Simple Awakenings

Chapter One

It takes one day for the earth to spin around its axis. It takes a year for the earth to circle the sun. It takes nine innings to play a baseball game.

But it takes one incident for my world to completely turn 180 degrees.

"Alright, let's start at measure 34." Mr. Cobbs, my music teacher, instructs as we go to measure 34. I groan as I see that I have to rest for a good 16 measures and I know it is the part where the trombones have trouble with rhythm, especially Andrew Jacon. Andrew is in my grade but he is one of the few people who has known me for a long time.

Then just as if there is a god or something, the bell rings signaling the end of class for the day. We all pack up our instruments in rapid speed as if the world was ending, put them away in our lockers, and run out of the room to our next class. Or in my case, to my car to head home. My schedule for my senior year has been a blessing with the first semester I get to come into school late and leave school early. But next semester I have to come in at the normal start time since first period second semester I have government. It is also Friday and with the weather changing from the musky fall breeze that will soon become snow blowing everywhere and a cold chill, I want to get out of school fast.

So after putting away my flute, I put on my coat, grab my keys, and walk out of school and to my car.

Upon arriving at my car, I go over the things that I needed to do when I got home. Let's see...finish my paper for English, work on my PowerPoint about Vincent Van Gogh for French, finish another paper for my college teaching class, I think that's it. I hope.

On my drive home, I listen to the radio singing the tune of Coldplay's new song "Hymn for the Weekend". My music taste is a wide variety from Coldplay to Beyoncé to One Direction to Sam Hunt to Carrie Underwood to Taylor Swift to even BTS. I like all kinds of music with an exception for some rap artists like Eminem and Nicki Minaj.

I live on the other side of my hometown so it takes me about ten minutes to get home.

This is where things get interesting.

When I get out of my car and walk to the back to get my backpack, I see something move in my peripheral vision. I turn my head to see if anything is there, but there was not anything in sight.

"What the...?" I ask myself as I take out my backpack and close the car door. After I lock it, I begin to slowly walk into my backyard, making sure I was aware of the dog poop that wasn't picked up yet by my brother. I hear a rustle and I snap my head toward where I heard the noise, but there was no one. "I'm just hearing and seeing things." I tell myself as I enter my house.