Andra Hark never liked going to school.

It wasn't because of homework or math, rather the students that went there with her. The incompetent, rude students that always followed her around.

Not that she'd say that to their faces, though.

The black haired girl had never been one to talk, and when she did, she was making a comeback to some idiotic bully or answering an easy question that was asked by her teacher.

She didn't know why everyone in her school looked up to her. She was just normal.

Well, normal as she could be.

Even though people liked her at school, that didn't stop the bullies from criticizing herself and her family for their low status in the new era.

You see, the bloodline in her family was cursed. She guessed.

They always had weak familiars.

Familiars, or called 'Hyrai' in the ancient language of familiar holders, are beings (mortal or not) that you summon on your 11th birthday.

Everyone has the same money they get at birth until you summon your familiar.

If your familiar is fierce and big, you get more riches.

If not... well, let's just say the punishment isn't pretty.

Every member of the Hark family went through the same cruel punishment, being humiliated for their whole lives.

Everyone believed their youngest could break that curse.

She was a straight-A student, reading almost every book accessible in their town's libraries.

Most people think she prepares for her summoning exam. Truth is, she just likes reading. Reading is her escape.

She gets lost in books, it feels like she knew the characters personally. Like she could escape through the pages of paper into the story.

That was the past. We have to move onto the present.

Andra stared out of her cushion-covered window seat on the loud school bus. Every once in a while she could hear kids talking about her. She didn't care. Anymore, anyways.

She used to get so mad. Sometimes, she even started beating up the kids who talked about her and her family. She's gotten expelled from seven schools in five years. Screaming, crying, and, in general, making herself more vulnerable to bullies. Now, she knew better.

See, she transferred from Manila, Philippines to take grade two in Canada. But she hated it. She wanted to see the glistening waters of the Bugang River, not the polluted water of Lake Ontario.

She had family friends back in the Philippines. She would give up her life to be with them again.

She stood up a bit and grabbed the two hinges in the window and pulled the clear glass down. She let the warm air hit her, and her black hair flowed behind her, hitting her best friend, Caydan, in the face.

"Andra!" Caydan exclaimed, waving her hands out in front of her to block the hair out of her face. Caydan was a kind girl, which was a weird combination because Caydan normally liked to solve problems with her fists.

Andra turned around and rubbed the back of her neck. "S-sorry, Danny..." The black haired girl said.

Caydan glared playfully. "You owe me a slushy now!" She grinned.

Andra sighed and mentally facepalmed at her best friends antics. She didn't even notice her face heat up.

"Seven eleven?" She asked tiredly, smiling softly. Caydan nodded up and down swiftly, a huge goofy grin plastered on her face. "You know it!"

The two sat in a comfortable silence as the bus drove onto a smaller road, heading down to the summoning site.

As they pulled into a gravel driveway, Andra started to break into sweat.

'Okay, okay.. You've already got your unique summoning stance... And everything else and more.. Okay, you'll be fine.' Andra thought, starting to scratch at her wrist. Her nervous habit

Caydan looked at Andra. "Hey, you'll be fine, okay?"

Andra sighed and stopped scratching. She looked at Caydan with gratitude.

"Yeah.. Yeah, I will."

~

FIRST CHAPTER IS OUT!!! YAY!!!