The Unfavorable Heroes

Chapter 1-1

Charlie Rose felt jittery. She had changed her outfit three times already. However, it wasn’t quite obvious what look she was trying to go for because each outfit she had put on was as equally eccentric—if not more—than the last. First, she wore green corduroy pants, a paisley-patterned mesh long sleeve top, pale pink chunky-soled combat boots, and she planned to accessorize it with tons of flower clips in her hair, small tree earrings, colorful bangles, a ring on each finger, and a fun belt that didn’t match the outfit in the slightest.

moreThe second outfit had been black tights, furry brown and white snow boots, a green floral print dress with long sleeves, and a furry scarf. She was going to accessorize that with her hair in pigtail braids that had vine-like accessories tucked in through the plaits of it. She was going to wear a large green suede coat over the dress as well.

Now, she was in a pair of army green flare jeans, white sneakers, a lighter green turtleneck sweater, and her hair was in two buns on top of her head. Normally when she wore her hair like this, people referred to them as her space buns. She put a couple of flower clips in her hair and a pretty bracelet on her wrist that she had made herself a couple of years ago.

Even still, she wasn’t sure about this current outfit as she looked at herself in the mirror. She knew there was one accessory that would certainly complete the look—the Pendantix.

If only she still had it.

Forgetting about her outfit dilemma entirely, Charlie heaved a great sigh, walked over to her white iron-framed twin bed, and took a seat at the edge of it. She looked longingly at the climbing hydrangea plant peeking in through her cracked-open window—even though it was a cold, dreary day in the middle of winter in Montgomery.

She missed being able to talk to her plant friend dearly. Ramoni was wise, kind, and excellent at giving Charlie advice when she needed it. But ever since the Pendantix had disappeared after the battle against Heno had ended, the plant stopped speaking. The only sound coming from Ramoni now was his leaves rustling lightly in the wind.

“I wish I could get it back,” Charlie whispered to herself.

That is when a solid Thunk! sounded from the inside of the girl’s oak wardrobe across the room.

ThunkThat’s weird.

That’s weird.Cautiously, Charlie got to her feet and crept toward the closet, wondering where on earth the sound could have come from and whether she’d find herself in any trouble if she decided to open it and check.

Feeling nervous but knowing she wouldn’t be able to think about anything else unless she opened the two magnetic doors of the wardrobe, Charlie persevered, and inside the wardrobe, lying at the very bottom of it among a pair of her sneakers and some crumbled up old homework, was the Pendantix.

It’s back!

It’s back!She snatched it up quickly, feeling warmth spreading through her body as she grinned at it. The Pendantix was the gift she had been given inside of a cave in the White Forest, a gold chain with a gold circular pendant that had a growing tree in the center of it. She had worn it all the time, except for in the shower because she wasn’t sure if she was allowed to get it wet or not, and she had felt incomplete the past few weeks without it.

It wasn’t fully clear yet what the Pendantix powers entailed. So far, Charlie had figured out that she could persuade plants and animals to act a certain way. Oh—and that she could talk to plants. As it turned out, most of them weren’t very sociable. Ramoni was the only plant in her back garden that liked to peek in through the window and have a conversation with her. Charlie had no idea where his eyes, ears, or mouth were, and she had no idea if anybody else in the house could hear her talking to the plant or if it was just her, but Ramoni had started becoming a good friend of hers.

“I think this is the best outfit you’ve picked out yet.”

Ramoni’s voice came from above the small desk in front of the bedroom window.

Charlie turned and smiled at her climbing hydrangea plant.

“Do you think so?” she asked the plant before turning back to her mirror and putting the special pendant around her neck.

“I do,” Ramoni replied. His voice was light and airy and always sounded friendly. “I’m so glad we can talk again, Rose. I wanted to point out that I’ve never seen you care so much about what to wear before.”

“Oh. Well, it is the first day of the second semester,” she reminded him.

“Are you sure there isn’t a different reason?” Even though Charlie couldn’t see his facial expression, she could gather that the plant was teasing her. She knew exactly what the other reason he was referring to was about.

Kire Hunter.

Even thinking his name made Charlie’s stomach ache.

She focused on touching up the space buns on top of her mousy brunette head. She liked her space buns because they made her feel a little bit taller. Charlie had gotten her short, petite frame from both of her parents. While her mother was barely even five feet tall, her father was only five-foot-four.

“If you’re trying to insinuate that I am trying to impress a boy, you are mistaken,” Charlie informed her plant. Then a knock on her door startled her.

“Char? Who are you talking to in there?”

Charlie groaned and rolled her eyes. The mere sound of her sister’s high-pitched girly voice made her want to hit something.

“No one, Ell. What do you want?”

Lexi Rose was visiting home from college during winter break. She still had another week until she went back to school, and Charlie had her freedom around the house back.

“I’m just making sure you are awake and getting ready for school!” Lexi called through the door. She tried turning the door handle to let herself in without asking first, but Charlie had learned quickly to start keeping her bedroom door locked.

“I’m changing now!” Charlie complained.

“Fine! I just thought maybe I could help you pick out something cute to wear for the first day back.”

Of course, Lexi would want to pick out her clothes. Charlie’s older sister did not understand her younger sister’s eclectic, bohemian style. Lexi preferred to wear three colors—pink, white, and black. Nothing else. She always liked dresses and skirts, and Charlie hardly ever saw her in pants. She always looked fit to walk down a runway. It was only one of the many reasons why Charlie’s parents probably preferred her over Charlie. Lexi was simply perfect. She was a type of perfection that Charlie would never be able to live up to, no matter how badly her parents wanted her to.

“I got it, thanks.” Charlie didn’t mean to sound harsh… or maybe she did.

When Charlie finally heard her older sister’s footsteps retreating down the hall, she turned to her climbing hydrangea and growled. “You are so lucky you don’t have to go to school.”

“Come on, Charlie Rose. Learning is fulfilling.”

“What do you know about learning?”

“I know a great deal, thank you very much.”

“How?”

“My dear Rose. My knowledge is passed down from my ancestors. The plants that came before me. And from my own observations. What I learn in my lifetime, I will be passing on to the plant that springs from what I leave behind.”

“Whoa,” Charlie said. “You must know just about everything there is to know, then!”

“Pretty close.”

“So, will you be able to help me do my homework, then?”

“Didn’t I just finish telling you that you should want to learn on your own?”

Charlie crossed her arms and made a Hmph! noise.

HmphRamoni continued. “Come on, Rose. Why don’t you try to just focus on your studies if you’re feeling everything else going on in your life to be a little overwhelming?”

Charlie tapped a glossy neon yellow painted nail to her chin. Then she took a deep breath and tried to shake all of her nerves out. “You’re right,” she agreed. “Wish me luck.”

“Good luck, Rose.”

Charlie beamed at her plant friend and checked her appearance one last time, then she left her bedroom.

It didn’t matter that Charlie Rose hadn’t seen anyone from the Quintet group the entire winter break. It didn’t matter that when she went to school today, more than likely, things were going to be just like they had been before she ever met them. And it definitely did not matter that Kire Hunter, the boy who had given Charlie her first kiss, the one who she had been hoping would ask her on a date, had spent a lot of his break hanging out with someone almost as bad as Amberly McHenry. Her name was Angela Altman, and she used to be the most popular girl in school until Amberly knocked her off her throne. She was a cheerleader, and apparently, ever since Kire helped lead the St. Bernard soccer team to the championship last semester, she had set her sights on him. It was practically a law around St. Bernard that important sports stars were supposed to date the cheerleaders.

But I don’t even know if they’re actually dating, Charlie thought to herself. She pulled out her cell phone to check for any new messages from the g**g telling her they got their gifts back as well. The only one who had been able to keep theirs was Kire.

But I don’t even know if they’re actually dating,Charlie also almost sort of expected there to be a text from Kire telling her that he was looking forward to seeing her again.

Her heart fell when she saw that her screen was still blank.

* * *

Rose was surprised to see that breakfast had been prepared when she got downstairs. Timothy Rose and Beverly Rose were sitting at the breakfast table inside the kitchen of their old-but-slightly-renovated home.

Despite how she normally loathed her parents, she couldn’t help but feel touched. The smell of cooked bacon and syrup wafted heavenly through her nostrils.

“You guys made breakfast for my first day back?”

Beverly looked at her daughter as if she had suddenly sprouted a third eyeball. “No, we didn’t cook. Your sister did.” Right after she said the words, Lexi breezed into the kitchen wearing an apron over her blush pink dress. She grabbed a rooster-themed pot holder—everything in the kitchen was rooster-themed—and pulled out a silver tray of bacon from the oven.

“I learned from a friend at school that it’s better to cook bacon this way!” she told Charlie when she noticed her younger sister staring. “It prevents it from shrinking so much.”

Most other kids would be happy that their sibling wanted to cook them breakfast. Not Charlie. She saw this as an act. As a way for Lexi to make sure she was still the favorite child even after she went back to college and wasn’t around to help out around here.

“Oh, I’m actually not hungry,” Charlie lied. She would’ve loved nothing more than to stuff one—or five—pieces of that bacon in her mouth right now. But she was being proud. She didn’t need her sister’s stupid cooked breakfast. She could grab something at school.