CHAPTER 1

           When I was a little, my grandmother always tells me stories before I sleep. Those stories are creepy, supernatural and magical. It is about two guys and one girl. A guy whose name Dark and another guy whose name Light. Dark gives people misery, destruction, and war, in simple word, doom. Then, Light gives people hope, peace, and happiness in their life. And a girl, whose name is Avis, just like mine, weird. It seems like she doesn’t has any power, but her existence was needed. Her existence saves the world. My grandma says she is like the Yin and Yang; she is in the middle who balances the good and bad.

           Every night the stories will change, but the characters are still the same, but the ending of that story is also still the same, Avis died, to save him. It made me curious ever since that night. It made wonder who are they. I want to know more about them even if it’s just a story. But the night I went to my grandmother’s room to ask her to tell me a story again, I found out she was dead. She wasn’t breathing.

            Up until now that I’m grown up, I still wonder and think about her stories. She would always tell me it’s true, but I would just laugh. Then, she would smile and tell me that I will understand it when I turn to a grown woman. But, I’m a grown woman now and I still don’t get it. Maybe she wasn’t aware that all her stories are just a fantasy, I should’ve tell her that before.

            The place she will always use in her story is the school where I am enrolled at now and where I’m currently now. And that’s the reason why I went here. That school always reminds me of her. I miss her.

         “You’re going to the library again, Avis?” sadly asked by my only friend, Tessa. I cling my left arm to her right arm and slightly spin us. She hates when I go to the library because she doesn’t have anyone to chitchat with her, beside me. In short, she’s bored without me, so she’ll just go again in the infirmary room to sleep before the 10:30 AM class starts.

          I was destructed from the past memories that I forgot I am now in the present and I’m with my friend, Tess.

          She hates the classroom because she hates the other girls there who’s like the mean girls, and she love to stay in the infirmary because of her so-called-hot-tall-muscular-young-doctor assigned there. So, I think she is just faking the sad voice thingy, well in fact she is actually happy she got a reason to go in infirmary. I also always wonder what reason she is giving to stay there that long without her getting kicked out.

          And me, I love staying in the library because it’s quiet and I can peacefully read there and also, because of Skylar. Ugh! Ever since 8^th grade he doesn’t still notice me. And now we’re in 11^th grade still in same school. I almost memorize everything about him. I’m not obsessed with him, I just like him. I like him for almost 4 years. At first, I thought it was just infatuation just like Tessa said. That it will go away after 3 months. But, no, he’s still my crush up until now, and it’s almost 4 years now.

          “Here’s my stop, Tess. See you later!” I remove my arm to hers and open the door to the library. Before I enter I looked back to Tess and seen her walk away while waving her hands above her head. I giggle.

          As I entered, I noticed him right away, sitting in the right corner of the library beside the window. I scanned my library I.D card. “Good morning, Ms. Bailey.” I waved and greeted my second favorite person here in the library. Of course, the first place is Skylar.

          “Good morning, Ms. Clove.” She said not looking at my direction. She is always busy, but we’re close to each other sometimes, when I ‘m not returning late the books I borrowed. I shrugged and walks to the direction where Skylar was.

           There are 5 rows in the library. First, near the door, second, beside the first, third, in the middle of shelves and in the library, fourth, beside the fifth, fifth, beside the huge window and the very back of the library. Every row there is also 5 tables with 4 seats. As my feelings growing deeply to him, my guts and braveness is also growing too. I am now seating at the fourth table beside the fifth table where he is seating and reading now. Every year I changed seats, I go closer to him little by little. Yeah, I have the courage to do that, but don’t have the courage to confess to him. Tess always teases me because I am a cowardly dog. She said I’m like a dog following him and memorizing the things he does, but scared of barking to him and be close to him. She added that there are dogs that are like that to their new fur parent. Skylar is not my fur parent. I think he is like the other dog in the neighborhood.

          I sat opposite to him, so now we’re face to face, but I can’t obviously see his face because he is reading and he is holding his book on his face. The book is ruining the view! Just kidding, I love books. That’s why I’m here. And I like books more than him.

          I opened my book. I glanced at his direction again and saw him staring at me. Wait, is he staring or he is just looking and it’s a coincidence that I also glance at him at the same time? Am I assuming? I look back at my book and started reading. Just focus reading, Avis Clove.