"Hey, get up."

"Mmmwhat?" I groaned. I opened my eyes slightly to be greeted by fluorescent lights. As blinding as they were, I slowly let my eyes adjust. Besides the light, I noticed I was laying my head on something wooden. There were other wooden tables next to me, and going into rows. Oh crap, I fell asleep. I remembered I was at school, and I had fallen asleep. I straightened my body and sat up, wiping away some drool from the corner of my mouth. I noticed most of the other students were leaving the room and going into the hall.

"Dude, are you good now? It's time to go." A familiar voice said. Looking to the left, I realized it was my friend Harry. "C'mon man, tests were done like 3 minutes ago. Can we go?"

"Y-Yeah. Sorry, I'm still waking up, y'know?" I responded as we began to sit up and leave the classroom.

"No, I understand. You were snoring pretty loud, You been getting enough sleep?"

I gave a nervous laugh at the thought of annoying the class with my snoring. "Yeah, I've been sleeping just fine. I'm always tired though, you know that."

"Maybe you wouldn't be tired if you slept at a decent time."

"Yeah, maybe. I'm not going to take that chance though." I replied. Harry rolled his eyes as we left hallway and stepped near the front office. "One sec, I gotta use the restroom." Harry nodded as I stepped into the boy's bathroom. The bathroom was the same as any other schools, except this one was slightly smaller. 2 stalls and 3 urinals. I went to the urinal to relieve myself, and once finished, began to wash my hands. I looked into the mirror to make sure the sleep I had gotten hadn't messed up my hair.

I still looked relatively the same. Same medium black hair, same black eyes, same nose. There was nothing out of the ordinary, except for some drool on my white shirt. Luckily, it was hardly noticeable. Most people's eyes would be drawn to my grass stained jeans. Years of playground roughhousing had caused these jeans to be discolored and ripped near the right shin. As I began to walk away, I noticed my boots made a weird sound. Looking at the bottom of them just revealed I had gum on them. "Ugh." I sighed as I began to scrape it off with a napkin. This is just great. When did I even step on this? Gah. Whatever, I got most of it off my boots, and with that I stepped out of the restroom. Harry was there looking at his phone. "You good?" He asked without looking up from his phone.

"Yeah, let's roll." With that Harry put away his phone and we walked out of the school. "Where'd you park?" I asked.

"In the back. You know I'm afraid of other people hitting me."

"Of course. Great, now we have to walk the extra few minutes."

"Fine, why don't you drive us next time- Oh wait!" He began to laugh. "You don't have a car!"

"I don't have a driver's license either, but I do turn 16 next month. Here's hoping Claire buys me a car."

"Oh yeah, your birthday is soon, I forgot."

"You ass…"

"March 18th right?"

"Yessir. So what're you gonna get for me?"

"Whatever I can afford. You seem to think I have money or something." He chuckled at his own joke. I found myself smiling to it as well. We finally arrived at his car, a little volvo from the 80's that his father gave him for his 16th birthday. It was grey and dented in a few areas, and it took a few tries to start the engines on colder days, but it got the job done. I wouldn't mind it if Claire got me one of these myself. I entered the passenger side, and Harry began to start the car. "C'mon baby, one try only, one try- HELL YEAH!"

I smiled at seeing Harry getting happy. This man has been with me through the thick and the thin ever since I moved here. He still had his signature brown hair, though it was slightly longer than normal, and his brown eyes. His left cheek was scarred from the time when he was playing around with scissors, spinning it around his finger before he cut himself. He got some funny names for that, and for a whole year he was the butt of a joke. Harry usually dressed the same way throughout his life, dark shirts, dark jeans, and he always had a hoodie or jacket of sort. Today, he was wearing a hoodie with a logo from New York, the same one he got when he went to visit his grandparents.

Harry noticed me looking at him, and said "Uh, you alright man? You want a kiss or something, because you're staring at me seducingly."

I snapped back to reality. "Wait, what?" I asked. Harry just laughed as he reached for his cigarettes on his dashboard. He pulled out one and stuck it in his mouth. He pointed to his lighter, and before he could say anything, I grabbed it and lit the cigarette.

"Much obliged, friend." He said as he exhaled his cigarette. I looked at the cigarettes. I wasn't even sure where he got these from. He was 16, so he was too young to buy them, and his parents didn't really smoke, so I could only guess he had friends to buy it for him. Oh, maybe his big brother? I couldn't stop staring at the red and white box.

"Mind if I have one?" I asked.

"What? You don't usually smoke." He stated. He took another drag from the cigarette before exhaling again. Guess he doesn't care about the smell staying in his car...

"I'm worried about the test. Math isn't my strongest subject."

"I think I did alright. Hoping for a B minus at least."

"So uh, about that cigarette."

"I-uh, sure I guess. Here, take the pack, I have another at home. Consider it an early birthday present from me." He tossed the pack at me, and I barely reacted in time to catch it. "Do me a favor, and don't smoke it all at once. This stuff isn't good for you."

"How're you going to lecture me on the harms of smoking when you are smoking a cigarette yourself?" I questioned.

"Whatever man, I'm just looking out for you. I know the harms, and I still choose to do it because I feel like it. I recognize how unhealthy it is, but I don't smoke all the time, y'know? Maybe like once or twice a month."

"Good then, this'll last me about a year then, considering I don't smoke much either." I said as I quickly lit the cigarette and took a drag. After I exhaled, I coughed. Definitely not used to it. Harry laughed at the sight of me coughing from the cigarette. He gave me a 'told you so' look as he signaled his blinker to turn left.

We passed the park where we saw some children playing on the swings and monkey bars, supervised by a few parents. They briefly glanced at us before turning back to their kids. I took another drag as Harry drove into the the neighborhood. We didn't live too far away from each other or the school, but Harry insisted on driving to school instead of walking. We only lived a block away from each other, and 5 blocks from the school. I used to walk before he started driving, and I'm grateful he started driving me. It wasn't too cold right now, but in the mornings it made walking hell.

He took another right and pulled into his driveway. "The cigarette doing anything to calm your nerves?" He asked. I nodded, taking in another drag. "That's good to hear. You know doctors used to prescribe it to help calm people's nerves?"

"What are you, a history professor?" I laughed before I started to cough. "Ugh, these things are a bit too strong for me."

"You'll get used to it. You'll build up an immunity."

"Yeah, just like how if you shoot your foot with small bullets, you'll build up an immunity to bigger bullets."

"Go ahead and build up an immunity then, tough guy." Harry said as he rolled his eyes.

"I gotta go. Dinner should be ready soon." I exited the car and stretched. I started to walk away before remembering that I left my backpack in the car. Quickly, I turned around, grabbed it, and closed the door again. Man, these things are making me dizzy.

"What's for dinner? Rice and sushi, with a side of sake?" He joked. This was a common game we played with each other, and one the teachers really didn't like. We always teased the other about their heritage and made as many stereotypical remarks as we could towards each other. He always went to rice and sushi because I'm half Japanese, and I always went to tea and crumpets because he came from England when he was 3.

"Yup, how did you know? Could it be because you've made the same joke 3 days in a row?" I faked a gasp. "Go eat your tea and crumpets, while talking about the queen you peasant." I remarked as I began to walk home. It was still going to be a few minutes before I got home, so I had time to finish my cancer stick.

"NO SURRENDER! BANZAI!" Harry called from behind.

"God save our gracious Queen! Long live our noble Queen! God save the Queen!" I sang back at him. It was only a few more minutes to my house, so I took another drag. God damn, I really hope I did well on that math test. What a terrible way to end the day, jesus. Question 14 really made me want to kill myself, who even knows how to do something as stupid as algebra. It's not gonna help me in real life. I mean, why would I ever need to know 5(-3x - 2) - (x - 3) = -4(4x + 5) + 13? Freshman algebra sucks. I saw my house coming up, so I took one last drag before putting the tip of the cigarette to the ground, and extinguishing it. I walked some more before seeing a gutter, and tossing the cigarette into it. I sighed as I brushed my clothes off and walked into my yard. I stepped onto the patio and tried to open the door, but my face was greeted by the door. "Ouch." I tried to open the door again, and this time it opened smoothly. Smooth moves, loser. I embarrass myself sometimes.

"Hi Claire!" I called out. She was probably in the kitchen preparing dinner. I thought back to what Harry said, and honestly, I wouldn't mind having sushi and rice if she made it. "Are you home?" She must've been home, I don't think she would want to go out with the 3 kids just coming home. She didn't work because she was caring for 3 foster kids, and one of her own. So the government paid her for her service. I was not biologically related to her, but she was a good guardian nonetheless.

I set my backpack near the stairs, and walked into the kitchen. Claire was standing over the over, stirring something in a pot. "Hey Claire." I waved as I saw her. She gave a small smile before she looked back at the pot.

"I didn't hear you come in, sorry. How was school?"

"Same old same old."

"How was your tests?" She asked.

"Eh, I'm worried about the math test, but I think I did well on english and history. Tomorrow's the german test, so I'm worried for that."

"Don't worry about it too much! You do really well on most tests, so I think you should be fine."

"Maybe. Where's Mia?" I asked. Mia was the younger sister of mine, and Claire's only biological child in the family. She was always with her mom since she was only 2.

"She's sleeping, thankfully. She's been quite a handful today." Claire sighed. I respected this woman, she took on the challenge of raising children most people didn't want to adopt, and she did it with a smile on her face. She wasn't one of those horror story foster parents you hear about on the news or in books like Harry Potter or The Silver Spoon of Solomon Snow.

Which was weird, because even though she has done these things, I still can't call her my mom. I just… Don't like calling her my mom. Maybe it's because she isn't? She's more of a guardian, and though she tries to act like my mother, I think she and I both know she can't fulfill that role. If she wanted any hopes of being my mom, she'd have to go back in time, and take care of me when I was younger. I've only been in her care for about 3 years, but man did time fly. When I was here, I was the first foster child. I remember the way she would act, try her best to make me happy and make sure she didn't upset me. Luckily for her, I was a very easygoing child, I never argued with authority or anything like that. When I was waaaay younger though… That's a different story. I think what got her the most was the fact that I was more quiet than she thought. I didn't really talk too much or hang out with other kids, instead opting to stay inside. But, as with everything, time brought me out of my shell and changed the area from 'unfamiliar' to 'home'.

"Well, where's Billy and Josh?" I asked.

"They're going to spend the night at Carlos' house, and what that means is I can have some peace and quiet tonight, haha." Claire laughed. "Well, Dinner is going to be ready in about an hour, it's spaghetti."

"Alright, cool. Call me down when it's ready, I'm going to study." I said as I started to head upstairs. I grabbed my backpack, and went to my room, making sure to close the door behind me. I plugged my phone in and pulled out my German book titled 'Sprechen Deutch Vol 1.' The test was mostly over stuff I already knew, yet I was always nervous when it came to doing tests. Test anxiety as some people would call it. Realistically, I didn't need to study, but it always made me feel a bit better just affirming what I knew.

Somehow, I had gravitated away from the book and to my phone, and was now searching through the news. I just skimmed some of the headlines, not really clicking on anything. 'Russian Boy Disappears, Investigations Lead to Signs of Abuse.' Huh, that one looks interesting. 'Teenager Caught on Camera Stealing Food, Disappears Into the Night.' Hmm… That's interesting. I'll have to read up on it when later tonight.

"Dinner!" Claire called from below. I put my phone down and walked down the stairs into the dining room. Claire had already set the table for us and Mia, and it looked great. "You want anything to drink?" I asked.

"Uh, yeah get me a coke please. Oh, and get Mia some milk please." She politely asked. I nodded and went to the fridge to grab the items, all the while debating whether I wanted Tea or Coke. Ultimately, my unhealthy side won my taste buds, and I grabbed a coke. I put the drinks down in the dining room.

Mia noticed me and tried to greet me. "Hi Bibba!" She smiled. Bibba was her nickname for me since she couldn't say my real name, so she tried to say big brother instead. I don't think she knew that we weren't related by blood, but it didn't bother me.

"Hi Mia!" I smiled back as I gave a little wave. We mostly ate in silence, with Mia and Claire occasionally chatting with each other. Occasionally, Claire would talk to me about what college I was looking at, or what I was thinking of doing. I wasn't sure, so I told her I was still thinking on it.

"You should be a cook!" Mia shouted.

I stifled a laugh. "You might be right, I do like to cook. I'll think about it, thanks Mia." I humored her. She wasn't wrong though, I did like to cook when I wasn't busy being lazy. Oh well, I still have a few years to look around. We finished dinner, and I opted to wash the dishes.

"That'd be nice, thank you." Claire said as Mia and her went to the living room to watch some T.V. Thankfully, there was only 3 plates to wash, so it didn't take long at all. I let the pot soak, and cleaned the strainer before putting it on the drying rack. We have a dishwasher, but I preferred washing them by hand so I could see the cleanliness. I only really used it when there were a lot of dishes.

Once I was finished with the dishes, I went upstairs. "I'm probably gonna go to bed early, I'll cya tomorrow." I called down the stairs. Mia and Claire both yelled good night in unison, and I closed my door and locked it. I sleepwalk sometimes, so I usually used that as a way to stop myself from leaving the room. I hopped on the bed, too lazy to change my clothes right away, and turned on the T.V. Nothing good was on, so I just put on some random cartoons. Please god, let me do good on that test. I felt myself getting sleepy. I should get up...but…so comfortable… I closed my eyes. I've slept in regular clothes before, it's no different from pajamas, and they're comfortable in their own way. I managed to turn the T.V off and grabbed my phone and earphones. I put the earphones in my ears, blasted music, and drifted off to sleep.

Daylight came sooner than I expected. I groaned as I tried to pull the blanket over me some more, but I guess I accidentally pulled too much, because my legs were exposed. I groaned. I guess it's time to get up. I stretched and pulled the blanket off. Wait, why is the sun so bright. DID I MISS MY ALARM!? I noticed I was in a field of grass. Oh shit. Did I sleepwalk? It's never been this bad… I stood up, before realizing something. I wasn't using a blanket… It was my shirt! It was way bigger than me now. What the hell? My pants were also on the ground as well.

OH SHIT I'M NAKED. My clothes were oversized. I had no clothing to cover myself with, so I used my hands. Wait… These aren't my hands! These are… Covered in fur!? Oh no, oh no. I looked behind me to see a tail connected to my body. I felt my head and felt whiskers and ears. Oh god. I grabbed my shirt, and did the best I could to wrap it around my waist. I looked like someone from Rome, because it was wrapped around my waist and dragging along the ground. This'll have to do. I also grabbed my pants and carried them with me as well. My phone was in my front pant pocket, so I left it there since I had nothing to carry it with. This has to be a dream. It's definitely a weird one… Wait, maybe Lucid dreaming will help me out. I thought about something popping up… A red ball, or a 7-11 slushie. But nothing came out. I don't understand… Am I doing it wrong?

I have nothing left to lose if it is a dream, so I started walking. I could see a lake in the distance, so I walked towards it. Once at the lake, I was startled my reflection. Oh Jesus! I definitely wasn't human anymore. I was… A snow leopard? I think? I was also much smaller than I remembered. But don't snow leopards walk on all fours? Why am I walking on two? Nothing was making sense right now, and I was starting to get scared. Okay, it's just a dream, it has to be. This is impossible. Wait, is that… A city? I looked to my right to see that yes, it was a city.

I don't know what's going on, but I need to wake up. I could feel myself hyperventilating. I'm okay, I'm okay… Calm down. I… I think I'll go to the city. Maybe if I walk around enough, I can wake up. I hope… I thought to myself as I started to walk to the city in the distance.