VolleyBomb

Chapter 4: Escape from Reality

Somewhere else in the world, McKenna sat on her front porch, a cup of lemonade by her side. Her hair was tied into a short ponytail so it was off of her neck. It was a hot day where she lived, and her dad wasn't home today. He was out somewhere, who knows where. McKenna sighed and stood, taking the cup of lemonade as she walked inside her house, sitting on her bed. "Man, why does it have to be so hot?" she asked herself.

Her eyes then made eye contact with a souvenir from the day she and her author friends went shopping. It was a bracelet. It had all of their favorite colors on it in various animal charms. Being in her room was her favorite thing. McKenna lay on her back, looking up at the ceiling. It was her way of leaving reality until her dad got home and she went into a world of fiction. It was her favorite part of the day. She wanted to count the holes in her ceiling, but that would take too long. Suddenly, a sound could be heard. A clank. "Who goes there?!" McKenna exclaimed.

There wasn't another sound after that. Going on the defensive, McKenna grabbed a ring light and walked near her closet, opening it. Darkness. McKenna turned the light on to see a clay figure sitting. "Huh. It's the figure of Ben. I made it a while back after the girls and I went on that day out. I wonder why he's here?" she asked herself again.

"Because of your imagination powers."

She jumped back, almost hitting Ben. "Woah, woah! Relax! You know you're capable of doing these things! Haven't you brought that one Harry Potter character to life for Maisie?" he asked, clay arm over the other.

"Yeah, I once brought Harry Potter to life for her. And, surprisingly, Lucius Malfoy for Vi (YES IT'S TRUE. FIGHT ME- IT'S MY ISSUE WITH LONG HAIR OKAY GEEZ). I'm surprised someone like that could catch her attention," McKenna replied.

Ben chuckled and hopped from the shoebox he sat on to McKenna's head. "So, you lucky freshman! Are you excited to start a new year and make new friends?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Honestly, I'm a bit nervous. What if some don't like me? What if I'm stuck with the same people throughout the entire year?" she questioned.

McKenna's hands found her forearms and they held on as she closed her eyes. Ben sighed as she sat down, slowly but surely relaxing. Her breath began to slow down, showing that she was calming down. "This is like an escape, isn't it?" Ben asked.

He got off McKenna's head and sat on her shoulder, hugging a part of her hair. She glanced at him and nodded, kissing her pointer finger and placing it on his clay head. Ben's face became a scribble of red sharpie, which was his blush. "You're cute, you know that?" McKenna asked.

"Wh-What?! I'm not cute!" Ben exclaimed, clay arms crossed.

She sighed. All she knew was that he was indeed cute. To her. "I wanna stay like this forever," McKenna said out of the blue.

"Me too, love. ... Me too..."

All was peaceful until the front door could be heard opening. Both of their eyes widened. "Quick! Come into the closet! I'll lock the door!" Ben said.

McKenna did as told and ran into the closet as Ben locked the door behind her. It was her father that had come back from wherever he had gone. Both kept quiet as Ben was quietly rummaging through a large box. With some struggle, he took out a colorful scrapbook. "Look at this," he whispered.

He opened the book and showed her pictures from her past, including when her mother was alive. It caused McKenna to shed a tear. Oh, how she missed her mother. She was like a guardian angel to her. She covered her face to not let Ben see her cry, but he placed a clay hand on her shoulder. "It's alright. Look at this one. It'll cheer you up."

It's when he showed her a picture printed by Dusk. The day before the girls parted ways, they crafted the scrapbook and put pictures of not just themselves, but of each other in it. "I remember Vi told us about a time when she went to the Aquarium of the Pacific and saw a bunch of otters," McKenna said.

"She told you guys?" Ben asked.

"Yeah."

Both shared a smile. "And Maisie got into Pirates of the Caribbean."

"It's such a good movie series. Except the 4th installment was out of place and possibly only for money."

Their conversation went on until there was a knock at the closet door. McKenna began to tremble as she backed further into the closet. Ben watched in horror, turning into a still clay doll. The door then opened, and there was McKenna's father. He looked around, then sighed. "She isn't here..."

He closed the door. Ben came back to life and looked behind her to see McKenna was gone. "McKenna? MCKENNA??!!"