The next morning A Cacophony of deafening alarm clocks awakens me from my surprisingly sound sleep. The school day is upon me as I sit up from bed I can see the window next to me with a highway filled with traffic and honking horns. The smell of my father's cigarette smoke fills the house and my room is an absolute wreck: dirty laundry, countless bottles of water, and burnt-out matches. Nonetheless, I get up and go through my dull morning procedure acquiring what seems like a lot of effort in the mornings. I'm not excited about the monotonous homework, but this is my second year of high school which means I'm closer to leaving school entirely. I obtain my backpack hanging from a hook in the wall next to the front door. I yelled out to my parents before leaving, making sure they knew I was going "bye dad! Bye, mom!" "bye dear" they both yelled out in unison. On my walk to school, I played music randomly singing along to the words I knew trying to get my mind off of anything else. As I walked up to school I noticed the welcome students banner had been graffiti over since I saw it last night now saying "don't come back students' ' with the wel hashed out, and don't written above it. Students can be seen
walking to class working on locker combinations and uniting with friends from last year. While I walked alone up the stairs to my first-period class, upon opening the door, I looked around the room. Crossing my fingers that Rebecca Veronica nor Jessica was in my class, But to my dismay, Jessica was sitting in the front row glancing at her phone. I quickly closed the door and bent down only peeking through the window. Mrs. Crosby came up behind me startling me when she comes to ask if I'm alright "are you ok?" she asks "yes ma'am I dropped my phone, sorry." I stood up, opened the door to the classroom, and decided to sit in the middle row. Despite Mrs. Crosby's request for me to sit in the front next to Jessica. Since the beginning of my earliest memories, I was always with Jessica. We met in the bathroom on our first day of kindergarten. She wanted to show off her new My Little Pony underwear and pulled her coral pink cargo pants to show them to me. Turned out we had matching underwear. I pulled my pants down as she started pointing enthusiastically. We were twins. From kindergarten to seventh grade. two peas in a pod. Sleepovers were a constant every Friday night. The night her parents got a divorce she ran over to my apartment and we ate ice cream together. She knows more about me than I do myself. Our titanium bond broke the night of our middle school graduation. She was always the prettier one in the friendship and I was the third wheel. Guys loved her and I became jealous. After she left the stage she told me she was going to hang out with her third boyfriend Travis.
We got into a mondo argument and she chose Travis over me. They hooked up that night. I'd never felt so much immense pain. On the first day of freshman year they broke up and she became friends with Rebecca and veronica. Me being an idiot I wanted to make peace with her and become friends again because I didn't want to be lonely. I was the fourth wheel and all they talked about were romantic relationships. I felt like a goldfish that needed to climb a tree the
days when I was with them. We grew apart and she was always the lucky one, friends and a boyfriend, the two things I want most in life. That's why I resented her so.
The events played back in my mind whilst Mrs. Crosby was teaching about: something. School was A blur by the end of it nothing was really memorable or noteworthy. All I wanted to do was get home and light a box of matches on fire. As I walked along the sidewalk with my music to accompany me, once again on the way home. An alley that I usually walked past caught my attention as I saw a person running rapidly towards me almost in a glitchy-like motion. This creature of sorts had no facial features and made no sounds as its feet hit the ground there was no sound of excessive breathing or grunting the wind was all that was heard As I stood there in shock ever so slightly backing away as it got closer. Soon enough my backward walk turned into a sprint as I sprinted towards the street behind me. Across a street filled with cars and stopped once, I arrived at the other sidewalk. They began to honk at me, but I was too frightened to care. Once looking behind me I could see the same shadowy figure I saw last night this time in the distance at the very end of the alley. I tilted my head a little to get a better look but to my
Surprise, the shadowy figure copied my movement and started to tilt its head. I picked my head up suddenly as fear filled my stomach. The shadowy figure once again copied my movement and picked its head up. I began to walk with purpose along the sidewalk hoping this weird organism wouldn't follow me. Turning the volume in my earbuds up to distract my brain.
Being a 74-year-old woman makes many skeptical of the fact that I can recall such details
but this creature was connected to me like the strings of a puppet, it controlled me and yet it was so vaguely connected that I knew not of where it came from or how It started to follow me.
Mom and dad weren't back from work at the time and my nerves were too unsettled to stay home alone. I came to the decision to drop by Jessica's apartment for a few hours instead. The moment I arrive Rebecca and Veronica are there. They are all sitting in a circle on the ground looking down at their phones. I went unnoticed until about five minutes of saying hello "oh hey!" Jessica replies with a smirk and a chuckle "what's up with you?" Rebecca and Veronica look back at the same time and wonder the same thing I was able to tell by the way they stared at me "someone is following me, and I didn't want them to know where I lived so I came here instead" I replied, "so, something is following you and you decided to lead it here?" "Well, at the moment I didn't think of it that way but, I don't think It knows where I am" "it's following me so I think.." "whatever" she replied carelessly "you might be too "freaked out" for this but we are about to watch a scary movie you can join us if you want if not you can go to another room" she stood up Grabbed the remote from the coffee table, turned on the movie and sat on the couch. Rebecca and veronica put their phones down and looked up at the screen from the floor. I decided not to partake in their film watching as I was too frustrated with Jessica and myself. Her flat was just how it was in middle school grand yet quaint. I walked along the hallway gazing at the family portraits finally arriving in Jessica's room a good size room with two big windows which resembled my room in a way only her room had a pink polka-dotted accent wall and within each of the ten pink circles there were 4x4 square photos revealing little memories of her family and friends. I started to walk over to a photo with Jessica and me in it. It was a picture of us in Halloween costumes for creepy fest our 6th-grade year I started to put my hand on it and glided it along with the homemade picture frame which was made up of uncooked macaroni and seashells which we crafted together. as I felt along the ridges of the shell's details memories started flooding back to me. Suddenly dark red liquid began to drip from the paper photo behind the glass of the frame. Once the picture was fully covered in liquid it started dripping from the sides of the frame itself. As I examined it closer it appeared to be blood. I began to back away, but
couldn't help but notice the blood had started disappearing in some spots now only my picture was showing, and everything else was still covered. I stepped a little closer to the frame and noticed my reflection in the glass then suddenly my face was covered in blood again. I couldn't help but scream. With fear building up inside me I grabbed Jessica's pink lamp. it was conveniently sitting next to me on her bedside table. I threw it across the room at the photo. The glass shattered everywhere, but no red liquid or blood was to be seen. just the Photo which was laying face down on the ground covered with sharp glass. Jessica seemed to appear out of nowhere to find the picture on the ground, and her lamp in my arms "WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU!" she screams "I'm sorry, I thought I saw something" I reply timidly "clean it up and get out" she replies soft but firm. Rebecca decides to chime in
"you've always been trouble" Veronica stares at me silently as I
pick up the shards of glass with my bare hands. They all walk back to the living room. I follow them once I've picked up every shard. I had cut my hand pretty deep while cleaning up the
glass so I decided to stop by Marks, a local corner store that sells just about everything. Darl one of the cashiers rings me up and stops suddenly then looks up at me then at my hand, and continues scanning. "what's wrong, you look worried?" I asked with a sense of fright. He stops scanning once again and replies "what happened to your hand?" "I cut it on some glass" I replied as vaguely as possible "how?" He asks "I dropped a cup on the kitchen floor and picked the pieces up with my bare hands" I replied "that's kinda dumb" he replied "I didn't ask" I replied in spite and walked out of the store coddling my bag of goods from the cold.
Mom was home and as I walked through the doorway the phone began to ring. She didn't flinch and kept seated at her desk typing away. I put my backpack on the hook, and answered the phone. "hello...hello" no one was there therefore I hung up, walked up behind mom to tap her on
the shoulder. "Oh hi dear, I didn't hear you come in," she says while taking her earbuds out "who was that on the phone?" It was strange how she could not hear me come in, but she was able to hear the phone which is always at a low volume "um, no one" I replied "Oh!" she replies in shock "well, dinner is on the counter. sorry I couldn't cook fresh tonight, work held me over. just warm it up in the microwave" "thanks, mom.." I reply before heading back to my room. That night as I lay in bed staring at the ceiling my eyes suddenly started to close as my surroundings grew black and transitioned to what happened earlier when I arrived home. I enter as I did an hour ago to put my bag on the hook the phone rings and mom still can't hear me come in. I pick up to answer, but instead of there being nothing it's my voice screaming for help. Asking my mother to rescue me suddenly the welcome mat for which I was standing started to Sink into the wooden floor, and I sink down with it screaming for help, but mom was still at her desk typing. I wake up suddenly with sweat running down my face. As soon as I catch my breath from fear I jump out of bed to turn on my bedroom lights this is the only time I have ever feared not being alone. My body was still tired so I lay back down in bed with the lights on, and my eyes facing the ceiling. It was 2:45 am on a Tuesday and I was still awake. All of my life I have been hidden behind the shadows of doubt that someone would find me and want to take care of Me. I'm afraid of being forgotten or hated. I don't want to be a third wheel but I feel that I always will be. In the corner of my eye, I could see a new bottle of Tylenol on my dresser that mom bought yesterday for my period cramps. At that moment I realized how much control I truly have over my life. I could swallow the whole bottle if I choose to or I could choose to try another day. Was it really worth it? I closed my eyes and imagined I wasn't in my room I imagined my ideal life with a best friend and good grades, popularity, and money. I opened my eyes again and decided to try another day.
The next morning was just like the last one I woke up hesitantly got dressed with whatever clothes I could find and went downstairs for breakfast. With a glass of water and no packed lunch, I was determined to lose 30 pounds by the end of two weeks because "why not". Mom and dad left early for work so I had no one to say goodbye to. The walk to school was cold and wet from the 33-degree weather and rain. Although it was gloomy the music that emerged from my earbuds kept me calm and feeling safe. As I walked through the hallways of the school I felt alone once again. No one was there to say hello to me or ask why I looked so sad. I felt like an empty plastic bottle lost at sea. The walk to my locker was a silent walk of shame. I grabbed my book for English And, walked head down to class. It seemed as if I was forgotten about yet judged at the same time. Why do I feel utter Agony? Veronica was in my class and all I wanted to do was hide. The back row became my best friend and even though I was listening to what Mr. Bennett was saying I couldn't help, but daydream my way out of class, and into my own little world. No one ever noticed, because no one truly cared. something that I never let myself Understand. On my way to the bathroom from the second period, I couldn't stop thinking about the dream last night. I didn't know what it meant nor did I want anyone to know about it: mom specifically. The sounds of a girl screaming from a bathroom stall brought me back to reality. As She sobs desperately on the ground holding a positive pregnancy test. Two other girls sit beside her comforting her.
I try not to stare and walk towards the nearest stall with my hood covering my Peripheral vision. Once sat on the toilet my surroundings grew dark. the girl on the ground stopped sobbing. The room went silent. No light shined through it was pitch black. My body began to shiver as my eyes reluctantly closed my legs felt numb and my brain was dead. I had no thoughts, fear was all I felt.