These dreams Traci's having weren't making much sense to us. She was screaming and grabbing hold of her head. And trying to make them go away. But whatever she was dreaming, was serious. "Nurse! Now!" Mr. Shine ordered me. I looked at him worriedly, then back at Traci, who was not looking her best.
I gulped, looking spaced out. And bolted out the classroom where I bumped into another teacher. She carried piles of books in her hand she dropped, clumsily. It was Mrs. Gloom, the substitute social studies teacher. "Are you in a hurry to your next class, Mr. Moonshine?" Mrs. Gloom asked, her voice purred like a kitten.
Trying not to stare directly into her fake pretty face, I slowly smiled and showed I cared. "No. You see, my friend is sick. She needs the nurse immediately," I explained, looking at her high-heel shoes and frowned nervously. I started fidgeting and feeling frustrated.
Smiling, Mrs. Gloom placed a comforting hand on my right shoulder. "There, there dear. Let me escort you to nurse Dreamstone to take care of our students. You let me know if there's anything I can do for you, Monty. I'm always here for you," she said, caringly.
I nodded and understood. I wasn't about to give up hope for humanity after all. But I knew my fears and anxiety were far from over. Looking at the kids by their lockers, looking at me like I was dead meat. I stopped and looked at my locker beside a classroom door. The handle and lock was broken, like it was vandalized. And there was bloody spray paint in words that read: It's your fault, we're dead!
Mrs. Gloom and I looked at the locker with shocked dismay. "Monty, you're not a living thing, are you?" she asked, eyeing me suspiciously. I looked at her confused and upset. The teacher looked at me like I was guilty of death. The students started gathering around me. Mrs. Gloom stepped in front of me to give me an explanation.
"No, I'm a normal, average student! I promise!" I confessed. I don't know why they thought I was a threat. But I don't belong to the alien leader of Abracadabra Middle School. A couple of boys shoved and pinned me against my locker. "I'm telling the truth! I moved here to this town because Mom and Dad retired from their job in the city as stock brokers. They wanted peace and quiet life. They gave me no choice but to continue my education here. I didn't think monsters were causing trouble in middle school. Seems like we need to stick up together before the truth turns out to be grim," I said, with a nervous gulp.
Hoping the kids would give me a reasonable response, I knew they weren't going to listen to me. That's when we heard an explosion coming from Mrs. Hey's classroom. Smoke began billowing out of it. And I knew it wasn't going to get better.
Inside the foggy classroom, the fog glowed. Slimy tentacles slithered into the dimly lit hallways. A glowing, green alien in the form of what used to be Traci Troll, now looked ready to control us. The two boys pinned me against my locker, shoved me in front of Traci and ran the opposite direction. Teachers and students gathered around Traci, who seemed to be laughing with suspicion. Because she was surprised, the middle grade students weren't suspicious.
Mr. Shine, the principal, appeared behind her. His face was drained and pale, like his life force was taking away from him. "I tried to stop her..." his voice trailed off. As Traci whirled around and made a gesture with her hands under her neck to cut him off. Mr. Shine turned serious and silent and stepped back inside Mrs. Hey's classroom.
He poked his head out the door and looked innocent. "You just let me know when it's over," he said, slamming the door and locking it. Waiting a moment, Traci turned back to the kids and the teachers in the foggy hallway. Her eyes began to glow and she turned back into a girl again.
She walked closer to me and began to look like she wanted to flirt with me some more. "There's something about you, I could eat up," Traci purred, and I gulped back into my locker again. I remained silent and tried to feel brave, rather than scared. "But something tells me, you're why you've called us here to this middle school. To let teacher monsters be what they are called to educate youngsters of alien life. So they'd know what to expect after graduation. If you succeed, To understand monster life you have to forget everything you know about being human. Because I'm telling you, you'd feel more freedom once you unleash your monster spirit. Why don't we start the alien application for transformation day?" Traci suggested, heading me away from the students.
"What is that you got against humans?" I snapped, jumping back from Traci and the teachers around me. "Sure, we don't always agree on everything. But most of us love and care and are kind to each other. If we don't do what's right and simple, it hurts us. Makes us feel uncomfortable. Learning about monsters who misbehave because they want to take over middle school, and control the students, isn't the answer. Teachers aren't supposed to let kids be monsters because it's upsetting to the human condition. I think you're scared of us. Which is why you think kids need to be taught a lesson," I said.
I don't think anybody was paying attention. Because I realized the entire school was empty. Alone and I was not going to let what happened next to me. A friendly custodian walked out of a janitor's closet, whistling. While he carried a yellow mop bucket and began mopping the dirty floors. I tried to grab his attention, but he had earphones in his ears, music turned up loudly. And completely ignoring me.
So, I smartly tripped him over the leg, and he slipped on a wet floor. Helping him to his feet, I handed him the mop. "Look, what's going on here? I just want to go home," I told him. He looked at me like I was a threat. Taking out a silver cross around his neck he tried defending himself with it.
Running away, I tried calling after the janitor. But it was no good. Then, I began floating down the hallway. Looking into each classroom for help. But they were all empty and abandoned. Like I was in a bad dream myself. And I wasn't waking up by myself, either.