlshine thought. "Just like you can... um... impale people... with your hand. Apparently." She stood stiffly beside him, taking one awkward step away, or at least as far as she could get in a closet. Her tennis shoe brushed against an Arctic Wolf toy, just one of the many scattered around the floor. Swirlshine scowled, the reminder of her fallen displays she had so carefully set up irking her. I hope she powers up the portal. The sooner you two are gone, the better.
She looked up at a deep chuckle from Midnight, and was surprised to find her grinning.
"We're metahumans," she began to explain, speaking softly. "Our DNA is... different. It's altered in some way, for all of us. It lets us affect the world around us, or our own bodies. Like superspeed, for example," She nodded her head in the direction of the Reverse-Flash, "or like energy manipulation." "Now, uh, if it's okay," she continued, readjusting her hands into a more comfortable position on the portal, "it'd be good if nobody would talk for a little while, while I do this, please?" She looked up at the top of the portal, seemingly sizing it up. "Can't really afford to break my concentration on this."
She leaned in, closing her eyes, focusing all of her being on the gray wall of the broken portal and the stones surrounding it. She began to feel the peculiar energy in it -- it was different from any energy she knew. Potent. It even seemed to burn a little as it moved from the Blogger Portal into the conductive cells of her body. It didn't hurt -- it was too faint. Still, she thought, the closest thing she could think of to liken it to was a strong acidic substance. It's not like anything I've ever felt before. Not like electricity, or plasma, or... or anything. She discontinued that train of thought, not wanting to get sidetracked listing all the types of energy she knew.
Deepening her concentration on the molecular level, she thought only about understanding the energy. What it did. How it moved. It moving into her.
Once she did that, she concentrated on taking the energy from the portal, and producing more. Amplifying, multiplying, her heart sped up as it surged through her and back into the portal.
Of course, the other individuals surrounding the portal in silence saw none of this.
What they saw was a girl leaning her head towards the Blogger Portal and breathing heavily after a few seconds.
Needless to say, it wasn't exciting viewing.
Suddenly, she screamed.
(DXplorergirl)
WOAHHH
DeleteI AM LOVING THIS STORY!!!!!!! :O
You, my friend, are an EPIC writer!
Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!! THANK YOU!!
DeleteThis comment made me squirm in my seat with excitement! CX I'm SO glad you're enjoying it!
How do you feel I am writing your character? What should I change to make it more accurate? I would like to ask those same things of Rachel, too -- how do you feel you would behave in that situation?
(DXplorergirl)
Hehe, glad it made ya happy! You really are a super awesome writer! :D
DeleteOverall, you're doing a great job writing my character so far! I found myself liking how you added in my annoyance at my beautiful lil' collections being knocked over! Fits me perfectly in that situation, XDDD!
Hmmmm... as for things to change about my character...
*Goes back through story because I can't think of anything*
Honestly, my character is written amazingly accurate already, in my opinion! The only thing I would keep in mind is that, in real life, I can be a bit shy around other people, especially people I don't know well yet. (I'm not saying you're not giving me some of that personality in the story- I just wanted to tell ya in case ya needed that info for future chapters! :D) For example, if... say... Reverse-Flash asked me how to do something, I'd probably end up feeling very nervous that I'd turn out to be wrong or something, hehe.
Honestly, though, that's all I can think of! Your story is awesome as it is, Kara! ;D
Ok i'mma redo Jamaasian Preschool (OR WAS IT KINDERGARTEN!? I FORGOT XDD) becuz not all of the chapters are on this page becuz I did some on other posts XD
ReplyDeletemk here we go
Chapter 1
I put on my backpack, I was ready to face the day! Ja was standing next to open bedroom door, playing with the DS that she for some reason had, the door was like a mouth, and we were its next victims. "CMON SARAH" Ja screamed in my ear, pleasantly. "FINeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee" I moaned. We walked to school, we didn't trust buses, then we went to our class. It was very big, and for some reason, a little girl had a bow, "WHY DO YOU HAVE A BOW!?! Sarah screamed "WELP UR SIS HAS ONE TOO!" the girl replied, "O DATS A GOOD POINT, WAIT HOW DID YOU KNOW SHE WAS MY SIS?!!??!?!" Sarah exclaimed "I'm a bold banana," the girl replied with a wide smile. "O" Ja said, nodding her head. "WHAT IS YOUR NAME?" the girl screamed. "Ja ninety three, and this is my sis, Sarah key eight." Ja replied. "I'm Graciepopstar91 Ya can call me Gracie" Gracie said Sarah was suddenly hit with a high fever, making Gracie's pink paw ring look like cheesecake. "Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo" Sarah said, she jumped towards it, but was knocked out of the way by another girl with a wizard hat! "Swirlshine, my arch enemy for getting cheesecake!" Sarah exclaimed "YES! IT IS I!!!!!!!! SWIRRRRRRL! AND YOU CANT TAKE MY CHEESECAKE!" Swirl screamed "YES I CAN WATCH MEH!" " Swirl ate the ring, just as her fever cleared. "WOAH IT REALLY DOES TASTE LIKE CHEESECAKE!" Swirl screamed "I"LL GET YOU FOR THIS SWIRL!!!!!!!!!" Sarah screamed, breaking all the glass. Suddenly, Swirl started to cry, Sarah knelt beside her. "Whats wrong?" she asked gently. "I was..." Swirl sniffled. "I was just being a bold banana.." she cried. "Oh, I'm sorry, I wont get you for this then." Sarah smiled, Swirl looked up and smiled,
XDD
DeleteThe crazed cheesecake kiddo... yup, that certainly sounds like me! XDDDD!
How do you guys come up with such hilariously good stories...? XDD!
OMIGOODNESS
DeleteFAVE PART:
Sarah was suddenly hit with a high fever, making Gracie's pink paw ring look like cheesecake. "Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo" Sarah said, she jumped towards it, but was knocked out of the way by another girl with a wizard hat! "Swirlshine, my arch enemy for getting cheesecake!" Sarah exclaimed
Daniel The Drum, a sad story about Daniel,
ReplyDeleteDaniel was happy! Today his owner (Swirlshine) was going to use him for an intro!
He snuggled into bed. Happy as a happy drum, then he had a dream. "Drumroll please!" Dream Swirl said, when suddenly a guy came around the corner, and rolled Daniel right out into the street! He was rolled straight in the middle of the road, Screeech! The car hit Daniel.
Daniel woke up in a cold sweat, it was raining. Daniel was now very nervous when it came for Swirl to use him,
"Drumroll please!" said Swirl "Oh no! No! My life can't end like this!" Daniel thought, he struggled to move, but couldn't, a guy came around the corner and rolled him across the street, Screeech! The car hit Daniel,
Daniel moaned, and struggled to stay alive, but suddenly everything went dark....
#MEMEFANFICTION
Ok the chappter was weird (: XD
THIS IS AN AMAZING IDEA THAT I MUST READ NOW!
Delete*Reads*
*Screeches* NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO DANIEL!!!!!!!!!!!!! STAY WITH ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU BETTER BE IMMORTAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Daniel The Drum, a sad story about Daniel Part 2
ReplyDeleteDaniel opened his 'eyes' he wasn't sure how he could even see, after all, he was a drum! He gasped, looking down at himself, he wasn't himself! He was a splinter of wood! Memories flashed back, the car, the street!
He looked around and a fleck of wood, part of him! He 'rolled' over to it and looked at it. "This is so weird." he muttered
The end :)
(Will I make more XDD)
YESSSSSSSSSS DANIEL LIVES ONNNNNNN
DeleteChapter 2
ReplyDelete"YEY SEWING CLASS!" Gracie screamed "BUT WE'RE IN PRESCHOOL!?!" Lost exclaimed "UHM STRANG!" Fox screamed They went into the sewing class though, "ERM, THERE IS NO TEACHER" Ja said "MK I TAKE OVER NOW!" Sarah screamed walking up to the desk, "Ok, today we learn how to sew bananas! :D" Sarah said pleasantly. As she took a banana out of her pocket, "Okay, first get a needle, and some yarn." Sarah said, pulling a need and yarn out of her hair, then just start sewing random things into it! Then you sew some candy, and if you want, hairy brownies, be creative!" Sarah explained "OOOO CAN I HELP??" Gracie asked. "Sure!" Sarah said, in the most fancy manner she could. Gracie ran up and pulled a banana, candy, hairy brownies, and a needle and yarn out of her hair. "Fablishous!" Naffy exclaimed Sarah nodded.
Then Sarah rung the bell. "MK KIDS RECESS!" she screamed at the top of her lungs
Just then, the real sewing teacher came in! "Wut?" Mrs. Sew Sew asked, confused, as more then a dozen preschoolers ran pass her
(sorry its short XD)
MRS. SEW SEW, XDDDDDDDD
DeleteOH YES, I LOVE THAT NAME! MRS. SEW SEW!!!! XDDDDDD
DeleteAMAZING CHAPTER SWIRL!!!! Although I am pretty quiet and separate myself from my family a lot. XD But amazing chapter! I have a freakishly long chapter of my fanfic, so I will be splitting this into 2 parts:
ReplyDelete-CHAPTER 6 PART 1-
Rachel heard a faint popping noise in her ear, which changed to ringing. She sat in a small, dark space, next to a glowing light. Swirl’s Blogger Portal. Thoughts raced through her mind. I finally figured out how to teleport here, she thought. It’s Swirl’s room. There was a faint glow radiating through the swirls on her stone this time. It’s either glow-in-the-dark or completely charged of magic, Rachel thought. Suddenly, the closet door opened, light spreading across the closet, the Blogger Portal- and Rachel.
A familiar girl, one Rachel recognized so well, squealed and jumped back, a hand covering her mouth. Swirl. Rachel apologized profusely for the scare, and arose out of Swirl’s closet into a nice, purple room. Swirl questioned Rachel’s sudden appearance, and Rachel hastily explained about the Portal Stone.
“Can we fix it?” Swirl asked. Rachel responded that she wasn’t sure, but gripping her Portal Stone, she felt hope for it. She wanted to learn more about it, see what it looked like in its normal state…
“Come on, let’s go,” Swirl said, tugging on Rachel’s arm. They stepped over to the Blogger Portal.
Rachel moved closer to the dark grey portal, something slowly, faintly swirling in it like it was mud. “There’s something I’d like to show you with this.” She dug a small notepad out of her jacket pocket and stared at the portal for a minute, thinking about it for a minute, as if there had been something she had missed. As she watched the swirling depths, she remembered the transition of grays. Maybe I could do that with the normal part of the portal, Rachel thought. She looked down, over at her stone for a minute, which had a burnt-out glow look, and began writing notes and observations furiously inside her notepad.
Portal turns lighter shades of gray and moves faster when orbs are touched by someone harnessing magic
May turn back to a dark gray if touched again or left alone
Portal Stone known as only cause for this
Changes in the portal will vary depending on Portal Stone
Rachel looked up. The atmosphere was tense. Not only was it a dark closet, but there was a giant, malfunctioning magic portal standing in front of her, containing immense power. Swirl had an anxious shadow cast across her face. Without a sound, Rachel thrust her glowing Portal Stone in front of the Blogger Portal. It seemed to be glowing a little brighter, casting eerie light into the portal.
“Look at this,” Rachel muttered, holding the Stone closer. Swirl leaned in to study the portal with awestruck eyes. “How…” Swirl reached inside the portal, and hastily pulled her arm out, her eyes wide with surprise. “Does your Stone somehow give it power..?” Swirl asked.
Rachel looked over at her notes, still uncertain, but murmured a confirmation anyway. She explained how there might have been a link between the portal and the stone.
“So, my stone doesn’t have enough power, then,” Swirl said. Rachel nodded. “But, why?” her friend questioned.
She still didn’t know how, or why the Portal Stone had shown up that day. She didn’t know why Swirl’s portal had suddenly broken down. Swirl had asked the question that had been attacking her brain for days.
“I’m trying to figure that out,” Rachel responded. “I haven’t found anything so far in my observations that could point to the solution.” She watched Swirl look down at the floor and sigh, weary and downtrodden. Rachel looked back at the portal again. “Have any of the other bloggers mentioned anything pointing to clues on what’s been happening?” Swirl hesitated. “Well, Gracie said something about a clue in the name.”
-Rachelcatpaws
Nice! I love how you rewrote the chapter from your perspective!
DeleteMan, I get SO EXCITED to read more when I finish a chapter!
:D 2nd part of Chapter 6:
ReplyDeleteRachel stared at Swirl quizzically. A code? In the name? Swirl and several of the other Bloggers had named the Portal… was it simply just natural, or was something magical going on? “The Blogger Portal?” Rachel acknowledged. Nothing about it sounded fishy.
“Yeah…” Swirl responded. She began asking another question, but then both of the girls heard Swirl’s mother from another room, yelling for Swirl. “I’d better go,” Swirl muttered to Rachel. “I don’t want to you get kicked out or anything, but-“
“I’d better get home anyway,” Rachel said, stuffing her notepad back into her pocket. “My parents are really overprotective. They’ll fall into pieces if they go into my room and find out I’m not there. Bye!” She closed her eyes and held the stone carefully, teleporting away. When the strange ride and movement subsided, Rachel opened her eyes. She was standing next to her bookshelf. In her room.
Rachel froze. Her eyes widened. “What…” There must have been enough power in the Portal Stone to take her directly back to her room! And yet, the Stone wasn’t glowing very bright when she left, yet the swirls had their metallic glow back now. Rachel still wasn’t set on its power. It most likely had many other properties she hadn’t observed. If it were to fall into the wrong hands, it would-
Yet Rachel briskly placed the Portal Stone back on the bookshelf and hopped onto her bed. She would ponder the existence of the Stone later. For now…
“WOOO!!” Rachel shouted triumphantly. “Successful teleportation time!” And she jumped, wondering if her parents heard. She fell back onto her bed, laughing in her exhaustion.
Hope you enjoyed! -Rachelcatpaws
YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY I AM EXCITEDDDD TO READ CHAPTER 7!!!
DeleteChapter 3
ReplyDeleteAfter recess, it was reading time! "And the three little piggies, escaped from the big bad Phantom, and lived happily ever after." finished Mrs. Sew Sew, who also taught the reading class. Sarah jumped up. "BORING! LET ME READ MINEEEEE!" Sarah screamed, pulling The Door Within out of her ice armor helmet. Mrs Sew Sew opened her mouth to reply, but her students looked so intent to hear Sarah read, that she kept it shut. "How does she even know how to read.." she muttered..
"The first sword missed Aidan's head by an inch, It slammed into the massive catapult's wheel, stuck for a moment, and jerked free. In that breath of time, Aidan batted away the second sword and threw himself down the hill." Sarah started at the first chapter.
"STAWP!" screamed Kraft and Swirl. "WOT IS IT!?!?!?" Sarah screamed back. "READ WARRIORS!" Kraft screamed. "NO! I LIKE THAT SERIES, BUT LISTEN TO THIS OK?!" Sarah screamed. Swirl sighed. "Alright.."
Sarah started again,
FIVE MINUTES LATER..
"Where will you go?" rasped a voice that seemed to reach for Aidan. "Your kingdom is in ruin. Even your king has feld. All is lost!" The enemey's taunts threatened to strangle the small hope that lingered in Aidans heart. But Aidan would not give in." Sarah said,
but was interrupted by Gracie. "Uhm uhm! Does Aidan have any pineapples?" she asked. Sarah shook her head. "Aww" Gracie cried. "Its fine, now listen!"
Three minutes later..
" The warrior seemed to grow. His presence intestified, and when he spread apart his hands, Aidan saw visions of grand towers, high thrones and vaults of gold, it was all there for the asking, Aidan knew"
Ten minutes later after interruptions..
""The dark knight came forward with his two swords, but his master held up a hand. "I'll do it my self," the warrior said, the warrior's hazel eyes flickered red as he drew a long dark sword, and drove the blade through Aidain's breastplate "
"Y DO YOU READ SO SLOW?!" Aparri screamed. "Like you could do any better!" Gfox screamed.
"I CAN!" Aparri grabbedn The Three Little Bears, "And.... a....... big....... little....." Aparri started. "THATS IT, I'M STARTING AGAIN!" Sarah said.
""Uhnnn! Ah, ahhh!" Aidan screamed.
He writhed on his bed, and knocked his lamp off the table. It crashed to the ground and shattered, awakening Aidan. He shook violently, and his stomach churned. Something heaven inside him. Barely avoiding broken glass, he bolted to the hall bathroom and threw up. He collapsed and rested his head on the toilet seat.
"Aidan?" came Grampin's voice from the study downstairs. "Are you okay?" "YEs!" Aidan lifted his head and managed a hoarse yell. "I'm fine!"
Sarah paused. "The rest of this chapter is boring, there are only like two paragraphs left." she said, slapping the book closed.
Erm, most of this chapter is just part of the book.. XD sorry XDD Btw, those are real parts from the first chapter of The Door Within
GO READ IT PEEPS ITS AMAZING!!! :D
Srsly, Swirl and anyone else who is reading this, it is AMAZING! I highly recommend :D
Ooooohhh I totally wanna read that book now!
DeleteMust get it
Must get it
Must get it...
YES YES YES YES!!!!!!!!!!!!! *feels accomplished because I got somebody to want to read it*
Delete:D :D :D
*dabs*
XDD
DeleteI wish this was real.
ReplyDeleteSameeee!
DeleteI'm looking forward to Chapter 28! Take your time, though :)
ReplyDelete(I wish I was consistent enough to be able to write 28 chapters of a story XD I really admire that you're keeping up with this story for so long)
Don't worry, you'll get it soon! :D
DeleteAww, thanks! I have to admit, it's been pretty hard to keep it going for so long, but it's been worth it, hehe!
Chapter 5
ReplyDelete"NOW LETS READ MAZE RUNNER!" Vi screamed Suddenly, the bell rang! "RECESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS" Sarah screamed. All the kids ran out in a circle, creating a hyper blogger tornado, smashing all the youtubers webcams and mics
(Except for Gellyjone's stuff! :D And av course the bloggers with youtube channels stuff XDD) "NOOOOOOOOOO" Aparri screamed The blogger tornado crashed and dashed and smashed everything in sight! It stopped at the playground.
Suddenly all the famous youtubers ran out of the school "STOP DEMANDING BLOGGER PLAQUES IT'S ANNOYING!" Bepper screamed. Sarah and Kraft quickly put out the fire that spelled "GIVE US A BLOGGER PLAQUE NOWWW!" "What do you mean we are demanding it?!" demanded Lost, "YOU KNOW WHAT WE MEAN" Snowy screamed, "SNOWY YOU ARE A TRAITOR!" Flora exclaimed "YEAH YOU LEFT YOUR BLOG FOR.. ANOTHER BLOG?" Vi said, scratching her head.
"I DONT UNDERSTAND WHY SHE DID THAT BUT UHM OKI" Purple said, "WE DEMAND A BLOGGER PLAQUE!" Kara screamed Then all the bloggers started chanting, even Snowy! Setthy elbowed her. "Oh sorry." Snowy said,
TBC
OOOH YES A BLOGGER TORNADO! I LIKE THE SOUND OF THAT!
DeleteXDDD, ohh yes, this is my favorite chapter!
Oops, this is chapter 4... XDD
DeleteNice chapter! I'm definitely looking forward to the next chapter =D
ReplyDelete*oh wow I'm included I didn't expect that XDDD Thanks!*
Yay! I'm glad you're enjoying it!
Delete*XD! I felt it was time to add you in! You ARE in the blogger group, after all! :D*
*reads Chapter 29*
ReplyDeleteNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!! *screams and runs and tackles Kenley*
XDD
Honestly, CAN I GO PUNCH HER, PLEASE?! SHE'S SO RUDE!!! XD Honestly, if this was real life, I'd be snapping at her. (Or, I'd be too shy and not say anything. I'd probably be mad though sooo, I'd snap at her. xD)
Amazing chapter!!! :D
XDDDD, same Lost!
Delete*Grabs Kenley from imaginary fanfiction (OH GOSH I ALMOST TYPED FABFICTION XDDD!) world and sets her in front of Lost*
Be my guest. XDD!
I honestly dunno how I'd react in real life, since I've never really been bullied before. If she was being rude to my friends, though, I'd totally be furious. ):L
Thank yoooou! I'm glad you like it! :D
*reads it*
ReplyDeleteAHHHHHHHHHHHH I NEED MOREEEEEEEE
*grabs Kenley*
YOU GET THE PUNISHMENT
Kenley *gulps*
*dumps 100 pounds of bananas on Kenley*
(:
*you come back to your mom*
MomShine: Uhm, why is there a pile of bananas there...
Swirl: Idk, some kid dumped it there
Momshine: Uhm ok...
XDD
XDDDDDD!
DeleteI still wish I was more apart of these beautiful parties y'all have in the story :) *eyes fill with tears* i'm a human ocean.
ReplyDeletei still consider Swirl one of my best friends on AJ, even though i rarely see her because of timezones and whatnot. sometimes i login in the evening just to check if she's online.
i'd really like to talk to you right now, Swirl. i really would. :)
-rachelcatpaws
Don't worry! I was planning on having everyone visit some of the other bloggers in the next chapter anyway, so I'll add you in in Chapter 32!
DeleteAlso, I'm so sorry I haven't added you in more! It just hit me yesterday that there are actually quite a few people that still need to make an appearance. I'll try to put you in most of Chapter 32, Rachel! :)
Awwwwwww! ,:D
That made me smile Rachel, thank you so much! And, of course, you're also one of my best online friends as well! In fact, I think you were the first person I ever truly became good friends with on AJ! :D
I'll try to get on tomorrow and see you! :) I would do it today, but... eheheh... I'm posting this comment at a REALLY late time already... and yeah. :3 I've also got a post to write!
Hopefully, though, I can catch you on AJ very soon! :D
I LOVE the story so far! The writing is so detailed and everything!
ReplyDeleteAw, thanks Canine! I'm glad you enjoy it! Also, you'll be showing up in the story in the next chapter, I promise! Sorry it took so long- I always forget to add people in! D:
DeleteXD you don't have to add me in!
DeleteBut I wantttt to! XDD!
DeleteQuestion, on this story, am I wearing my ice armor (like on my fox) or my old hood and clover blanket (like on my bunny)
ReplyDeleteSORRY I JUST HAVE TO ASK XDDDDDD
(Wait, or am I wearing my dress with the roses on it im pretty sure im wearing that uhhh IDK XDDD)
XDD! Actually, it can be whatever you want! I imagine your Ice Armor when I think of your main look, but, since I've never really mentioned it in the story before, it's still kinda undecided!
DeleteWhat do you want it to be? XD!
WAITWAITWAIT IDEA IDEA PFFFOOOOOOOOOOOO
ReplyDeleteWHAT IF RACHEL'S PORTAL STONE HAS SWIRLS ON IT BECAUSE OF SWIRL? SWIRL WAS HER FIRST REALLY TRUE FRIEND, AND (as you've said in some replies to me, i'm not trying to boast) I'M sorta kinda "the first person you ever truly became good friends with on AJ! :D" -mumbles- who turned out to be a blogger.
WELL MAYBE THE STONE AND SWIRL ARE CONNECTED SOMEHOW. AND MAYBE THE STONE ISN'T RACHEL'S... IT APPEARED THERE BY ACCIDENT
AND MAYBE IT'S MORE POWERFUL AND DANGEROUS THAN IT SEEMS...
well i hope you get something from this lol you may use this idea if you want
-rachelcatpaws
Ooooooh! :o That's actually a really cool theory!
DeleteWow!!!! I love it so much! The story is so intersting and the endings so cool!!!! You did a great job!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Transions! I'm super happy you liked it! :D
DeleteAlso, I'm very sorry I couldn't add you in the story this time- I met you towards the end of it, when I had mostly planned everything out.
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDelete*FANGIRLS FOREVER*
AT FIRST, I WAS LIKE, WHAT NO, IT'S A DREAM BUT THEN YOU SAW ME AND I WAS SO HAPPY THAT IT'S NOT AND AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!!
XDDDDD
Honestly, this is one of the best fan fictions that I have ever read. I can't believe you finished it! You finished a whole story! How does that feel!? :D
I loved every chapter, every word, every plot twist. You had me wondering, "How are we gonna get out of this mess?" You got me gasping when you were in the blackness of the last full chapter. You had me wanting MORE!!!! :D
You're an amazing author and I can't wait to see what else you whip up! ^.^
Cheers to JM!!! :D
AHHHHH THANK YOU SO MUCHHHHHHHH! That means a whole lot to me! This comment totally made my day!! ,:D
DeleteIt feels amazing to have finally finished an entire story! On the day I posted it, and the day after, I kept bouncing around and thinking "YESSSSSSSS I FINISHED A STORY AND I'M SO PROUDDDDDDD!!" XD!
Once again, thank you so, SO much for this comment! It feels amazing to know that others appreciate my work so much!
AHHHH I CAN'T STOP SMILING NOW XDDDDD!
I knew it was a dream when you were blacking out at the end, and then when you went to school I thought it was going to start over again, but nope XD! Hey.. at what part of the story did you start dreaming???? XDD
ReplyDeleteXD! I actually WAS planning on making it start over, with me bumping into and meeting Lost in reality this time, but then I felt bad because that would mean I hadn't met any of the bloggers yet, so I changed it, XD!
DeleteHehe, I meant to make it confusing when it came to the dreaming part!
*Thinks for a moment*
Oh man... I may have made it too confusing, even for me! XD!
The dream WAS going to start in Chapter 2, but that would mean that I hadn't met any of the Bloggers yet, and it doesn't go with the things I think/say in Chapter 1.
Okay... don't hate me here, but I honestly don't know when the dream technically started,! I left that part a mystery to get people, including my character, thinking and wondering, "How much of that was a dream?
Eheheh... truthfully, I suppose it's up to the reader to make their own decision on what was reality and what was fiction. :)
***(Ignore that comma after "started". I thought I deleted that... XD!)
ReplyDelete-Steps into the quiet room slowly, after all that has just happened- Hey, Swirl. -Takes a few steps, which echo around the white room- Well. I guess it's time to review this little work of art. -Smiles- I'd just like to start by saying... well done.
ReplyDeleteIt's been a long journey for you. For all of us. I didn't know it would end this fast. The amount of effort put into this is OUTSTANDING. I know you already have to juggle school, homework, social life, normal blog posts, the Internet itself, Animal Jam, and other activities. I love it. I often start stories... and, well, I never finish them. I realize you felt around a certain time... you probably needed to end it. It really was a nice story.
It started off sort of like many "wish & switch" movies start- a young teen, most often a girl, goes to bed, sighing, wishing all her dreams could come true, goes to sleep... and BAM, she wakes up, and she's in an alternate universe. It was cute at first, blended nicely with Animal Jam and the Bloggers, having the girls all meet up together and go about their school life... and once the "main gang" is gathered together, and there's some sort of antagonist (Kenley and the divas, even if they ARE minor), the main character discovers a "magical Mcguffin" (aka Blogger Portal) to mess things up, and add new wonder to the story. A bit after that, it gets stranger, more abstract, more mysterious, something every type of these stories needs. I noticed the weird "visions" around Chapter 12 and 13 becoming more prominent, and much is learned about the new Mcguffin. And then the dock... which may spark new theories, new ideas. The dock scene is very, very important... And then, it's back to life, where yet more is learned about the Portal, and Rachel is met (heh moiii), and she develops something called the Portal Stone, something connected to the Blogger Portal and its weird world. Then Swirl's Portal begins to break, followed by more of the conflict of the "dream word" (probably the world of the passage between dreams, especially the particular Blogger Dream) (OH MY BANANA, THE BLOGGER DREAM WORLD??? THEORIESSSS???) and slowly, the dream starts deteriorating... then Blogging Ex Machina (a plot device focused on a particular object, usually magic, to swoop in and save the day very fast) and it resolves. Yet the visions continue, much more prominent, and a "bridge" is discovered. Eventually, things pick up again, the main characters stand against the minor antagonists (but what if the main antagonist is the Blogger Portal itself?) and it proceeds to the main antagonists, Swirl's mother, for trying to shut down the dream numerous times without notice (although it happens both in the "real world" dream and visions themselves) and the gang proceeds to have a little more fun time, seeing some other good minor characters, and then... Swirl gets the first "ending dream" inside of Rachel's room (theories). So then... the third source of the world begins crumbling, the second "ending dream." And the world glitches. The Bloggers stand together... as one... in front of Swirl. (NEW THEORIES) And, well, plot holes, plot falls... and the main character wakes up, in normal life... or IS IT?
Will continue these ideas in another comment :)
-Rachelcatpaws
So... -claps- theories. You created a world inside a world, Swirl, leaving room and plenty of plot holes for a sequel.
ReplyDeleteLet's talk about this... "Blogger World." I feel like there's deeper meaning in the entire story, rather than a game-y twist on a classic modern story idea. There's deeper, darker theories to think of about all the visions Swirl had (COFFhallucinatingCOFF), and the simple idea that the Blogger Portal (third dream source) allowed her access to an alternate dimension. Rachel has a Portal Stone. Swirl has the first blogger portal. The rest of the Bloggers have blogger portals, all which seem to function... normally, all aside from Swirl's. Swirl is the "snowflake," which is why she is main character. She was the first to wish, the only one to get visions, the one to get the malfunctioning Blogger Portal, the only one with a mother who tried to tear it down and bring her back to "reality" multiple times, etc. Rachel doesn't appear often... but I do have a few theories about (myself?) that might have interfered with this entire world. She has the Portal Stone, different than all the other Bloggers, and the only one to be able to teleport wherever Swirl or the others are. The Portal Stone feeds from the blogger portal as well, which might reveal more. The entire world seems connected to the Internet, which has more complicated theories as well. The ending had plenty of plot holes, and, as I read a few comments about the ending, some of it seems a "choose your own ending" sorta thing... but the big question remains, is it reality... or was it a dream... or was it something else entirely? (hint hint alternate realities) This Blogger World seemed to allow access to that, and AJ is an alternate dimension altogether. And yet the other Bloggers seemed pixelated, two-dimensional at the end... might represent something about us, about the fact that we will never really get to see each other. You see, Swirl, this, summarized, is a cliche but whimsical take on a popular idea and story, but you managed to create another world, create another dimension, introduce theories. Swirl, you have a certain sense of creativity, and it's all in the detail. I'd love a sequel, even if it will be quick.
Well, say what you will, but this was an adorable, thrilling, fun, whimsical story, even if it did have plot holes and some cliche dialogue.
I've had an idea myself, and I might (just mighty possibly) post it on my blog. I'll share it with you. Just have to write the first few chapters. It's fun. :)
Well, I'm exhausted, and I still can't believe this story has come to a close, but I'm excited to see what you come up with next. Strange, isn't it, when something you loved and anticipated for weekly come to a complete and final end? That's where the fun begins... I'll discuss theories later. You ARE the author, after all. :)
"Remain in a state of ever contradiction, even contradicting the contradictory state." signing off, rachelcatpaws
Thank you so much Rachel! I'm so happy you liked it, and all that means a whole lot to me! Honestly, this was the first entire story I've ever finished (I start and then never finish stories like you, XD!), and I never expected to be this proud of finally completing it! It was so fun to write JM, and maybe, JUST MAYBE, I'll create a little sequel if I get any new ideas!
DeleteThank you once again for your feedback! All that really made me smile, and I'll be working hard to improve my writing for the next story I post! :)
i dunno where this is gonna go but please enjoy the first chapter of a new AJ fanfic by me :)
ReplyDeleteIt was a dark and stormy night. Well, could it not be? That sounds really cliché. No. It was actually dark and stormy. Anyway, on this particular dark and stormy night, a hurricane was creeping along Jamaa, despite the fact that the peaceful lands of Jamaa rarely ever saw large, wet natural disasters, especially at the last few days of summer. There was also something else creeping along, masked with dark feathers and paint, sheathed in a thick cloak of muddy gray. It strode defiantly along the deserted stone paths, the strong scent of wet cement stinging its sensitive nostrils, passing shop sign after shop sign, not bothering to hide, because there were no animals, nor were there cameras to detect any suspicious movement.
A fuzzy sound began to crackle from the masked someone’s pocket, and a gloved hand reached to it to try and muffle it. They felt their hand clasp around it, and withdrew into a small alley nearby to unveil a small phone. They pressed the green answer button on it, and drew it up to their ear. A series of muffled talking in a deep and shaky voice sounded from the phone, and it went on for quite a long time, but the only words the receiver spoke back into the metal speaker was a muffled:
“I’ll be right there.”
A smile curled behind the mask, and they strode out of the alley to see a tiny shop, its strong fabric hood soaked to the brim, its words peeling and fading from the door. The masked someone drew out their phone once again, and clicked a button. Somewhere, someone heard their telephone ring, and they knew who it was, because a few seconds after the button on the small digital phone was pressed, the small shop grew before the masked someone’s very eyes. The hood seemed to fold onto itself, the walls crumbled into the ground, the door grew in size and became that of polished glass and shiny gold lettering, and a great steely glass skyscraper spiraled out of the ground, stopping only when it had reached five stories.
The masked someone’s smile grew ever brighter behind the shadows and jolly paint of the mask, and they swept to the golden glass door eagerly. This was a skyscraper that had never been seen in Jamaa, yet seen so much before by those who lived ways around where the skyscraper had emerged from. Surprisingly, a large hurricane was also hitting that world at that very moment, as Jamaa dealt with theirs and slept through soundly. There was a glowing-blue keyhole next to the door, in which the masked someone took a strange metal key from their pocket, with a faint blue glow as well. They slid the strange key halfway into the hole, and the door automatically spiraled around to reveal a small, elevator-like compartment. The masked someone walked in, and it swung back around so they were locked inside the building.
The Masked Someone looked around the hotel-like main lobby, but the only living thing that appeared was yet another masked thing, which took echoing footsteps down to the Masked Someone. “Remove your mask,” they said, nodding at the Masked Someone’s old beta mask. And slowly, carefully, the Masked Someone drew a breath and unveiled their mask, to reveal the feminine face of a person, a person who had only just barely been able to pass into the realms of Jamaa. They took glasses from their pocket, which they hastily jammed onto their face, smiling at the other masked person, who withdrew their mask as well to reveal another feminine face. And as the only two human people in Jamaa that night stood in the echoing, beautiful skyscraper room, they shook gloved hands and both said, “I’ve been expecting you.”
doing more soon woooo -rachelcatpaws
WOAHHH
DeleteW-O-A-H
THIS IS SO GOOD ALREADY!
Man it's been awhile.
ReplyDeleteBeen falling in a bit of depression lately but I'm doing okay, how are you all?
GFOX!!! :D I've missed you!
DeleteAw, I'm sorry to hear that. D: Hope you'll be okay! ,:)
I'm doing well, as are all the other bloggers! We all miss you, though! :)
Really? Cuz all I receive on my blog is rude comments anymore. Thinking of deleting it 🤷♀️
DeleteWhat!? :O
DeleteTHESE PEOPLE WILL BE PUNISHED BY ME!!!! D:<
Ignore those haters- your blog is epic! :)
Don't delete your blog Gfox! It is epic, and has so many memories!
DeleteEveryone still misses you :'(