MY DREAM IS A NIGHTMARE

The house shook, the windows rattled, a framed photograph slipped off the mantelshelf. I reached out to grab it but my hand hit something hard, something cold. The shattered glass of water woke me up.

It was a dream.

"Henry!" My mother shouted as I heard her footsteps thumping on the stairs. She was coming to yank me. Again.

It was the third time in a week that I had knocked off a glass while trying to relive my dream.

My sixth grade finals are in less than a week and all I have tried to mug up is that Alexander was from Greece and lemon is a citrus fruit. That's it.

Every night I sit down at my desk to study, the white colourless pages stained with black ink exhaust me and I enter into a world of my own. Well, I love that but my mother isn't very much fond of me dreaming about the extra terrestrial lives rather than studying for my finals.

The aliens in my dream are green-eyed, purple-bodied devils trying to capture our planet but every time I try to take a step to drive them out, I end up knocking the glass of water resting on the tabletop.

Days passed more swiftly than I thought.

The weekend was over and I had no time to ponder over that fact that it was my Math exam the next day.

While revising in my head the only five multiplication tables I knew, Mrs. Marin, my Math teacher walked up to my desk in class and handed the question paper to me.

One thing I was sure of writing was my name.

After doing so, I brought my pen down to the first question.

"Two multiplied by root over five is..." I muttered under my breath while tapping my fingers on the hard wood.

"Tell me where it is? Tell me or I will kill your family."

Oh no! It was them. Those purple monsters, they were coming for me; I ran as fast as my feet could carry me but I stumbled upon something...

"Okay class, time is up."

I looked down at my paper. It was blank except for 'Henry Fields' written neatly on the top right hand corner.

Realisation struck me faster than lightning.

I had spent the last two hours of my exam dreaming about non-existent creature. I had crucified my future on the very first day.

"How did the exam go?" my mother asked as soon as I set foot on the doormat.

Should I tell her that I submitted a blank paper in the exam or should I lie and tell her that it was good?

I decided to go with the second choice.

Three days passed and I had no luck in writing more than my name during the examinations. Every day was spent dreaming about the aliens in the exam hall.

My dreams - the ones I loved the most were now a nightmare.

On the last day of my uneventful exams I was determined to put an end to those dreams turned nightmare. As always I wrote my name and focused hard on the first question.

'Alexander belonged to which country?' I knew the answer!

I thought I did but it failed to come to my mind that very moment. Instead I was thrown into another world.

I was standing in the midst of a deserted barren land with a machine gun in my hand. As soon as one of the monsters advanced towards me, my hands acted before my brain could catch up.

Shots were fired. Shots from my gun and in the wink of any eye, they were dead - all of them. I had done it. I had put a stop to it all.

Even though I submitted a not surprisingly blank answer script in the last exam, I was beyond proud of myself for defeating those 'blood-suckers'. (I love this word.)

But I still had no idea of what I would tell to my mother.

Two weeks later, my dreams stopped completely and I finally felt like life was back to normal when on a bright Saturday April morning the mailman dropped off my report card at the doorstep.

Anxious blood rushed through my veins and the hair on the back of my spine were raised due to fear.

All in read were straight 'E's in my report. I had failed terribly.

Mother saw me. She knew something was wrong. She at once demanded to have a look at the paper in my hand. Although I had come up with a legitimate explanation for my bad grades, I wasn't prepared to blurt it out.

Trying to keep the atmosphere light and humorous, I coldly addressed mom "I'd show you my report card, but I'd hate to cause you undue stress."

Mother remained quiet.

I knew this was the clam before a storm.

She was not satisfied with my not-so-humorous answer.

I had to prepare myself for the worst.