The caterpillar blew a puff of smoke into Alice's face. "Alice, you're Alice? You don't seem like much of an Alice. You're not Alice-y enough to be her. I distinctly remember that she dreamed a lot more. Are you dreaming? Alice, are you dreami-" SMACK!
"ARE YOU DREAMING IN MY CLASS!? WAKE UP ALICE! THIS IS MATH CLASS! NOT WONDERLAND! YOU DO NOT GET TO SLEEP IN HERE!" Mr. Gayle was screaming at her, looking as if he would bust a vein in his head. This was the third time Alice had fallen asleep during one of his lectures about how this generation was horrible. The third time she had had the same dream about wonderland. "This is the third time you've fallen asleep in my class, and I will not stand for it!" He smacked a ruler on her desk again for emphasis. "Just because you may be having "family issues" does not mean that you get to fall asleep in my class! It does not get you any special treatment! You will be treated like all of the other students! I will not stand for this!" He was still yelling at Alice, not caring what the class had heard.
Great, this boob has just announced to the whole class that I had family problems. Now they'll think I'm even weirder. Not only did I fall asleep in class, and I dressed weird, and was a loner, but now I had family issues. I should just leave, and go home to finish my dream.
Alice got up, and started to pack up her stuff. She started to walk to the door, to leave, when Mr. Gayle yelled at her.
"And just where do you think you're going young lady!?"
"Where you were going to send me anyways." Alice replied dryly, she was done with the idiot. She walked out the door, slamming it on her way out. She walked down the hall, to the office that she had spent way too much time in recently.
"Mr. Collins is waiting for you" said the secretary that still dressed like she was in the eighties. She waved Alice through the little swinging door into the principal's office. Alice walked in and sat in the chair she had become accustomed to sitting in. Staring at the bald head she had come to see way too often. Hearing the same sigh that haunted her dreams every day.
"Alice, why were you harassing Mr. Gayle? I realize he isn't your favorite, and you've been through a lot, but you can't harass him." As if I was harassing him. He was the one who was bugging me. I said like six words to him total. If he had just let me sleep, then we wouldn't have had this problem. "He said that you defied him. And I realize that these past few weeks have been hard for you, but you need to get back into the swing of things. We aren't going to be making exceptions for you much longer. It is time for you to start moving on. I realize it is going to be hard, but this isn't an appropriate way to cope with things. Pretty soon people are going to start learning what happened and it is going to.." he rambled on about things that would apparently happen. People would learn, and think I was crazy. They would alienate me. As if they already didn't. Nobody ever talks to me. I don't have any friends. All I had was my brother, who is apparently crazy. And my parents are scared of me, afraid I will try to do what Raymond did. Afraid that I would try to kill them also.
Alice stared at her principal, wondering if getting up and leaving would be worth the trouble. Mr. Collins could tell she wasn't paying attention anymore. He knew that Alice was having a hard time, and that she loved her brother, so he decided to just send her home for the day. He had a new student waiting for him, and talking to Alice right now was just wasting everyone's time. "*sigh* so, here's the deal. I am going to let you head home for the rest of the day, and I won't get you in trouble. I will deal with Mr. Gayle, as long as you promise to behave. I want you to go home, and get some sleep. You seem really tired. And make sure to be back on time tomorrow." Mr. Collins ushered her out of the door, so he could meet with the new student and his parents. He sounded like he would need some extra attention.
As Alice walked out, she pondered what he said. She had been really tired recently, not getting much sleep. She would stay up late thinking, or trying to fall asleep. Walking out, and pushing the little swinging door, she saw a family sitting there, parents there with their son. He was obviously new, she would have noticed him before, with his black and blue and green hair. He was sitting there, lounging really, playing with a piece of thread. He had a silk top hat that was made out of a green and red pattern. He was wearing a red and black vest over a white button up shirt, and a green bow tie. She noticed all of this in the first two seconds. Then she noticed his eyes, bright, piercing green eyes. And he was staring right back at her.
Their eyes met for couple of seconds. And in that moment, Alice knew that this wouldn't be the last she saw of him. She was the one who broke the connection, but he kept staring. She didn't like this feeling, being seen. She was used to just being ignored, to blending in. And here she was, being noticed, stared at. I've been getting a lot of attention today, and it's not even ten o'clock.
Alice hurried to her locker, collected her stuff, and made her way to the park. She wasn't about to go home, not when they didn't want her there. She had never really fit in with her family. Actually, that was a lie. She fit in perfectly with Raymond, but not with her parents. She was exactly the opposite of what her parents wanted in a daughter. They wanted someone who was peppy, cheerful, popular, sweet, perfect. And they got a daughter who looked the way they wanted, but she wasn't peppy. She was a loner, she was weird, she was different. They got their perfect son, captain of the football team, straight a's, handsome. He loved everyone, especially Alice. He understood Alice. He tried to make Alice feel loved, make her feel important. And he had, because he was perfect, until he went all Rambo on them. So no, she wasn't going to go home, yet. She would. She had to. But not yet.