Talisman's Journey

1

"Comment tu t'appelles?" Tania waited patiently.2

"Je m'appelle Jocelyn," replied Jocelyn.3

"Elle chappelle comment?" Tania indicated the third member of their French-speaking trio who was helping study for Jocelyn Wright's test. 4

"Elle chappelle Katriel," pronounced Jocelyn carefully. 5

Tania put down the Introduction To French book she was holding and ran her fingers through her mouse-brown hair. "You're going to do fine, Jocelyn," she told her. She smiled. 6

Jocelyn let out a sigh of relief. "I hope you're right." She returned Tania's smile and shook out her auburn curls. "It's weird, being a senior and studying the same stuff as freshmen." She laughed.7

"So are we done with all of this French stuff?" Beth, the fourth person at Jocelyn's house that night, stared at the other three with her glittering black eyes.8

Jocelyn laughed. "Sorry, Beth. I'm just uptight about this test. It counts for about a fourth of my grade, and Ms. Jensen is an extremely hard grader. Plus it's the last test of the year."9

Katriel nodded in agreement. "I got a 94 on a test once in her class. She gave me a B, called me to her desk, and said, "Katriel Wilcox, you need to work harder."10

Tania laughed. "I hate how she always calls you by your first and last name, or just "Miss" and your last name. She calls me "Miss Jackson" all the time. I feel like I'm either Janet Jackson, or the mother in that Outkast song."11

"Well then let's forget about Ms. Jensen and her name-calling and grading for a minute," said Beth. "Jocelyn, where's your Monopoly game?"12

Jocelyn laughed. "Go figure. Beth Anders wants to play Monopoly." She grinned and jumped to her feet. "It's in the attic. I'll go get it." She went to the door in her room that appeared to be a linen closet, but was actually the door to the attic, and disappeared.13

Tania sighed. "I'd hate to have the door to the attic in my room."14

Katriel nodded. "I'd think it would just be completely freezing in here, especially in the winter." She hugged her knees to her chest.15

Tania shook her head. "No, not that. I'd be scared all the time."16

Beth ambled over to Jocelyn's stereo and selected a Billy Joel CD to put in. "Why would you be scared? It's just another room." She sat down, and "Only The Good Die Young" came on. 17

Tania shook her head. "You and Jocelyn and your classic rock fetish. I'll never understand it." She laughed. "Eighteen years old and listening to that music."18

Beth rolled her eyes. "You can't understand good music?"19

"No. No, I mean I can-" Tania sounded exasperated. "I'm just saying why listen to Jethro Tull and Queen when you can listen to good bands like Letters To Cleo?"20

"I do listen to Letters To Cleo," Jocelyn said, coming down the stairs with the Monopoly box in hand. "In fact, they're one of my favorites. Tania, you know that."21

Tania nodded. "I know. I was mainly talking about Beth."22

"Anyways." Jocelyn cleared her throat and knelt on the floor. Her and Beth began to set up the game.23

"What I'm trying to say," said Tania, picking up the car piece, "is that you guys- well, mostly Beth- should check out other bands." She dropped the car back into the tray and picked up the thimble. "I mean, people like Kay Laurel do have talent." She traded the thimble for the ship. "They write their own songs, play their own instruments- not that your guys' bands don't, but-" She broke off.24

"What, Tania, aren't you going to lecture anymore?" Beth laughed.25

Tania was peering into the Monopoly box.26

"Tania?" Beth stopped laughing.27

"Tania, what's the matter?" Jocelyn hurried over. Katriel and Beth followed.28

Tania pointed into the Monopoly tray. "What in God's name is that thing?"29

Beth scrunched up her face. "What is what?"30

Jocelyn saw it immediately. "This," she said, picking it up. It made a loud boom. She dropped it on the carpet, startled. 31

They were all staring at it, expecting it to do something.32

"It sounded like it said "You," Katriel suddenly whispered.33

"No possible way," scoffed Beth. 34

"Pick it up and see if it does it again then," Katriel instructed. "But this time, hold onto it."35

Jocelyn hesitated, and tentatively picked up the object, enclosing it in her hand.36

"You have unleashed the great and magical power of the Aurora Talisman. If you desire a wish, you must pass the test of Aurora. Wish on this talisman to take the test if you intend to proceed with the trials."37

"Wow, a magic talisman that gives directions," quipped Beth with a shaky laugh.38

The rest of the room was silent. Jocelyn examined the talisman. She could see why Tania was scared of it at first, but it was kind of cool-looking. It looked like it was pewter, or very old and tarnished silver. It was small, about the size of her thumbnail. The shape of it was a lion's head, accented with sparkling ruby eyes. 39

She looked up at her friends. "Well?" she said.40

"Well what? Put the thing back in the box or throw it out the window or something." Tania shuddered.41

"Are you crazy?" cried Beth. "Think of what we could do! We could be queens, or superstar athletes, or diva singers, or millionaires, or software tycoons, or bank presidents. Let's do it. The test thing can't be that hard."42

"It's magic. You don't know what you're getting yourself into," countered Katriel, in Tania's defense. "Beth, you can't control this." She shifted position on the floor. "Although I would like a wish."43

Beth looked across at Jocelyn.44

Jocelyn nodded. "I say we do this, but we be careful. Like Kat said, we don't know what we're getting ourselves into here. We are messing with ultimate power." She glanced at Tania. "Tania? Are you in?45

Tania sighed. "I guess. I know better, but I'll come." She scooted forward towards Jocelyn. "I always get into stuff I shouldn't with you people around me."46

Jocelyn settled cross-legged on the floor, and Tania, Beth, and Katriel formed a semicircle around her. "Okay, now, so how should we do this? I assume we all have to be touching the talisman."47

"You hold it, Jocelyn, and we'll each put a finger on it," Beth directed.48

"Alright," she replied. She opened her hand, and they each placed a finger on the talisman.49

Jocelyn let out a shaky breath. "Okay. We wish to take the test of Aurora!" she exclaimed. She looked at the talisman. Nothing was happening. Then its mouth opened. "Did you-?" she whispered, and looked around at her friends. Tania had her eyes tightly shut, and her finger was trembling. Beth was past excited. Katriel had her eyes wide open, staring down at the talisman. She peered up at Jocelyn...50

And they were miniaturized, swirled up in a cloud of intense, shimmering gold dust, and swept directly into the lion's mouth.51

They found themselves standing on a beautiful snow-covered plain. The snow was opalescent, iridescent, and falling all around them. A sweet wind was blowing, and the pure silver stars were sparkling bright against the deep, dark royal blue sky. Beautiful emerald-green pine trees bordered the glittering horizon.52

A snow-white horse came galloping up, and its rider gracefully stepped off to greet them. She was wearing a long, flowing, bluish-magenta dress, which was fluttering in the wind. She wore a beautiful silver tiara, set with hundreds of glittering diamonds. Her alabaster complexion was touched with deep rose on her cheeks, cardinal-red lips, and deep blue eyes with long, jet-black eyelashes. Her rich brown hair fell in soft curls, framing her face.53

"I am Aurora," she said, in the clear musical tone of a woodwind. "I need to know each of your wishes so that I might tailor each test." She pointed a long, tapering finger at Katriel. "We shall start with your wish."54

"Mine?" asked Katriel.55

Aurora nodded.56

"Wow. I wish that I would reach the summit of Everest one day."57

Aurora turned in the direction of Beth.58

"I wish- I wish I had unlimited magical powers!" Beth giggled in anticipation.59

Jocelyn was thinking hard. She had read stories before where wishes like these were granted, but not as the wisher had intended. She figured Katriel might become a celebrity for reaching the summit of Everest but with her life would come lots of stress and unwelcome pressure. And Beth's was too easy for something to go wrong with. She sighed.60

"I wish that my parents would quit fighting," Tania was saying.61

Then Aurora turned to Jocelyn.62

"I wish that I would become a successful pop singer, the singer I've dreamed of being, with no pressure and a great life. I want everything to go as I have envisioned and dreamed, with nothing wrong. All the perks and none of the bad stuff."63

She waited for Beth's smart remark.64

Beth said nothing.65

Aurora nodded. "Very well. We shall start in with Katriel's test. Hear me now. If one of you fails a test, that automatically means you all fail and none of you get your wishes. You need to implement teamwork." She smiled. "I wish you luck on Mount Aurora." She vanished into the snow, and they were suddenly standing on the side of a mountain, looking down at base camp.66

Beth gulped. "Base camp looks like a Monopoly house from here."67

"No time for Monopoly analogies," said Tania. "Kat, why did you have to wish this?"68

"It's always been my dream," Katriel told her. She hooked into the rock, and connected everyone to her.69

"Well, not mine!" Tania was clinging to the side of the mountain, shaking.70

"Don't fight, now," Jocelyn warned. "Remember, teamwork."71

"What are we supposed to do, reach the summit of this thing?" asked Beth.72

"I guess so," Jocelyn replied. "So, Kat. How do we climb?"73

Katriel gave a quick demonstration, then they began to climb. Beth was ruthless, slashing away at the ice. Tania was gingerly, slowly making her way up. Jocelyn was concentrating hard at doing what Katriel had told them. And Katriel, the expert that she was, was hacking her way up the side of the mountain like a professional that had been to the top of Everest ten thousand times. This went on in silence for quite a while, until Tania got tired and spoke up.74

"For goodness' sake, Kat. We all know you're good at this, but can you slow down a little bit? I'm getting tired." She drove her icepick into the side of the mountain and sighed.75

Kat flung her head around and glared down at Tania. "Shut up," she snapped. "If I have to train all you little novices, you're keeping up to my speed."76

Tania was taken aback by Katriel's sharp statement. "Well, excuse me," she retorted under her breath. She drove her boot in a crevice and shook her head at Beth. 77

A little while later, Tania spoke up again. "Kat, please slow down. I'm not going to be able to make it if we keep up this speed. It's too fast. Can you please slow down? Just a little? We've got time, you know."78

Katriel turned and glowered at Tania. "You didn't have to sign up for this class. You knew what you were getting into. I hate all you stupid high school students that think you can do as good as me just because you're as old as I am. I got news. You can't! You think you're so cool. I'm Katriel Wilcox. You're just some little lowlife trying to climb a mountain with me. If you want me to, I'll unclip you and you can fall several thousand feet to your death. Or, you can keep going with me and lose your breath a little bit. It's your choice." She stared at Tania.79

Tania was speechless. Beth took over. 80

"Kat, what are you talking about a class? You're with us, remember? We made a wish on a charm, and we're here, taking this test."81

"What on earth are you talking about? You're delusional," spat Katriel. "And my name is not Kat. It is Katriel."82

"For the past eighteen years, if anyone would have called you Katriel, you would have spazzed at them. And now you're insisting that we call you that?" Beth was surprised.83

"You haven't known me for five hours and you're acting like we're old friends," Katriel snarled.84

"Kat Wilcox, I have known you since we were both two years old! You're my best friend!" Beth was getting impatient. "Are you losing your mind?"85

"I'm sorry, but my best friend is named Beth Anders, and I haven't seen her since I reached the summit of Everest."86

Beth yelled. "Kat! I am Beth!"87

Katriel shook her head. "I haven't seen Beth forever." She turned her head away.88

Jocelyn gritted her teeth. "Have you seen Jocelyn Wright lately?"89

"Or Tania Jackson?" Tania put in.90

Katriel looked back down. "Jocelyn? Tania? How do you know about them?"91

"Kat, I am Jocelyn!" yelled Jocelyn. "I think I would know myself! Especially when me, and Tania, and Beth, are hanging on a mountain right beneath you! You are Kat Wilcox! I am Jocelyn Wright! That is Beth Anders! That is Tania Jackson! What's going on with you? Why don't you know us?"92

Kat shook her head. "That's ridiculous. I haven't seen Beth forever. Some say she died. Jocelyn lives in Perth, she's a singer. And Tania is still grieving."93

Tania looked confused. "Grieving what?"94

Beth appeared scared. "I'm dead?" she whispered. The mountain was silent for a moment. 95

Katriel was just about to begin moving again, when Beth spoke up. "Kat. Listen to me for a second. If I'm dead. If I'm not Beth Anders, how do I know that you and I made hoop skirts and gingerbread men just for fun back in seventh grade? If I'm not Beth, why do I remember all the stupid songs we wrote on your keyboard in elementary school? If I'm not Beth, how do I know that you invented the Sandbox Game in second grade, or that you and I founded the Kat and Beth club in third grade? How can I know that you were madly in love with Ryan Schomer in ninth grade, or that you picked out your senior picture just because the background was purple?" She looked intently at her friend.96

Jocelyn joined in. "If I'm not Jocelyn, how do I know that you used to always complain about Beth's and my fights over music, or that you and I had plans to start a band in eighth grade called Bad Soup?"97

"And if I'm not Tania," said Tania, "how do I remember our cookie sculptures during lunch that Mr. White always yelled at us for, and the author interviews in ninth grade?"98

Kat let out a breath, clouding in the frosty air. "But how can that be true?"99

"You just have to believe us," Beth told Katriel. "We made a wish on a talisman, and this was one of our tests- to make your wish come true. Now, come on, work with us, so we can reach the top. I can almost see it."100

"That's funny," whispered Katriel. "This mountain looks much shorter than it has before."101

"What's the name of it, Kat?" asked Tania, staring intently at her friend, trying to get her to remember, to realize.102

"Aurora," she replied. She stopped. "Wait! I remember now! We were going to play Monopoly! And Mount Aurora- it's named after the talisman, and after that girl!"103

"That's right," said Beth. She smiled.104

And then they were standing on the summit, and, almost without transition, back where they met Aurora.105

She was waiting for them, smiling. "Congratulations," she said. "You have passed the first test. You have three to go. Beth- you are next. This will be the most difficult one. Jocelyn, Tania, and Katriel, you must be as supportive of Beth as you can." She flew into the sky, and the four girls were standing in a city.106

The city was definitely strange-looking. The buildings were all tinted green. The edges and tips of the buildings were sharp, and the streets glinted with a clear, shiny lacquer. The people moved as if they were robots.107

"What is this, something in the future?" whispered Tania. She was afraid that if she made a sound louder than a whisper amidst the throng of jagged buildings that one of the robot-people would step out of sync and hit you over the head with a briefcase. 108

They joined a group of people crossing the street, trying to swing their arms and legs stiff and rhythmic to fit in. At the exact same moment, every person entered a building. They were left by themselves on the street.109

"Weird," breathed Jocelyn.110

"Weird? How about creepy?" Tania shivered.111

They walked around the city, looking for someone or something human. They didn't find it. Then all the doors of all the buildings opened, and the robot-people began to flock to a big, square, granite building marked "Lunch." 112

Jocelyn was looking around in awe at all the people in perfect cadence when she noticed that Beth had joined them.113

"Tania, Kat, come on!" yelled Jocelyn, and ran to keep up with Beth. Jocelyn put a hand on Beth's shoulder. "Beth, hold on."114

Beth whirled around. "If I hear anymore inappropriate behavior from you girls, I shall report you to Her." She looked down her nose at us. "And get into your appropriate attire. You are not dressed acceptably." She whipped her head around.115

"Hey, wait," Jocelyn called. "Who is she? Her? Who is it?"116

"Her is Her. Her is the woman that runs our planet. And we have the biggest compliance rate. That is why she lives here."117

"What's the big deal about a lady that lives here?" asked Katriel.118

"What's the big deal?" Beth practically screamed. "She is the creator of our way of life. Without her, we would not survive."119

Jocelyn felt a sudden surge of loneliness, since Beth had been one of her best friends since day one. Her, Katriel, Tania and Beth had grown up together. In fact, Beth's parents and Jocelyn's parents were the best of friends. She began to get angry.120

"Take me to Her," commanded Jocelyn. She shook her curls out of her face.121

"You want to be taken to Her?" asked Beth, in shock.122

"Yes," said Jocelyn defiantly. 123

"Very well," replied Beth. She walked away from the "Lunch" building and went toward the center of town where a tall, spiky building stood. She walked at a fast, jerky pace so that Jocelyn had to run to keep up. 124

Beth finally stopped in front of the building. She pressed a button on the wall, and a door opened. She marched through it, then turned around, motioning for the others to do so. They did, all tentatively- except for Jocelyn, who was headstrong.125

As soon as they were inside, Tania turned to Jocelyn. "What's the matter with Beth?"126

"I don't know for sure," replied Jocelyn. "Looks like maybe she's been brainwashed or something. She's acting like all the other people in this city."127

When Beth turned around, she looked more unlike Beth than they could have imagined. "This way to Her," she said in a singsong voice, and continued to lead down the hall. 128

They traveled through hallways with green tints, big, spacious gathering rooms with beat-up blue and orange plastic chairs and Formica counters for tables, and domed spaces that seemed to have a rhythmic beat inside their walls.129

The final hallway was all the colors of the spectrum. They pulsed in the same eerie rhythm and weaved around in strange patterns through the walls and in the air. They distorted everything, like the House Of Mirrors at the carnivals and fairs. But as the normal people in the group stumbled with every step, Beth simply continued her jerky steps. Up, down. Up, down. Left knee, right knee. Left knee, right knee. 130

Jocelyn peered through the rainbow fog, trying to figure out just where Beth was taking them. She finally reached a cold, gray metal door. Beth put her hand on the handle and pulled the door open. The fog disappeared, like a vacuum cleaner was sucking it out, and they were suddenly standing inside a pleasant yellow room. There was a plump woman in a sunflower dress sitting behind the old metal receptionist's desk.131

"Ah, Bethany!" the woman exclaimed in a strange accent.132

"Hello, Aunt Marisse," replied Beth.133

"And how are you on this glorious afternoon?"134

"Just excellent, as always, Aunt Marisse. I have not had an Aberration yet."135

"Lovely. What brings you here today? Aren't you supposed to be at lunch?"136

"Well, yes, but these people want to see Her," Beth explained.137

Jocelyn hastily stepped forward and introduced herself. "Hi. My name is Jocelyn Wright."138

She gazed at Jocelyn with curious wonder. "What a strange name," she said.139

"These are my friends," Jocelyn continued, ignoring her remark.140

"Ah. You wish to see Her?"141

"Yes, please," Jocelyn said.142

She tapped her finger against her pursed lips. After a moment, she said, "Alright. Follow me." She stood and paced to a yellow door that looked the same as the rest of the room.143

"Her domicile," she explained. "Wait here. I will tell Her that She has visitors." She ducked inside, then came back out.144

"You may see Her now," she informed them, and held open the door.145

They tiptoed in.146

Her room was as strange, or even stranger, than the rest of the city. Her desk was black with red laser patterns moving through it. Her chair was clear with black and red lights inside. But she was not in the room.147

And then she was.148

She materialized out of thin air, similar to the way Aurora might. She wore a long, skintight, black vinyl dress with red laser designs moving through it, a tall, sharp-pointed silver tiara with a large red gem on it, and black stiletto heels. She carried a giant pointed staff with a red gem set in the head of it.149

"Whatttttt do you wantttttt?" she asked. Her tongue was exactly like a snake's, flickering in the blackness.150

Jocelyn bravely stepped forward. "Uh, Beth- my friend- has turned into one of you- uh, not saying that's bad or anything, but we'd just like the old Beth back."151

"You ttttthink thatttt itttttt is thatttttt simple?"152

Jocelyn shrugged.153

"Firsttttt, she needssss to wanttttt tttto come back ttto you. Ttttake her tttto the conference room and asssssk her. Then, come back and we will see whattttt we can do." She gestured to the door. "Marisssse will sssshow you where ittttt is." She turned and disappeared into the floor in a puddle of black liquid. 154

Jocelyn opened the door and went straight to Marisse. 155

"Marisse, will you take us to the conference room, please?" she asked.156

"Sure," she told Jocelyn. She stood up and led them out of the yellow room and back into the rainbow hall. They were brought back through the menagerie of colors to one of the conference rooms with the Formica counters.157

"There you are," said Marisse, and shut the door behind her as she left.158

Jocelyn, Tania, and Katriel all pulled up chairs and sat at a table. They motioned for Beth to sit down. She looked like she was going to refuse at first, but then she sat down directly across from Jocelyn.159

"Her has given me all the power I will ever need," Beth spoke up before anyone else said a word. "I only visit this planet. My home planet is Daratia, and it is more powerful than Sivlair will ever be. Since I have discovered my powers, I have used it to take over many worlds. I am originally of the planet Earth, and Earth and Sivlair are the only ones I have left untouched out of the goodness of my heart."160

"Why are you telling us all this?" Katriel wanted to know.161

"Because I know that you have some strange idea that I will want to come with you somewhere. And I do not. Since you are breaking the laws of my good friend's civilization, I have no desire whatsoever to travel with you and your companions." 162

"Beth." Jocelyn stared intently at her, trying to ignore the pulse that she kept feeling. "Beth, what are you talking about? You don't have ultimate power. This is a test. Remember? Aurora, and the magic talisman? This is just a test."163

Beth shook her head. "No. Be quiet!"164

Katriel glared at Beth. "Beth, don't you know us? I know you know us! Just admit it! Come on, and come with us!"165

Beth returned the hard stare. "Be quiet!" She pointed a finger at Katriel, and sent a bolt of light to her face, sending Katriel to the floor. Katriel stood up, shook her hair out of her face, and slammed her hands on the desk.166

"Bethany Anders, pull yourself together! I have never seen your attitude get out of control quite like this! Get off your high horse, come down to earth, and realize that your three best friends are sitting in front of you trying to pull you back to reality! Good morning! You have no ultimate power. This is only a test, a level of our test. This is how you get power. This is how you receive-" She broke off her outburst to talk to Jocelyn and Tania. She huddled with them.167

"Girls, if this is how Beth turns out with ultimate power, should we fail this level just so she doesn't get it?" Katriel queried.168

"Then our wishes don't get granted," warned Jocelyn.169

"I told you people we shouldn't have gotten into this," said Tania.170

"This is no time for I-told-you-so's," scolded Katriel. "Now, should we try to pass or not?"171

"The real Beth would never be like this," sighed Tania. "She'd never use it for evil."172

"You don't know that," Jocelyn argued. "Look at how she's treating us now. It just might go to her head."173

"I say we let her," Katriel insisted.174

Jocelyn sighed. "Fine."175

Katriel turned back around to face Beth. "Beth. We have to pass this test together, the four of us, so you can get your power. You won't get any power if we don't take you back to Her and let her transform you."176

Beth sighed heavily. "I already have it."177

Katriel tried to explain. "There is another Beth, there is another you out there. Before your time. And she doesn't have ultimate power. She wished for it, with us, and we need to pass this test to get it to her. You are taking the place of our Beth, just like another Kat took the place of me during the last test that we took. Do you understand? Are you willing to help us out here?"178

Beth considered. "Fine," she finally said. She glared. "But I am warning you, if you do something to me that takes my power from me, I will be extremely disappointed. I will get my powers back and you will regret it."179

The three nodded silently, Tania holding the door for Beth. 180

They walked back down the hallway toward Marisse and Her- Beth with an angry look on her face, Katriel, triumphantly, Jocelyn, determinedly, and Tania, intently. They reached the door, went in, and went back into the domicile of Her.181

The red patterns were still moving around, but Her was nowhere in sight. Then laser designs in one area of the room intensified, and she appeared. She clicked her staff on the floor. "Betttttth, my friend, I did notttttt realize itttttt wassssss you."182

Beth nodded. "I guess there is another like me."183

Her pursed her lips. "Anottttttttther, indeed." Her lips glowed bright red and dimmed again. "Sssso do you wisssssh ttttto cooperattttte wittttth their wishesssss?184

"Yes."185

"Verrrry well." Her touched the red gem on her staff and it, along with the gem on her tiara, gleamed bright red with intense light that filled the room, so that none of them could see. They all shut their eyes, being blinded by the fierce light. 186

When they opened them again, they were standing in a familiar snow-covered territory, facing Aurora.187

"Yes," she said. "Commendable. Now, Tania, for yours." 188

The group of four found themselves standing inside a house, in the same room, with two bunk beds. They looked at the nameplates on the beds. They read "Tania," "Beth," "Kat," and "Jocelyn." 189

Jocelyn looked at her friends. "So, what? Are we sisters?"190

"Cool!" exclaimed Beth. "Wouldn't it be? If we were all really sisters?"191

"Beth, you're back!" Tania gave her a huge hug. 192

"What do you mean?" Beth looked surprised.193

Katriel laughed. "Remember how I wasn't myself in the first level? You were definitely not yourself in the second."194

Beth smiled. "Oh, well. It's just good old me, Beth Anders."195

Jocelyn nodded. "I wonder what we are supposed to do here? This is Tania's level. All of our tests have had something to do with our wish so far. Kat's was climbing a mountain, Beth's was about absolute power and its misuse. Tania's should have something to do with family."196

Tania was looking around the room, and her eyes stopped on the calendar on the wall. The days preceding May 23 were all crossed off with big red "X"s, and on the 23rd was marked "Aunt Jessica Arrives."197

"Aunt Jessica?" Tania asked, directing the question to no one in particular.198

Jocelyn turned. "What?"199

Tania pointed at the calendar. "It says that today Aunt Jessica is supposed to arrive. Does anyone here have an Aunt Jessica? I know that I have no Aunt Jessica, let alone any relatives at all."200

Everyone shook their heads. And just as Katriel opened her mouth to speak, the doorbell rang.201

"I bet that's Aunt Jessica," Beth said, cutting Katriel off. 202

"So should we answer it?" Tania looked at her friends questioningly.203

"Of course. We sort of have to." Jocelyn opened the door and left the room, followed by her friends, who were actually now her sisters. She went to the door and opened it.204

A narrow-waisted, primly dressed woman stood on the steps. She had silver-gray hair put up in a severe bun on top of her head, with not a strand out of place. Her lips were pressed thinly together as she looked the girls up and down, disapprovingly.205

"You are my nieces, I presume?" She peered down at them. "The Jackson girls?"206

"Uh, yes, ma'am," Tania stammered.207

She extended her hand to Tania. "I am your aunt, Jessica Black. My things will be arriving soon, and I expect you all to help me move in. You are a lot younger than I, and it is a child's job to serve her elders anyhow." She marched past them, and sat primly in a straight-backed Victorian chair.208

Tania shrugged, and they followed her into the livingroom. Beth, Katriel, and Jocelyn plopped onto a couch, and Tania sank into an armchair.209

Jessica stared firmly at them. "I might as well you tell you the rules of the house right now. First, I will have no bad posture. Sit up straight." She waited until they had dragged themselves upwards. "And we will have to buy you a new wardrobe. That type of clothing is completely inappropriate." 210

The girls looked down at themselves. Tania was wearing a hooded sweatshirt and jeans with tennis shoes. Katriel was wearing a long-sleeved ice blue T-shirt with "Ski" written on it in silver, and jeans. Beth had on a bright pink tank top with "Tiki Lounge" printed across it, and an image of a surfer. She was wearing khaki capri pants with black sandals. And Jocelyn had on a red V-neck with 3/4 sleeves, and black pants. 211

"I can't believe your mother allowed you to dress in that manner," she scoffed. "What was the matter with that woman? We will get you some nice dresses and skirts. Next- you shall be in bed by nine o'clock each night."212

Beth almost screamed "Nine?!?" at the top of her lungs, but thought better of it.213

"Next. You shall each have a list of chores, and do help around the house. You will not speak unless spoken to. And homework and housework shall come before any type of outing with your friends. And I don't know what your mother's rule was, but you are not allowed to date while you are living under my roof."214

This time all of them were suppressing outbursts. And Jocelyn probably would have bursted at the seams right then if the U-Haul truck hadn't pulled up. 215

After a long day of hauling "Aunt Jessica's" possessions into the house, the four girls were exhausted. 216

"I wonder what we're supposed to accomplish on this level?" asked Jocelyn, staring up at the ceiling, lying there on her top bunk. 217

"That's a good question. Maybe we should have asked Aurora before starting this test," said Katriel. 218

"We never really got much of a chance," put in Beth.219

"That's true," replied Katriel.220

Tania sighed. "I'm sure glad I don't have to live with someone like this in real life," she said. "It kind of makes me appreciate my parents' little tiffs. They're not huge fights, really, just annoying little arguments." She rolled over. "At least they let me be a teenager."221

"Yeah." Jocelyn let out a breath.222

That night, Jocelyn had a dream that Aurora came to them through the window, and told them that their mission was to overcome their aunt and try to live a normal life for a week.223

She also dreamed that Kat reached the top of Everest, Beth achieved ultimate power, and she became a singer. She saw Tania in her dream, too, but she was only crying.224

In the morning, Jocelyn told everyone about the dream she'd had about Aurora.225

"I dreamed the same exact thing," said Katriel, pulling herself up.226

"So did I," added Tania.227

"Me too," said Beth.228

Jocelyn looked around. "This can't be just coincidence. That has to be our mission," she said. 229

All her friends nodded in agreement. So they dressed and went to the kitchen for breakfast.230

All week, they tried to live a normal life. They put up with Jessica's little rules, and yet maintained their identity and stood up for themselves. When they went dress shopping, they bought the things that most fit their personality that Jessica would allow. But they wore the things from their closet at home defiantly- Jocelyn's American flag T-shirt, Beth's jeweled tank top, Tania's screen-printed T-shirts, and Katriel's snowflake shirt. They did the chores around the house, but they did them while singing songs like "Only The Good Die Young," "If My Heart Had Wings," "Love Will Find A Way," and "I Want You To Want Me." From Billy Joel to Faith Hill to Christina Aguilera to Letters To Cleo, they kept themselves smiling. They spoke when spoken to, because they were always talking to each other. And they went to bed at 9:00, but stayed up talking until 12.231

The final day of the week, Jocelyn and Beth were standing in the kitchen, facing off against their "aunt." They had had enough. Jessica had sent Katriel to their room for using "vulgar language." 232

Katriel had said "This vacuum cleaner bites." 233

"I don't know what you're thinking of, but that's my friend, and my sister, and you're not just going to waltz in here and make all these stupid little rules, I don't care who you are!" exclaimed Beth.234

"Bites" is not a vulgar word!" cried Jocelyn. "If she would have swore at you, that is vulgar. How can she express disgust if she can't even say that? That is the absolute least offensive word that I can think of! You are out of control, out of line, and ridiculous!"235

Jessica stared at them noncommittally, calmly. "I'll tell you what's ridiculous. How you do your chores around here is unbelievable. Your demeanor is utterly unrefined and improper for young women of your age. You-"236

"No. Do you know what's ridiculous? The way you feel you need to disparage us all the time, as if we were elementary-age children. We are all grown children. All of us are eighteen years old. Yet you still feel you need to tell us to clean our plates, go to bed at an outrageous hour, and run our lives. We don't need an overlord, we need an aunt." Jocelyn stared down Jessica.237

Jessica was rendered speechless by her niece's outburst. Jocelyn was still staring into her eyes. She blinked, and opened her eyes to a snowy scape.238

Aurora nodded at the foursome. "You have one test left, which is Jocelyn's." She floated close to Jocelyn, and spoke softly so that only she could hear. "Jocelyn, you must ask yourself one question on this level. That is- how much do you really want this to come true?" She pulled away, looking Jocelyn deep in the eyes. Then she soared into the sky, leaving them there in the snow-covered vista, only to be transported to a shining beach with a glittering ocean behind it. A stage was set up, and the quartet was sitting in the crowd in front of it.239

A man stepped out onto the stage, and tapped the microphone. He held it up to his lips. "Welcome all, to the Serenade Vocal Contest, the prestigious World Tournament! I am Jeff Brown, last year's winner, a Perth native myself. Perth is proud to host this year's competition. As you all know, the winner of this contest will go into intense vocal training so that they may pursue their dream of becoming a recording artist."240

Jocelyn was enraptured. "I wonder- am I here to compete? I can't believe I'm here!" 241

"We shall start with the contestants from the United States," announced Jeff Brown. "First, let's have Jocelyn Wright, the eighteen-year-old sensation from the States, who will be singing Mariah Carey's "Vision Of Love."242

Jocelyn gasped. She was there to compete! She stood up, almost in shock, not knowing what she was doing. She floated up the stairs to the stage and took the microphone. She realized, with the microphone in her hand, that the test was that she had to win this contest for real. How could she do that? The contestants in the Serenade Vocal Contest were so superior to her. But she had to pull it off- too much was at stake.243

The music began, and her voice resounded over the audience, a vibrant and clear sound. She put one hundred percent into her performance. She added extra-high notes and extra-low notes to make the song more exciting. She put a little touch of vibrato in her vocals. She threw extra energy into her dance moves. She paid close attention to her tone, to her pitch, to her breathing. And it paid off. At the end of the performance, the audience was giving her five-octave range a standing ovation. She left the judges openmouthed and unbelieving as she beamed and confidently jaunted off the stage, back to her seat in the audience.244

They then listened to performers from Japan, Italy, France, Spain, Iceland, Norway, England, Brazil, China, Australia, Greece, everywhere. 245

After the girl from Iceland, Crystal, finished her rendition of "Caged Bird," Tania noticed the awed and frightened look on Jocelyn's face. She leaned over.246

"Jocelyn, don't worry. You were better than her. Way better."247

But Jocelyn wasn't convinced. Especially after the singer from France, Christine, did an unbelievable rendition of "Ma Bon Mere," a French opera song.248

And then Jeff Brown came back onstage to announce the champion.249

"Here is the moment, the one that will be the defining moment in one singer's life. The winner of this year's Serenade Vocal Contest is..." He ripped open a gold envelope. "Jocelyn Wright!"250

Jocelyn let out a shriek. "Aughh! Oh my God, I won! I actually won!" She excitedly hugged all of her friends, and ran up to accept her award. Jeff handed it to her. It was the award she had always dreamed of having- the famous Serenade lead crystal musical note. She sighed in disbelief and elation. 251

The audience was on their feet, clapping, and cheering, and yelling. The loudest were her three friends, smiling almost as bright as Jocelyn was. They ran up to congratulate her and celebrate with her. They congratulated her excitedly, and when Jocelyn held the award above her head, she felt the cold of snow. 252

Aurora smiled at Jocelyn and the rest of the girls. "You have done it," she said. "You have completed and passed my tests." She looked at Jocelyn, who was looking a little disappointed now that she wasn't holding the musical note. "Jocelyn, you won the contest. Fair and square. So I just decided that you were this year's winner back on Earth also. Your musical note is sitting prominently in your house. Your parents are proud." She smiled at Jocelyn, whose spirits were instantly brightened. "Now. Go home. And enjoy your life with your new gifts." The snowy world disappeared, and they found themselves back in Jocelyn's room.253

"Let's sleep," said Tania. "I'm exhausted."254

Katriel shut off the lights, and they all laid down where they were. Jocelyn was on her bed. Tania was curled up by the heater. Katriel was at the foot of Jocelyn's bed. And Beth was against the closet. 255

Jocelyn opened her hand. Enclosed in it was the talisman, whose mouth was shut. She looked at it for a moment, then set it gently in her ringbox on her night table. She closed her eyes and went to sleep.256

Jocelyn woke up from her nap in her hotel room in her old hometown, yawning. She checked the clock. It was 5:00. She had to be at her class reunion in two hours. She jumped out of bed, stretched, showered and dressed, and drove to her old school. She was excited to see her old friends. She hadn't seen any of them since the June after senior year. Kat had went to Nepal to train to climb mountains. Just last year, she had heard that she was going to try to climb Everest. She hadn't heard anything about Tania or Beth.257

When she arrived at the school, it brought back tons of memories. The banner that read "Class of '01 Class Reunion '11" reminded her of the banner she had helped make for homecoming. Tania and Beth and Kat and her had worked so hard on it, and were so proud of it. The day they brought it to school, it got ripped on the bus by a little second-grader. That was when they were sophomores. Jocelyn laughed thinking about it. 258

Since she had become a singer and was married to her Hollywood crush, actor Ryan Martin, a lot of people wanted to talk to her. She was enduring conversation with one of the most annoying people in the world, Melissa Keys, when she saw Tania come in. Jocelyn slipped away and went to greet Tania. 259

"Tania, hi!" she exclaimed, then saw the look on her face. She looked as if she'd been crying. "Tania? What's wrong? Tell me what's been going on with you since graduation!" They went to sit on the bleachers.260

Tania sniffled and looked up at Jocelyn. "You want to know what's going on? Well, Kat made it to the top of Everest."261

Jocelyn smiled. "Well, that's cool! I'm happy for her!"262

Tania just shook her head. "She's dead. They found her at the summit three weeks after she began her climb, frozen stiff."263

Jocelyn froze. "Oh. Oh, my God. No."264

Tania nodded. "Beth has disappeared. No one has seen her since that summer. She's gone. She was pronounced dead by officials. But I'll bet she's alive somewhere. On a different planet maybe?" She peered up at Jocelyn, looking to see if she got the gist of what she was saying. Without Jocelyn having to say a thing, Tania knew that she understood.265

"Me," continued Tania. "My parents stopped arguing."266

"Is that good?" asked Jocelyn in a hushed voice.267

"My dad died in a plane crash over Brussels. My mom committed suicide four days later."268

"Oh." Jocelyn touched Tania's arm. "I'm sorry."269

Tania was fighting back tears. "My aunt came to live with me."270

"I thought you had no family?" questioned Jocelyn.271

Tania lifted her head and looked directly at Jocelyn. "Her name is Aurora."272

Jocelyn's eyes got wide and her jaw dropped. "No. You can't be serious. There is no way this can all be happening."273

Tania nodded. "Well, it is. How about you?"274

Jocelyn shook her head. "Nothing has gone wrong. It's all been perfect. I'm multi-platinum, I've got tons of Grammys, I'm married to the man of my dreams, and we have three beautiful children."275

Tania sighed. "But you were smart. You were particular, precise, detailed when you wished."276

"I know, but- I never thought this would all happen. I guess we were warned, though."277

"When?" Tania looked confused.278

"In each test. Kat told us on the mountain what happened to all of us. We had to put up with a controlling aunt. Beth ended up on a different planet. Nothing went wrong with mine."279

"Oh my God, you're right," said Tania. "We should have failed Beth's level when we had the chance."280

Jocelyn shook her head. "But it's too late now."281

Meanwhile, a fifteen-year old was opening a ring box, surrounded by her friends. "I found it in a box of junk that Mom got at an auction," she was telling her friends.282

"It looks like a lion's head," said one of them.283

"Look at the eyes, they're ruby," said another.284

"I wonder what it is?" said a third.285

"It's a magic talisman," she replied. "We can each have a wish on it, if we pass some kind of test. Should we try it?"286

They all nodded. She picked it up. They each placed a finger on it, said the command. And they were miniaturized, swirled up in a cloud of intense, shimmering gold dust, and swept directly into the lion's mouth...287