Diagonal Planet (Prologue)

[SimplyTurquoise]

Diagonal Planet

Written entirely by me, Jamie Rawlings, or rather SimplyTurquoise.

Ah, first time I don't need to put a disclaimer, meaning first original fiction, at least online anyways. So I do hope you enjoy.

(Prologue: 6/22/03)

"So what do we know about the moon?

"Well, for one thing, it's about a bazillion or so miles away, but that's beside the point. You see we've always known that the moon orbits around our world. I mean you go outside and if it happens to be night just then, well, bam, there's the moon.

"So now, you're probably wondering why I'm reminding you of some useless facts that you learned all the way back in 2nd grade, right?

"Well how about this: maybe eight or nine years ago we experienced what we all call an eclipse. Granted it's not the most shocking news one could hear, but what you need to know is that this lunar eclipse was special. Usually you'll turn on the news and some reporter will be yakking away at the up and coming eclipse, giving you the time and date. Except in our case, this eclipse was going to come fast and unexpected.

"It wasn't so much of a big deal when this first happened, so it was unexpected, no big deal. Yet it was, because the end of this eclipse was not to come until seven days later. So by that time, the whole of the world was in a state of panic, thinking 'By God it must be the end of the world.'

"But not to worry, give the government some time and they usually pull through in the end. After a few weeks, panic subsided, and NASA gave out some bullshit reason about their computers experiencing some glitch, making it impossible for them to predict the eclipse. Then there was the whole, it only lasted so long because blah, enter technical jargon here, and so on. Anyways, in the end they got their results and peace once again came to earth, well, as much peace as you can have when you have super powers fighting for supremacy.

"Except what the scientist failed to mention to the rest of the world was how the moon's continuous orbiting of our world was now slightly veered off course. A few thousand miles off course that is.

"By now the moon looks as if its compensating for something bigger then just our orbit, what that is...

"So class, this brings us to our new assignment, where you and a partner will be researching information on the moon. Afterwards you'll be coming up with your own theory as to what happened, using what information you find to back it up. You'll be required to..."

By this time, Aya was on the edge of falling off her seat, having long forgotten that when you go to school, you're usually required to stay awake and well.. learn. But before she could completely nod off into dreamland, a sharp jab to her side awoke her, allowing her o' so kind friend, and the rest of the class to hear her wake.

"Green polka-dotted java-man!"

Wide-awake, and fully alert, Aya took notice as the whole class, including the teacher, stared at her with wide eyes. She could already feel the heat rising to her cheeks as some of the students begun giggling and whispering. Looking to her left, she gave what she hoped was a menacing glare to her supposed best friend, Heuki, who by this time was giggling along with the class. That is, he was until he saw the look he was receiving from his friend.

Satisfied, Aya whispered a quick apology before once again sitting in her seat to try and stay awake as the teacher started to ramble on about the rest of the project.

**

"I can't believe you shouted that in the middle of class. That had to be better then the last time I tried waking you up in English."

"Oh, so you enjoyed that then?"

Watching her friend nod a positive yes, she gave him her own response to his answer as they walked there way towards the cafeteria. Bringing her hand up, then forward in a downward arc, she gave him a good smack, maybe even two, across the head.

"That is uh... no I didn't enjoy it. Actually, I was appalled, even disgusted by the way the rest of the class gawked at you... and I uh-"

"You're forgiven."

"I am?"

"For now I suppose."

Aya sent him a smile allowing him to see she was only kidding, as Heuki was bound to take things a bit serious at times.

It was times like these she actually enjoyed going to school, especially when it involved not being in class that very moment, and the hope of a good meal in the meantime, if cafeteria food could be considered better than the muck you get in the trash.

Aya was just like any other average teenage girl. Not too tall, and nowhere near short. Hair a light shade of brown reaching just a bit below the shoulders, and her skin slightly tan. The only thing to stand out and be considered slightly remarkable was the color of her eyes, a light shade of gray, speckled with a darker gray that outlined the outer rim.

It was for those reasons why Aya was able to catch the attention of most the guys she hung out with, excluding Heuki who through a chocolate chip incident when the both of them were six; had begun the longstanding friendship that could be seen today.

Heuki on the other hand, was as popular as he was cute, which was saying much. Though not the school crush, he was most definitely on the top ten list of guys the whole of the female students wanted to date. With his lean frame, tanned skin, slightly messy dark locks, and not to mention the baby brown eyes, it was suffice to say he wasn't too shabby looking.

It was all together another reason as to why Aya was his best friend, being the fact that she was, unlike many of her fellow classmates, unaffected by his good looks, relying mainly on his charming personality, and his way of turning any situation into one you could smile and laugh at. They were for those reasons, able to keep such a friendly relationship without the hardship of wanting to date one another, well, at least as far as Aya was concerned. It was for this type of personality that also won the hearts of the many female population who ever happened to come across him.

Then again there were times when his mouth spoke before he took the time to think about exactly what he was going to say.

"We better hurry up Aya, or we'll be late to lunch. Wouldn't want you to miss out on seconds with your large stomach."

"Are you saying I eat like a pig?"

"No..."

Good.

"Just you tend to guard the food stand like middle aged woman fighting for the front of the stage at a Chris Isaak concert." An obvious shudder making its way up his spine as he relayed this back to Aya.

Why, he did not just say that...

As the two headed the rest of the way towards the cafeteria, a loud smack was heard echoing through the halls signaling that yet again, another male made the mistake of answering a female honestly, rather then saying exactly just what she wanted to hear.

Stupid males.

**

Aya entered through the house door, with a rather exaggerated sigh as her backpack was thrown sideways on the ground. School was finally over for the day, and now that she was home, she couldn't help but feel a long hot bath was in order. After all, she needed to work out all the kinks in her back, as the school desks weren't all that comfortable for sleeping.

Heading off towards her room, she paused as she was just about to pass the hallway towards her parent's bedroom. Looking at the wall opposite of her, she gazed at her favorite painting residing in the household, trying to figure out why she felt odd sensation as she watched it. There was something different about it today, and Aya was having a hard time figuring out just what was so peculiar.

For as long as she could remember, the painting at the end of the hall had always been there. It was an odd sort of painting, out of place with rest of the design in the house. The design in this case mainly consisting of black, white, and gray patterns that took up the whole of the interior. Yet there was always this painting sticking out a like a sore thumb, setting off the rest of the pattern with its unusual look and colors that didn't match.

It had always been her favorite.

Only did she find out later that it was a family heirloom, dating back to her great, great, great, a million times great grandmother. The frame, she assumed had been white at one point, but overtime took on an almost yellow eggshell color. Within in the frame was yet another frame only it was a lighter shade of the previous frame's color. But what really caught the attention of those who saw this particular painting was the stenciled out hole, smack dab in the middle of the second frame. The painting itself was a nice mixture greens and blues, the smooth outline of the brush, allowing the viewer to see an all-together regular tree with the sky as its background. The tree itself was nothing remarkable, branching out in many directions, as its foliage blocked out most of the view of the sky lying behind.

So one might wonder what was so interesting about this painting, why she thought it special above all the rest?

But what everyone seemed to miss was the slightly darker shadow hidden where the trunk of the tree met the leaves. An oddly shaped branch stuck out, a darker shade of brown unlike the light brown of the other branches, except it wasn't another branch. It had surprised her at first, but as she took in the details, she made out what looked to be short disheveled hair, slightly longer in the front. And below the hair were two dark pools of amber, staring out from the surrounding darkness. They were as menacing as they were intriguing. And if she could look just hard enough, she could slightly make out the outlines of the body.

There, hidden within the leaves, was a person.

It took her awhile, but as she looked on the painting, it finally hit her as to what was so wrong. No longer could she make out person by the trunk, because sitting right in the middle of the tree was the tiny outline of a person sitting on a branch.

For someone who had gazed at the painting for o' so many hours, she was fairly certain that she had memorized the picture right down to the last brush stroke. Hesitantly she moved her way closer to the painting, bringing her face only inches away from the picture.

Not only was she surprised by the oddity of the painting changing, but by the fact that she was able to make out the person, or rather boy, all the better. He was still obscured by the foliage and the leaves, but she was able to make out an angular face, his body frame being that of someone close to her age. He was wearing darker clothes, so it was hard to make out any details other then a well fitting shirt with baggy looking pants.

Her breath hitched as she took in the face's features again. He was sort of.. cute.

Blinking her eyes to and try and dislodge the image, she looked to see if maybe she was just imagining the whole thing, she was only slightly disappointed to see that the boy had not moved, and was still sitting directly in the middle of the tree.

Awed by the intriguing change in the picture, she slowly moved her way back from the painting, hoping that the increase in space might make it easier to see.

Her mind was swirling with this new information, curiosity and a mix of uneasiness at her new observation. She couldn't help but wonder what exactly happened to her favorite painting, and how something of this importance could just change so suddenly. Hadn't she been looking at it, just this morning? It wasn't everyday that such an old painting changed into something entirely new.

Her gazing was cut short as the loud sound of a door slamming closed echoed throughout the halls, an audible shout making its way from the background signaling that her mother was now home. Moving her way back, she glanced one last time before running off to answer her mother's call.

It wouldn't be until that night that she would understand the importance of her observation.

**

Authors Note: Um, first off, thank you for reading, greatly appreciated! I do apologize for any spelling and grammar errors, which I'm sure are somewhere in there, as I don't have the time to revise tonight. Also, I do promise that my chapters will be longer then the prologue, as I do try to make it longer then this.

I can kind of guess that this first part was kind of slow, and lengthy on the description of the moon and the painting, but it had to be done, as it will play an important role later in the story. Erm... well I do believe that is all. It would be even more greatly appreciated if you happened to review, as it would boost my self-esteem, and make this author want to write sooner for you.

Well, Until Next Time!~

(I copied and pasted from fictionpress.net where you can find my prologue under the same sn)

[Melville's Best Friend]

This was good. I enjoy what you've done. ^__^

Keep it up!