*Third person pov*
Clara walked downstairs and found her family already at the table.
"Good morning," she mumbled, sliding into her chair.
Her dad looked up. "Clara, have you finalized everything for your internship yet?"
"Uh, I'll do it as soon as I get back to school," she replied, avoiding his eyes.
Her dad frowned. "Clara, you need to start being serious. I know you get good grades, but you act like you don't care about your future. All you do is play silly games and spend money on them."
"Okay, I'll do it," I snapped. "But you don't have to call my hobby silly." I rolled my eyes for good measure.
Caleb, my younger brother, seized the chance to annoy me. "So, your hobby is playing weird fantasy games with characters that look like Greek gods?"
"Oh, shut up, Caleb. Don't act like we don't know the creepy stuff you do on your computer." Caleb immediately coughed loudly, his face turning red, which made me feel a little better.
The day crawled by. The holiday was almost over, and I was slowly packing my bags for the trip back to campus.
"Ugh, I really don't want to go back just to feel more tired than usual," I sighed to myself.
It was already midnight. I was in the bathroom, getting ready for bed, when I heard a loud THUD from my bedroom. Heart racing, I quickly threw on my pajamas and rushed out to check.
The first thing I noticed was the orb. The black crystal sphere I took from Aunt Shysie's room was no longer on the bedside drawer where I had placed it hours ago. It was on my bed.
"What? I definitely did not put this here," I said, confusion creeping into my voice.
Okay, I really need to find a time to return this thing before she notices it's missing, I thought, picking up the smooth, cold stone and putting it back on the drawer.
To calm down, I decided to play my favorite game one last time.
"Ugh, I love Sylus so much, but he's not real. He always seems so dominant and possessive in a good way. I wish Raphael was like that, but he's just such a jerk." I suddenly realized I hadn't talked to Raphael in a while.
After the way things ended with Raphael, I should try to fix things. Maybe then I can stop obsessing over fake characters, I told myself.
*Flash back*
*Clara's POV*
It had been three weeks since Raphael invited me to a party thrown by his friend. My best and only friend, Maya, was there too she knew Raphael's family.
Raphael and I were dancing when Maya walked up to us. We caught up on some girl talk, and then she walked away.
That's when I heard it. Raphael was whispering. "She is so sexy," he murmured, clearly talking about Maya.
I immediately confronted him. He just looked at me and said I was overreacting. Furious, I walked out of the party and blocked his number before I even got into the Uber.
*End of Flashback*
He hasn't called, he hasn't visited, and he hasn't apologized. Maybe after I go shopping with Mom, I'll pay him a surprise visit.
"Raphael is such a jerk. If only Sylus were real. I wish he was real," I said out loud, looking at the ceiling.
Then I shook my head, embarrassed. "What am I even saying? It's not like he would want me, even if he was real. I seriously need to get a life." I put down my phone and drifted off to sleep.
Little did I know, the wish I just made was being heard. The black crystal orb sitting on my bedside drawer suddenly started to glow a faint, deep blue as I slept.
The next morning, the sun streamed through my light pink curtains, warming my skin. My phone was ringing, pulling me out of sleep.
I answered groggily. "Hello? Good morning."
"Good morning, I'm calling from the administration office at Cherrytop University. Am I speaking to Miss Clara John?" The polite but cold voice immediately told me why they were calling so early.
"Um, yes, that's me," I replied, sitting up.
"We need to remind you that the remaining 40% of your tuition fees has not been paid, and the deadline is approaching quickly."
I sighed heavily. "Yes, I am aware of that. I will get back to you before the end of this week. I just need a few days to get things together."
"Okay, thank you. Goodbye."
"Bye," I muttered, hanging up.
Oh my God. This wouldn't be such a problem if Aunt Shysie and her greed hadn't caused us so much trouble years ago. I needed to talk to my parents. Also, I realized I had to get a job to support myself and use my skills.
I also need to stop spending so much money on Love and Deepspace. I have to start saving. Ugh, why is being an adult so hard? I just turned eighteen, and I'm already this stressed.
I decided to wait for my dad to come home from work, since he was the one paying for my school.
That evening, I went into his office. "Dad, good evening."
"Good evening, Clara. Come in. Is something wrong?"
"I wanted to talk about something important. It's about the remaining forty percent of my school fees," I said, nervously picking at my fingernails.
My dad smiled. "It's no problem at all, Clara. It just slipped my mind with everything going on you know, us trying to recover all the money we lost. But we are stable now. Don't worry. I'll settle everything, okay?"
"Okay, Dad, thank you so much," I said, feeling relieved. "But I was thinking, maybe I could get a job to help pay for myself too…"
"Okay, sweetie. Do whatever makes you comfortable. I'll support it," he replied, trying to hide how proud he was.
About an hour later, I was dressed nicely in casual clothes and running down the stairs.
"Clara, where are you going?" my father asked.
"I'm going to Raphael's house. I'm going to pay him a surprise visit." I grabbed the car keys.
"Don't wait up for me, Dad. I might be home late." I drove off the driveway and into the night.
*End of Chapter*