Earthen Elements: The Beginning

By Christin Daoud

Cheryl Chase is a 10-year-old girl dealing with her best friend moving away and her brother mysteriously disappearing. To make matters worse, she'll be attending middle school alone with the snobby queen bee Sherry Anders. But one day, she discovers a mysterious gem necklace in her backpack, and with it, a whole other world filled with magic. She and one other must protect this magical world from an evil force that is threatening all life there. Along the way, she'll also meet new friends and deal with hardships at home.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jun 5, 2023
• ISBN: 9781669873983

Book preview

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1

T ODAY IS MY first day back at Chesterfield. I’ll be starting fifth grade, which I guess means that I’m now a middle schooler. I should be excited. I should already have my first-day-of-school outfit all planned out and prepped on my bed. I should be eagerly counting down the minutes until school starts. But none of that is the case for me. As a matter of fact, I am NOT looking forward to it.

It’s not because I don’t like school, if that’s what you’re thinking. In fact, typically on the first day of school, I’m as giddy as a birthday girl, with my outfit all planned out and my school supplies tucked neatly inside my backpack. But this year is different because I have nothing to look forward to. My best friend moved away and my brother is gone.

Let me start at the beginning. My best friend’s name is Chloe Campbell. She and I have been best friends since kindergarten, and we’ve always been close. We would do practically everything together -- sleepovers, birthday parties, etc… We were inseparable. Or so I thought. Over the summer, Chloe moved away.

We had no idea it was going to happen. The last month of school, we were both super excited for the upcoming summer. We had all these fun activities planned that we were going to do once school was officially over. Slumber parties. Trips to the beach. Spa days with our parents. Once school was out for the summer, we couldn’t wait to have a fun-filled summer together. But then that same day, Chloe’s parents announced that the whole family was moving. Apparently, her dad had gotten a high-paying job in Phoenix, Arizona.

So instead of our fun-filled summer, we spend most of our time together packing cardboard boxes with books, pillows, furniture, and everything else in the Campbell household. Then a few days before July started, Chloe and her parents officially left. I remember as their van drove off, Chloe waved goodbye to me from the back window. I also remember waving goodbye back and not stopping until that van was out-of-sight. I haven’t seen or heard from her since. But worse than her moving away was what happened to my brother Kyle.

Kyle is a year older than me, but despite that, the two of us have always been close. I’ve always viewed him as a second best friend. Whenever I wasn’t with Chloe, I was usually with Kyle. Like me, he went to Chesterfield, but he was very unpopular and friendless there. I’d often see him at lunch sitting by himself and at recess playing alone. Chloe and I would’ve gladly accompanied him, but since we weren’t in the same grade, we had different lunch and recess times, so sadly that wasn’t an option. Kyle always assured me that he didn’t mind, but I doubted it.

Although Kyle was undoubtedly lonely at Chesterfield, no one really bothered him. At least, not at first. But a couple years ago, a snobby rich girl by the name of Sherry Anders transferred to Chesterfield, and not long after, she became the school’s new alpha. She’d walk around the hallways with her head held high, wearing designer clothes and carrying an expensive purse around her fingers with perfectly manicured nails. But it wasn’t just the arrogant way she walked! It was her attitude that was the main issue. She often made snarky remarks about others, whether it’d be about what they wore, what they did, or what they said. For example, this one time, Chloe and I were eating lunch in the cafeteria when we witnessed Sherry making fun of a fourth grade girl’s last season shoes. There was also another time I wore a pink flower headband to school and Sherry walked up to me before class started and said that it looked stupid.

Sherry was a nuisance and a pain, but I could’ve easily ignored her if not for one thing: her primary target. Kyle. My brother Kyle.

I don’t know why Sherry chose to make Kyle of all the people in that school her primary target, but I guess it had something to do with the fact that he was friendless at Chesterfield. Though Sherry was rude to a lot of people, she was an absolute witch to Kyle. She’d torment him on a daily basis. She’d make fun of practically everything he said or did. She’d play cruel tricks on him like tripping him in the hallways, shoving him against lockers, sticking gum in his hair, and taping notes to his back that read things like GEEK or LOSER. The worst part was that somehow, Sherry had gotten practically the entire school to participate. Kids in lower grades did the little things like tripping and shoving while the kids in higher grades did the bigger things such as stuffing him inside his locker or unzipping his backpack in the hallways (causing all his stuff to fall out). This was back when he was in fourth grade and I was in third.

When he started fifth grade and I started fourth, I expected him to be unhappy about having to go back there, but to my surprise, he wasn’t. He explained that it had been almost three months since he last saw everyone and by now they were bound to have gotten over picking on him.

It was just one bad year, he’d told me. Still, I was worried.

For the first few weeks, it appeared as if Kyle was right. Hardly anybody gave him the time of day, and slowly my worry for him decreased. But just as I began to think that he was safe, Sherry got everyone to restart the drama, forcing Kyle to go through another year of vicious tormenting.

Because of this, a few weeks before he was due to start sixth grade, Kyle begged Mom and Dad to let him transfer schools. Mom and Dad were against it, however. I remember listening in on their argument on the top of the stairs.

Please don’t make me go back, Kyle pleaded. Can’t I transfer to another school?

Kyle, there isn’t another middle school in this area. The nearest one besides Chesterfield is Lincolnwood, and that’s ten miles from here. No bus from Lincolnwood comes here, and no way can your mom and I drive you ten miles to and from school everyday, Dad had said.

What about Westridge? Kyle suggested.

Westridge? Mom exclaimed. Kyle, that’s a private school. A very expensive private school! We can’t afford it.

Besides, you only have one more year there. Then you’ll move on to junior high and won’t see most of those kids again, Dad added.

No! Please! I can’t bear another year getting bullied by those horrid classmates! Kyle exclaimed. Tears were threatening to come out of his eyes.

Honey, maybe those kids won’t bother you this year, Mom suggested. Maybe they’ll forget all about it and leave you alone.

That’s what I thought last year, and that didn’t wind up happening, Kyle retorted.

Well, honey, what else can we do? Transferring is not an option, and we tried talking to the principal, but she wasn’t able to do much, Mom said.

Kyle thought about it. What about homeschooling? Just for this year.

Homeschooling? Dad exclaimed. Kyle, your mother and I both have jobs. We don’t have time to homeschool you.

But Mom only works part-time. Maybe she can do it, Kyle suggested. He was beginning to sound desperate.

Mom and Dad glanced briefly at one another before looking back at Kyle with sympathetic looks on their faces. They sadly shook their heads.

Upset, Kyle burst into tears and ran out the front door. Mom prepared to go after him, but Dad stopped her.

He’s upset. Let him go. He’ll come around and be back soon.

That turned out to be a mistake. Kyle didn’t come back. We waited an hour… two hours… five hours, but he never returned. By the time it got dark, Mom and Dad got worried, so they called the police and filed a missing person report. There was a search, but the police found no trace of him.

So that pretty much sums it up. Chloe moved away and Kyle is missing. Two very important people in my life are gone, and since they were pretty much the only friends I had, I know that this year is going to be a lonely school year for me. So yeah. I’m not looking forward to it.

Later

I swear, if we hadn’t been on school property, I might’ve grabbed Sherry Anders by the hair and ripped it out of her scalp. That girl makes my blood boil.

It all started as I was heading towards Principal Williams’ office to retrieve my schedule and locker combination. Truth be told, all students were supposed to do that over the summer, but with everything that happened during mine, I never found the time.

Anyway, I was on my way to the principal’s office when I accidently bumped into someone. I was about to apologize until I got a good look and realized that someone was Sherry Anders. And right behind her were Mindy Jones and Wendy Rogers, her two best friends and possé that went practically everywhere with her.

As per usual, Sherry wasn’t wearing anything that could be considered casual. Like every other day, from head to toe she was covered in designer clothes and jewelry. Today, she wore a blue denim jacket over a white lace top, a purple skirt, and brown short boots. Also, she had a silver necklace with a crystal chain hanging from her neck and a pearl bracelet wrapped around her wrist. Even her golden blond hair, which she kept in its usual high side ponytail, was tied with a sparkly dark blue scrunchie. I know that Sherry is rich and all, but it’d be nice if for once, she’d dress normal, like every other kid at Chesterfield.

The moment I saw her, I attempted to make a break for it, but Sherry grabbed me by the arm and pulled me back towards her.

Hold on a second, she said. Aren’t you Kyle Chase’s little sister?

No, I immediately replied. I once again tried to make a break for it, but Sherry again pulled me back towards her.

Yes, you are! What’s your name again? Sheryl?

"It’s Cheryl!"

That’s actually a common mistake people make about my name. Normally, the name Cheryl is pronounced with a Sh sound at the beginning, but my name is pronounced exactly the way it’s spelled, with a Ch sound at the beginning. However, I’m not so convinced that it was an honest mistake on Sherry’s part.

Oh, yeah. You’re friends with Chloe Campbell, right? Didn’t she move away? Sherry asked with an arrogant smirk on her face that made me want to slap her into another dimension.

Yes, she did, I replied through my teeth. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to go.

Just one more question, Sherry said before I could leave. I clenched my hands into fists and resisted the urge to punch her pretty little face. I haven’t seen your brother at all since I got here. Where is he exactly?

I felt my face turn red, a mixture of both anger and humiliation. There was no way I was telling Sherry Anders of all people what had happened with Kyle. So I lied.

He transferred schools.

However, the moment I said that, Sherry and her friends burst into hysterical laughter.

Mindy. Wendy. Didn’t I tell you she was going to make up something stupid like that? she said in between laughs.

Once the three girls calmed down, Mindy informed me that they were aware that Kyle had really gone missing. She said that they knew he had run out of the house one day and never returned. I cannot describe the horror I felt when she told me that.

H-How do you three know about that? I asked. I could feel my face turning redder.

Sherry reached into her expensive designer purse and pulled out a crumpled up flyer. She flattened it out and then showed it to me. Instantly I recognized it as one of the MISSING flyers Dad had hung up around town shortly after Kyle’s disappearance, which clearly stated what had happened the day he’d gone missing. I had forgotten about those.

It says right here at the bottom. On August 11th, he ran out of the house and never came back home, Sherry read.

He was probably too afraid to come back here so he ran away, Mindy retorted with a chuckle.

What a coward! Wendy added with a scoff.

But don’t worry, Sherry said to me. I’ve taken the liberty of making copies of this and passing them out to everyone at this school so that they’re up-to-date on the situation.

You did WHAT? I exclaimed so loudly that a few people passing by stopped what they were doing and gave me startled looks. In a lower voice, I repeated, You did what?

However, Sherry didn’t respond. Instead, she walked off with Mindy and Wendy, which is probably the smartest thing that she’s ever done. One more word, and I seriously might’ve gone gladiator on that girl. I didn’t want anybody here to know about Kyle, especially Sherry, but of course Sherry found out and had to make sure to inform the entire school body. So that’s something I’ll have to deal with.

I also dealt with a minor unpleasant encounter with the principal’s secretary Ms. O’Brian. When I’d walked into the front lobby where the principal’s office was, Ms. O’Brian was sitting at her desk, typing something on her computer. I told her that I needed to see Principal Williams.

What for? she asked, not looking away from the computer screen.

I have to get my schedule and locker combination, I explained. That’s when she decided to stop what she was doing and looked at me, her beady brown eyes squinted a little as if she were suspicious of me for some strange reason.

Shouldn’t you have gotten those over the summer? she asked.

I was… busy, I replied.

Ms. O’Brian rolled her eyes but thankfully said nothing more on the matter. She pointed in the direction of Principal Willaims’ office and then went back to her computer.

My interactions with Sherry and Ms. O’Brian were bad, but not compared to what else happened. It ruined pretty much the entire day for me -- the entire year, actually. After I got my schedule from Principal Williams, I discovered that I’m in the same class with Mindy, Wendy, and Sherry.

One thing’s for certain. This year is going to suck more than I thought.

Much Later

At dinner, I tried telling Mom about my terrible first day back at school. As per usual nowadays, it was just the two of us. Dad typically eats dinner in his office.

Um, Mom? I began after a few bites of my food. I kind of had a bad day at school today.

Mom picked at her food with her fork, not bothering to look up. I continued talking anyway.

I had a rather unpleasant encounter with Sherry Anders. You know, that snobby rich girl I told you about that used to bother Kyle.

Uh-huh.

Then the principal’s secretary got upset with me because I didn’t get my schedule and locker combination over the summer like I was supposed to. She didn’t give me grief over it, but she did have a bit of an attitude about it.

Uh-huh.

And the worst part of my whole day was that I found out that Sherry and her annoying friends are all in the same class as me, which means--

Uh-huh.

At that point, I realized that Mom wasn’t even paying attention to me. Dejected, I grabbed my plate and went up to my room to eat dinner there.

Though I was disappointed, I can’t say I was surprised. It’s been like this between me and my parents ever since Kyle went missing. They’ve both changed. Dad constantly buries himself in his work and has become rather distant. He hardly spends time with me and Mom anymore, which is so unlike his old self, who was a big family guy. Mom used to be so affectionate and lively, but now she’s constantly depressed and distant. She hardly goes out except to go to work, and her days at home consist of either doing housework or watching TV.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2

I DON’T TAKE THE bus. I haven’t taken the bus since third grade. Kyle and I stopped doing that after the bus became a place for kids to make fun of and torment Kyle (and occasionally me) the whole ride. Instead, since Chesterfield is only four blocks away, we’d walk to school. This is the first year I’m walking alone.

I wasn’t in the mood for a big breakfast, so I just grabbed a granola bar from the kitchen cabinet and headed out the door. I ate the granola bar as I was walking. However, when I was about a block away from the school, a funny feeling began to form in my stomach. At first I thought it was from the granola bar I’d been eating, but then I realized that funny feeling was from nervousness. Yesterday had been bad -- no doubt today would be even worse.

As I thought more about it, the greater that funny feeling in my stomach became. Then all of a sudden, I ran to the nearest trash bin and vomited. Once I was sure that there was nothing left in me, I sat down on a nearby bench, took off my backpack, and placed it right next to me. I decided to wait a few minutes before I kept going in order to calm my nerves down and hopefully avoid throwing up again. If I threw up in school, there’s no telling what people would say about me then. I closed my eyes and took deep breaths in and out. It was a technique I’d taught myself as a way of calming down.

After about five or six breaths in, I felt someone sit next to me. Or rather, next to my backpack. I opened my eyes and saw that it was a short elderly man with a very long gray beard and bald head dressed in all-white. But his most notable feature was his eyes, which were a deep violet color. I’ve seen people with multiple eye colors -- brown, blue, gray, hazel, and green (naturally since my eyes were green) -- but up until that moment, I’d never seen anyone with