A.N: All characters and events in this story-even those based on real people-are entirely fictional. Everything is the right of their respective owners. I own nothing.:
I awoke to a surreal world. Everything was abnormally quiet. Not lacking just sound, but other feelings, other sensations. There was no smell of my mother cooking in the kitchen, no sound of her laughter or her pain-filled 'ouch', no subtle vibrations of her making her way through the apartment. The only other visible movement was the dust dancing in the beams of light, performing an intricate little routine with a dexterity not seen elsewhere.
Groggily, I turned my head to look at my alarm clock. The red, glowing letters read 6:42. Little did I know, those seemingly insignificant numbers would mark both the end and beginning of my life. Turning my head again, this time to look at the canopy above my bed, an overwhelming sense of dread overcame me. For a brief moment, it was like I had become a giant lump of lead in the Earth's core, and under the intense heat, I melted, but under the intense pressure, I remained solid.
Groaning, I got up to go through my morning routine. Subconsciously noting something was off, everything I did felt weird. My ice-cold shower burned my skin, the brush was ripping out my hair, my toothbrush was rubbing my gums raw. The taste of my cereal was too sweet, my apple, too bitter. All the bouquets of roses my mother placed everywhere smelled rotten, the normally musky smell pungent.
Needing a way to pass the time, I wandered over to the couch were my favorite book lay. Absent-mindedly flipping through the pages, looking through blurry, unfocused vision, I allowed myself to wish that I was the main character, to have her life. Listlessly staring at it, I made no effort to read it. Turning my attention away, I gazed blankly at the black T.V screen. Eventually I focused on my book once more, perusing, but not taking in what was written on the well-loved pages. Sighing softly, I gently closed the covers and set the book down beside me.
Slowly I surveyed my surroundings, and found nothing out of the ordinary-neither good nor bad. Spying my cat walk in to my bedroom, it leaped onto my bed before strutting around, making itself comfortable in the comforters. Paying it no heed, I awkwardly stood up from the rut I had formed in the couch and made my way to the front door.
Picking up my belongings and stowing them in my bag, I paused.
"Mom, I'm going to school," I shouted, and went out the door without waiting for a reply.
***
The day had dragged on, as if someone had slowed time down, just for me. It was like I was moving through molasses. I felt like the tortoise, and that everyone else was a hare, rushing from class to class, not seeing, not thinking, just doing. All of them glassy-eyed automatons going about their daily lives, never stopping to look around and think!
All my classes had seemed to go on forever, with my feeling of dread from this morning getting stronger and stronger with each passing minute. Homeroom, Bio, Trig, History, Economics, all drawn out.
I didn't get any peace at lunch, either. Picking at my food, stabbing at it with my fork and pushing it around my plate, I listened to the cacophony of voices around me, the discordant orchestra of conversations that was reverberating around the room.
"So, like, my orthodontist is selling midnight showing tickets for That Movie. I've heard that it's, like, really scary, but, really, really, really good. I totally think we should all, like, go together," Jessica said on my right.
"Totally! We really should! And the main male actor! Rawr! I love me some James! He is soo hot. I wouldn't mind riding bareback on him," Lauren on my left said. "What do you, like, think Nadz? You up for it?"
Snapping out of my reverie, I blankly stare at them both. "Huh? Please repeat."
"Woah. What's up with you Nadz? You've been totally out of it all day," blonde one said.
I just shrugged in response. Suddenly I feel a hand timidly tapping my on the shoulder.
"Umm... Excuse me, Miss Johnston, er, I have to, uh, deliver a message to you," an even more timid, masculine voice said. I turned around and was met with a pimply, gangly upperclassman. I just sighed.
"Thanks."
He looked shell-shocked for a moment, before shoving the note in my hands and running off. Thinking nothing of it, I unfolded the note, thinking to find yet another love note, but was confronted by my mother's handwriting.
Baby,
I'm sorry.
I know that sorry isn't enough, but it's all I have to say.
Well, you know how I've always wanted to go to Mexico? I found someone to go with. It's my birthday present to myself.
Don't worry about me, honey, I'll be right. And don't worry about yourself, I've talked to everyone. Jim knows that you're moving back with him, and the local school knows too. Your current school knows as well. Jim'll pick you up after school and take you home to pack.
Mom.
Sorry.
***
As the final bell of the day buzzed, everyone but me got up to go home. Everyone else had a home to go to. As it was like earlier in the morning, everything had a surreal quality to it. No sound, no smell, no feeling. People talking without speaking, people hearing without listening.
I stared at the whiteboard, trying to memorize it. At my desk, to remember the scratches, the drawings. At the walls, studying the posters about how to deal with a zombie apocalypse. Giving up, I slowly stood and made my way to the door.
Without looking back, or looking up, I navigated my way through the sea of people eager to return to their lives. Everybody was pushing and shoving in a vain attempt to enjoy the weekend. Shaking my head sadly, I ignored all the people around me, and built walls around my mind, heart, and soul. Not again. Never again.
Ghosting my way through the emptying corridors, I made my way along the sides, fading into obscurity. Making no noise once I stepped on the gravelly tarmac, I singled my nervous wreck of a father out against my car. Hunching my shoulders, I made my way over.
"Hey, Princess," he said, offering me a wan smile. I just nodded. Digging through my pocket for my keys I mumbled something unintelligible.
"Let's go."
***