The Gemino Glitch

Chapter 16: Waking Dreams

Rebecca turned over in bed, surprised to find a soft fluffy pillow beneath her cheek rather than an itchy sack of straw. She was almost worried enough to open her eyes, before she remembered that her band of merry men had crashed at the Palace of Kings for the night. Rolling over in her state of half-sleep, Rebecca revelled in the comfort of the mattress, and the warmth afforded her by the beautifully thick duvet.

But strangely, the sounds that hummed about her ears were not the scraping of weapons against stone or the whistling of wind through the castle. In fact, it was eerily quiet. The only noises she picked up were that of singing birds and the rustling leaves. Frowning, she opened an eye.

Rebecca was not in the Palace of Kings; she was in her bedroom. Her mouth practically unhinged at the jaw. The room was exactly the same – the walls were painted a delicate sky blue, the window had been left ajar and outside the sun shone brightly. It was a typical August morning. She must have finally woken up! But to her own confusion, Rebecca found herself saddened by the discovery. She hadn't even had a chance to say goodbye to T'ariq, or Felix, or the rest of her friends.

"Morning, Becky."

Rebecca's mother was standing at the door, leaning against the frame.

"Mum!" Rebecca beamed and shot out of bed, rushing into her mother's outstretched arms. Her mother laughed softly and stroked her daughter's hair. "You've slept well into the afternoon," she told her. "You should really learn to set an alarm."

Rebecca blinked and pulled away from the embrace. "But I was gone...I wasn't sleeping, I was in Skyrim!"

Her mother's warmth evaporated and she rolled her eyes. "Again, with these silly games, Becky." Her voice sounded tired as she moved to perch on the side of the bed. Rebecca looked down at the pyjamas on her legs, her eyebrows knitting together.

"I don't understand," she murmured.

The older woman shook her head. "They're frying your brain sweetie. You're wasting your life on these things, cooped up all day and playing make-believe like a little girl!" she cried, throwing her hands up in exasperation.

"I am not wasting my life!" Rebecca retorted, raising her voice. "I don't play them all day, ok? I get two holidays a year, excuse me if I want to relax a little!"

Her mother raised an eyebrow in a manner that felt sickeningly familiar to her daughter. "Oh, is that what you call it? Relaxing?"

"Yes, it is!"

Rebecca stomped to the side of her room and snatched a hoodie from the pile of clothes on her rocking chair. "And frankly, I'm getting tired of you trying to control my life. I'm not a child, Mum!" She reached out for the window handle and closed it with a snap. Her mother pursed her lips.

"No, you're not a child." she sighed. "You're a woman. But you'd never know it from the way you act," she scolded. Rebecca groaned as she went about picking her books up from the floor.

"No boyfriend, no job!"

She started to shelve the books, just so that she didn't have to look at the witch on the side of her bed.

"You know, someday, Rebecca, you're going to have to get a semblance of a life."

Her daughter whipped around, her eyes ablaze.

"I have a life, mother – in fact, I have multiple! That's why I play games, not to upset your perfect idea of femininity, but to dream, ok!" she yelled. "It might not be one that you recognise, but it's a life." Her mother had visibly recoiled, and was refusing to look at her, playing instead with the hem of her skirt. She didn't respond, only tutted.