It was basically a normal day in New Jersey. The sun was shining, the birds were singing and butterflies were fluttering about the blooming flowers.
Not.
Thunder rumbled across the sky as the clouds churned, charcoal black. My eyes stayed sky wards, safely protected behind the sheet of glass that separated my house and the outside. Rain splattered against the window, almost lulling me into a sleep with the repetitive noise.
A bang on my door brought me back down to earth. My head whipped around to face the person just outside of my bedroom.
A creature stood there, tall and proud. I found myself straining to lift my gaze above his nose but I soon managed it. Not two but one eye sat in the middle of his forehead, his narrowed glare fixed upon me.
I opened my mouth to scream but, for some reason, I couldn't. What came out of my mouth instead was a strangled gargle. A smirk spread its way across the monster's face. That, paired with the dull light filtering through my window, made his expression even more frightening.
Loud footsteps echoed across the room as he approached. I shrunk towards the curtain, trying with all my might to get as far away as possible from the creature. His enormous, outstretched hand came closer and closer until a yell from behind it reached my ears… "Breakfast is ready!"
I jumped up from my bed, the sheets tangling with my sprawling limbs. Sweat made the cloth stick to my legs and arms, refusing to become separated with my skin. My heart pumped a mile a minute, straining against my rib cage as if it was eager to burst out and run away. That's what I'd do.
"C-Coming!" I called through the open door, reaching my hand over to my bedside table and plucking my glasses from it. After placing them securely on the bridge of my nose, I peered at my digital clock. The flashing digits read '7.15am'.
Stifling a groan, I managed to scramble out of my bed, glaring down at the sheets that were damp with my sweat as if the nightmare was their fault.
Behind my tired exterior, my mind was racing. What on earth could have caused that dream? I wasn't into myths. I didn't believe in them, so what was the point in learning?
Besides, it was kind of hard due to my learning disability.
Having dyslexia was probably one of the hardest things an almost-teenage girl could suffer through. I wasn't able to read magazines and I certainly couldn't understand novels, never mind half of the stuff we were taught at school.
To top all of this off, I had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. For all those who don't understand, I wasn't able to stay focused on one thing, which made it doubly as hard to get good grades in school. As if it wasn't enough that I couldn't read, I wasn't able to concentrate on anything for more than a minute without being jumpy. It was a girl with the ambition to be a doctor's hell.
In case you didn't realise already, I wanted to be involved in medicine but, with my conditions, I couldn't. Nobody would expect me to stand patiently in a hospital while I bandaged up a person's broken leg. Even I didn't expect that of myself, and I was the one who wanted to go to medical school.
My mother welcomed me with a smile as I stumbled through the kitchen door, rubbing my eyes behind the lenses of my glasses. "Morning," she greeted, turning back to the sink where she was washing the dishes.
"M-m-m-morning," I managed to say, my mouth widening in a yawn. She chuckled humourlessly, sweeping over towards me to press a kiss on my head. I squinted a little, grumbling about how I was too old for her kisses and cuddles.
"I'm twelve now, Mom," I told her, digging into the cereal she'd left for me on the table. "I can't have you kissing me in public anymore. That'd be like you're still dropping me off at school after you'd packed my lunch."
She sighed a little, wiping some invisible crumbs off the counter. "Darling, you realise that we're currently not out in public, I still do drop you off at school and I still pack your lunch." With a muttered 'whatever' and a rolled eye, I let the spoon clatter into the empty bowl.
"Well, that's all going to change. I'm going to be more mature and independent from now on."
"Oh, really?" She raised a sceptical eyebrow at me. "You say that after all of your birthdays."
I shrugged with an air of nonchalance, waving my hand in a 'pish posh' manner. "Time for change has come, oh lovely mother of mine. This time I will keep my promise." She scoffed at me but I planted a kiss on her cheek anyway.
"I'm just going to get ready!" I called over my shoulder. She turned her head my way and winked at me.
"Are you going to do that yourself or shall I dress you instead?" she teased. I rolled my eyes t her, laughing under my breath. She was a cool Mom.
*
"Did you get that history essay done?" asked my friend, Melissa. I shook my head, furrowing my eyebrows.
"We had a history essay?" I repeated, my voice slightly strained.
"Yup," she said, taking a bite of her apple. I sighed to myself, turning my attention away from her too-happy face. Instead, I stared right ahead of me.
For a second, I thought I spotted the monster peering at me through the crowds of students that attended my middle school. My mouth made a small 'o' in horror before I blinked and he disappeared.
"H-Hey, Mel?"
"Mm?" she answered, still munching on her fruit.
"What do you call those… things that have on eye in the centre of their forehead and look really… weird?"
"Um…" Her forehead creased in thought. "Aren't they called Cyclopes or something?"
I nodded, feeling a long string of breath pour out of my mouth with relief. "Yeah, that's it."
"Why?" she asked, tilting her head and staring at me. I shrugged in response.
"Just wondering."
Mel gave me a weird look before shaking her head and looking away. She'd learned by now not to question me.
The bell rang from above and I jumped, clutching the clothes just where my heart was. My breathing, which had sped up from the sudden noise, gradually began to slow down. Melissa stared at me, her eyes wide with horror. They probably mirrored mine.
"We're late," we chorused before speeding off in a sprint down the hall. It was a challenge, to say the least. It was still packed full of students who shot glares at us as we shoved past. More than once, my foot was trod on and not by accident.
"Sorry, Mrs. Smith," I panted as we came to our English class. Her form radiated disapproval.
"You're late." I gulped, feeling beads of sweat form on my forehead.
"Well, we were on the other side of the school when the bell rang and we—" Melissa began but Mrs. Smith held up a hand, quieting her down instantly.
"Sit down," she said in a deadly calm tone. We both nodded and sat down, lowering our gazes to the ground like scolded children. I heard the cloth of her skirt swish against her legs as she retreated back to the board.
"Now, class," Mrs. Smith began, glancing once or twice over her shoulder as she wrote on the blackboard. "Today we will be starting poetry."
I stifled a groan. Many people around me grinned, sitting up straighter in their seats. I glowered at them.
To clear things up, my class was the smart class. How I got stuck in here, I had no idea, but it must have had something to do with the fact that Melissa was the daughter of the vice principal.
That didn't stop my lack of talent in English (or any subject, for that matter). For one, it bored me to tears, but I barely understood a word when it was on the paper. I was at a huge disadvantage even when studying a novel. To make things worse, I seemed to lack any sort of poetry skill whatsoever. Anything that rhymed seemed to want to avoid my brain and all the things I wrote was a bunch of gobbledegook.
"But first I would like to hand out your last vocabulary test." This time, I groaned out loud. Her piercing eyes zeroed in on me and I shrunk back in my seat. "Is there something wrong, Miss Farmer?"
I shook my head quickly. "No, ma'am." She stared at me for a few seconds longer before picking up the pile of paper sitting on her desk.
"I was extremely pleased with most of your results," she told us, "but some of them--" she looked pointedly at me "--disappointed me. However, we shall see, and those who let me down will… well, they'll know." An evil smirk spread across her face as she tossed the papers to their owners. Mine landed in front of me.
"Crap," I muttered under my breath. Right beneath my name, in big, bold, red writing, a 'D-' stood out, as clear as day. Melissa turned around from her desk in front of me.
"What'd you get?" she whispered.
"D minus."
She made a face of pity. "It could have been worse; you could have gotten an F." I nodded glumly though her attempts to cheer me up didn't work.
"Those who got less than a C will be staying in after school today to redo the test," Mrs. Smith announced. Everybody stared around with knitted eyebrows, trying to spot somebody with less than a C. No doubt they found that impossible.
I sank lower in my seat.
"Basically, that means there will only be one person," she continued, crossing her arms and staring right at me. If I'd sunk any lower, I'd be half way to hell. The whole class 'subtly' turned around to peer at me as well.
I prayed that my day would get somewhat better.
Something told me that was not going to happen.
A/N: CC is welcomed, as are normal comments. Thanks for reading and please review!