Middle School Miniature

Chapter 11, Uncanny home

I sat straight up and immediately I felt something uncanny.

I had woken up in my bed. My room was silent and the air felt empty around me.

In a daze, I slowly got out of bed and walked out into the living room while sliding my gaze around nervously, the only sound coming from the creaking wood at my feet. Arriving in the living room, I slowly turned in a circle around me. On the sofa, I saw a strewn stack of newspapers. I was drawn in closer by the out-of-place collection. The whole pile was the same copy of newspaper, the front page had a picture of a girl, the headline said, "Amelia Edair Mysteriously disappears." I hear a muffled cry and a heart-aching sob from behind me and I spin around. Ghostly shapes of dust were hunched over each other in a comforting way and more of the same newspapers litter the floor. A gust of wind blows and newspapers whirl, the dust is swept away as I run over to reach for the figures. 

Deep despair clenches my heart and empty loneliness washes over me, prickling the hairs on my arms, draining the warmth from my face.

I feel a soft hand descends on my shoulder. Upset, I try to brush it off when suddenly the hand firmly shoves me forward down the stairs that open its maw from the floorboards in front of me. I open my mouth screaming and dust flies everywhere, getting into my eyes, my hair, my mouth. A rolled-up sleeping bag is thrown my way and I see it coming out of the corner of my eye, but it slams into my side before I can react. I fall backward from the impact and end up looking into horrified faces. I cry out, tears beginning to stream down my face.

I open my watery eyes, for real this time, and blink rapidly in the darkness.

"Just a dream." I whisper to myself, "Just a nightmare." I wipe at my eyes, breathing hard. I burst into tears thinking of my parents and what the few people who did care about me would think of my disappearance.

I took a deep breath and another, and another, until I had control over myself and wiped at my eyes again. I tell myself that I will send a message to them tomorrow. I lay down once more staring at the black nothing above me. Ever so slowly, I faded back into a deep sleep, letting the darkness wrap around my mind.
---

Beep. BEEP. Beep. BEEP.
I heard a rumbling groan.

Breathing in a deep slow breath, I opened my eyes to pitch black. I completely sat up in a panic, where am I!? My brain provided an answer as it groggily sat up as well.

'Hmm, let me see.... you are in a sock drawer.'

Oh.

Right.

I sighed and lay back down. Thud. boom. Thud thud.

Max must be awake. Well at least in the way any normal middle schooler would be awake in the morning, which is to say not at all. I went over to the front side of the drawer, with the tiny sliver of light that I could sort of see, and knocked on it repeatedly. Maybe he forgot about me?

"Hey, Max, can you hurry up and get me out of here?" I yelled. No reply came, "It's dark and stuffy in here." Instead, I heard the thundering steps get softer as Max walked away.

Ok, he probably just wants to get dressed first. Or maybe he just didn't notice.

I wait. And wait. After what I think is around 20 minutes I hear voices shouting and talking to each other. He'd better not forget me!

Then hurried footsteps come closer, and I jump up. I hear papers rustling like loud wrapping paper. "Hey!" I shout and bang on the wall. The rustling stops and the drawer suddenly opens yanking my feet from under me and making me fall backward, momentarily blinded by the sunlight.

"Sorry." Max apologized, seeing me on my but and in the disheveled state I was in. "Just don't make any sound while I'm gone." The deep voice belonging to Max continued.

"What! No?" I exclaimed, looking into his giant tired face. The drawer slid shut. Shifting stuff forward with force, including me again, and returning the space to darkness.

"I thought we had a deal!" I yell in betrayal. No response.

The thuds and voices disappeared within a minute. He really is the most irritating, selfish, stupid, boyish, annoying, giant, liar ever.

"What the HECK!" I yelled as I kicked the wood drawer, basically my cage. So much for staying quiet.

I paced back and forth, nearly tripping over a sock, as I cooled down.

How dare he do this!?

~Ema