Chapter 5

As Reyna raced home in her car, her brain was in a whirl. Her best friend of who knows how long had just kissed her. She didn't know what to do. What to think. Reyna knew she had to face Tae eventually, but she had to get her mind off of what had just happened.

The chilly October afternoon seemed to go well with Reyna's mood. Overhead, the gray clouds were just as gloomy as Reyna felt. She parked her car in the garage and walked into her house. Being at home made Reyna feel a little bit better. She loved her huge house, but her room was where she preferred to be. She ran up the winding marble staircase and stopped by her older sister Xer's room. Reyna and Xer were best friends. They had always been close, and whenever something was wrong, Reyna knew Xer could help her through it.

"Xer?" she called out. Reyna looked around Xer's pink, princess-y room. Xer was nowhere in sight, but it was likely she was in her secret room. Reyna had one of her own. The "secret" rooms were rooms that were built into closets or other places throughout the house. Over the years, the Kal family had discovered all 12 of these "secret" doors that led to the secret rooms. There was at least one in each bedroom, and Reyna headed to hers. She walked into her bedroom, and without stopping, walked into her walk-in closet. In the back, behind the columns of Reyna's shoes, she punched in her password and a small door slid open. She flicked on the light switch that was next to the little door. Instead of stairs that descended into the room, there was a light pink slide. Reyna slid down headfirst and tumbled onto the pile of pillows and cushions she had placed at the bottom of the slide.

Reyna spent more time in her secret room then in her actual bedroom. Her secret room had been painted a light shade of purple. The room was very large, and had a bookcase set against one wall. The bookcase went from the floor to the ceiling. It was only filled about a fifth with books because the bookcase was so big. There was a Tempur-Pedic bed tucked into the corner farthest from the slide. A flat screen TV was perched on the wall near another corner. That corner had a little loft, and Reyna started to climb the stairs to settle into the loft and watch TV. She threw her bag on the ground near the slide and walked over.

Reyna got halfway up the stairs when she noticed something under the slide she knew had not been there before: a door. Reyna ran down the stairs and ducked underneath the slide to examine the door. It was circular, unlike most doors. There was nothing on the door except for what Reyna thought looked like a capital A, but also like an unfinished cartoon star. On the doorknob was a keyhole. She had no idea how that door got under her slide, but she was very curious as to where it would lead her.

A thought struck  her: what if there was danger behind this weird door? But Reyna dismissed the thought. This is the real world, and the door probably wouldn't even lead anywhere. But she could not stop the hope that the door would lead her into some magical world, like in one of her fantasy books. Reyna took a deep breath, preparing herself for disappointment in case there really was nothing but more wall behind this door.

She twisted the doorknob and pulled the door open a crack. Light filtered in. Confused, Reyna opened the door all the way. And smiled. The door lead outside. Reyna crawled through the door, expecting to see her neighborhood. Instead, all she saw were trees. Trees whose leaves were the color of teal. In San Diego, all the trees were bare, due to the fact that winter was approaching. But here in this forest, the trees all had their leaves.

A lazy breeze drifted through the forest. Reyna took a deep breath and immediately noticed that the air was different. It seemed more... pure. Reyna looked around, pinching herself several times to make sure she wasn't dreaming.

She turned around to look back through the door she had come from. The circular door was placed in a tree. She could still see her secret room through it. She closed the door and was surprised to find a key in the doorknob. She took out the key and placed it in her jeans pocket. Reyna turned back around, facing the forest with leaves fluttering in the wind.

Where am I?