Chapter Two
She was the prettiest girl, Johnny had ever seen. Her long hair was a rich auburn color. The tiniest freckles were sprinkled across her face. She had maybe the softest white skin he had ever seen.
“Who are you?” Johnny mumbled to himself, completely captivated by the girl. She did not seem to hear him, and continued to look up towards the sky. Johnny had to see for himself, just what was so special.
“Whoa,” exclaimed Johnny, his jaw dropping as he looked up into the sky. “When did the Earth get a second moon?”
He rubbed his eyes anxiously, unable to believe his environment yet again. Two moons danced in the orange sky. So real, he thought, but it couldn’t be home. It had to be a dream, but how did he come to this place?
Yet unlike the hostile setting he had the night before, he felt both easy and comfortable around the girl. Johnny had the strangest feeling like he knew her, and yet they had never met before.
The ground started to shake, and Johnny returned his gaze to the sky. A large shuttle roared through the sky above him. It swooped down, landing in a field near the two kids. Johnny rushed behind some trees, not wanting to be noticed.
A large door opened and out stepped two older men in brown robes. Unlike the tattered robes of the Dark Prince, these gentlemen obviously took great pride in their appearance. Whoever these men were, they seemed to be of great importance.
The old men made their way over to the younger, red-headed girl. A private conversation it seemed, because as close as Johnny got, he couldn’t seem to make a single word out. Whatever they were saying, it was not for his ears.
Suddenly, one of the men put his arm around the shoulder of the girl, motioning them to return to the vessel. Johnny rushed out from behind the trees, now hoping that they would see him, like they saw the young girl; that they might take him away, too.
“Don’t leave without me! Take me with you!” Johnny shouted, lifting his head from his desk in class. Oh no, he thought. Not again. He was dreaming again. This time it was in front of everyone in the class.
The whole room erupted with laughter. The boys called him names, and the girls giggled about him behind his back. He couldn’t feel any lower about himself than he did right now.
Suddenly, the class bell rang, telling everyone it was time for lunch. Saved by the bell, Johnny thought. It was just like an adventure on television. Only at the end of the episode, he would still feel like a loser.
“I don’t like children falling asleep in my class, Jonathan Rush,” his teacher said as Johnny rushed out the door. “Don’t let it happen again, young man.”
Johnny nodded. He didn’t like the idea of making a fool out of himself again, any more than she did.
He made his way quickly to the cafeteria. Johnny opened his backpack, bringing out a brown paper bag. It was his lunch for the day, a ham sandwich and homemade cookies. He started to eat the cookies as he scanned the cafeteria looking for the first empty table he could find.
Finding one, he quickly made his way over and sat down. He unloaded his lunch and began eating. Johnny couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened in class today. What was wrong with him? He had always had an active imagination, but lately his dreams have been more like visions to a completely different world. These were not stories that he had created.
It unnerved Johnny, but then again, most everything else did as well. He was tired of always being scared. Something had to change, he thought.
Johnny jerked forward. Someone had pushed him from behind. Again, Johnny jerked forward.
“Hey dork!” the voice of a child said from behind Johnny. Johnny turned around to see one of the children from class earlier. “You’re in my spot, goober. Nobody sits in my spot.”
His name was Butch, and he already had a reputation at the school. A bigger child, Butch outweighed Johnny and most every other student at the school; he used that to bully his way around. The first day of school some unlucky kid was tied up on the flagpole. They say it was Butch who did it to him. All Johnny knew for sure, was that he didn’t want any trouble from Butch.
“Well, what is it going to be?” Butch asked, pushing Johnny yet again. Johnny was having a panic attack, and was frozen in fear. He was afraid that anything he did would be the wrong thing to do. “What, are you day dreaming again? Teacher hates you already, you know that right? You might as well quit school, and go home right now.”
“I—I’m sorry,” Johnny mumbled. “I did not realize this was your table.”
“Are you trying to be funny? Hey guys, I think he’s trying to be funny,” Butch said, looking at his friends who were all circling around the table. “How about I show him what we do to funny guys.”
The friend beside Butch handed him a soda can, and he opened it.
“Here, have a pop,” Butch said taking the soda can and pouring it over Johnny’s head. “Feel like going home yet?”
“You—you…bully!” Johnny screamed as the sticky pop ran down his face. The other kids in the cafeteria just laughed at Johnny, and the ones that weren’t laughing, were too afraid to do anything about it. They all remembered the kid on the flagpole.
“Bye bye, loser!” Butch shouted after Johnny, who was rushing out of the cafeteria to a sea of laughter. He had been humiliated many times before, but never like this. High school had barely just begun, and already Johnny was “that kid.”
He didn’t stop running, all the way home. He quickly unlocked the door, and ran upstairs to his room. He jumped on the bed, and just wanted the day to be over. It was finally the weekend, but now he feared he wouldn’t even get to enjoy that.
“Johnny…its dinner time,” his mother kept repeating. It was dark now; he must have slept for a couple hours. “What happened?”
Johnny didn’t want to talk about it. He didn’t even want to think about it. There was only one thing that could cheer him up right now; his favorite treat, fried bananas.”
“Hey mom,” Johnny started. “Can I have some of your world famous fried bananas and ice cream?”
“What a weird dinner request,” his mother spoke softly. “No, not for dinner, I think not. Maybe we can have them next weekend? They take a while for me to prepare, and I don’t have that much free time this weekend. I’m sorry, hon.”
It was alright, he thought. For as much as Johnny wished for a better life, there was not a moment when he didn’t wish it for his mother as well.
Deborah was a highly skilled graduate student, but due to a lack of jobs in the area, she has had to settle for minimum wage jobs to pay the bills. She tried harder than anyone Johnny had ever known. In many ways she inspired him to be a better person. It wasn’t her fault he was just too afraid to act on that inspiration.
Deborah led Johnny down the stairs, to a plate of homemade macaroni. They made the best of the night, watching their favorite shows, and enjoying each others company.
Later that night, Johnny was once again tossing and turning in his bed. He was having vivid dreams of battles and victories. Unlike in the real life, in his dreams he was a hero.
As soon his dreams began, the wind started picking up speed. His room soon became a swirling mess. Papers and books started spinning around the room.
“What is going on in here?” his mother asked, opening the door. As quickly as the wind began, it ended; almost as if to conceal itself from Deborah. “Hmm, must have been something outside.”
She looked at her boy, who was still tossing about on the bed. She walked over to him, and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
“Things will get better for you, I promise,” his mother said, rising from his bedside. She looked around, and noticed the mess all over the floor. “Such a messy child; he must really be growing up.”
Deborah walked out of the room and looked back at her son, smiling as she closed the door gently.
The second the door closed, the winds started p
icking up speed again. Whatever the force behind the wind was, it seemed to be meant only for Johnny.
Suddenly, a bright glowing light streaked in the room from outside the window. As it pulsed, it seemed to give off a soothing aura that seemed to calm the young boy’s dream, relaxing him.
Whatever it was, it seemed to be alive. The orb circled around the room, and then over Johnny’s bed. As if it had found what it was looking for, it moved back to the end of the bed, and began vibrating quickly. And with a bright burst of energy, the whole room filled with a blinding light.
When the light subsided, a mysterious old man in flowing white robes stood at the end of the bed. Could he really have been the mysterious glowing light?
The mysterious old man had long, thin white hair with matching wispy beard. He was thin, but not sickly looking. His robes sparkled as they flowed around his slender frame.
“Jonathan Rush, the universe needs you,” the mysterious old man said, taking a seat beside Johnny. “You have a strong future ahead of you. However, I fear that without swift action that future will not come to fruition.”
The mysterious old man placed his palm on Johnny’s head. The old man wished for a better life for Johnny; where he could grow into the hero that the universe needed him to be. And need him the universe would, as its very foundation was already beginning to unravel.
Jonathan Rush and the Star Academy Page 3
