Chapter 4

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   "It's...it's..." I stammered, unable to think of what to say. Was I happy? I knew I should be overjoyed; it was beautiful after all...but no one would even tell me what it was! How was I suppose to be happy about something, when my friends acted like it was a secret in itself?!

   When did they "make" this? This morning? When I started asking too many questions?

   "You...you do like it right?" Crystal snapped me out of my thoughts. I suddenly realized I'd been looking angrily at my present the whole time.

   "I-well I mean, I-"

   "Love it?" Sierra cut in. I forced myself to think about what a beautiful gift it was, and smiled.

   "Yes! I do! It's just...why? I thought you guys didn't want me to know about these..."

   "Well, we didn't want to tell you. We thought we'd spoil the surprise!" Sierra said, getting excited.

   "Oh, put it on! Put it on!" Crystal grumbled impatiently.

   "But, how come Crystal got hers first?! You gave a beautiful bracelet to her and you never gave me a thing? You had to wait until my 12th birthday?! It's not fair!" I wailed. I knew I should've been thankful for it, but I got angry! I had been their best friend for years!

   Sierra narrowed her eyes and looked a little scary. Her tone became dark and serious.

   "Riley, these friendship bracelets take years to get supplies for! Not to mention..." she stopped short,"Ug! THEY TAKE FOREVER OKAY? Just be happy with the stupid bracelet and put it ON!" I jumped at her voice. Sierra had never acted this angry before; she's always so happy! With a twinge of guilt in remembering my unthankfulness, I slowly slipped the soft, clear bracelet onto my wrist. It fit perfectly.

   In a way, it was kinda scary!

   Swearing to myself that it had been to big before, my fingers touched the opal. For a moment I just sat there, awkwardly rubbing my fingers along the stone...and then I realized something.

   "Guys...is it...glowing?!" I gasped.

   "Yup!" Crystal chirped. "But, that's not all...look!" She and Sierra pulled back their sleeves.

   Sure enough, their friendship bracelets started to light up too!

   "That's so cool! It reacts with yours! That means every time I touch mine, yours light up! We could use it for when we want to say something to each other! Oh, my, gosh! That's so cool!" I repeated. "It is only connected to your bracelets right?" Crystal shot a nervous glance at Sierra.

   "I guess...just as long as no one else has the same thing..." Sierra mumbled. I stared in awe at the glowing white shape, and then frowned.

   "This is the thing you guys couldn't tell me? I don't get it. It's not that secret! Is there something else-?" Sierra looked around the room awkwardly and suddenly said,"HEY! It's getting late...and boy!-*yawn*-I'm tired! I'm going to bed!"

   I pouted and put my hands on my hips.

   "It's only 9 o' clock! Really? Fine. But, me and Crystal are going to party ALL night! Right Crystal?...uh, Crystal?"

   I turned around and saw that Crystal had done a face-plant into her sleeping bag. In a muffled voice she said,"Gee, I'm sorry Riley...but I agree with Sierra. We should get some shut-eye."

   A flash of frustration welled up inside me.

  "What?! Don't you know how long we've planned this?! We were gonna have fun! Just because it's called a "sleepover" doesn't mean you go to sleep once you come over!" I yelled.

  "Just–trust us Riley..." Sierra whined.

  "I promise it'll be great, but we've gotta sleep!" Crystal added. Before I could answer they cozied up in their blankets and turned away. I knew there was no use in arguing, so I let out a loud, angry sigh and slipped into my sleeping bag.

   While I thought to myself in silence about all the fun we could've been having, something caught my eye.

   Sierra's bracelet started glowing with its strange, blue light. I thought about waking her up, but then noticed that Crystal's was glowing too.

   I must've accidentally touched mine... I thought. But, when I checked my bracelet, it wasn't glowing. Did the bracelets just do that after a while? All the sudden I started getting super tired. I wasn't sure what happened, but I tried to get up to stay awake...I couldn't. It was like someone glued me to my sleeping bag, and was forcing me to go to sleep. The last thing I saw before closing my eyes was the light, white glow of an opal shining in my eye.


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