I wake up to a ray of sunlight shining down on my eyes. Groaning, I rub my eyes and pull the curtain, getting ready to fall back asleep. Then, I remember. School! I turn to look at the alarm clock, which reads 8:45 AM. Oh no!
"MOM! WHY DIDN'T YOU WAKE ME UP?" I scream as I scramble to pull on any piece of clothing I can find on the floor. After minutes of struggling and a muttered speech still going on from my mom, I make my way to the living room.
"- and then you told me to leave. Hope that taught you a lesson!" comes my mother's response.
"Are you leaving or what?!" she asks. I stare at her incredulously, grab my bag, hug her and leave for school.
On the way, I catch up to my friends Alexis and Gem. "Hey guys!" I say, out of breath from running up to them.
"Ohemgee, it's Janelle," Alexis says with an eye roll, and continues, "Thought you'd never come. We waited for you for 20 minutes in front of your house! Thanks a lot."
"Sorry, sorry, my mom decided that today is the day she proves that playing video games the night before a school day is the cause of my dark circles." I reply.
Gem laughs, about to say something. Then, she looks at her watch, turns to me with a horrified expression, and exclaims, "It's 9:20! Oh no. Oh no! Oh no. Our bell rings at 9. No! I don't want a detention. I'm a model student!"
"Daily exercise #1. Run to school." I grab their backpacks and drag them while running to the white building I know so well.
One step away from school, I think. One step away. About to take that one step, my head starts to spin and I feel dizzy and nauseous. Everything swirls as I'm falling backwards in slow motion. My friends disappear, the buildings disappear, and soon, everything goes black.
"Wake up, Janelle! Wake up!" I hear my nurse say. I feel her hands gently shaking my shoulders, bringing me to reality. I open my eyes slowly and steadily, and take in my surroundings. A hospital. Five beds, my personal bed. The pretty nurse. My bandages, my pain, my crippled body. No parents... no friends.
Oh. It was just a dream, after all.
