Sacrifices for the Sea Monster

[Stella Parris]

For once, the temperature had decided to climb above completely freezing, and Stella could not have been more happy. Although she found New Zealand very pretty, the weather could be far too cold. Thankfully, spring was here, and summer was well on its way. It still wasn't quite warm enough to go for a swim, however, so Stella had settled for just sitting by the lake, dangling her feet in the water. It wasn't the same as swimming in the ocean, but it would have to do.

At least the cold lake water and fresh air made the homework she was doing a lot more bearable. The amount of essays they were assigned was starting to get ridiculous. What happened to plain old worksheets? Did those not exist in the magical world? Sighing, Stella placed a new sheet of parchment on the textbook she was balancing on her lap before beginning yet another essay. As she started to write, something tickled her foot, causing Stella to swing her legs in an effort to get the bothersome fish to swim away. The tickling didn't stop. Frowning, she glanced down at the water, and her gaze immediately locked on something that looked a bit like a massive pinkish-grey rope, except it was a lot slimier and covered with suckers.

What could that possibly be? Comprehension suddenly dawned on her, and Stella shrieked before scrambling backwards, accidentally kicking her book, along with her homework, into the water. She didn't notice her possessions slowly sinking away; all she knew was that she had to get away from the massive sea monster.

 

[Boston Adams]

Boston Adams was glad that it was nice outside. She was tired of laying low in the castle. After she and Kris had gotten caught, it was as if every professor was always looking at her. She felt like she was a hot topic, but it was all in the girl's head. She had been rolling around in the grass. It was so much fun, and it was relaxing! Boston had a lot of energy, and her parents needed to send her the football she left at home. American football excited her. It was tough, and it required movement. She hated sitting still. It was the most irritating thing ever! She had barely survived sitting with Kris in the library. All he talked about was some veggie thing. Boston liked her vegetables, but only when they were at the dinner table. She despised any sort of reading. She was good at it, but her brain started to hurt after reading a few sentences.

While she was rolling, Boston heard someone shriek. She was immediately on her feet and following the sound. This could be fun! A girl was moving away from the water. Boston ran to the edge of the lake. She looked into the water to see what had made the girl move away. She got on her hands and knees to get a better look. She gasped and reached her hand in to grab a tentacle of the creature. It was slimy. Her Mum was Asian, she didn't know what specific ethnicity, so she had eaten octopus and other seafoods before. She honestly loved it all. Boston pulled her hand out of the water with the tentacle tightly in her grasp. She turned to the girl and spoke, "Come over her! This is cool!" she insisted and beckoned the girl to come closer.