"Has anything seemed a little strange today?" I asked as my friend Julie and I walked down the hall between classes.
"No. Strange? What looks strange? No, nothing is strange," Julie muttered rapidly, glancing around quickly, like a paranoid squirrel. As a matter of fact, she looked a little strange. There were dark purple circles under her eyes and a twitch in her cheek. She darted through clusters of people, and I had to hurried to keep up with her.
"Well, for one thing, they all have a glazed look in their eyes," I said, referring to all the other people in my school. "And they're all walking really slowly, kind of like zombies. And they're all talking in an English accent. I caught a few words, like pigwarts, and Harry Pothead. Isn't that the gross stinky guy in grade 12 that's always behind the dumpster?"
Julie looked around again. Then, kind of frighteningly, she pulled me into the bathroom, which was deserted, and shut the door.
"Okay," she said. "You can't tell anyone this. At least, not until I figure out what to do."
"You need to brush your teeth," I replied, scared.
She popped a piece of gum into her mouth and, annoyed, continued. "We might be the only ones left with free will. It's those new Harry Potter books! They use cheap techniques to make people feel special. Everyone is obsessed! And now there's a Wicca fad religion, and no one wants to be different, and everyone is having imagination experience."
She sighed. "The worst part is that they aren't even that great. There's so many better books out there, and, like I said, people are paying to be made feel special. You-your not going to join them are you?" A desperate look came into her eyes.
I thought about it. By what Julie was saying, I would forever be left out, unless we could stop this conspiracy that the whole shallow world was gung-ho on. But-
"I've never gone with the flow."
This time Julies sigh was of relief. "Now I don't feel so alone. So, what do we do first?"