THE TWISTED TURNS BOOK ONE:THE FIRST TURN

🖤 THE TWISTED TURNS Chapter One — The Girl Who Felt Different Mira's POV There were two kinds of people at Starlight Academy. The ones who knew exactly what they were. And the ones who were still trying to figure it out. Unfortunately, I belonged to neither. I was the girl who had spent seventeen years waiting for something that never came. A power. Anything. Fire. Water. Wind. Super strength. Even something embarrassing like the ability to make people's socks disappear. I would have accepted anything. But no. Nothing. Absolutely. Nothing. "Mira!" I nearly jumped out of my skin. "Mira!" I turned around. Martha was standing several steps away from me, one hand on her waist and the other holding her schoolbag. Her expression said I had officially tested her patience. "You've been standing there for almost five minutes." I blinked. "I have?" "Yes." She walked toward me and waved her hand in front of my face. "Are you alive?" I sighed. "Unfortunately." Martha stared at me for a second before bursting out laughing. "You're so dramatic." "I'm realistic." "You?" "Yes, me." She linked her arm through mine. "Come on. We're going to be late." We started walking. Starlight Academy rose ahead of us, enormous against the morning sky. Calling it a school was honestly an insult. The buildings were too large. The towers were too strange. And some parts of the academy looked as though they had been built hundreds of years ago, while others looked completely modern. Students moved across the enormous courtyard in groups. Some looked completely ordinary. Others didn't. A boy passed us carrying a book while tiny sparks danced around his fingers. A girl near the fountain was arguing with her friend while the water behind her moved strangely, almost as though it was listening. I tried not to stare. Martha noticed anyway. "Don't." "I'm not staring." "You are." "I'm observing." "That's the fancy word for staring." I rolled my eyes. "Whatever." She smiled. For a few seconds, everything felt normal. Just me and my best friend walking to class. No mysterious powers. No strange dreams. No questions about my family. No feeling that there was something wrong with me. Just school. Then I touched my necklace. My fingers froze. The pendant was cold. Not normal cold. Cold enough to make me pull my hand away. I looked down. The necklace rested against my uniform exactly as it always did. Nothing looked different. Still, something about it made the back of my neck prickle. "Mira?" I quickly looked up. "What?" Martha frowned. "You okay?" "Yeah." I forced a smile. "I'm fine." She studied me for another second. Then shrugged. "Good. Because if we're late again, I'm blaming you." I laughed. We continued toward the academy. I didn't look back at the necklace. I should have. Because for the briefest moment, the pendant seemed to catch the morning light. And beneath the ordinary shine was something else. A faint pulse. Almost like a heartbeat. --- The moment we entered the main courtyard, the atmosphere changed. Students were everywhere. Groups gathered around the stone benches. People talked loudly. Someone was arguing near the stairs. Someone else was laughing. And, as usual, the gang occupied the area nobody dared walk through without a reason. Martha's expression changed immediately. "Don't look." I looked. "Why did you tell me not to look?" "Because you always look after I tell you not to." "That's not my fault." "It absolutely is." At the center of the group stood Decoin. I had seen him plenty of times before. Everyone had. He had the kind of presence that made people move out of his way without being asked. Cold. Quiet. Dangerous. And completely aware of it. His eyes swept across the courtyard. For one strange second, they stopped on me. I looked away first. Martha noticed. "Oh." "What?" "Nothing." "Martha." She smiled innocently. "Nothing." I narrowed my eyes. Before I could question her, a voice came from behind us. "Move." I turned. One of the gang members was standing there. Martha immediately pulled me aside. "Sorry." He walked past. I watched him disappear into the crowd. "See?" Martha whispered. "See what?" "You don't want trouble." I laughed softly. "Trust me. Trouble doesn't want me either." That was probably the funniest thing I had said all morning. Because trouble had apparently already chosen me. I just didn't know it yet. --- The first bell rang. Students began moving toward their classrooms. Martha grabbed my hand. "Come on!" We hurried upstairs. As we reached the corridor, I felt it again. That strange sensation. Like someone was watching me. I stopped. Martha kept walking for two steps before realizing I wasn't beside her. "Mira?" I looked behind me. The corridor was crowded. Students. Teachers. Noise. Nothing unusual. And yet... I could have sworn someone had whispered my name. "Mira." I turned sharply. Nobody. My heart beat faster. "Mira, are you coming?" I looked at Martha. "Yeah." I hurried after her. Neither of us noticed the figure standing farther down the corridor. Watching. Waiting. And when I disappeared around the corner, the figure quietly looked toward the necklace at my chest. Then away. --- By lunchtime, I had almost forgotten about it. Almost. Martha and I sat together, talking about absolutely nothing important. She was complaining about a teacher. I was complaining about the food. Everything was normal again. Until Martha suddenly leaned closer. "Do you ever wonder why you're different?" I stopped eating. "That's random." "I'm serious." I looked at her. She lowered her voice. "Everyone here has something." I looked around the cafeteria. She wasn't wrong. Starlight Academy was filled with people who could do things I couldn't even imagine. And me? I was just Mira. No power. No explanation. Just questions. "I don't know," I said quietly. Martha's expression softened. "You'll find yours." I smiled. "You really believe that?" "Of course." "And if I don't?" She shrugged. "Then we'll make one up." I laughed. "You're stupid." "Thank you." We both laughed. For that moment, I forgot about the strange feeling in the corridor. Forgot about Decoin. Forgot about my necklace. Forgot about the question that had followed me for years. Why am I different? But somewhere deep inside me, something seemed to stir. Not enough to be noticed. Not enough to be understood. Just enough to make the necklace grow warm against my skin. I stopped laughing. My hand slowly moved toward the pendant. This time... I felt it. A pulse. One. Two. Then nothing. I stared down at the necklace. "What are you?" The words left my mouth before I could stop them. Martha looked at me. "What?" I quickly closed my hand around the pendant. "Nothing." But I knew it wasn't nothing. Something had changed. I just didn't know what. And that was the problem with secrets. You don't always know you're standing in front of one. Sometimes... the secret is already standing inside you. END OF CHAPTER ONE 🖤📖