Preknowings: Success Always Fails (PUBLISHED ON AMAZON)

The Bathroom Talk

That morning, I was unusually quiet at the breakfast table. My little five-year old sister Clemie asked me with her mouth full of cheerios, "What's wong, Big Bwudder?" A cheerio fell out of her mouth and I replied, "Nothing, I just didn't get enough sleep last night, that's all." "Oh. You wook tired." After breakfast, I grabbed my bookbag, got my bike, and rode to school. In homeroom, I almost fell asleep. In science, I couldn't sit still. In gym, one kid blurted out something, but I didn't even know he said anything until we all were instructed to sit down and keep our mouths shut for the rest of class. I couldn't help but wonder what that flash in the dream was. But apparently, I had been staring at this one kid in front of me, Karter who rudely mouthed the word 'What?!' at me several times before he finally caught my attention. After a long period of silence, I walked to fourth period. My favorite. It's social studies. All this war stuff interests me.

So, I was sitting in social studies listening intently while my teacher, Mrs. Wellington, explained World War II. Then she asked a question, "Do any of you know what the Manhattan Project is?" I put my hand up. "Yes, Birche?" "May I use the restroom?" I asked. "Hurry up." She replied, clearly annoyed.

I walked down the hall towards the bathroom, went in, and went to the sink. I looked at myself in the mirror and fixed my hair. "Hey," a low, obviously male, voice said. I gasped and spun around, looking for the source of the voice. Something caught my eye in the darkest end stall. It was a small, yellow creature. It looked like an elephant but with a much shorter trunk. I widened my eyes. It's stubby trunk wiggled and the thing scratched it. The thing had black, beady eyes. "Hey," it said again, "Whaddaya starin' at?" It shook itself off, like the way a dog does coming in from a rainy walk. Only it didn't have fur. It had skin. Thick elephant skin.

Its fat rippled around its body. "I'm a Horned Walapus," it said proudly. It had come out of the toilet and was now sitting on the toilet seat. I gazed upon him curiously. "I was sent here to tell ya somethin', kid." He said with an impatient glare, "I'm a busy guy, yeh?" I nodded hesitantly, without knowing the real answer. "Well then we gotta make this quick." "My teacher will be expecting me back soon." I said. He nodded with a 'let's-get-on-with-it-already' look on his face. "Yer name's Birche Eliot, yeh?" "Uh-huh." I replied nodding. He hopped down off the toilet seat and onto the bathroom floor, landing in a puddle. A piece of toilet paper stuck to his foot. He shook it off, made a disgusted face, and continued, "The U.S. military needs ya, kid. Here're yer instructions. First of all, you gotta tell one person everything I tell ya. No one else. And I mean no one else. Now, the details.

"Okay. Get someone to take ya to the middle of the Pacific Ocean in a helicopter." I interrupted, "What the heck? Why? And where am I going to get a ride in a helicopt-oh. My friend's dad owns one. Go on." "They need ya 'cause yer different than other people. As I was sayin', next, you've gotta have that person you trust tie up yer arms and yer legs...." "And???" I asked impatiently. "And open the helicopter door and push ya off the side into the Pacific Ocean." "What?! Are you crazy??? I-" "I think you know what happens next...." He said with a wink. I stopped. "The dream." I whispered. The small elephant man hopped back into the toilet with a small splash. And with that, he was gone.

I had a million questions splintering my brain, like When will my mission begin? and Why'd he come out of the toilet? And many more. I went back to my classroom. Mrs. Wellington scolded me for how long I was in the bathroom and questioned what I had been doing in there. All I could come up with was that "My hands felt extra dirty and I was washing them most of the time." The class laughed at me. It was really embarrassing.