I guess I've always been pretty normal. You know, white picket fences, happily married parents, horse shows every weekend, good grades. Normal. That was me, maybe the white picket fence part was an exaggeration. We live in a condo right now. That doesn't make me any less normal!
Not that I really want to be normal, that's pretty boring, boring, but right now my entire reality is being tested and if I can get normal then I'm going to take it.
I just turned thirteen about a week ago, the party, if you could call it that, was great. My best friend came over and my parents let us go and see a movie in theater, the best part being that they decided they didn't need to tag along.
Emma, that was my best friend, since we were old enough to tiddle and toddle. Are those the same things? I don't know, probably, but it's been a long time. We went to see this comedy, I can't remember the name, she picked it and I was having a hard time focusing that day. The moment I woke up my body felt warm and my skin crawled and not matter what I wore of how much I raked my nails over my arms, legs, and neck, it wouldn't go away.
By the time we got to the theaters, the act was up.
"Emma," I said, but it was hardly audible. "Emma, I- uh, I can't feel my hands."
"What was that?" She asked, chewing on a piece of licorice.
"Nothing." I said, squeezing my right hand in my left and vice versa. There was no logical reason for this. Maybe I was dying. You know, I read this biography once, about this woman who got bitten by a bed bug, or maybe not, because she never found them in her house, but then she went crazy and turns out she had the disease that they say is confused with demonic possession. I thought that was funny, but how scary would it be to lose your mind? Lose your mind and hallucinate, there's nothing you could do to stop it because it's out of your control. That scares me. Not that I have any mystery bites or anything, but who's to say I'm immune? There my mind goes again, I worry too much.
I deserved to worry, I was fine yesterday and today, BAM! I'm like something straight out of mystery diagnosis. Maybe, that's my problem. I have been watching too much of that show lately. I blame Emma, she's so into it, she wants to be a doctor when she gets old, but I think she'll change her mind.
"Hey, you okay?" Emma asked, I was pulled from my internal monologue. I must have looked as deep in thought as I wished I felt. Maybe if my brain were actually working correctly right now it would be able to come up with a solution!
"Me?" I pointed to myself, not noticing at the time that I could now feel my fingertips and that they were freezing. Emma nodded slowly. "Oh, what, yeah? I'm dandy peach." I stuttered. Apparently my mystery diagnosis' symptoms included idjit.
"Dandy peach?" She iterated, I nodded and pursed my lips into what could be a smile, if I were a dying swine. "Licorice?" She asked and passed the bag, I pushed it away. Emma had this recent taking to black licorice and if I knew any better I'd say that I were losing her to the dark side. However, I do know better, and she's just a freak. The best kind.
Somewhere in between gagging at the stench of black licorice and trying not screech into the abyss, I found myself actually enjoying this film. I had no idea what the plot was or who the heck I was looking at, but some comedy is just rude and doesn't need a plot of even a quality actor. It was funny, okay, and that's the end of the line.
The joke was soon forgotten as the second I laughed there was a 'pop' from behind us. I looked back to see and the projector had gone black, which made me mad, and when I'm mad I just kind of glare at things until they get scared. Obviously with this inanimate object, that wasn't going to happen, but hey, I don't back down.
"I don't think that's going to work." Emma laughed from beside me, the lights turned on and a couple of worker bees filed in.
"We're sorry, all, but the projector seems to have," He turned his red face away to a short girl who said something and he pulled a confused face. "Uh, spontaneously combusted."
Emma laughed, the boy glared her way and she just shook her head. "So yeah, if you could just leave kindly, and pick up your trash that'd be- that'd be nice." He did a thumbs up and shuffled out after the girl.
"Spontaneous combustion," Emma repeated. "I wonder when the Winchester boys'll show." She referenced Supernatural, the greatest show to have aired since forever. Better than Glee, because apparently Glee is great, but I've never watched it. I never will, a musical TV show is not my cup of tea. I could barely sit through Disney on Ice.
"Right." I said and stood, streching. I felt better, almost like none of the strange occurrences of earlier never happened, it all came down to a dull tingle, which I could handle. I slipped on my caramel leather coat and violet scarf, it was early February and still as cold as Mary Winchester was hot in pilot. Ha, no more Supernatural jokes, this isn't a text post. I'll admit, if I could go back and stop myself from making a tumblr, I would have, but now it's too far gone.
Earlier this year we'd moved from the suburbs into the city. We have lived in Portland for about seven years, which apparently was the longest my parents have lived anywhere since I was born, a town in Maine that they lived in for five years. They were surprised to have ever left, but once I was born they wanted some place that I could thrive but not too much. So, after hopping around the country until I was about six, we ended up here, fell in love with the rain and surplus of hobos. Well, I did, I love homeless people, they always have the best stories to tell and all I have to do is make then rice crispy treats. Which, if you don't know, is only the most fun food to make in the world. Maybe. Yes.
"I think it's great." Emma twirled around me as I walked and she skipped down the sidewalk. "The weather, that is." The ground was still damp, but the kind of damp where if you sat on it, your butt would be fine and it wouldn't look like you wet yourself. So, nice. I liked the way it felt underneath my feet, even through the shoes. I liked the feeling of cold air trying to attack my toes, but being blocked by my socks. I may or may not being wearing socks and sandals. Birkensocks.
"Me too, I just hope it rains a little." I answered, then she started talking and I wanted to listen, I really did, but it just wasn't happening today, all her words blurred into the backround and sounded like the adults in episodes of Charlie Brown, which coincidentally don't sound all that different from actual adults when they talk about politics or 'when I was your age'. Yeah, we get it, you were young once, you can vote, do you want a medal?
"Regina!" Emma called and whirled me around. Turns out, in my stupor I almost walked into two lanes of traffic. Oops. "Dude what is wrong with you?" She asked wide eyed.
I looked around, not really sure what I was doing. It was like I blinked and before the world was a day dream and now it was real and I could feel it closing in on me. "Nothing." I yanked away from her. "I was just thinking about.. something else." I replied.
"Are you okay?" She asked. "Like, really?" She pressed.
"Yes, stop asking me that, Emma, god." I flicked my head to the side to get my bangs out of my face. She was still staring at me. "Really." The panel across the road I was almost pancaked in turned to white. "We can walk." I noted and stepped out into the walk. Emma followed close behind and I wish she wasn't living in with us while her parent were backpacking somewhere in maple syrup country. Canada, and that wasn't hate, I love Canada and all it's inhabitants, well, I'm not too keen on the French, because I've been to France, and their food sucks. If there language wasn't so beautiful I'd put them on my list. The list of places I want to send all the worst people in the world. The first to go, Gwenyth Paltrow. Next, the girl I had a crush on for nine whole months. She was straight. I think. I don't know, I never told her.
We had taken a bus here, but in my trance I seemed to have forgot, and Emma was just following me about because she didn't spend much time in the city or anywhere that wasn't the woods outside her house and school. Her parents were apocalypse junkies, zombies and shit. They were the pair that thought the world was going to end in 2012, and having been given the speech about how and why, I was convinced as well. They were filthy rich, though, Emma's mom was an heiress to a corp that no one wanted to tell me the name of, and her father was in the army for twenty years, don't know what he did, because he was one of those that never spoke of the war unless it was to compare it to some casual problem here in America.
They are definitely, you know, interesting. To say the very least. But they're good people, my parents like them, and Emma is the best person I have ever met. I love her, she's like my complete opposite in so many ways but we're basically the same as well. I can't even begin to tell you how many times she has gotten us into trouble and I've had to take the fall because, well my parents would understand and still let me see the light of day, and her parents were very nice but they didn't tolerate foolishness when it came to her, and they trusted me. So, everytime one of her 'adventures' goes south, guess who's house we end up at? Yep, mine. They don't mind though, well not the first time, or the second, or the time I broke my arm, but you get the idea. They only got pissed the time that we broke in to an abandoned house in search of ghosts.
The cops thought we were stealing. Cops are stupid, they obviously do not know who they are dealing with. That's another nice part of living in the city; the popo never remember you. When you're this cute it's easy to get off with just a warning once, then again and again until maybe someone recognizes you, but we like to act. Lying is an art, but only when you know how to use it properly and to your benefit without hurting someone, but that only seems to go accordingly sometimes.
I smiled at the memory when I started to feel hot all over again, the tingle turned into a hum, a vibration that came in short wavelengths moving throughout my body, it felt as if they were piling up at my fingertips, which were so hot they almost felt cold. I stopped short.
"Emma." I whined. "Emma, Emma, look." I stared down at my hands which were glowing red and purple.
"What?" She asked.
"My hands, look, look." I shook them, they only hurt more.
"Regina, I don't.. know what you're talking about." She answered.
I could feel the fear piling up in my eyes, I could smell it coming out of my pores and it smelled just a bit like.. apples. With a hint of cinnamon, or is that nutmeg? I felt heavy, like my blood was turning solid and I tried to focus, if I focused then I could see, I took a deep breath and exhaled just as Emma grabbed my hand, I was startled as purple smoke engulfed us.
When I opened my eyes we were somewhere I didn't recognize. Someplace concrete. Made of concrete that is, not like concrete evidence. Even though it is evident that we are somewhere unfamiliar.
"Regina.. what the hell is going on?" Emma asked, rubbing her arm where it was red. I picked up her coat and tossed it to her, it must have flew off her waist in out jumble.
"I felt weird." I said.
"No shit, but how did you?" She went on, then began to pace. "No, no, this isn't real." She began. "You're like a witch."
"What?" I was astounded. "No. I'm not, I don't know how this happened." I said. "Shut up, let's find a way out of here." I began to pat down the walls, they were damp. There was a door in the corner, but I didn't see it until now. "Come on." I swallowed, Emma couldn't be scared now, she was the one who always went first. "Emma please." I called with my hand on the knob, she let out a huff before moving over to the door, I opened it, I almost cried when it jammed, but it gave it. It was just old, not locked.
Outside the door was a small mudroom, it looked like the house in Evil Dead, which if my mom asks, I didn't watch. Emma opened the front door and outside we were relieved to see that it wasn't some demented forest but a busy street. Emma stomped out the door and swung her coat on and raced down the steps.
"Wait!" I called.
"No way, you dumped us in a damn crack house." She ran. I shook my head, running was my least favorite activity. I watched her and wished she'd stop, and suddenly, she did. I stood with my eyes wide a moment before jogging up to her rigid form.
"Are you- did I do this?" I asked. There was a faint blue color outlining her, it swirled and shined, I poked at it and it disappeared. "Don't run, I'm sorry." I said and she just looked around and folded her arms.
"Regina, I don't know what the fuck is going on but," She shook her head, I cringed at the way she said fuck. I hated that fucking word. "We need to get out of here." She said looking around at the predicament we were in. We weren't scared girls, we really weren't, but we were in the type of place where grown ass men get molested.
"I can't I don't- I didn't do it." I struggled to say. "I just- poof." I flung my hand out to the side and an woman walking up her stairs was projected into her front door. Emma bit her lip and I guess I looked like I was about to cry. "I can't control it." I whispered.
"Okay, what were you doing the last time you.. poofed?" She asked.
I thought back to the time. "I was freaking out, I didn't know what to do, you couldn't see my hand, which were glowing by thr way, so I just wanted to go somewhere when you scared me." I thought harder. "Then I thought about that movie we watched last night."
"Evil Dead?" She asked, I nodded. "Well, maybe you poofed us away to that place because it looks similar."
"But I've never been here before."
"I guess magic doesn't know that." She muttered. I looked up with my doe eyes. That I don't have.
"You- magic?" I asked, quickly shaking my head. "You think I have.. magic?" I laughed.
"Well that's the only explanation we have for how you just used the Force against that old broad!" She exclaimed and her hand flung over that way.
I nodded quickly. "Okay, uh." I continued to nod until it turned into a shake. "I don't know what to do." I said.
"Come on, I'm sure we can find a bus stop somewhere." She took my elbow and dragged me down the sidewalk, I turned back to get a glace at the elderly woman who I had Jedi'd into a slab of wood, she was moving, she was fine.
"Shouldn't we help her?" I asked.
"No!" Emma dragged me harder.
Well, it took a couple of hours and the bribing of a homeless man and his dog to get here, but here we are, home sweet home. It was dark by the time we arrived, but my parents were still at work. Sadly, my sister was present and accounted for.
"Where were you?" She asked, hands on her hips.
"Out, you knew that." I smiled. she was younger than me, nine to be exact. "Where's Walt?" I asked. Walt was her sitter, he was about nineteen and trying to pay his way through his halfway house. He worked at the mattress shop down town but it wasn't sustainable business and when my parents met him in search of a slide bed for Zelena, they hit it off, and he was the first person outside out family she smiled at.
Here he is, eating all of our salsa. It was really good salsa, my Dad made it fresh and that man knew his way around a food processor, believe that.
"Hey Walt." I said pointedly, leaning on the counter. "How you doing?" I leaned closer and pulled the bowl towards me, along with the bag.
He smirked down at the stolen items and stood. "You're lucky it's your birthday." He said and filled a glass with water. "How was it? Your little party?" He asked.
Emma and I looked at eachother before I sniffed. "It was.. uh.. good, we had a little adventure." I nodded and smiled.
"Huh." He said and twirled is hair. "Well, glad you got here when ya did because I have gots to go." He said and tossed his coat over his shoulder. "She didn't eat yet and just woke up from a hot cocoa indused nap." He kissed my sister on the head and smiled at me. "Good luck, birthday girl," He nodded. "Emma." The he was out the door.
"I hate that guy." I said and snapped a chip between my teeth, crunching violently.
"Regina!" Emma cried out, I looked shocked and handed her a chip which she smacked to the ground.
"Hey," I whined, staring at the chip longingly.
"This." She took the bowl. "Is." She took the back. "Serious!" She threw the bowl in the fridge and the chips in the pantry.
"What?" I asked. "So I can't eat?"
"I'm scared, this isn't a game what if you're the next," She looked about. "He-who-must-not-be-named." She finished.
"I'm not, I'll just ask my parents when they get home." I said.
"No!" She screeched. I jumped back a bit, not used to her yelling in my face. "No, they might think you're crazy." She mumbled.
"Do you think I'm crazy?" I asked.
Emma looked me straight in the eyes, then pursed her lips. "No." She answered. "I swear." She held out her pinky to me, I smiled and hooked it.
Lot's of mistakes because I am a mess! Also my spell check line vanished so, you know, technology. Thoughts? (not on my spelling, of course)
