Freak week part 2

Robot Diary, I'm very glad to announce that Crush probably doesn't meet your expectations for stereotypical teenage diary crush. To be honest, my attraction to him came as a surprise to my own brain. It was like "really, that one?" Wow, that sounds mean. I don't mean to play him down. It's just that the rest of the school doesn't seem to recognize the gift that was dropped down to them in the form of a thin, pale, averagely tall boy who sucker-punched my heart into a bruised lump that freaks out whenever I'm near him. But we'll get to the freaking out later.

Speaking of freak, it's day two, and I'm still here, though I'm not too sure who I am anymore.

When I woke up, Banana was standing directly over my face, her nose a few atoms away from mine. I startled.

"Banana! Don't do that!" I crawled away from her and rubbed my face, already nervous about what affliction came over the people this time.

"Lace, it's dark in here," she whined, scooting towards me.

"So?"

"I'm scared."

This made me pause for a moment. Banana was probably the most fearless person I knew. She regularly confronted jocks twice her size, not to mention all the times in gym where she would lift weights in front of their sneering faces (which would stop sneering when they saw how much she could lift.) If Banana was scared, things were scary. If she told people she was scared, things were even worse.

"You're scared? Why, what's happening?" I was imagining all kinds of natural disasters, and really wishing I was safe at home.

"Nothing's happening, but it's dark." Banana's voice pleaded with me to do something, but I still had no idea what was wrong.

"Banana, would you just tell me-wait, are you scared of the dark?"

She nodded, folding into a ball next to me. This was very un-Banana like behavior, and I was starting to panic. Just then, Harry jolted awake, eyes wide.

"Did the snails get in?!" He looked around and locked his eyes on me.

"You! The snails didn't get in, did they?"

"...no...?" Now I was just annoyed: I was violently awoken in a place that wasn't my own home to people who didn't make any sense, and I seemed like the most normal one. Finally, a shred of rational thought came to me, and I dug around in my backpack for the emergency radio. My dad insisted I keep it with me whenever Freak week was approaching. I had thought he was crazy, but thank goodness for his dad instincts. I tuned in to the news station in time for the hourly report.

"...animal shelters are brimming with the small dogs, which seem to be invincible to damage due to falls. In place of this canine windwall, it seems as if rocks are falling from the sky. But these are no ordinary rocks. These rocks are squishy, warm, and seem to have some kind of life. I myself heard them screaming as they fell. No data on whether or not these rocks have other properties.

That's all for the weather, how about our Freak Week forecast, Jim?"

"Sure, Janet. While I remind our listeners that Freak Week events cannot be predicted, we do seem to be getting a picture of what is happening this morning. It seems as if people everywhere are becoming hyper aware of their fears, and acting accordingly. We're even getting reports of- OH HEAVENS, IS THAT A SPIDER?"

"Jim, what's happening over the-

"KILL IT! KILL IT KILL IT KILL IT KILL IT KILL IT KILL IT-" The broadcast cut out.

Well. Sure enough, I could hear the distant screams of today's precipitation surrounding the basement. Hyper aware of fears, though. That seems innocent enough.

"Banana, let's go make some light." She lept up and clung to my arm as we walked to the corner of the room designated as our supply zone.

"Make sure there are no snails," Harry begged.

I was feeling pretty good about my lack of emotional shift as we felt around in the dark, Banana keeping her eyes tightly shut. Then we reached where Crush was sleeping. Unusually for me, I hadn't thought about him yet, but when I saw him, something changed.

Usually, my heart would beat faster with a dose of good-natured infatuation that was normal for a teenage human. But now, it pounded with pure fear, a crashing terror that made me take a step back, bumping into Banana.

"What?" She still had her eyes closed.

"We gotta go back around the other way." I couldn't even look at him without wanting to scream, so I turned around and met Mr. Kevin, who looked like he had seen a ghost.

"I have to go upstairs."

"Mr. Kevin, there are rocks falling from the sky, we can't go up."

"Please, he's in here with me." He looked back at Harry, who was inspecting the ground, probably looking for errant snails. The rest of the students were either thrashing around in a nightmare, or rocking back and forth in a state of panic. It was quite depressing, and for the second time in only an hour (which had to be some kind of record) I wished I was home.

"You're scared of Harry?" We looked at each other for a moment, then he make a break for the door.

"LET ME OUT."

"Mr. Kevin, stop-"

"SOMEBODY GET RID OF THAT SNAIL," Harry screamed as he pointed at a bottle cap.

"NOBODY LEAVES." Marmie suddenly appeared and spread her arms across the door, her hair in a wild state of bedhead. Everybody quieted.

"Listen, y'all need to just calm down and get through it. In 24 hours we won't be so scared anymore," she explained. "Hopefully," she added under her breath.

"Marmie, what are you scared of?" I was grateful and a little jealous that she seemed in control of her feelings.

"Tiny dogs."

"Really?"

"Yeah, so it's probably good that we're down here where no little ratty mutts can get in. Now, everybody just sit in their own area and wait. Go."

Marmie has her own kind of authority, so we all went with it, shuffling back to our sleeping bags. I saw Crush sit up and a wave of dread washed over me, quickening my pace. I chanced a glance at him when I got to my sleeping bag. He was pushing his dark fringe out of his eyes. I knew that when he stood he would be about my height (though much thinner), but with the fear filter he seemed like a giant. I guess it made sense that I was nervous around him, but was I really afraid?

"Hey, Lace?" Lost in thought, I hadn't realized Crush had gotten up and was standing right next to me. The terror was almost unbearable, it seemed as though the closer someone was to confronting their fears, the worse they got.

"Um, hi." I focused on breathing and tried to ignore my heart, which threatened to explode.

"Have you seen my phone?" He was fidgeting with his hands and looked to be in just as much pain as me.

"I have to make sure there are no doll factories near here."

"Uh, no, I haven't seen it. Sorry," I added with a quick glance upward at his slightly crooked nose and green eyes, framed by short but dark lashes.

"Are you okay?" He held out his hand, perhaps to help me stand up. I flinched.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just worried about...land sharks."

"Well, let's hope that's not the next storm we get. Sometimes I get so mad at the people in the past who didn't try to stop this." He shook his head and walked off, releasing the tension that was strangling my senses. I sighed and layed down, hoping I could just sleep through the mess of a day.

"Land sharks?" Marmie asked, plopping down next to me with a smirk.

"Shut up."

Well Robot Diary, this was a bit of a rough start, but I still plan on surviving with minimal embarrassment. I'll just keep to myself for as long as possible. (Let's see how long that plan lasts.) See you tomorrow.

6 Days and counting,

Lace