Sunset Death

Change Day

 I stood up, walking up to the teacher before she could collect Annika 's packet, spilling all of the papers she was holding and tripping her, causing the teacher to fall. As I was sitting next to Annika , and had taken the time to move Annika 's foot so it stuck out past the desk, it now looked as though Annika had tripped her.

"Annika !" The teacher raged, "Why would you do such a thing?!?"

"I-I d-didn't do a-anything!" Annika cried while the rest of the kids laughed.

"I've always thought of you as one of my best students, and now you go wild?!? I expected better from you, Annika ." The teacher walked back to her desk, grabbing a pink colored slip from the drawer of her desk and scribbled down some writing on it.

"Principal's office, now." she said, handing Annika the slip.

"Ms. Janet, please don't send me there, I didn't do anything!"

"Denying it will only make things worse." Ms. Janet whispered.

I followed Annika as she slowly slinked down the hall.

"This is all you're fault." She cried, "If you didn't have to be a demon, then I'd never have ended up like this. It may just be going to the office, but she'll call my parents and I'll be grounded for years!"

I walked next to her in silence, except for her tears and her hoarse voice crying.

"Why did I ever have to meet you?!?"

"Look, it's your fault you know. It's your fault all of those kids bully you, you let them." I told her, laughing.

She stared at me for a second. Then, the tears started pouring out.

"No! It's not my fault! It's not my fault that those kids torment me!" she cried, trying to fast-walk away from me.

"Yeah, it kind of is, kid. You let them bully you. You can't even stand up for yourself." I chuckled.

She stopped, realizing the error I had made, "Stand up for yourself..." she whispered slowly, "I need to stand up for myself." She'd heard it a thousand times, but suddenly it had clicked.

She laughed thinking, "I get it now."

By then we had reached the office. Annika knocked. After hearing a voice, telling her to enter, she turned the knob.

"Ms. Delarosa, what brings you here?" The Mrs. Martin asked. Normally, the teachers would send her to the office to get supplies for their class.

Shyly, Annika held out the pink slip.

It took her a minute to read it, her jaw dropping in horror of what one of her favorite students had done.

"You tripped a teacher?!?!?" Mrs. Martin yelled.

Annika hung her head quietly, it was better for her not to say anything.

"I'll have to call your parents. Go back to class." She sighed, signed the note, and gave it back to Annika .

Slowly, Annika stood up and exited the office.

After that conversation, no matter what I did made Annika feel any worse. I made it so she spilled her food on herself, drop her books, and made her the most clumsy person in the world.

She'd just laugh like it was no big deal.

I never understood how she did it. When I had been alive I'd quit laughing a long while before I'd died. I had lost most of my emotion, except for that smile that didn't have the wrinkle near the corner of my eyes.

"Smile with your eyes." My mother had always told me. She was the only one who truly knew that I was unhappy. According to her, my eyes had lost that gleam that they'd had when I was younger.