by Slick, Tabi
I still couldn’t keep my composure around that dude. How was I supposed to enjoy watching the games with him causing me to get a fever and a severe headache all the time? I tried to explain it to Kia, but it was ridiculous to think that another person could be causing these reactions. Pain killers seemed pointless because whenever I looked away from him the pain would go away. How could anyone explain that?
Drama practice ended late today, so I decided to pass on the socializing and just get a quick bite to eat and go back to my dorm to sleep. I grabbed my bag and took the back route to the café. I just really didn’t feel like running into anyone and having to talk to them like my normal self. I didn’t know what was wrong with me, but I felt so disconnected from what was going on around me. It felt like I was just a stranger inside my own body and I was watching a movie. It sounded silly, but that’s exactly how I felt.
I opened the café’s backdoors to find the whole basketball team in there, just back from practice. Great. I would just have to get my food to go because I was definitely not in the mood to handle Kain’s moodiness, let alone Amadeus’ unintentionally torturous glare. I took a to go box off the counter and went to the food line.
“Hey, Izzy,” Kia’s voice called from behind me, “you left in a hurry today. Are you gonna stay and eat here with the guys?”
“No, I’m a little tired,” I replied, “I think I’ll just go back to the room.”
“I’m going to join the guys,” she said.
“Have fun,” I smiled.
“Practice has been hard, huh?” She commented.
“Yeah, but it’s fun!” I replied, trying to sound natural, “I’ll see you later.”
She waved as I headed for the exit.
I got back to the dorm in record time and went straight to the huge black drapes and pulled them over the glass wall to prevent the sun from coming through. I already had a headache, I didn’t need the sun adding to my stress. I put on some quiet music and then turned to my food. Just then, I realized how hungry I was and dug into the most delicious enchiladas on the planet.
Before I knew it, I was sound asleep and swept into my own subconscious. I was acutely aware that I was asleep, which was a strange feeling because normally I never remembered it.
I was enveloped by a darkness I had never seen before and I felt a strange surge of anger that seemed to entice me. I began to embrace the shadows as I took in my surroundings. After a moment I started to feel a strange tingling sensation from my hands and looked down to find that my hands were on fire! This made no sense because I didn’t feel it burn! In fact, I didn’t feel anything.
Suddenly, I woke up with a start, my body covered in perspiration. My breathing was uneven like I had been running a thousand miles. I was definitely getting sick. I pulled my feet over the side of my bed and noticed that Kia was already asleep. How late was it? I made my way to the window and opened the curtain to look outside. I couldn’t see anything, it was so dark.
I needed to sleep more if I was going to get up in the morning, so I laid back down on my bed. As soon as I did, my eyes immediately closed as if I had no control over them.
At first it was just darkness like the last time, but then a small light began to shine in the midst of it. But it meant nothing to me. Suddenly, it seemed as if I wasn’t alone anymore, like I could feel another presence inside my dream. It was like a pull of some sort. I heard a deep growl and my head began to burn with rage and I felt my body thrashing in pain. I needed to wake up! Why couldn’t I just wake up? I felt like crying out and once I thought I really had, but why couldn’t anyone hear me? Wake up. Wake up. Wake up. Wake up…
“Wake up, wake up…”
“Izzy.”
I heard my name and tried to answer, but I couldn’t. I was so stiff and my brain felt like it was filled with a bunch of concrete blocks playing hockey.
“Izzy,” the voice said again, “come on!”
I felt my whole body move like somebody was trying to shake me awake. My eyes slowly opened and it took me a minute to adjust to the brightness.
“Oh my god!” The girl shrieked, “Are you okay?”
“What?” I asked, lamely.
Gross, my voice sounded like I had swallowed glass.
“Your eyes are all bloodshot, I mean seriously bloodshot.”
“Yeah,” I croaked, realizing that it was Kia who was standing over me, “-didn’t sleep so great.”
“You’re telling me,” Kia replied, worriedly.
“Hmm," I sighed, slowly sitting up.
Surprisingly my body didn’t hurt at all. What had I been dreaming about? As far as I could remember it was just a bunch of nothingness. But I do remember my whole body throbbing. Must have just been a dream, though.
“What time is it?” I asked.
“Eleven thirty,” she said.
“What?” I exclaimed, “I missed all of my classes!”
“Not drama club,” she shrugged, “but maybe you should skip that, too, if you’re not feeling so good.”
“Oh, man I can’t believe this!” I cried, jumping off the bed and rushing to my closet.
“Don’t worry, Iz,” she laughed, “I called the nurse this morning, she took care of it so no biggy.”
“How could you let me sleep in so late?” I exclaimed.
“I tried to wake you up earlier,” she replied, “but you were sleeping like a rock. You didn’t move an inch.”
“Really?” I stopped, “I don’t remember what I dreamt about, but I do remember tossing and turning all night.”
“Not an inch,” she said, “it was actually a little creepy how still you were. But you were tired.”
“Weird,” I shrugged, looking in the mirror and seeing that my eyes were no longer bloodshot.
“Do you feel better?” She asked.
“I feel perfectly fine,” I said, smiling as I realized my headache was completely gone.
I felt so much better than fine, it was like every single bit of whatever funk I was in yesterday had completely vacated my body! Amazing.
“I’m starving,” I said, “let’s go get food and then head to practice.”
“Okay, whatever you say," she shrugged.
“Don’t worry so much,” I laughed, “I feel fine! But thanks for caring.”
“Don’t mention it,” she smiled, “okay, so I’m really glad you’re better because crabby Izzy I can’t really deal with.”
“Cute,” I teased, “come on.”
We left the dorm and took the path towards the café and as we passed the pathway leading to the boy's dorms I felt a hand grab my shoulder.
“Can I speak with you?”
I looked up to see Kain with a very perplexed look on his face.
“Sure,” I said, “what is it?”
“Sorry, Kia,” he nodded, “can we meet you at the café?”
“Um, okay,” Kia replied, “see you later.”
“Later,” I waved as she turned to leave, “what’s up, Kain?”
“Okay,” Kain began, nervously, “this is going to sound crazy and I don’t really know what to make of it, but⎼”
“You’re rambling.”
Kain let out an exasperated groan as he ran his hands through his unruly black hair and furrowed his eyebrows in frustration. He abruptly stopped his slightly manic pace and held up a finger as he prepared to say whatever was on his mind. Good god, man, just spit it out already! It looked like he was going completely nuts.
“So,” he began, his eyes begging me not to think he was crazy, “I don’t think that kid Amadeus is quite right.”
Wow. Where’d that come from? I didn’t think Kain had any issue with Amadeus. They were even roommates, not to mention that they did play on the same team more than occasionally.
“I mean, he seems like a great person,” he added, “and a great player, but there are a few things that just…don’t seem right.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Well,”
he said, “for starters he’s been talking in his sleep for the past few nights.”
“So...” I shrugged, “it’s annoying you?”
“No. Well, yes, but that’s not it," he continued, “It’s what he says in his sleep that‘s…well it’s disturbing.”
“Wow,” I replied, “it’s disturbing you so that must mean it’s pretty creepy. What kind of stuff does he say?”
“Some of it sounds pretty cool,” he commented, “I mean if it was a story or a movie, maybe even a video game. But other things he says…”
He shifted his feet, trying to word everything correctly.
“It’s not as creepy, until it actually happens,” he finished.
“Wait, what?” I asked.
“Yeah,” he said, letting out a laugh, “it actually happens. It’s like he’s predicted the future or something. In his sleep. And not just that, it‘s all about us!”
“That’s ridiculous!” I laughed.
“Seriously, I’m not making this up,” he said, “just listen.”
“I am and it sounds absurd," I replied, crossing my arms.
“Okay, well listen to this,” he continued, “the night before yesterday Amadeus was muttering in his sleep about how you would make your appearance on the first quarter, whatever that means, through the back doors of the café and leave abruptly. And that’s exactly what happened.”
“That doesn’t really prove anything,” I pointed out.
“Okay, well,” he paused, probably grasping at straws, “did you sleep okay?”
“What does that have to do with anything?” I asked.
“Everything!” He exclaimed, “Listen, along with all that other crap he also said that at dusk your “inner truth would ensnare you” and a darkness would envelope you. So, did it?”
“Did what?” I replied, getting frustrated.
“Did your inner truth ensnare you?” He asked, “In other words, did you sleep good, or was it darkness and pain?”
I stopped. I couldn’t remember the specifics of my dream, but I did remember being in pain.
“Maybe,” I shrugged, “I don’t remember it that well. Let’s just get to the café, I’m really hungry.”
“Fine,” he replied, leading the way down the path.
“Maybe invest in some earplugs,” I suggested.
“Hm," he smirked.
“How’s basketball?” I asked, trying to change the subject.
“Fine," he said, “how’s your drama club thing?”
“Fine," I replied, “I think Laurent and his brother are planning to have that party at the lake next week.”
“Isn’t it for that Thursday night through Friday?" He asked.
“Yeah, we get Friday off for teacher analysis or some other nonsense," I replied, that’s the weekend after our birthday!”
He shrugged.
“We should go,” I suggested.
“To the party? Yeah, it should be fun,” he replied, “just don’t mention our birthday to anyone.”
“Oh, Lee already knows,” I said, as we entered the café.
“What?” He groaned.
“He asked when my birthday was,” I explained, “and I told him. That’s probably why he asked Laurent to plan the party for that weekend. Well, that and the fact that it’s a three day weekend.”
“Great,” he sighed.
“We’re turning sixteen, how can you not be excited about that?” I asked, following his example as he took a food tray.
“Easy,” he replied., “just don’t.”
“Wow, what a brilliant answer," I said, rolling my eyes.
We got our food and scanned the crowded cafeteria for our group. We spotted them at a table next to the glass wall and crossed the room, setting our plates down at the last two remaining seats.
“There you guys are,” Kia said, her smile widening ever so subtly when Kain sat down next to her.
Okay, so maybe it would be a little weird for me if Kia and my brother got together, but whatever. I would just have to get over it if that ever happened.
“Hey, do you guys realize what next month is?” Leslie asked, gaining our attention, “Basketball season officially begins!”
“Yeah, we know,” Lee laughed, “it’s what we’ve been practicing 24/7 for.”
“It’s coming up really soon," Laurent commented.
“We definitely have to kick practices up a notch," Duran replied.
I shrugged and I focused on my food, allowing the conversation to buzz into the background. I tried to ignore the tugging sensation I felt to glance in Amadeus’ direction. I knew what would happen if I did so I concentrated harder on my food. I didn’t even notice that most of the students had already left until Kain punched me in the shoulder.
“Ouch!” I exclaimed.
“That didn’t hurt” he said, rolling his eyes.
“What was that for?” I asked, then looked around the empty room, “Oh.”
“Your practice is going to start in like ten minutes,” he said.
“Where’s Kia?” I asked.
“She said she’d meet you there like twenty minutes ago,” he replied.
“Why didn’t you go, too?” I asked.
“I forgot my bag,” he said, “now go. Seriously, you’re going to be late.”
I had no idea how I could’ve blanked out so bad! I grabbed my things and sprinted across the cafeteria, not bothering to throw away my plate. I just barely opened the doors to leave in time, thankful that I hadn’t run straight into it, and flew down the path towards the auditorium.
Suddenly, I ran into something and fell, the soggy trail breaking my fall.
“Oh, sorry,” a voice I so loathed said.
“No problem,” I snapped, picking myself up as I brushed off the moss and dirt off my backside, “don’t sweat it.”
“Let me help you,” Amadeus said, as he reached for my backpack.
“Really,” I said, trying to avoid any eye contact, “don’t worry about it.”
“Hey,” he said.
A jolt of pain punched my skull as my disobeying eyes met his. The steaming heat of it spread across my entire body as I experienced indescribable torture.
“Are you okay?” He asked, his eyes forming into a look of concern that only made me double over in pain.
“Do you have any idea what you’re doing?” I cried, tears swelling in my eyes.
“I did apologize,” he replied, politely.
I finally tore my eyes from his gaze and focused on catching my breath. It was getting worse. His eyes were poison to me and I couldn’t figure out how he was doing it! It seemed like he had no idea, but how could he not know?
“It’s okay,” I gasped, “I⎼I haven’t really been feeling good lately.”
He just nodded as he handed me my bag. I quickly took it and rushed to practice, not mentioning anything to anyone about what had happened. As if anyone would believe me.
‡‡‡
The weekend seemed to go by slowly and I was definitely thankful when Monday came around, which was weird because that usually wasn’t the case. I had been having the weirdest dreams all weekend and I was getting pretty tired of all the sleepless nights I was having. Maybe I needed to go and see a doctor? I was probably overreacting. Unless I was coming down with some untreatable disease.
“Happy sixteenth,” a voice said behind me.
I turned around to find Lee holding a huge plastic jar of my favorite candy with a giant pink bow tied around it.
“What’s this?” I exclaimed, a smile spreading across my face.
“It’s September 20, your birthday,” he replied, nonchalantly, “I thought I’d get you a present.”
“Wow!” I laughed, “I love twizzlers. Thank you!”
“It was nothing,” he shrugged.
“How am I ever going to fit this in my locker?” I wondered out loud.
“Oops,” he said, “didn’t really think about that.”
“It’s okay,”
I replied, “I’ll make room. Thanks again!”
“Here, I’ll help you,” he offered.
“Why not,” I laughed as we headed in the general direction of my locker.
“So, how’ve you been?" He asked.
I shrugged.
“I’m fine,” I replied, “and you?”
“Coach has been riding us kinda hard,” he said, “but all’s good.”
“Good,” I smiled, as I opened my locker.
“Very organized,” he commented, eyeing my immaculate locker, “there shouldn’t be any problem fitting this in there.”
“Guess not,” I said, as he placed the jar carefully inside.
“What class you got now?” He asked.
“Art,” I replied.
“Have fun,” he said.
I waived my goodbye as I shut my locker and headed towards my class. I could not believe this! Lee got me a present! I suddenly was ecstatic because all the signs that he liked me were there! I definitely had not seen this one coming.
“Happy birthday, roomie!” Kia said, linking arms beside me as we headed for our class.
“Thanks, Kia!” I replied, “So, you’ll never believe what just happened.”
“What?” She asked.
“Well,” I began, “Lee totally surprised me just now by bringing me a birthday present!”
“Are you serious?” She squealed in excitement, “That’s so sweet!”
“I know!” I agreed, “He brought me this huge jar of twizzlers and then walked me to my locker!”
“Wow,” she laughed, “he must like you.”
“I hope so!” I replied, struggling to reign in my excitement as we entered the classroom.
It was very difficult to focus on what Ms. Cotillard was saying and several times I found myself daydreaming about one thing or another, mostly about Lee and the surprise birthday gift. Suddenly, I couldn’t wait for the weekend trip to the lake.
