DISCLAIMER

Belongs to Canadian Television Nickelodeon. Semi-inspired by the NOES franchise. Dreams are bold/italics. Any thoughts in dreams will be underlined.

A girl walked up to her locker and started fiddling with the lock. Alice Johnson was a quiet girl, who mostly kept to herself. She was smart, studios, and didn't really care what people thought about her. A boy walked up and came up beside her.

"Here. I got it," he told her.

"Thanks," Alice said in surprise. Joey Crusel was the school rebel and loner. He didn't really get along with anybody, but for some reason, he had taken a shine to Alice, who, along with the other students, didn't understand why. The locker opened and Alice gave him a grateful smile.

"Thanks," she said, grabbing her books.

"How long has this been stickin'?" Joey questioned.

"A couple of weeks now, but it's okay. I mean, it's not a big deal," Alice answered.

"I'll get it taken of it," Joey promised.

"Joey, it's no--" Alice began to say.

"It is a big deal. It's causing you problems," Joey interrupted. Yeah, they got along okay, but what they didn't know was that they would both soon be depending on each other to survive. Joey walked away and Alice headed to her first class.

"Wow. The nerd's nearly late. Someone alert the media," a cheerleader smirked.

"Why? Were you early for once?" Alice shot back. The class laughed in surprise.

"Burn," a boy stated.

"Good one, Alice," another boy said. The girl just took her seat as the teacher, Ms. Miller, walked in.

"Okay class, settle down," Ms. Miller told them. Then, she began her lecture. In another classroom, Joey drummed his fingers on his desk in boredom. Man, could this guy get any duller? he wondered. He shifted in his seat, and tried to focus on the teacher's words. Back in her own classroom, Alice was also trying to stay awake, something she usually didn't have any trouble with, but for some reason, that day she did. Her eyes drooped and moments later, her head hit her desk. She looked around. She was in some sort of meadow.

"Where am I?" she questioned.

"Come play with me," she heard a voice say. She turned around, and to her surprise, there was a little girl about eight years old wearing an old fashioned white dress with red bows in her hair. I wonder where she came from, Alice thought.

"Hello. Where did you come from, Sweetie?" Alice questioned.

"Come play with me," the girl repeated.

"What do you want to play?" Alice questioned. The girl frowned in concentration.

"How about jump rope?" she suggested. Alice concentrated for a moment, and then, to her surprise, a white jump rope appeared in her hands.

"You can control your dreams?" the little girl asked.

"I've often tried, but it doesn't always work," Alice confessed. Then, "How did you know this was a dream?" The girl just giggled. "Let's just play," she said. Alice stared. Something didn't feel right. The girl looked up at her.

"Aren't you going to play with me?" she questioned, stepping closer. Her eyes looked up at the teen mournfully, yet held a glint that was unnerving. Alice backed away. Get out, get out, get out! She coached herself, hoping it would work.

"Play with me. Please? Please play with me?" the girl begged. She grabbed Alice's hand and began to squeeze it tightly, all the while, begging her to play. Alice gasped as she awoke.

"Ms. Johnson, are you all right?" Ms. Miller questioned. Alice nodded, but was surprised when her hand began to throb. Her eyes widened. In the middle of her palm were two distinct imprints of a little girl's fingers.