Premonitions

Chapter Two

I woke up in the middle of the night covered in sweat. Nagisa was purring contently next to me, clearly awake.

        "Hey, Nagisa," I whispered, reaching over to scratch his head. He responded by meowing and rubbing his head against my hand. I smiled.

        I laid back down, facing Nagisa. As I closed my eyes, something fluttered in the darkness beyond my window. I flicked my eyes back open. In the old maple tree outside my house, an owl was perched on a branch.

        I breathed out shakily.

        Closing my eyes, I thought to myself, This is going to be a long night.

I woke up the next morning, sunlight streaming through the east window. Memories of last night engulfed me, washing over me like a forty-foot wave.

        Yet again, I'd had the dream, the one with the boy dying in my arms, bleeding out under the waterfall. So it was a recurring dream. It was a premonition.

        I groaned. "The last thing... I want... Is a boy dying beside me," I ground out.

        During the dream, like the night before, the boy's face had been blurry, so I hadn't seen what he looked like. Great. All I knew about the boy was what his voice sounded like. Well, and that he died in my arms, but that was implied.

        I leaped out of bed, glancing at my alarm clock. 7:10. I was going to be late for school. I quickly got dressed and grabbed my shoes. Downstairs, I brushed my hair while getting out a cereal box.

        As I poured myself a bowl of Fruity Pebbles, my dad came into the kitchen.

        "What are you doing?" He asked.

        I glanced over at him, confused.

        "It's a Saturday." He continued.

        "Fuck." I breathed under my breath. "I have to go to work, anyway." I picked up my bowl and carried it to the dining room table.

        While shoveling food into my mouth, I checked my phone. I'd gotten a call from a restricted number. Quickly, I scooped up the last of the cereal and rested the bowl and spoon in the sink. I dashed upstairs and shrugged into my work clothes, then put my hair up in a long, messy braid. As I grabbed my keys, I shoved my feet into my black combat boots and headed out the door.

        As I sat in my car, turning the engine on, I adjusted the mirror. A face flashed in the mirror. It was a boy's face; gone just after it appeared. I quickly adjusted the mirror again, hoping to catch a glimpse of the face again, but it didn't show back up. Any normal person would have hopped out of the car and told someone, but I was used to seeing paranormal sights. My heart was beating quickly, but I was not fazed by the face in the mirror; I was just shocked. My heartbeat was already slowing, going back to the normal rate. The car's engine spurted on and I pulled out of the driveway, going down Peabody Street and turning down various other streets and roads until I got to the main road.

        I turned into the employee parking lot at Cameron's, a restaurant that had attracted many different crowds in the eighties but currently acted as a popular hangout place for teens. As I stepped out of my car, a brand-new black Camry, I grabbed my black leather purse and rummaged through it for my phone. I quickly dialed Griffyn's number and pressed Call.

        "Whaaaat?" Griffyn answered sluggishly.

        "I have to work a full shift today, so we can't hang out." I replied.

        "Okay, I'll just sleep. WAIT, you have to work eight hours at Cameron's today? On a Saturday? That really sucks."

        Working at Cameron's on a Saturday was like asking for Death himself to come. Saturdays were the restaurant's most busy days. Which, in turn, meant I had to deal with the prep boys from Canton Academy, the local private school for boys.