Thunder and Storm

The Change

SALLY



After washing off my hair, I braided it and piled it up in a haphazard bun, washed my hand, and wiped off the excess water on my dress.  My hand hit something in my pocket and I dipped it in, bringing it out. It was the gift Riven had given me earlier. Curious, I unwrapped it, tearing the wrapping paper apart and dumping it in the bin.

It was a pretty pink colored box. I opened it and it turned out to be a music box. There was a ballet dancer who had red hair and green eyes dancing to the tune playing. I can’t fail to acknowledge the resemblance the toy had with me. However, quite unlike me, she was beautiful, elegant, composed. The things I wasn’t. Despite myself, I smiled. Riven was thoughtful. I closed the box and put it in my backpack.

I looked at the mirror and sniffed. I looked worse than I had been when I left home, I could feel the beginning of a headache and I sighed. I was now officially late for a class for the first time in my life. Today wasn't going well for me. I took a deep breath and let it out. I'd just have to plow through it and get some pills when I get home. I picked up my backpack from the sink, packed my books in it and slung it over my shoulder. I walked out of the restroom.

***********

"I heard about what happened in the hallway today," Riven said as he placed his tray on the table and sat down.

"I guess everyone knows what a major cry-baby I am now." I sniffed and looked down at the French fries on my tray. My stomach rumbled and I picked a fry, dipped it in ketchup and popped it in my mouth. Skipping breakfast this morning was a bad idea. Now, I was hungrier than a bear who just woke up from hibernation.

Riven sighed. "I told you to call me, Sally."

"You weren't there Riven, You were gone. How was I supposed to call you?" I packed a handful of fries, shoved them in my mouth and munched. I wasn’t usually this hungry, but right now I was ravenous.

"You should've stood up to her, slapped her or something." He clenched his fists on the table, glaring at Petra across the room.

"I can't do that," I mumbled but he heard me and his facial expression changed. His eyes softened.

"Why?"

"Because….”

"Because what?" he pushed.

"Because she's her and I'm me," I said in a quiet voice, looking down at my tray of food. "Have you seen her, Riven? She’s everything a girl is supposed to be and I’m just boring old me. I stutter at the slightest bit of attention I draw. Besides, she has a powerful influence on everyone. I really don’t want my remaining years in school to be any more miserable than it already is.”

My appetite was suddenly gone again, I looked up at him and he scoffed. "Is that your excuse for letting her treat you like crap? That's not good enough, Sally."

"I know but...at the risk of letting you think I'm even more moronic than you probably already think I am–"

"I don't think of you like that, Sally. You're not a moron.” He cupped my hand and squeezed slightly. My hand was oily from the fries and he made a face as his hand got stained. He immediately pulled them away. I smiled but it didn’t last long as thoughts about Petra flooded in.

"Every time she humiliates me like that I get so angry and I just want to grab her hair and yank it out.” He smirked at my words, "But it's like I can feel her in my head warning me of the consequences involved and I just get...scared." I shrugged trying to make it seem like it was nothing. I was a coward and I knew it.

"Okay, you're crazy. There's no way she can be in your head. That’s just your fear talking."

I felt eyes watching me and I looked around, I found Cameron staring at me. It made the hairs at my nape stand. Creepy. What was even more creepy was he didn't look away; he kept staring.

"Is there something on my face?" I asked Riven and he frowned.

"There's nothing on your face, although there’s a lot on your hand. Why are you asking?" He stabbed his kale with a fork and put it in his mouth. Riven is a vegan.

"Cameron Downing is staring at me weirdly," I whispered as I wiped my hand with a napkin and glanced in his direction.

"I don't like that. I don't like that one bit. That guy is bad news, Stay away from him if he tries to talk to you,” he warned.

"Of course I know that, Papa Bear,” I teased, and he rolled his eyes. I smiled and picked up another fry.

Everyone in school knew who Cameron was and steered clear of him. He was the king of detention, always talked smart to the teachers and had anger issues. People called him a downer because he was always by himself. It was more of a mockery of his last name. To me, he was more a delinquent than anything. Secretly, we all knew he was most likely to end up a criminal after high school.

I looked back at his seat to find him gone. He had just been sitting there staring at me with no food on his table. It was strange because he had never looked at me before and we'd never spoken. Despite his reputation, he was kind of cute with his blonde hair, blue eyes and pouty lips. His hair was always a mess on his head like he was just rolling out of bed and he was muscular. Some girls might dig that look but he wasn't my type. It wasn’t  like I had a type anyway but if I did, it certainly wouldn't be Cameron.

A sharp pain rang in my head and I winced. I grabbed my head and groaned.

"Are you alright?" Riven's voice sounded like it was coming from far away. My vision was blurry and fluctuating. I could see the muscles under Riven's skin.

"Sally, are you alright?" He stood up and grabbed my arm. My vision cleared, the pain lessened and I blinked up at him.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. It was just a little headache but it's gone now." I frowned, certain I had been seeing things just now.

The frown didn't leave his face but he sat back down. "You know I didn't want to say anything about it before but your face.” He motioned to his face. "It looks sick."

"I know." I sniffed. My congested nose was not letting up. My head was still throbbing but it wasn't as painful as earlier.

"You shouldn't have come to school today if you weren't feeling well, Sally.” He gave me a reproachful look. It made me smile. It was good to know he cared so much.

"I opened your gift," I said, changing the topic. "I loved it."

His eyes softened and he gave me a small smile. "It reminded me of you. That ballerina is whom I see in you when I look at you, Sally. That's why it annoys me to no end when you let Petra walk all over you."

A lump formed in my throat and I looked away. It was nice of him to say such sweet words to me but I knew he only said them because he was my friend and he wouldn't want to hurt my feelings. Nothing about me was elegant, I was the chubby girl with zero fashion sense. The outcast no one wanted to be associated with. Maybe there was some truth to Petra's words after all.

The bell for the next period rang and I groaned, Riven laughed. It was time for Drama.

"Don't sound so excited, Sally. It's just Drama class.” He smirked and I glared at him.

**********

Othello was written in bold letters on the board; Iago: Shakespeare's Most Sordid Villain written beneath it. Mrs. Croft talked about the motivation behind Iago's actions in the play but I zoned her out. It wasn't that I didn't want to listen. Despite how much I hated Drama, I knew everything there was to know about Othello. I’d have to read it over and over to get the words tattooed in my brain. It was boring working through it again.

Mrs. Croft placed her hand on her protruded belly and faced the class.  She had an expectant look on her face that made me think she had asked a question. I looked around the classroom but nobody showed the slightest inclination to answering whatever question she had asked. The girl beside me was pressing her phone and chewing a gum loudly. It irritated me.

A throbbing started at my temple. My headache was back, this time much worse than the previous. My ears were ringing, every sound in the room amplified. The chewing was louder now, sounding like the girl was popping gum right in my eardrums. My heartbeat accelerated. I clenched my fists. My nose twitched with a persistent urge to sneeze. My neck felt hot. My temperature was rising like boiling water sizzling under my skin. It was painful. I closed my eyes and groaned. My nose twitched, even more, I couldn't stop it. I opened my mouth and let it out. I sneezed. Very loudly.

I was relieved like I just took a plunge in icy water and it was refreshing. I felt better. The loud gasp that came from beside me made my eyes spring open and I fell out of my seat in surprise. The girl chewing gum was holding her phone out in front of her, recording me but what made my eyes widen wasn't the shocked look on her face. I could see her skeleton.

She kept changing from a skeleton to a flesh-covered body. Everyone was staring at me with the same expression on their faces. Shock. I could hear their hearts beating faster just like mine. I sprang upright and saw the shocked look on my teacher's face, one hand was placed on her stomach and the other at her throat. I could see the baby in her womb curled up with its umbilical cord wrapped around its throat.
I don't think it's supposed to be that way.
"S–Sally?" Mrs Croft stuttered.
"What is she?" someone asked.
"She's a freak."
“I always knew she wasn’t normal.”
They whispered and I looked around at all their faces. Everyone in my class was no longer human just bone and muscle. I could see their internal organs. I looked down at myself but I wasn't myself anymore. I was fading like a dysfunctional light bulb. My form was flickering. What was happening to me?

I glanced three seats to my right where Riven was seated to find him frozen in his seat. Even he was looking at me with the same expression. I picked up my backpack in panic and ran out of the class.