Chapter Two

My eyelids slowly fluttered open, I felt my heart beat slowly thud within my chest, I was completely relaxed. My head felt foggy as I wearily looked around my askew room. I rolled to my side and my neck stretched upwards towards my clock, the bright red numbers strained my eyes but what is read was evident, it was 8 o'clock a.m. and I was late for school…by around two hours.

I groaned inwardly as I heaved myself from my bed, the hardwood was cool as I made my way to the main level.

I looked out the window as I leaned into the fridge, it was raining outside. The sky was a dull grey, the rain softly throwing itself onto the sleek glass. I pulled myself down a glass and began to pour mindlessly, some orange juice into its contents.

No one was home, my dad was at work, and no doubt my mother was at some sort of social gathering, my older sister, Sarah was at University far away from here.

Sarah and I were never really close, however she was rather protective of my as an adolescent, in fact she was the first to suggest the many therapy sessions and the heavy pills. She seemed to have it drilled into her skull that I was unstable; I always wondered that if I was thrown away into a cellar if she would be the one to lock the door and throw away the key.

I sighed as I finished my orange juice and made my way upstairs. I took a quick shower hoping the steam would ease my mind, and drown away my abnormalities. As usual I came out of the shower the same person, only a little red and slightly drowsier. I looked in the fogged mirror, still crazy, I thought with a grim smirk.

I quickly put on some attire and walked to my school, normally this escapade was around an hour in length, but today my legs were extremely uncooperative and it took around 2 hours.

I fumbled into the school, it was lunch time, endless and muffled chatter spun around my pounding head. I fiddled with my locker combination, as what looked like my Homeroom teacher saunter down the hallway, teenagers flung themselves against their lockers in hopes that they wouldn't get smeared across the walls my her enormous love handles. Her chins jiggled as she came up to me, her round eyes protruding from her head with what looked like sympathy.

Her chubsicle fingers gripped my bicep suddenly, "Toby, ar-are you okay? Because today you missed your test in Math, and Mr.Allouette was terribly worried," she spoke in her scrappy voice; I was starting to wonder how long it would take my arm to loose its circulation.

I nodded weakly, her death grip was beginning to weaken, "I just slept in…"

She looked around cautiously, "did you have anymore…nightmares?"

I smiled brightly, my face screaming with resistance, "oh no…the storm just kept me up," hopefully it didn't register that my left cheek was beginning to twitch from the forced smile.

It didn't, her fat seemed to relax (yes, she's that talented at being large) "oh, that's good; just remember to make up the test. I am so glad you are starting to get better Toby," and with that she began to make her way down the hall, her humming a giddy tune all the way.

I sighed as I closed my locker and made my way to my next class.

Outside

Damn, I was a few hours early to pick up Toby, I was off for the year and my anxiety for him never seemed to seize. I parked my car and sat back in my leather seat. I fiddled with the keys, it had been over a decade since my encounter in the Labyrinth, and since I had seen Jareth. My eyes narrowed unintentionally; Toby was approaching a susceptible age and hopefully the drugs would help him stay away from the Goblin City.

Recently I had been getting premonitions in my sleep, always of a clock striking thirteen o'clock. I sunk deeper into my seat; only thing to do was wait and see.

A/N: The teacher was based on one of our many substitutes that lurk around my school, only she is not nice and is extremely rude, she scares young children. This chapter goes out to one of my best friends, whose birthday is approaching and I unfortunately, will not be here to give her a hug on her special day. Happy birthday!