by Graham McGuffin

I was never a normal kid.  I was always bullied in school. I was never as smart as everyone else. I had only one friend– Billy, my Guinea pig.  Cooper McConner, that’s my name.

I was about to start my first day of school, and I was trying to brace myself for the bullies, bad food, and terrible grades.

After having a long talk with Billy to help boost my confidence, I set off to school. This was the day I’d been dreading all summer.

When I got to the hallway, a group of bullies from last year yelled insults at me. I tried to ignore them and trudged off to class. As expected, it was a horrible day.

 

When I finally got home from school, I went out back to play fetch with Billy. (In case you were wondering, if you want to play fetch with a guinea pig, you have to find a really small stick so it can fit in his mouth.)  We were there playing fetch and having fun when, out of nowhere, a stick hit my head.

“Ow!” I said.

I looked up to see where it came from. There was nobody around.  But, there was a message written in the clouds that said to come to the park tomorrow after school.

There was a dead silence except for an ominous wind. The sky grew dark.  Billy shivered and buried his head under the ground. I was so scared that that I literally passed out on the spot.

 

I woke up in bed with my family all around me. They asked me what happened, but I had a strange feeling I should not tell them.  I could barely sleep that night because I wasn’t sure if I should go to the park or not. It really scared me.  What if the note was not directed at me?  I guess I’d find out tomorrow, if I have the courage to go.

After school the next day, I grabbed Billy and found myself walking to the park. We waited there for a while but no one came.  Just when I was thinking about leaving, a man in a dark hooded cloak came over the hill.  I was too scared to move and old Billy was sleeping.  As the man got closer, I could see that he had no face. He reminded me of the Grim Reaper or one of the Fates from Greek myths. He had a black robe quivering around him. So, even if I tried to see the rest of him, I couldn’t.

He stepped really close to me. So, close that I should have heard his breathing–if he breathed at all. I tried to scream but something held my mouth shut. Suddenly I heard his voice.

“Hello Cooper.” It rasped with no feeling whatsoever. “You think you have a terrible life don’t you?”
“Um, sort of,” I whimpered as Billy shifted in my coat pocket and nuzzled at my chest.

“How would you like it if you had a different life, if you were rich and popular with lots of friends?”

 

“Um, Sure,” I replied, without thinking of the consequences.

Suddenly the man flew backwards and disappeared into a tree. Then, a strange wind pulled me screaming into the tree.  I braced myself for impact, but I never felt anything.

Then, it was black.

I felt naked and had no idea where I was. I held onto Billy, but after a while I felt something pull him away.

No, Billy!” I tried to scream, but nothing came out.

 

I was floating for a while.  Suddenly I saw a blinding light and fell with a bang on a floor.

 

“Ouchy!” I exclaimed.

When my eyes adjusted, I looked around and realized that I was in my room, but it was bigger, had a flat screen T.V., a huge king sized bed, and a computer. I heard a cell phone ringing in my pocket. I had never had a cell phone in my real life, so I picked it up eagerly.

“Yo, Cooper.” The voice sounded like one of the bullies that had picked on me at school.

“Yeah?”

“Want to come over and hang out?”

I was in shock and had no idea what to say.

“OK,” I stuttered.

“What’s up with you?  You sound weird,’ the voice said.

“Nothing,” I replied.

“OK.” Then the voice hung up.

I walked into the bathroom and splashed cold water on my face to see if I was dreaming.  I wasn’t.

I walked into the hall and looked around. Everything in my house was different than before.  Everything was nicer–but none of it was mine.  I felt lost.

When I got downstairs I almost screamed.  My ratty old living room was replaced by a deluxe one with leather couches and a seventy inch plasma TV.

I went into the kitchen expecting to see Billy munching on some lettuce or a carrot. But instead, I was greeted by a small, roundish lady who claimed to be the chef.  She offered me some sushi. Sushi…in my own house.  What the heck was going on?!

After a while, the bully called again and told me to get moving. I was halfway down the street when I realized that I had no idea where he lived. I called him on my cell phone. He seemed kind of confused that I didn’t know his address, but he told me where to go anyway.

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