I was tired on the way home. I didn't do much dancing, but I sang along with most of the songs, and my throat was raw. Next to me, Kat and Lyra were discussing music.

"Taylor Swift is so good," Kat said.

"Not a great as Adele," Lyra said.

"No way! What about Katy Perry?" Kat augured.

Lyra shook her head. "Not as good as her," she said.

"You guys are delusional," I told them, looking straight ahead. "Imagine Dragons has them all."

They shouted protests of No way! and So not true!

I laughed as we came upon the tall, curved, silver building where Kat and I lived. Robyn used to live with us, but she had moved in with Atlanta. Most of the buildings for homestead had a policy of a two-person minimum per apartment. When Atlanta's brother had moved in with a friend, Robyn had moved in with her so she wouldn't end up on the streets, which I would forever be grateful to my sister for.

Kat pushed open the door and the motion-sensor lights turned on at a low brightness, knowing that our eyes had been accustomed to the dark.

"Alright, girls," Kat said. "You know the drill."

I ran to my room and changed into my blue-and-silver flannel pajamas before dashing downstairs to set up a movie and sleeping bags. One of the bags was a metallic green with silver plaid on it. The second one was midnight blue with gold splotches all over it, like some crazy artist had flung the golden paint off their brushes onto the fabric of the sleeping bag. The last one was purple and blue and shimmered in the light.

Just as I had set up the sleeping bags around a bowl of popcorn that Lyra had popped, her and Kat came down the stairs with their arms full of snacks and treats. As I crawled into the green bag, Kat dropped her pile in front of me and Lyra did the same. They were both now dressed in pajamas, Lyra wearing the pair that she left here from her last stay. I reached out for a package of cherry sours, but Kat whacked my hand away.

"What?" I asked her.

"Morpheus Box."

I groaned. "Now?"

"Now."

"Fine, but I get to pick."

"Fine."

 I crawled out of my bag and stood. "Lead the way," I invited her.

Kat led the way back up the stairs and down the hall past the kitchen. At the very end of the hall, a bizarre-looking closet stood like a ghost. The doorframe was painted brown, but that was the only thing normal about the door. It was splattered with thousands of colors: teal, red, neon green, orange, and purple. It had no handle or lock. On the wall at belly button height to the side of it was a small box with a hand scanner on it.

I strode forward and placed my palm gently on the scanner. The box came to life and an orange beam traveled up and down my hand. Below the scanner, a long, thin hole appeared in the wall, and a key board and screen pushed through. Looking back to make sure Lyra or Kat weren't peeking, I typed in my choice, and the door beeped and swung open as the keyboard disappeared back in its hole.

Through the doorway we could see a flight of stairs that seemed to go on for ages. Lyra led the way, Kat behind her, and me dead last. At first, Lyra ran up the stairs with Kat and I right behind her, but they went on for so long that Lyra lost her energy, slumped up right up the stairs, Kat and I doing the same.

"And people say running up and down the stairs isn't a workout," I heard Kat mutter.

"I swear, if I ever reach the top, my legs are going to be the size of boulders," Lyra said.

When I was about to say "Forget it," and head back down, Lyra reached the top and gasped. Kat, encouraged by her amazement, ran up that last few stairs, me at her heels.

The Morpheus Box, or the Morph Box, or sometimes just called the Box, is a high-tech room that morphs or changes into whatever you type into the keyboard. Very few Morpheus Boxes exist, since they're so expensive. But this one was installed in the apartment long before Robyn, Kat, and I had even moved here.

It's called the Morpheus Box because in Greek mythology, Morpheus is the god of dreams. The Box grants your wishes, or makes you dreams a reality. Besides, we couldn't call it the Dreams Come True Room, or the Wish Box without it sounding like a Disney movie.

What stood before us was the biggest ice rink I had ever seen in my life. The ice shimmered from the lights from above, and huge speakers stood at the far end of the rink. Doors were open along the walls that surrounded the ice, and we stood just in front of it, looking through the biggest one. To our right stood a long white rack with thousands of ice skates in various sizes. Next to it was a large coat rack with cloaks and jackets to keep us warm. To the other side was a large snack bar with candy bars and sweets galore. We had treats downstairs, but I guess the Morph Box didn't know that. A robot can only do so much.

"Rhea," Lyra said. "This is awesome."

"I have my moments," I said as I walked over to the rack of skates. Being closer, I could see a large box of matching white woolen socks was set up next to the skates. I pulled some onto my cold bare feet and found a pair of skates that fit snugly. Kat and Lyra joined me, and soon, we were ready to hit the ice.

I was the first one out on the ice. Behind me I saw the scratches that my skates made. I stayed close to the wall at first to get used to it, but after a few yards, I pushed off the wall and picked up the speed, my arms swinging and my legs flying.

Kat and Lyra joined me. Lyra stayed a little closer to the wall for the first few seconds, but then pushed off of it to join Kat and me in the middle.

"Great idea, Rhea," Kat said as she tore down the rink to the far side of the ice.

I glanced over and Lyra, her blue eyes sparkling like it was Christmas morning. "Race you to the other side," I said.

She smiled slyly. "You're on!"

"Ready..."

"Set..."

"GO!"

We both tore down the ice, flakes flying behind us as we went. Lyra was good, and she was good at competition. She stayed right with me, no matter how hard I tried to lose her.

As we were nearing the end of the rink, Lyra and I both went a notch faster. Almost there, I thought. Come on. Almost...

I stopped skating and leaned against my momentum to slow me down before I collided with the wall. I reached out and touched the wall and turned to my left to find Lyra with her hand on the wall next to mine. We were both panting slightly, and I don't know about her, but my legs were still burning from our trek up the stairs.

Lyra smiled at me. "Tie."

I smiled back. I then looked around, but didn't see Kat. "Where's Kat?"

Lyra looked around too, but she didn't find Kat either. "Perhaps she went to go put on a jumper?" she suggested.

We took off for the other side of the rink, but when we stepped off the ice into the entrance hall, Kat was nowhere to be seen.

"Kat!" I called. There was no reply.

"Do you think she found a loo?" Lyra tried.

"Maybe." We set off on a search for the bathroom, but we didn't find anything. Great. Not only did that mean that Kat wasn't there, it also meant that if I had to go, I'd have to go all the way back downstairs.

Not knowing what else to do, I ran back out onto the ice. Lyra followed me, staying up with my pace.

We called Kat for about five minutes to no avail. I skated near the walls of the rink when I heard someone behind the walls snickering quietly. Normally, I wouldn't have noticed, but I was so intent on finding Kat, that my mind was picking up on any sign that might lead to her.

I stopped, and signaled over to Lyra, who quietly came over.

I pointed to the nearest door, and as quietly as we could we slid over to it and pushed it open. We looked along the walls, and Kat was crouched down, smiling evilly.

"Kat Willis!" Lyra shouted. "You little pest!"

Kat laughed her head off, rocking on her back, holding her sides. "You... you should... have... seen your... faces," she said between laughs.

"Oh, come off it," Lyra said as she skated away. "Little git," I heard her mutter.

Kat looked up at me, tears of laughter smarting her eyes. "Best prank ever," she said.

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever," I said. "Get your ugly face out here. I didn't climb all those stairs just so you can hide away."

I helped her to her feet, and pulled her out onto the ice. To get back at her, I let her get in front of me, and just as she was about to take off, I pushed her with all my might. She lost her balance, and slipped and fell onto the ice. She looked back at me and glared. I could see the evil glint in her eyes, and she pushed herself to her feet. I took off as fast as I could, my blades only touching the cold ice when I needed to push off.

I could hear Kat behind me. I may have gotten the head-start, but she was fast. I could sense her closing in on me. I needed to do something and fast.

I spotted the wall approaching swiftly as we were nearing the other side of the rink. I made a sloppy right angle turn, which made me lose my balance and stop, but it was the distraction I needed. Kat had to make a jerky, stop before she could slam into the wall. Once she regained her bearings, she looked around for me, but I was already half way across the ice.

I nearly collided with Lyra, but narrowly missed her as I zoomed past. Kat passed by Lyra at the speed of a rocket. As she passed, Kat struck out her hand and smacked Lyra on the shoulder as she past. "You're it!" she called.

Lyra got a sly look in her eye, and narrowed her eyes at me. I had stopped when Kat had tagged her, and now she was only a few yards away from me. I took off again, staying close to the walls. She was gaining on me, mostly because I was tired from my dash from Kat.

I slid off the ice and into the entrance hall. I ducked down behind the snack bar just as Lyra stepped off the ice herself.

I looked around for anything I could use as a diversion when my eyes fell upon a hose with a nozzle attached to it. A bright yellow sticker underneath the nozzle announced that it squirted out a drink called zulk. I had no idea what it was, but I didn't have time to find out. I could hear Lyra rounding the far side of the bar. I held the nozzle tightly, waiting for her to show her face.

Her head came around the corner, and I took aim. I squeezed the nozzle, and a bright blue liquid spouted out like a fire hose. My aim was true, and Lyra got an unexpected bath.

While she was distracted, I ran back out onto the ice and found the nearest door and ducked down.

"Oh, it is so on!" I heard Lyra yell.

I smiled. "Bring it on, girly," I whispered to myself. "Bring it on."

Author's Note: What did you guys think of the second chapter? What are your thoughts on the Morpheus Box? Please comment and vote!