What? You dream? Is that all? I know, I know. It sounds fictional, made up, but it's true. No one dreams anymore according to them. When I started dreaming, it was an anomaly. That's when they realized my differences would harm those around me. The dreams I had were… puzzling.
With creatures that never existed, people who never lived, memories I never had before. My mother and father called it a "blessing from God himself", but I felt like it was more of a burden than anything. The institute, the school, places for people like me: Abnormal… Dreamers.
"Rocco. Are you even listening?" She asked, bringing me back to my senses.
"No. Is there any real point to it? You're taking me in to stop the dreams. Why ask about them?" I asked, looking outside at the pouring rain.
She sighed and took a nicer tone to me for once in all these years. "We need to know how much they bother you. What you tell us can help us diagnose the problem." She explained, taking the turn I knew by heart. Without looking outside, I knew the academy was close by.
I jumped out of the van as soon as it stopped, picking up my bag and heading to the academy's entrance doors. The dread I felt every time I had approached the academy had never gone away, it lingered in the shadows, growing as I did. Its movements copying mine exactly.
I arrived at my classroom and sat down in my seat. The first day of my second year here. You graduate after your 5th year; some kids are only 5 when they start dreaming and end up around 10 years old when they graduate. Now, what could graduation be? Who knows? We never see those kids around anymore. Now, how old am I? I'm fourteen. I had only just turned thirteen when I began dreaming.
My parents never told anyone anything, but the government surely knew I was dreaming somehow.
"Now, we get to the amazing news of this week. Today marks the beginning of a new world. The crime rate has dropped to 0%. The government's efforts are paying off in a surprising turn of events!" The announcer said to the viewers of this morning's news.
"Rocco. Wake up Chel, will ya?" Mr. Trok said, not even bothering to lift his head away from his computer. I sighed, and instead of giving an attitude like last year, I nudged Chel, to which she responded with her eyes flying open.
"Were you dreaming?" I ask.
"You know that we can't talk about that." She said, wiping away her drool.
Ah. That was right. How could I forget good ol' rule number one? Like most schools for "normal" kids, this school has its rules. Rule Number One: Do not share your dreams with anyone else. If you dream, take your medication.
Our "medication" was some kind of thought killer. We usually took it when we went to bed, but sometimes it wouldn't work. It killed our thought processes and then takes away the dreams.
"Well… we learn anything?" Chel asked, holding her notebook in front of her. This was the most she'd ever talked to me, so I didn't know how to continue a conversation with her.
"Nope. Mr. Trok is still too busy surfing the web or something." I said, sighing.
She laughed. I did it. I had made someone laugh.
"Yeah, sure looks like it. Anyway, I'll be graduating soon." She said, to which I seemed to remember that she was already in her fifth year in the academy.
"I see. Good luck." I said, returning my head to my notes for my next class. That was until a hand landed on my shoulder.
"Hey, I'm not done talking yet, you jerk," Chel said, slightly laughing.
"I don't see anything else to talk about," I said, pretending she wasn't there.
"We could talk about our grades." She suggested, grabbing her laptop out of her bag.
"No. Every time I show my grades, it never ends well anyway." I said with a sigh, picking up my bag, getting ready to move further back.
"Rocco, is that right?"
I stopped in place.
"Yeah. What about it?" I asked, feeling a little strange at the moment. Nobody bothered remembering my name unless they were paid to, like the teachers.
"Aren't you forgetting something?" She asked, pointing to my laptop, sitting on my desk.
"Right," I stated, reaching down and closing it. I picked it up and carried it to another spot in the back.
In the back was Mae. She usually sat alone, and only spoke to the teachers. She wasn't shy, no; she was powerful and dangerous. Her eyes were knives themselves. Looking her in the eyes would result in you going to the nurse's office for quite some time.
I simply ignored Mae for the rest of class, despite how long her gaze at me lasted. She must have thought I was planning something against her with that glare.
***
The next class would be Dream Study. Where we learned to stop our dreams without the use of medications. We also learned what dreams meant and what they originated from. When Ms. Lind explained the different types of dreams, she sorted us into different categories based on what we dreamt about. People who dreamt of world domination to back corner, please. People who dreamt of cats and dogs, front door, please. People who dreamt of family, back door, please. What was left you may ask? Me.
"Rocco, did I not list yours?" She asked, maybe becoming a little frustrated.
"No, you didn't," I affirmed with a sigh. I was lightly sweating. The classroom's eyes were on me. The wind outside screamed piercingly.
"What do you dream of then, boy." She asked, her eyes narrowing in disbelief.
"Things that don't exist. Creatures who reach out. People who don't exist. People who turn into those creatures. Don't you see now?" I asked, making eye contact with her for a long period of time.
The class burst into laughter. Another time my seriousness was taken as a joke. "Rocco, I would like you to walk toward your real dream's group now." She said, looking back at her computer.
I simply stepped into the World Domination category with all the other messed-up scary kids.