• I ran home after the discovery and studied it carefully. It wasn't in the rock collector's guide, and

    I've checked out practically every book in the library that could possibly show this stone.

    I rubbed it clean a little, and tenderly placed it in a tiny box on my drawer and went to sleep,

    thinking, Hey, maybe I can use it for a necklace! I slept thinking of ideas for the rock.

    The next day I woke up thinking that the necklace was the best idea. I used my embroidery needle to poke

    holse through it, in which I strung a string through. That was when I noticed a very odd shape.

    Very odd indeed.

    A shape of a heart. And in the center there was a symbol etched into it. A strange, magical symbol. I

    had no idea that this would lead me to an adventure . . . yet.

    Suddenly it began to shimmer and glow. I let out a gasp as it flew into the air, split in half, and

    formed back into two, except that there were weird shapes on the back that fit together. They dropped to

    the floor with a glassy noise.

    I examined them carefully. The strings had also duplicated. I pressed my thumb onto the symbol. I could

    swear that it pushed itself back. I shrieked, but no one could hear it, because in a flash I landed.

    thump, right into the middle of someone else's room.

    "Welcome, April!" said a bright, warm voice. I glanced up. An beautiful teen was standing in front of

    me. She was slightly plump, with strawberry blond hair tied up into a messy bun. Her playful, laughing

    eyes were the color of the sea, reminding me of what happened yesterday. She had thin, red lips that

    formed a welcoming smile that could stop a storm right in its tracks. The girl looked about fourteen,

    with her flawless skin and heavy makeup. She had a pointy chin that rounded right at the bottom. She

    wore a tight, white blouse with a long, flowing black skirt and went up to her waist. And under all that

    she was wearing black snakeskin heels.

    "Who-who are you?" I stammered, despite her friendly look.

    "My name's Julie," she introduced herself. "You may not know this, but you just picked up a stone worth

    seventy-million American dollars that leads a new girl to her magical world."

    Uh-oh, I thought. This is going to get silly. I couldn't believe what was going on.

    This was the craziest moment ever in my life I have ever experienced.

    Um, excusez moi, can you hear me???