by Esme Fox

“Once upon a time there was a shy girl. Now this story isn’t much of a fairytale, but it has a happy ending… Which is the best part about it.”

Chapter One

I stared at my dirty converses as Mrs. Mattingly called on me. “Pass,” I whispered. I heard giggles, mostly from Josh. I blinked twice. Are you sure you  want to pass? Said a voice inside of me. You haven’t been talking all week and you know you’re gonna regret it. But then again another voice inside of me said, If you talk, you know you’re going to get it wrong and make a fool of yourself in front of the whole class. I decided to stay with Pass. There was still a part of me that was too shy to speak. I wanted that to change. But I knew it couldn’t. I was born with it. I was born with shyness. I would be shy forever.

***

After school I tried to do homework but that same voice kept popping in my head. Do it do it do it. But I couldn’t. Even I knew it. I turned on the TV and started channel surfing.  But then something caught my eye. The news caster talked in the usual breaking news way, “People have been reporting sights of mind reading! This is no lie America! Reporting from channel 5 I am Judy Richards. And remember, you can always get the latest breaking news on…Fox News!”.  My mouth dropped open. But then I paused and rolled my eyes. Mind reading? Oh puh-leeze. Like I could fall for that. I turned it off and yawned. I looked at the clock. 9:58. It was getting late. I put everything away and crawled in my bed. I starred at the ceiling. I thought about the mind reading. Was it really true? A blob of something rock hard formed in my stomach. What if someone was reading my mind right now? What if Josh was reading my mind? He would be laughing all day. Particularly about all the games I play in my head. I sighed. When was I ever gonna grow up? I closed my eyes and rolled over. Soon I fell asleep.

***

I suddenly woke up. I looked over at the alarm clock to turn it off when I realized it wasn’t on. Then I realized I was hearing something. No, more like it’s inside me, waiting to get out. I started panicking. But then I thought, it’s probably just my imagination. And it’s so early in the morning I was probably just dreaming. But it seemed so vivid. Like an old radio or TV with the staticky measure to it. I tried to go back asleep, but that thing was so stuck in my head that I couldn’t. I picked up my favorite book, Alice and Wonderland, and opened it. But as soon as I opened it all the letters on the page started swirling before my eyes. I started panicking, huffing, puffing, sweating and crying, all at once. Because when I closed the book it turned swirly too! Then I looked at the clock, hoping this was all a bad dream. But even the clock was swirly. I looked around. The whole room was a giant swirl. The static got louder and louder. The swirl got swirly-er and swirly-er. Then, I screamed.

Chapter Two

I blinked. In a second the swirls went away.  I tried to think of a reasonable explanation. Nothing clicked. I knew it could be a dream but it seemed so real. No, it couldn’t be a dream. It just couldn’t be. I sighed. I can’t fall back asleep. I think it was because the static just kept running through my head. I wish it would go away. I thought about the endless school day ahead. Probably filled with giggles and passes and day old cafeteria goop.  My cousin once told me that whenever it’s gonna be a good day she gets a good feeling in her gut. I paused. Nope, I don’t have that feeling at all. I closed my eyes then opened them. I went to the kitchen to get some warm milk but what I saw instead was my Dad watching the news. He was watching the same thing that I was watching the night before. He was falling asleep so I didn’t think that I should talk to him. I suddenly got really tired and my head hurt. The static was still going through my head. I felt like it was chasing me. Trying to tell me something. I walked back to my room and snuggled under the warm blanket. It wasn’t necessarily warm but I wanted to feel as comfortable as I could. I didn’t feel very well but I knew I could make through the night.

***

I woke up to my alarm nagging me to get up. I rolled over and tried to pretend that I couldn’t hear it. I knew I would get in trouble but I didn’t care at all. The $5 allowance could wait for a little while. Suddenly my eyes hurt. I opened them; the light like was a ray, shining a little too hard. I quickly closed them as though it had seemed it would get even brighter. “ Mom get out,” I whispered. I was too tired to talk, let alone yell. The static was still in my head. That same old static that was trying to chase me. I wish it got tired sometimes. Too tired to chase, for whatever reason it has. Suddenly my wish was granted. It stopped, only to reveal a small voice, angry, it had seemed. It said, Charlie, that toothpaste stain isn’t gonna get itself out, you Monkeyface! I paused. That’s what the static was trying to tell me? Monkeyface? Then it all seemed like a joke. A big, fat, nasty joke. What did I expect, static suddenly told me a key to another world? I laughed, trying to shake the whole idea off. I wish my life was like a book. A big, wonderful book like Alice in Wonderland. A book where flowers talk, strange creatures have tea parties, and static would tell people a key to another world. But no, only book characters get that life.

Stop!! Get out Charlie! Who was Charlie? I didn’t like him, that’s all I knew. He seemed like a trickster, and a mean one at that. But maybe the person speaking was just overreacting. Wait, hold up. Who was the person speaking?

***

As I rode on the bus to school I heard more of the voice in my head. Some things were about Charlie and some were about other things like Halloween and birthday parties. Whoever had the voice was gonna be a zombie. Ugh. Today is sibling day at school. Anyone who has a sibling at school gets to hang out with their sibling  for the whole day. They get a day full of the playground and gym and art class. And guess what I get, a day full of math with my sister that doesn’t exist. It’s my least favorite day. Besides, seeing everyone with their siblings makes me wanna barf. If I had a siblings, I wouldn’t treat them like donuts and lemonade. I would have things my way. Which means they would be treated like dirt.

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