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Chapter 1: The Book
It was the middle of July, and 14-year-old Zoe Becker was trapped in a dusty, old library in an old English village. It was extremely hot in the library, since there was no air conditioning. Books lined the walls of the two-room building; there were no computers, at all to entertain Zoe. A single, ancient librarian sat asleep at the main desk. Aside from him, Zoe was alone. She sat with her head on her knees, in misery on a torn-up velvet couch in one of the library's tiny lounges.
"This is going to be a long month," she sighed to herself.
Zoe Becker, not unlike most of her peers, disliked family outings, trips and stays. Or at least, it wasn't her idea of a 'fun summer.' She loved her Great Uncle Percival--his home was great-- but she hated the long, boring days while he was pent up in some study lounge, researching God-knows-what on philosophy, religion or history. During those times, she was forced to retreat to the town library.
Zoe missed her friends in her hometown of Madison, Wisconsin. She only had a few close friends from her school: Jessie, who was her best friend with whom she would ride bikes with or share secrets, and Zach, who was her current boyfriend with whom she would play PacMan with for hours on end.
Zoe's phone buzzed in her pants pocket. She unlocked her LG Chocolate Touch phone to find that Jessie texted her a picture of Zach crowd surfing during Asking Alexandria's show at Warped Tour; the text below it read 'Wish u were here!' and Zoe groaned. She threw her phone angrily onto the table in front of her, deeply upset of her parents' decision to send her to England for the summer.
It's not like she had much choice, she rolled her eyes. Her parents were going away on a cruise they won through her father's work, and her Great Uncle Percival was sadly, their closest living relative.
"Why can't I just stay with Zach or Jessie for the summer?" she argued. "It would be more fun for me, not to mention cheaper since you would be saving on the air-fare."
Her mother gave her a stern look that night at dinner, "You know well enough that I trust you more with a blood relative, hon. Plus, our cruise will be out on the Atlantic Ocean, so it's a little bit closer to him, anyway."
"I rarely beg for anything," she continued, but it was a lost cause.
Her father shook his head, "Your mother's right, Zoe. You need to stay with your uncle this summer. Besides, he's got a really neat home! Not to mention all the stories he has to share about his life as a renowned historian . . ."
". . . thanks for the optimism, Dad," she said with sarcasm, "but I'm not sure about that. I'll be in my room if you need me!"
Her father was wrong about having fun at Percival's place. His home was interesting, seeing as it was an old manor; however, it was lonely.
"This is going to be a long month," she sighed to herself.
Zoe Becker, not unlike most of her peers, disliked family outings, trips and stays. Or at least, it wasn't her idea of a 'fun summer.' She loved her Great Uncle Percival--his home was great-- but she hated the long, boring days while he was pent up in some study lounge, researching God-knows-what on philosophy, religion or history. During those times, she was forced to retreat to the town library.
Zoe missed her friends in her hometown of Madison, Wisconsin. She only had a few close friends from her school: Jessie, who was her best friend with whom she would ride bikes with or share secrets, and Zach, who was her current boyfriend with whom she would play PacMan with for hours on end.
Zoe's phone buzzed in her pants pocket. She unlocked her LG Chocolate Touch phone to find that Jessie texted her a picture of Zach crowd surfing during Asking Alexandria's show at Warped Tour; the text below it read 'Wish u were here!' and Zoe groaned. She threw her phone angrily onto the table in front of her, deeply upset of her parents' decision to send her to England for the summer.
It's not like she had much choice, she rolled her eyes. Her parents were going away on a cruise they won through her father's work, and her Great Uncle Percival was sadly, their closest living relative.
"Why can't I just stay with Zach or Jessie for the summer?" she argued. "It would be more fun for me, not to mention cheaper since you would be saving on the air-fare."
Her mother gave her a stern look that night at dinner, "You know well enough that I trust you more with a blood relative, hon. Plus, our cruise will be out on the Atlantic Ocean, so it's a little bit closer to him, anyway."
"I rarely beg for anything," she continued, but it was a lost cause.
Her father shook his head, "Your mother's right, Zoe. You need to stay with your uncle this summer. Besides, he's got a really neat home! Not to mention all the stories he has to share about his life as a renowned historian . . ."
". . . thanks for the optimism, Dad," she said with sarcasm, "but I'm not sure about that. I'll be in my room if you need me!"
Her father was wrong about having fun at Percival's place. His home was interesting, seeing as it was an old manor; however, it was lonely.
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** Ok! Not actually done with this chapter, but I'm extremely tired since it's 4:30 a.m., and I'm ready to collapse. Basically, this story is all about how Zoe Becker ends up in some alternate land called 'Fantasia.' I'll explain more later. Night, mibba!