It's Not Real

Caitlyn woke up very early in the morning, feeling kind of hungry. She walked down the stairs and into the kitchen. Nobody was up yet. That was until she heard voices in the living room. She went in there. The voices came from the TV, and her brother Luke was sitting right in front of it. His face was only one or two inches from the screen. "What are you doing?" Caitlyn asked. Luke didn't answer. "Luke?" she tried again. He still didn't speak a word. "Luke, it's three o'clock in the morning, what are you doing?". Caitlyn went over and turned off the TV. Luke looked as if he'd just woken up from a trance. He yawned, looked up at his sister and asked: "What time is it?". "It's three a.m." Caitlyn answered. "I told you that already. And why were you watching TV in the middle of the night?". "I wasn't." Luke said. "I should get back to bed." he said. "And you should, too. You look tired.". Caitlyn watched her brother get off the floor and walk out of the living room. He then proceeded up the stairs and into his room. Caitlyn just stood there for a while, wondering what was wrong with her brother. She went back upstairs and into her room.

Caitlyn woke up at seven o'clock in the morning, feeling very hungry since she never got to actually eating earlier. She got out of bed and put on some clothes. She quickly put her hair up and went downstairs. Her mom was already in the kitchen, cooking breakfast. "Smells good. What are you making?" Caitlyn asked. "Bacon and eggs, your brother's favorite." her mom answered. "Yum." Caitlyn said and sat down by the kitchen counter. Luke came into the kitchen. "Hi Caitlyn. Hi Susan." he said. Caitlyn and her mom both turned around and looked at him. "Why are you calling me Susan all of a sudden?" mom asked. "Susan is your name, isn't it?" he asked. "Well, yes. It's just that you usually call me mom." mom said. Luke shrugged and opened the fridge. He grabbed some milk. Then he opened a cupboard and grabbed a spoon and a bowl. "What are you doing?" mom asked. "Making breakfast." Luke said and grabbed some cereal. "I've already made breakfast. It's bacon and eggs, your favorite." mom said. "No, I don't want it. I want cereal!" Luke yelled. "Okay, okay. Relax. Caitlyn and I will eat it." mom said. "Go on, eat your cereal.". Mom and Caitlyn gave each other a weird look while Luke sat down at the kitchen counter and started eating his cereal.

After Caitlyn had told mom about the incident with the TV earlier that morning, mom had asked Caitlyn to keep an eye on Luke after school. Luckily, they were both off at the same time. Caitlyn and Luke had agreed to meet just outside the school and walk home together, although Luke didn't seem overly excited about it. Maybe that's why Caitlyn found herself waiting for half an hour, her little brother nowhere to be found. She decided to go home and wait for him there.

Caitlyn stepped inside. She took off her boots and jacket. She then started searching the house for Luke. Who knows? Maybe he had gotten off early and forgotten to tell her. Caitlyn didn't find her brother in the house. She picked up her phone and dialed her mom's number. "This is Susan." her mom said on the other end of the line. "Hi, mom. This is Caitlyn. Have you seen Luke? He never came after school and he's not at home." Caitlyn said. "No, I haven't seen him." mom answered. "Have you tried calling some of his friends? Maybe he's with them.". "Okay. Thanks mom. I'll call you when I find him." Caitlyn said. "Alright. Bye, honey!" mom said and hung up. Caitlyn got the phone list from her dad's office and started calling around.

"Okay. Well, call me if you do see him. Thanks, bye!" Caitlyn said and hung up once again. Nobody had seen her brother since this morning. Apparently he'd wandered off after second period without bringing any of his things. Caitlyn was getting quite worried now. It was getting dark out already. She put her shoes and jacket on, grabbed her phone and went outside to look for her brother. She started with their own neighborhood, knocking on doors and calling his name out into the night. As nobody had seen him here either, Caitlyn started for the park. It had been his favorite place to go when he was little, so she might as well try it.