One day before school, Ruby and her family get together for breakfast.

     As Ruby slumps out of bed and rubs her tired face and eyes awake, her nose hits the delicious smells of fried eggs smothered in melting cheese, sizzling soft greasy bacon and pancake dough stirred with the scent of raspberry.

     She slumps down the stairs to scent of breakfast cooking with Esmera,  her younger sister sitting on be barstool and her mother in the kitchen waving her hands over the smoky food.

    She suddenly starts feeling a little hot... In an air condoned house. 

She shakes it off not caring.

     Ruby quietly takes a seat next to Esmera on the empty bar stool.

     She takes her pink fluffy robe off revealing her Fairytale tank top.

     She starts to feel hotter this time and it's not going away!

     The heat is just building and building and building,  like a star going super nova.

     At this point,  she's fanning herself  with her hand  and then with the clean napkin desperately trying  to cool down.

     Ruby starts coughing softly and then harder and harder as the seconds tick by.

     Suddenly as if a pen dropped,  she goes down to the floor spasming and gasping for air.

     Her mother and Esmera frightened and panicked for Ruby, starts shaking her violently to try to shock her awake.  Her mother rushes to the nearest phone to call an ambulance.

     After what seemed like minutes of shaking and on the verge of passing out,  Ruby finally gains consciousness shoving Esmera away from her.

     Still weak and in shock from what just happened,  Ruby uses her short burst of energy to crawl upstairs to her room. She doesn't even hear her mother dropping the phone mid dial at her daughters newfound alive state.

Shutting her door behind her,  Ruby falls asleep.

     She can very faintly hear Esmera on the other side of the door pleading,  "I just want to know what happened!"

     Ruby,   who can't sleep because of Esmera's banging and aggravation,  sits up but never unlock the door.

     "Stop banging on my door",  Ruby yells back,  "A little kid like you would NEVER understand!"

     "But you never tell me anything,  it's always wait until you're older!",  Esmera pleads with Ruby,  tears forming in her eyes, "Please,  Ruby you never let me in!"

     Their mother slowly heads up the stairs,  hesitating at each step wondering if she should continue.  She finds Esmera cradled in front on Ruby's door balling her eyes out.

     She scolds Esmera to go to her room and stop bothering Ruby while she hesitantly knocks on Ruby's door. 

     "What happened at the table,  honey?" her mother asks scared for Ruby.

     "Nothing. Go away!  I'm trying sleep! ",  Ruby screams back.

     When Ruby is sure that her mother returned down the steps and Esmera is safely in her room occupied,  Ruby peeks her head out the door.

     She sees her mother pick up the phone and answer, " Hello,  Mr. Boulis,  Ruby will not be coming to school today... She has come down with the flu... She has all the symptoms... OK... Mm hmm... She will be back tomorrow morning... Keep her homework safe... OK bye bye now.

     She calls her other teachers and it pretty much goes the same.

     Ruby quietly closes the door when her mom hangs the phone up after a few minutes.

     A very confused and frustrated Ruby toss and turn on her fushia pink hairy comforter pondering furiously of the events took place in the kitchen.

     She can't decide on a concrete opinion by herself,  so she decides to get a second opinion. Leaving a voicemail on Andrew's cell, she tells him to meet her in the library after school to "study."

     Relieved that she doesn't have to face this alone,  she hangs up her land line and allows her contentness to peacefully drift her to sleep.

A lonely girl

"Esmy", a quiet voice whispers her ear. "Esmy", it whispers again. Esmera, crying with her head in her lap, slowly lifts her heavy head wondering who called her.

"Ruby!", she calls out to an empty hall hoping and praying she answers. "Ruby," she yells this time.

"What, Esmera!" Ruby yells through the door.

"Did you call me?" asks a hopeful Esmera.

"No, so stop aggravating me!" Ruby yells back.

After a few silent minutes, Esmera slowly gets up and her shadow moves to the direction of her room down the hall.

Laying on her Hello Kitty comforter, the voice echoes again through her room this time using her full name.

"Esmeralda" the voice whispers.

"Hello?" Esmeralda questions.

"Hello, my name is Clarissa. If you want, I can be your friend?" Envy asks.

Esmera wipes her tearful, puffy eyes, clears her mind and asks "Who are you?"

Envy responds, "Hmmm... Who am I?" she ponders the question, "Who do you want me to be?"

"I don't know, I asked you first."Esmeralda rebuttals.

At that moment, Esmeralda hears a knock on her door.

" Esmy,", her mother calls,"Who are you talking to?"

Startled back into the real world, she responds, "No one mom!"

She then hears her mother mumble something not in English with emphasis on the name, Envy. Once she is sure that her mom is away enough from her room, she calls out to her new acquaintance, "Clarissa"

No answer.

"Clarissa." she calls out louder.

Still no answer.

"Envy!" she screams.

"What do you want?" Ruby yells back.

"Nothing" Esmera yells back. Esmy can imagine how Ruby is grumbling how her little sister is constantly annoying her.

Embarrassed at the realization that she was talking to herself for a good 20 minutes, she looks to homework to distract herself.