I'M BACK!

Disclaimer: I own nothing

There was no escaping the disaster the party had been, it seemed.

Michelle shut her eyes and fell asleep. But in her dreams, all night long, she saw scenes from her horrible birthday party. The nightmare party became a real nightmare.

There was Tommy, telling everyone Mark and Michelle loved each other. There was Michelle's friends and Mark's buddies laughing in her face.

She tripped and fell on top of the cake, over and over again.

Michelle tossed and turned. Each dream was scarier than the last. Soon her friends looked like horrible monsters. And Tommy was the most horrible of all. His features melted into a blur as he laughed and laughed at his sister.

Wake up, Michelle thought. Wake up!

She dragged herself out of the nightmare world, sitting up in bed, in a cold sweat.

The room was still dark. She glanced at the clock.

Three o'clock in the morning.

I can't sleep, she thought miserably. I can't calm down. I've got to tell Mom and Dad what happened. Maybe they can help. Maybe they can make me feel better. Something.

She climbed out of bed and hurried down the dark hall to their room. Their door was open a crack.

Michelle pushed it open.

"Mom? Dad? Are you awake?"

Dad rolled over and grunted, "Huh?"

Michelle shook her mom's shoulder. "Mom?"

Mom stirred. "What is it, Michelle?" she whispered. She sat up and grabbed the clock radio. In the clock's dim blue glow Michelle saw her squint, trying to read the time.

"It's three o'clock!" she cried.

Dad snorted and sat up suddenly. "Huh? What?"

"Mom, you've got to listen to me!" Michelle whispered. "Something creepy happened today. Didn't you notice it?"

"Michelle, what is this—"

"My birthday," she explained. "Tommy ruined my birthday, and I wished I could have it all over again. I wanted to make it better. But I never thought the wish would come true! Then, today, it was my birthday again! And everything happened exactly the same. It was horrible!"

Dad rubbed his eyes. "That you, Michelle?"

Mom patted him. "Go back to sleep, dear. Michelle's just had a bad dream."

"No, Mom," Michelle cried, desperately. "It wasn't a dream. It was real! My birthday happened twice! You were there, both times. Don't you understand?"

"Listen, Michelle," Mom began. There was impatience in her voice. "I know you're excited about your birthday, but it's two days away. Only two days to go—then it will be your birthday at last! Okay? So go back to bed now and get some sleep."

Mrs. Webster kissed her daughter good night. "Only two days till your birthday. Sweet dreams."

That's it for now. This story will usually be updated on Mondays. Most of the time, there will be more than one chapter posted on Mondays. Sometimes it'll only one, but it depends on the week.