Ruby Ring

Chapter 2: BAD IDEA

TARA

Days earlier...

"Surprise! Happy birthday, Tara!" everybody chorused when Tara turned on the lights. She took a few moments to observe her surroundings. Her loved ones were there, holding balloons and birthday gifts. An ice cream cake was perched in the middle of the circular dining table.

"Whoa! I...I did not expect this," Tara giggled. Having a surprise birthday party on the last day of school was the last thing she expected. She thought she was spending the day with her family, but apparently not.

"Oh my God, Tara! You would look super adorable in this outfit!" a girl with vivacious chestnut curls handed her a ginormous gift box.

"Thanks, Serena! Can I open it now?"

"Sure thing!" Serena nodded as Tara hastily tore off the wrapping paper. Inside the box was a cotton hoodie and a pleated skirt.

"Awwwww! Ser, you're too kind,"

"I chose it myself. If you need fashion tips, you can ask yours truly," Serena curtsied and winked. Tara then spent all of twenty minutes unwrapping presents. One gift that caught her eye was a ruby ring that shimmered under light. This was her mother's gift. A red aura surrounded the ring and all of a sudden...

"Tara..." a raspy voice called out.

"Wha---?!" Tara gasped and almost lost her balance.

"Is everything alright?" Serena questioned.

"Uh...yeah! I'm fine! Honest!"

"Mmmm, if you say so," Serena said. Tara did wonder, did she really hear her name or was it a hallucination? And what about that red aura? What was it, really?

The rest of the birthday party went very fast. After Tara helped her mom clean up, she reported to her room, where she changed into her pajamas. While sitting on her bed, she grabbed the box with the ring inside and glanced at the ring once more. It was a pretty ring, alright. The ruby was the birthstone of her birth month, July. That must be why her mom chose it for her.

Tara slowly took the ring out of the box and gently put it on her ring finger. All of a sudden, she saw a man with slicked back hair that was white as snow. He outstretched his hand, a sinister grin making its way onto his face. Two fangs were visible.

"Join me, Tara..." he said in a raspy voice. Tara gasped and all of a sudden, the man was gone. What was that all about? That must be a hallucination too, right? Tara hoped she wasn't going crazy. She glanced at the ring, which lay far away from her bed. Sure enough, the red aura was back and it showed no signs of calming down.

Tara quickly put the ring back in the box. Then, she flopped on her bed and tried to sleep. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't sleep a wink. A snapshot of the man with slicked back hair was still in her head. Who was he? An even better question...did he even exist?

Once morning came, Tara wolfed down her breakfast and bolted out of the house. She got onto her bike and rode it downtown. There weren't many jewelry stores around, so finding one proved to be a difficult task. After thirty minutes of searching, the mission was accomplished. Tara parked her bike right outside the jewelry store and went inside.

"May I help you?" a woman with glossy pearly whites asked in a sweet voice.

"Yeah. I've come here to sell this," Tara took out the box and gave it to the woman, who opened it.

"You sure you wanna sell this? This is a very beautiful ring. It was made with 24 karat gold. Oh, and would you look at that ruby!"

"Yeah. I have no need for it,"

"Um, okay, if you insist." the woman went to the checkout counter. Moments later, she gestured for Tara to come. She made her way to the checkout counter, where the woman gave her a stack of dollar bills.

"What's all this?"

"For selling this ring, you get a million dollars in exchange,"

"Wha---?!" Tara's mouth opened wide. What could she do with a million dollars?

"Yeah, I'm not kidding, ma'am,"

"Well, thanks for your help!" Tara dashed out of the store, got onto her bike, and rode home. She felt as though a large weight had been lifted from her shoulders. After a while, worry began to sink in. How would she explain this to her mom? Sure, it was a birthday gift, but Tara believed it to be cursed or something. Wait a minute, a cursed piece of jewelry? That wasn't true. This wasn't a fantasy novel.

Still, it was good to get rid of something that was giving her trouble. Little did Tara know what was in store for her and another boy in particular...

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Author's Note: First we meet rich boy Justin and now Tara. They both have come in contact with the ruby ring, but what does it have in store for both of them?