Here's Chapter 1. Enjoy! And don't forget to review, please.
The first time I saw them, I was standing in an alley of a city. It was dark and there was no one in sight. There were windows and doors on the side buildings and garbage cans lined the walls. Then these two boys came racing down the street. They were being pursued by three men in long, dark coats. The boys flew past me as I stood as a motionless bystander. The elder one kept glancing over his shoulder, looking back at the three men. Garbage cans toppled over behind the boys, although no one was touching them, and the pursuers had trouble meandering through all the spilled trash. But the men were not slowed down much by the garbage. I looked down the alley and saw the two boys stop and turn around. I wanted to scream at them, "Don't give up! Keep running you idiots!" but I couldn't because at that moment everything went black, and I woke up to a sunny day in Paliston, California. It was all just a dream. But I knew that was no ordinary dream.
That was a week ago.
I saw them again while I was walking to school one day. The orange leaves blew across the cracked sidewalk in the autumn breeze. My eyes followed them and fell upon the forest where I saw the same two boys coming out of an old abandoned house. My mouth fell open as I tried to get a better view of them. Both with curly, golden blond hair, one looked about fifteen, while the other seemed fairly young, about six or seven.
The little boy glared intently into my eyes as I stood there motionless. I stared back at the boy until a few seconds later when my view of them was suddenly obstructed by a colorful branch of the tree.
I shook my head, trying to clear it and continued walking. There was nothing wrong with two boys in the crumbling house on a Tuesday morning, I thought to myself. But is there anything wrong with the two boys being the exact same ones in my dream?
I've had those type of dreams before, very rarely though. In one, I was caught in a snow storm, searching for my parents. The next week, we had a freak blizzard.
"Hey Maddy! Wait up!"
I turned around and saw Joanna Barnes, my best friend, running up the sidewalk.
"Hey Jojo, ready for that English test?" I asked her, punching her in the arm jokingly. Joanna was always ready for any test. Just give her a twelve second warning of when the test will be and no doubt she'll ace it... unlike me.
"The real question is, are you ready for the test?" she turned and grinned at me.
"More or less," I replied.
"'More or less' like that test where you nearly failed?"
"Hey! Shut up! At least I passed."
"Good morning class. Test today!"
A low moan spread through the sophomore class.
"You know the drill. Clear your desk, take out a pencil, and absolutely no talking." The teacher, Mrs. Talm, glared at the corner of the room where two boys grinned mischievously.
I received the test, glanced at Joanna, who was already scribbling away with that test-taking, green pencil of hers, and then sighed. This is going to be a long day, I thought as I looked down at the test, reading the first question: Describe the character of Drummle. Be sure to reference at least three events in which this character appeared in.
I was half way through the test when the classroom door opened and a boy stepped through.
My head jerked up to look at him, just as everyone else had done, except for Joanna who was still bent over her paper not caring at all even if that kid turned out to be the President's son.
The boy's eyes found mine and for a few seconds he stared at me. Then he walked over to give Mrs. Talm a note and sat in an empty seat in the back.
He was a good looking kid, dressed in a faded green t-shirt and jeans. His hair was golden blond and slightly curled.
It was at that moment when something in my dull head clicked. He was the one by the house with that other small boy. He was the one in my dream.
I read the next question that was on my already-failed test paper. In what way was Miss Havisham involved in Pip coming to good fortune?
Miss Havisham, who was she again? I thought. I couldn't focus on the test anymore. For some odd reason, I was just curious about those two boys who were none of my business. Nothing wrong with being in an old house, I told myself again. But I knew there was more to it.
At the end of that dreadful test, I decided that I could honestly care less about Charles Dickens and his oh-so-great novel.
The bell rang and I hurried out of that stressful classroom. In my head, I debated whether or not I should show the new kid around the school. After about thirty seconds of arguing with myself, I decided, nah, that only happens in movies, right? Besides, this won't be a happily ever after movie when I get grounded for failing my test.
The rest of the day past without much event. I went from English to Math to Gym to Science, so on and so forth. The only other class I had with the boy, who's name I discovered was Sean, was Social Studies. He sat directly behind me in the only previously empty seat.
We were learning about the government and its three branches, balance of powers, and all that other boring stuff.
"The judicial branch is part of what makes our country so great," Mr. Malone, the teacher stated. "Our honorable court system keeps the people fair and just."
"Fair?" I heard the word disgracefully muttered behind me. It was spoken so quietly, I wasn't even sure that I heard it. But I knew I had the second I turned around and saw Sean's eyes staring coldly up at Mr. Malone.
"The laws of our land are interpreted by this branch of government and makes sure that they reason with the Constitution. Something is said to be unconstitutional when it does not agree with the Constitution."
Really? No duh. I thought.
"Okay class, homework is read pages 332 through 340 and answer questions one through eight on page 340. It's due tomorrow. And don't forget-
"Brrrrrrring!" The end of day bell rang.
"-your essay is due Monday." Mr. Malone said over the noise of the end of school chatter.
"Hey, Emma!" I called, trying to push through the crowd in the hallway to my friend.
"Maddy, hi," she said. "Are you coming over to my house today like we talked about?"
"Yeah, about that. I can't come over right after school, I have to babysit. But I can come anytime after four. My mom's out though, so I'll have to walk."
Emma frowned slightly, "That's alright. It takes you about what, ten minutes to walk to my house?"
"About," I replied.
"Alright then, see you at four ten." Emma waved and walked away while I started walking home.
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