FicWad

Chapter 1: The Ring

Courtney Balourd sighed; chin perched in her hand, propped upon her desk by the elbow. The sixteen year old girl stared into the distance, clearly bored. It was the first day back from summer vacation-plus her first official venture into life as a high school sophomore, and she was already bored beyond the ability to focus. Classes hadn’t even started yet; students were just filing in for homeroom. Courtney was clad in a red hoodie and jeans that were baggy enough to hide her form. Her blue gaze was focused on the blank blackboard until the voice of one of those entering students stirred her from her trancelike state.

“Hey Court!” Looking to the source of the greeting, a smile bloomed on the sixteen year old ebon haired girl. Before her stood a boy with sun kissed skin, his hair was cropped into a floppy Mohawk that was dyed blonde with purple tips. The gaze that returned her own was a nearly violet shade. A t-shirt with a parody of a smiley face was worn over a mesh undershirt, and his black leather pant flared into a purple bell bottom design. On his feet he wore black leather boots that were elevated by purple platform soles. Standing in front of Courtney’s desk, the male seemed a lot taller than her, though it might have been because of the added height of his shoes.

“Oh, hi Farid.” She greeted in reply as he took a seat in the desk beside her, sitting sideways so as to be able to look at her as they spoke. There was something slightly suspicious about the grin he wore.

“So, how was your summer?” Farid quizzed his friend, grin broadening as he draped lanky, tanned arms across the back and surface of his desk.

Courtney just rolled her eyes mockingly, “Like anything exciting happens here. You have fun with your dad?”

“Of course!” The mohawked boy quipped, folding his arms over his narrow chest, “What’s more fun than an ancient Aztec temple?”

“No fair.” The girl pouted, tugging the too-long sleeves of her hoodie, “You get to have an exciting summer at an archeological dig while I’m stuck here!”

A puff of bemused laughter emitted from her friend, “Yeah, good thing my folks are divorced, or I wouldn’t be going anywhere!”

Suddenly rising from his seat, Farid put a fist in his palm, “Oh! I almost forgot! I brought you a gift from the dig.”

Courtney’s expression grew excited, blue eyes shining with curiosity, “What is it?”

“You’ll just have to come to my place and see for yourself.” He informed her with a grin.

“Alright then, after school” Excitement rang in Courtney’s voice as the bell rang and the teacher stepped through the door, shooing the students into their seats.

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Shoulder length black hair fluttered behind her as Courtney raced down the hall toward her locker, baggy jeans dragging upon the floor- catching beneath her feet and almost tripping her up a couple times. The final bell had just gone off. Tossing her books from the last few classes of the day into a jumbled heap in her locker, the teen slammed the metal door, catching her sleeve in it in her rush. With a low curse, her fingers fumbled with the combination, hurrying to get the locker open once more to free herself from its grasp. Her goal accomplished, she closed the door more carefully, and turned on her heel, ready to race off and find Farid. A soft yelp of surprise was given when the tanned young man seemed to have found her first, and was standing right behind her, “Farid! You scared me!”

A cheerful laugh sounded, her friend smiling at her, “Sorry, Court.”

Courtney wasn’t angry, she had just been startled and a little embarrassed at her own reaction. Several people in the hall had turned to see who had let out the yelp, after all. The girl tugged at the sleeves of her hoodie. Farid could sense her sudden nervousness, “C’mon, Court, let’s go.”

A nod and a sheepish smile later, the teen was following her friend down the sidewalk. It was a fifteen minute walk from the school to the boy’s apartment, but the weather was still nice, so it was a pleasant one. As they neared the building, the ebon haired girl looked up at it: a nice two story complex with a balcony that could be used by the residents of the upper floor stretching around the perimeter. She had been there often enough that she didn’t need Farid to show her the way to which of those second story apartments was his.

When they entered, a quick look around the dim apartment told Courtney that no one was home. Farid’s mother was, evidently, at work. Or she might have been out on an errand. The mohawked teen lead the way down a short hall, at the end of which was his bedroom. Flipping on the lights, he illuminated the clothing that lay strewn across the floor. Oh, it wasn’t the messiest room in the world, but it was typical or a teenager, “So, where’s my present?”

“Patience, Court,” A grin continued to linger on the dark skinned male’s lips, “Patience.”

Courtney made her way to the bed that sat in the center of the room, flopping into a seated position amid the blankets. A cursory glance revealed nothing that seemed like a gift, and so her curious gaze drifted to Farid, only to find his violet eyes resting upon her. That was odd, the way he was staring. Trying to get her mind of the way those eyes stayed on her, his friend quirked a brow and asked, “You lost it, didn’t you?”

“No!” Farid said hastily, realizing he’d been staring, and looking quickly away, “It’s in my suitcase!”

Courtney looked around again, having something specific to search for this time, “Which is…where exactly?”

Easily strolling across the room, Farid bent, and gripped his friend by the ankles. Courtney gave a surprised squeak as she was toppled over backwards onto the bed. He knelt, and began rummaging through the discarded clothing and other items hidden beneath his bed, “It’s under here.”

Most of what was pulled out from beneath the bed was dressier clothing his mother had forced him to buy. He’d hidden it from her so she wouldn’t also force him to wear it to school. Eventually, he pulled out his suitcase, unzipped it, and opened it to reveal more of his attire, a mix mostly consisting of his preferred articles of leather and black denim paired with t-shirts. Atop this disheveled pile, however, lay a leather scrap that seemed to be wrapped around something. Opening the cloth, what was revealed caused an excited squeal from Courtney, a ring that seemed to be carved from a single piece of metallic stone, “That’s my present? It looks so ancient! What gift shop did you get it at? It’s real authentic looking!”

“No gift shop,” Farid responded, a happy grin showing he was pleased with her reaction as her hand swept down to take the ring from him, “It’s the real deal.”

“For real?” Courtney exclaimed, wide eyed, “But I thought you weren’t allowed to take artifacts?”

Her friend just laughed, and then put a single finger to his lips, “Shhh…”

Now it was Courtney’s turn to laugh as she turned the ring over in her hand, examining it with interest, “So this is the real thing, huh? And you swiped it?”

“Yup!” Farid exclaimed, a cheeky grin upon his features, “That ring is part of a meteor. It’s supposed to give whoever wears it great power from the gods.”

A skeptical look was given in reply to his words, “I thought you didn’t believe in any of that stuff.”

“I don’t.” Another laugh signaled he wasn’t taking what he had just said seriously, “It’s a load of crap, but it makes for a good story, huh?”

A smile spread on Courtney’s lips as she dismissed his words as just that, a story, “Yeah, I guess it does.”