Clara woke up, stretched, and began getting ready for school. As she stood in front of the mirror, she noticed a strange symbol etched into the glass. It seemed to pulse with a soft, blue light.
Clara's heart skipped a beat as she recognized the symbol. It was the same one she had seen in the bookstore, the same one that had been etched into the pages of the old books.
She felt a shiver run down her spine as she quickly finished getting ready, her mind racing with questions about the symbol.
At school, Clara ran into her friend Josie in the hallway. "Hey, Clara! What's up?" Josie asked, noticing Clara's pale expression.
"I didn't get much sleep last night," Clara said, trying to brush it off. "I went to a bookstore and saw some weird stuff about my family's secrets."
Josie's eyes widened. "What happened?"
Clara hesitated before explaining, "A woman tried to talk to me about my family's past, and she gave me a book with this symbol in it." She showed Josie the symbol on her phone.
Josie nodded, her expression concerned. "Is that all that's bothering you? You look really pale."
Clara took a deep breath. "No, it's not just that. I saw this symbol on my mirror this morning, and it's freaking me out. I think this thing is deeper than I thought."
Josie's eyes sparkled with curiosity. "Tell me more."
Clara's mind wandered back to Derrick, the hybrid she had seen passing by the bookstore. "And I saw this guy...he's really handsome, with piercing eyes and dark hair. I don't know who he is, but I feel drawn to him."
Josie grinned mischievously. "I think someone's in love!"
Clara rolled her eyes. "Stop it, Josie."
Josie chuckled. "Okay, okay. But seriously, let's check out the abandoned house after school and see if we can find some clues. And then we can head to the bookstore to talk to the woman."
When they arrived at the abandoned house, they were surprised to find Derrick snooping around, his eyes scanning the dusty rooms with an intensity that made Clara's heart skip a beat. The air was thick with the scent of decay and neglect, and the creaking of the old wooden floorboards beneath their feet seemed to echo through the silence.
"Looks like we're not the only ones curious about this place," Josie whispered, her voice barely audible over the creaking of the floorboards.
Derrick turned to face them, his piercing eyes locking onto Clara's, and for a moment, she felt like he could see right through her.