A Life Spent Away

Asher Grey

I'm walking down Wall Street on a swelteringly hot spring day in New York City. People are running down the sidewalks, hailing cabs, honking their car horns as obnoxiously as the feel like. It's what normal people would call chaos. 

For me, it's another day in the life of a Dream Master.

I know something is going to happen soon. Something that will scare me so badly that I will wake up, drenched in sweat in my messy bedroom and cause me to think about what just happened. I need to wake up soon, or else I'll be woken up by my mom, and I do not want that to happen.  My dream should have ended five minutes ago, but nothing has happened yet. I need to wake up. Now. 

Well, since my dream hasn't ended, I might as well make the most of it. I hop in a cab and ask the driver to take me to Times Square. I've always wanted to visit there, but I never got the chance to. The taxi pulls away, but almost immediately, the accident I had been waiting for happened at last.

A beige coloured Lamborghini comes barreling down the lane beside me, the driver showing off the blazing speed of his million dollar car. The cocky driver doesn't notice the traffic cone in front of him until the last possible second, in which he veers away from the pylon, crashing into my taxi. Everything goes black, and one second later, I'm awake in my room, sweating like I just came back from the gym. 

Damn it, looks like I'm not going to Times Square today after all. 

It takes me awhile to realize what is happening around me. I look to the left, and I see my mother shouting at me, so I decide to tune in and listen.

"... takes you 15 minutes to get up out of bed when it should only take you 5! Never in my life have a met such an incompetent 15 year old!"

Meet my mother, a total nut job. Works for the most popular science lab in the world, Walker Studies and Research, and is crazy about making everything perfect. Her navy blue blazer flutters all over the place as she screams at me.

"You need to learn how to wake up on your own Ash! It's been 15 years for god's sake!"

"Mom, I'm trying to wake up under my own power, but it's harder than you think. I bet it took you this long to stop your dreams, maybe even longer.

"For your information, son," my mom says coldly, "I happened to have learned how to end my dreams myself when I was ten years old."

Did I mention my mom is a total genius?

"Now get up! You're going to be late for school."

"Ok, ok. Calm yourself woman."

I get out of bed lazily and stumble to the bathroom. The bright lights burn my eyes causing me to squint and stub my toe on the corner of the bathtub. I cry out in pain, but I have to power through it and hop into the shower. I strip down, turn on the hose, and jump under the free flowing water. As soon as I did, I knew I made a mistake. The freezing cold water sends shivers down my spine, and no hot water comes out. Mom must have used it all before I woke up.

Karma sucks.

I manage eat a quick bowl of cereal, brush me teeth and bolt out the door. I know I'm going to be late, but by how much, I don't know. When I arrive at school 5 minutes later, I am expecting a world of pain from Mr. Spandelloni, my English and Homeroom teacher. But when I enter the classroom, I am pleasantly surprised.

Mr. Spandelloni isn't there, and in his place is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen in my fifteen years alive. Her wavy brown hair flows perfectly down to her middle back. Her bright green eyes light up the classroom, and her polished tan skin makes my heart beat out of my chest. She almost looks like she doesn't belong here, like she is too beautiful to live on this planet.

"Er...uh... sorry I'm late." I manage to stammer.

"Oh, don't worry about it!" she replies in a sweet sounding voice.

I take my seat next my best friend Marigold, who mocks me silently by staring at me like she's in love with me. I roll my eyes, and focus my attention back on our teacher.

"Welcome class. My name is Miss. Robertson, and I am filling in for Mr. Spandelloni today, as he has the flu."

Wait, she's not married? I bet guys her age are all over her. And what is with her last name? Is that foreign or something? 

"Well, today I have decided not to teach you English but to teach you about something that you have never learned about before. I find this topic very interesting and I am very knowledeable in this field."

The class murmurs with excitement.

"Today, we are going to be learning about advanced linear functions and equations."

The class lets out a collective groan. We were not expecting some boring subject from a teacher like Miss. Robertson. But she doesn't get mad at us or anything. She laughs.

"Don't worry!" she says in a happy voice, "I wouldn't make you learn boring crap like that. I'm actually going to teach you something that you will find interesting. Now, I assume all of you have learned about the different planets that are in our universe, especially Earth."

The class nods together.

"Good, but you probably only know about what the Earth's attributes are. It's big, it's round. Yeah, boooring. Today, I am going to teach you about life on Earth."

"How would you know about that?" someone calls out from the back.

"Well, I just so happened to live on Earth for half of my life."

The class gasps and instantly starts bombarding the teacher with questions.

Oh my god. I think I'm in love with her.