• What would it take for things to be quiet?

    My eyes flew open. 6:00 AM already?
    Just let me sleep a bit more..
    "Lex, GET UP!" Mom's cry of impatience echoed in my ears. I flinched as she opened my door and turned on the light. My eyes had no time to adjust. I squinted and sat up stiffly, looking her way. A bright red glow blurred above her head as she hurried into the hall.
    'Seeing things" I muttered after slinking out of bed.
    The day showed the usual signs of angst and worry, like all my other days of school had been so far. With the exception of the beginning of 8th grade. 8th grade is only fun until you realize how close high school is. I dreaded high school. It was something I felt like I would never be prepared enough for.
    Hustling into the shower, shampooing my hair and such was enough work for one morning. It was all I could do to keep my eyes open. Scrub. Rinse. Repeat if necessary. I paused mid-wash. Dear God I need a life. My tired gaze landed to my side. What is that? I traced a red thin mark down my right shoulder. It burned with a sudden rage that made me bite back a harsh word. I jerked my hand away; before my eyes appeared four smaller marks around the first. I grit my teeth and adjusted the water temperature. Maybe the water's too hot. My skin might be reacting weirdly to it. Yeah, I'm sure that's all it is. But all the red, raw lines stung again and I knew it was more than a reaction.

    Quiet, like the snow.

    ---About an hour later, at school---

    What's wrong with me? I stepped out of the Toyota with my bags in hand. I kept staring at my Mom in the car. Above her head were a bunch of blurred numbers, red like when I first saw them. The numbers kept rapidly changing like a clock.
    Now as I got out of the car I saw kids through the glass and wooden doors. They had that too. I spun around and gaped at the parents who were letting their kids out... all of them had these numbers.
    I bit back a pathetic whimper and stumbled into the school, where other students were sitting in the main hall and texting, listening to their ipods and gossiping. Sitting down next to Kevin, I sighed when I saw that he too had the red numbers.
    "Hey Alexa" he greeted like always. I blinked gratefully at him. I had friends, but I always got really happy when he talked to me. It wasn't normal at all for boys to be nice to me. They either ignored me or acted like smart a** jerks. Typical.
    "Hi" I replied, shifting my weight onto my left side more to face him. "How's your situation with your mom going?"
    His dark eyes momentarily looked away "The same as always. She still thinks that she owns everything that's supposed to be mine."
    "I'm sure it will get better when high school rolls around" I said sympathetically. Kevin will be older. I bet his mom won't be so obnoxious by then.
    Every time I looked at someone I had trouble with trying not to look afraid or confused by those numbers. What do they mean?
    I tapped Kevin on the shoulder. He had been looking longingly out the glass part of the double doors. I couldn't blame him for wanting to be outside. He looked at me as if surprised that I had touched him. Note to self: Kevin doesn't like it if you even tap on his shoulder.
    "What?" he asked. I didn't say anything for a moment. How could I ask this without sounding like a crazy?
    "Um...have you seen anything weird lately? Like...above people's heads?" I stammered out. He looked at me like I had grown wings.
    His only reply was "No...?"
    I sighed again and hoped that I wasn't doomed today.

    And I know this isn't much but,
    I know I could I could be better.