I was lying on my bed after dinner thinking about the bottle. I had it in my hands and I was rubbing the sides. It was so smooth, you could feel the waves etched, but then at times they would seemingly melt away, but when you looked you could still see them clearly on the bottle.


"You know you should really get that note out of there," Tyra told me, catching me holding it again.


"I thought you said you didn't care," I snapped placing the bottle onto my nightstand. What was with this girl she has got to have like, massive bipolar syndrome and it is really ticking me off.


"Key word didn't. I didn't care before, but those Coke bottles at dinner got me thinking about it and now it's stuck in my head." She replied coolly, completely disregarding my obvious annoyance.



"I already tried to get the note out. I tried hooking it with a paper clip, scooping it with a hanger, and pulling it out with tape but all I succeeded in doing was rip the side of the paper and scratch the bottle. The only other thing I could think of to do is break the bottle, and I- "


"Then do it, the suspense is killing me!" Tyra exclaimed interrupting me mid-sentence. She swung to the other side of the bed and grabbed the bottle, "All we have to do is smash the bottle, read the note, and be done with it. PLEASE!" she pleaded excitedly puppy pouting.


"Umm..." Break my bottle, well I wanted to read the note just as much as she did, more even, but is it worth it? "I guess so, sure." I said hesitantly.


"Awesome!" Tyra squealed. She raised the bottle above her head and swung down about to break my treasure all over the room's sand plush carpeting.


"Wait!" I shouted stopping Tyra mid-swing. "I-if we break it here then it'll leave glass everywhere."


She lowered the bottle dejectedly, "Then what are we supposed to do to get the note out?"


That was good question. How are we supposed to get the not oue if we can't break the bottle without getting glass everywhere and most likely a week's worth of detention from Mrs. Carcowski when we get back to school. I grabbed the bottle unconsciously from Tyra and rolled it in my hands as I thought. It was still cold. And it was damp on my hands, like water. Water!


"Tyra!" I said flipping back to face her, "we could fill the sink up with water, and then break the bottle into it. Then the glass will spread out in the sink butt it won't fly out." Tyra looked at me skeptically, uncertainty written all over her.


"Seriously, I've seen this on an episode of Degrassi before. Emma and many got their mom's ring stuck in a glass water bottle, so they smashed it on the bottom of the kitchen sink, and there was water on the bottom, so when the glass broke half of it flew out but the part that hit the water just stayed in it." I said rushing to explain. I needed to do it this way, If all the pieces stayed in one place then it would be easier for me to try and put the bottle back together, or at least have them to use separately. I could always try and make a mosaic with it, I could even call it, "My school trip and the only thing that made me put up with Tyra," I thought laughing to myself.


"Okay, I guess, it is your bottle after all." She muttered disappointedly.


In the bathroom we pushed the sink cork down, and turned the faucet. Filling the sink with lukewarm, I gazed at the bottle.

Tyra nudged me, "It's full."


I gulped, and gripped the neck of the bottle. As I was swinging it down the bottle dissolved into a metallic blue liquid. I gasped the rest of the bottle in my hand-or at least as much of it as was still intact-slipped from my hand plopping into the water. Little globs of blue swirling around the bigger glob, they stuck to each other then split apart into uneven halves. Tyra stuck her finger into the multi-colored water and drew figure-eights.


"Don't do that! You don't know what's in it!" I shrieked.

Yeah we do. This is just that bottle, but all liquefied, and hey! There's the note." Tyra laughed, her volume increasing as she tried to grab the note and it slipped out from between her fingers, like a wet bar of soap. I watched as the paper floated to the top, and then screamed for Tyra to grab it. She lunged for it smashing it between her hands.


"Yes!" we screamed slapping high-five's. The liquid from Tyra's hand transferred to mine and sent shivers down my arm. How can the water still be so cold after mixing with the tap water?


"Here," Tyra said thrusting the note at me, "It's from your bottle you get to read it."


That was awfully nice of her I thought as I took the note. I thought she'd read it first, then ruin it for me. Looking at it the paper was more parchment, thick and creamy yellow underneath the thin blue film from the glass-water. I took a gulp of air and held as I gingerly unfolded the parchment paper. The edges were sticking slightly together most likely by the water. I unfolded one last time, let go of my breath, and looked down.


I was right, the parchment paper really was a note, could even call it a letter. It was written in blue-green ink in a swirling

cursive handwriting. The word looped across the page giving off a sense of urgency. I quickly skimmed over the letter reading without caution to the style. I finished reading the letter and gasped loudly, setting off an impatient Tyra who was hovering behind me.


"What? What? What does it say? Oh, let me see" she said jostling me to see the letter.


"Wait, I'll read it to you." I yelled. "It says...

To whomever is reading this,


I am writing this because we desperately need help and no one else is willing to ask for any. My name is Victoria Sophia Voxen, and I live in Atlantis. Yes, Atlantis as in the lost city of. This city was built over 300 years ago when our founders were fed up with the petty disagreements and political problems of the US. Somehow over the course of that time we've been relocated from the pacific coast of the US, to the coast of Australia. But that's not the only thing that happened. We had a glass bubble over the city to protect us from any unwanted visitors, but the bubble started to crack. The first time we were able to repair it but it kept happening, so we built an inner bubble to stop some of the leakage from getting to us that worked too. The bubble is starting to crack again and I know that this time we can't stop it, but nobody else will admit. So I'm asking you to help us. Tell somebody who can get down to us and get us out. Or if you don't believe me, I beg of you to please come down to us and see for yourself. I put a few breathers into the bottle along with this note. Breathers will allow you to stay underwater for a longer amount of time while your swimming down, just swallow them. I have to go now, or I'll get in deep trouble, I'll try and explain the rest when I see you.



P.S. I've included a map to show the way to get down to the bubble; I'll be there to show you the rest of the way. And the reason nobody has found Atlantis before, is because we found a way to make our city invisible, so the scientists decided to call it a magnetic interference when they couldn't figure it out.








































Urgently,



















Victoria S. Voxen