Chapter 1: A Sigh, Supper, Sour milk, a Slip on the Stairs, a Swing of a Sword, a Spell, a Slap, a Storm, and a�Stalker?
Ari was sitting at the table in his house, pushing the food on his plate around with his fork. He stared at it, trying to figure out what it was. To him it looked like hard, sticky ground beef covered with overcooked onion slices. His mother, sister, and Marilene sat at the table with him, watching him, waiting for him to take a bite.
He stabbed the meat with his fork and reluctantly started to pull the food up to his mouth. His hand was shaking, and the fork slowly crept up to his lips. He took a deep breath and pulled the meet off the fork with his teeth. He only chewed it once or twice before swallowing and forcing it down his throat. It didn�t taste like any kind of meet he had before, and he didn�t want to ever have it ever again, ever. He grabbed his glass of milk and drank half of it in one gulp to get the dry bitter taste out of his mouth, but he spit the milk out on the floor.
�Stupid sister,� he thought. �The one time SHE goes to town to buy the groceries, she gets soar milk, and just when I need it most.� He sighed.
His mother asked him, �Is there something wrong, Ari?� Ari didn�t answer. Instead, he got up and walked to the basement.
When he went down the stars he tripped over something, but he couldn�t see what it was by the light that leaked through from under the door. He thought he saw something moving out of the corner of his eye. He got up, moaning quietly, and flicked the light switch on. He looked around the room, but all he saw was a flashlight on the floor that was lit so dimly that it barley gave off enough light to cast a shadow. When he looked down at the steps, he saw Stan�s purple bottle. Someone had placed it in the middle of the staircase for him to trip on.
��Annie� he thought. �It had to be her. She got the soar milk on purpose. She knew someone would spit it out, and I�d be the one that would have to go down stairs and get a towel to clean it up�brat� He sighed again. �Life sucks.�
He picked the bottle up, walked down the rest of the steps, and placed the bottle on a shelf. He walked into the middle of the room, bent down, picked the flashlight up, turned it off, and put it in a draw.
Ari opened another draw to get a towel, and the purple bottle fell from the shelf above him onto his head. �Ow!� he cried. He thought he heard a faint laugh, but he looked around and there was no one there. He looked down at the bottle and kicked it as hard as he could. �Ouch!� Kicking the bottle barefoot wasn�t such a great idea. �Stupid bottle,� he thought. �Stupid Annie, stupid Stan.�
He put the bottle down on the dresser and took the towel. He closed the draw hard, and the bottle fell on his foot. �Ugh!� He grabbed his sword and swung it wildly at the bottle, but the bottle was protected by a spell, and the sword bounced back as hard as it was swung, sending poor Ari to the ground again.
His mom called to him from the top of the steps. �Ari, what are you doing down there? Hurry up and come finish your diner.� He didn�t answer. Ari never answers.
He walked up stairs thinking, �I hate this room. I hate that bottle. I never wanted to have to fight against a jar, or urn, or bottle again.�
Once Ari got up stairs his mother and Marilene were at the table waiting for him to come back. He cleaned the milk up and started to head upstairs to his room, but his mother stopped him. �Don�t you want your diner?� He turned around and said, �um�I�m not hungry.� His mother started to sound angry as she said, �But just an hour ago you were complaining that you were SO hungry. What�s wrong with you? I never have a problem with your sister. Go eat now. I�m sure you haven�t been eating well on your journey, and Marilene worked very hard to cook for us. It�s the first meal she ever made. Are going to let her feel bad? God only knows what that nice girl has been through, but it�s obvious she�s had a tough life, so go make your guest feel welcome.� Ari sighed again. �Yes mom,� he said quietly. As he walked off he muttered, �You talk almost as much as dad.� She heard him, but let it go.
Ari sat down at the table alone and looked down at the now cold and rubbery disgusting meal that Marilene had prepared. �Cold mashed potatoes are one thing, but�this�,� he thought. He played with his food and mumbled, �I�d rather eat a half cooked yeti smothered in man eating onions.�
He heard the sound of a foot tapping from behind him. He turned his head and Marilene was right behind him. She slapped him across the face. Ari fell off of chair and she stormed off. �What happened to the good girl act?� he thought.
His mother came over to him and yelled at him. �That�s it Ari! Leave this house tonight and come back when you�re ready to behave. Your father just got home and he brought a gray haired man with him who was interested in seeing the bottle, but when he went into the basement it was a mess and the bottle was all scratched up.� Ari bowed his head and walked out side. �The day I get home I get kicked out again��
Ari sat down on the steps outside his house. It was festival time anyway, but poor Ari was just too ant-social for a festival, and the last thing he wanted was to run into Julia.
The sky suddenly turned gray with thick rain clouds, and it started pouring harder than it ever had in Tenel. Ari rested his elbows on his knees and leaned his head on his hands. A loud �mwa ha ha ha� can from behind a tree.
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