DREAM eSCAPE

Dream...

I woke up again. 11:59, the same exact time as last night. This has been happening for the past few weeks, every night. It's almost like the nightmares have their own schedule. I went into the bathroom to wash the sweat from my face and clear my mind. I could never remember the dreams. Never.
I stared at my face in the mirror and noticed that all my features had changed. My eyes burned brighter than usual, my long dark hair stood on end as if static. My reflection was smiling at me although my mouth remained in its same shocked form. I woke up before I could scream.

Dream?

School. How wonderful. I met up with my friend Lance at lunch, and he made my day much more exciting. He always has something to talk about.
"Morning, Lancelot," I remarked. He beamed at the pathetic nickname. "So, what's up?"
"We got a new kid today. At first glance, I thought he must be your long lost twin. Same weird glowing eyes, same hair, same sarcastic attitude."
"What's his name?" I asked.
"Rhydian. See, a name just as weird as Valarie." I must admit, Valarie isn't a very common name.
"Speak for yourself, Sir Lancelot." I punched him in the arm and he pushed me back, laughing. We settled down next to each other with our backs leaning against a tree. I wanted to stay like this forever.
Then a figure came around the corner, pushing his way past the oncoming traffic of students. I saw the piercing blue eyes through dark, matted fringe. Then time stopped.

Awake?

I'd had another dream last night, the same as the last one. The face in the mirror, but this time my hand lit up, blue flames erupting from my fingertips. Everything I'd touched disappeared. Then, as quickly as the flames had started, the dream had ended.
I'd woken up groggy and stumbled out of bed. I could vaguely remember the dream I'd had last night, but the realisation hit me when I noticed that things were missing from my bedside table, especially the photo frame of Lance and me from last holidays. Coincidence? I didn't want to think about it.
I didn't see Lance this morning and I hadn't seen the new boy Rhydian either. I can't even recall what happened yesterday after we locked eyes. And it scared and excited me at the same time.
I opened my locker to put my bag away, but it was full with stuff that wasn't there yesterday. It was the missing stuff from my room.

Awake....

Lucid Dreaming. The thought had just come to me. I remember reading about it in class once. It was something that I used to do as a kid, but since then I hadn't given it a second thought. I admit, it always scared me because of the things I would do in my dreams. This made me think of the events from the last few days, and I began to think long and hard about the past couple of days, about what was real, and what wasn't.

Dream

I went to school as usual. I saw Lance from across the yard and he ran up to me. I cut him off before he could speak.
"How long have we known each other?" I asked without emotion in my voice.
'Ugh, I don't know, since Primary School." He clearly seemed confused by the question. I waited, staring intently at him.
"Count my fingers." I laced my hand with his, holding them up for us both to see.
"I.... I can't."
"Exactly. How to tell if you are Lucid Dreaming: you can't read, or count." The sign that should have read Science Block was but a mere smudge.
"What are you saying?" he mumbled, the confusion clear in his eyes.
"I'm sorry Lance." I pulled him into a hug, preparing to wake myself for real this time. I saw Rhydian staring straight at me from behind a tree. His eyes burned blue and my hands lit up. Then, I woke up.

Awake.

"First of all, we would like to welcome back Valarie to our class. We hope you are well and have fully recovered," the teacher didn't mention the car crash. No one had died, although my mum and I did go to hospital. I was in a coma for 4 weeks, and had somehow created that whole world in my head. The lucid dream, somehow I had known about that, and that boy Rhydian but it didn't add up. The doctors said I just woke up and was fine. Everyone in my world didn't exist. Lance doesn't exist.
Someone tapped me on my shoulder and I turned around, to a pair of burning blue eyes.
"Hey," he mumbled. I gasped. "I hope you're doing okay, my name is Rhydian. My dad sort of hit you with his car." I stared at him in shock, my mouth gaping. I would have to talk to him later, alone. Maybe he had been in a coma too, maybe he knew what was happening to me.
"...and now I would like to introduce a new student this semester." I was only half listening to the teacher as she stood at the front of the class with the new student.
A boy, with a distant, yet familiar face.
Lance.