The Elemental Jewels: Psychic Energy

Chapter I: "Live Out Loud"

Kenta Tanaka ran up to his friend, Nettuno Stern and handed him a pencil he found on the curb.

“Hey, tomo,” he said, panting. “Was this yours?"

“I think so. Thanks!” Nettuno put his pencil away in his backpack. Nettuno was headed to art class, and Kenta was headed to the bus. He was in eighth grade and Nettuno was in sixth, so they had different dismissal times. Nettuno's class was close to the main exit, and his pencil had been misplaced, so Kenta had decided to see if that was it.

“Did you ever find out how it got lost?” Kenta asked out of curiosity.

“No,” Nettuno replied, “but who cares? I’ve got it again. Well, see you.”

“See you!”

Kenta had moved to NYC from Osaka, Japan with his dad and uncle following his parents' divorce. Nettuno moved from Berlin, Germany because his parents heard how prestigious the programs at their school, Rowboat Middle, were, including the wrestling team. Nettuno wanted to be a pro wrestler when he grew up.

Kenta boarded the bus home and sat next to his friend, Haden, who moved to New York from London, England for his parents’ real estate job. He was also in eighth grade, but Kenta was one year older.

“Hey, Haden, did you find out?” Kenta asked.

“No, Nettuno’s pencil thief never showed themselves.”

“Come on, Hay, you know what I want to know.”
    
Haden giggled. “Yeah. It’s gonna be a girl.” Soon after he met Kenta, Haden found out that his mother was pregnant. “Hey, are you coming to Live Out Loud later this month?” Live Out Loud was an annual talent show held at Rockefeller Center.

“Are you kidding? I just found out that D.E.M.O. is putting on a play!” Kenta exclaimed happily. Difference and Education Makers Of (D.E.M.O.) America was the charity group Kenta had joined while settling into the States. “I can’t wait!”

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Roxie-Caitlyn Renaud was the last of her band, Pop Links, to arrive for rehearsal at the storage room behind Abdon Library that they’d turned into a recording studio. She threw her backpack on the soft, orange chair by the entrance and pulled out her songwriting notebook.

“It’s about time you showed us what’s in that thing!” Her sister, AJ Renaud, giggled as Roxie-Caitlyn flipped through the pages.

“It’s that song I told you I was writing,” she explained. “In both English and French, side by side,” she added as she showed her sisters the song. Roxie-Caitlyn, AJ, and their bandmates, Onika and Zoey Barnes, were all multilingual: they spoke both English and French, so they either made two versions of their songs or included both French and English words.

“I wonder how many words rhyme with piranha,” said Onika.

“Fauna, sauna, Paula, Lana…” started Zoey.

“I get it,” Onika cut her off.

All four of them adored making music, so it was only natural that after Jake Barnes and Phoebe Renaud began dating, they formed a family band. Phoebe had moved herself and her daughters from their home in Lyon, France to The Big Apple to land herself better acting gigs, and she quickly found herself falling in love.

Monisha Pan knocked at the door. Roxie-Caitlyn knew because the seventh grader from Chongqing, China poked her head through the door. Monisha moved to NYC due to her mom’s travelling job as a football player.

“Come in!” Roxie-Caitlyn shouted, and Monisha did that. With her was Autumn Arriola y Carríon. Autumn was in Monisha’s homeroom and came from San Juan, Puerto Rico. She moved with her mother and big brother following her parents’ divorce.

“This is a nice place,” Monisha complimented.

“Merci!” said Roxie-Caitlyn.

“Hey, do you guys wanna hear ‘Piranha’,” Zoey asked. “We've got a French and English version!”

“No thanks," Autumn replied.

"Yeah!" Monisha agreed. "We can wait till Live Out Loud!"

“Do you guys know how much attention we’ll get with this?” Zoey asked. “With the festival?”

“We’ll be making our mark as an up-and-coming band in New York!” Onika started daydreaming. “Live Out Loud is immensely popular! Almost everyone in Manhattan will see us perform!”

“You’re making it sound like we’ll be music legends,” AJ giggled.

“But we will be!” Onika stated. “Everyone will know our names!"