Sleeping Dream Short Stories by Thomas Harrison

The Conversation

The Conversation

Fall 2006

Orange Wood, Illinois

     For as long as I can remember, Illinois had always be known for unstable and extreme weather. Was this Illinois only? Was this Orange Wood itself? I don't know, but when it gets hot, it gets hot, and when it gets cold, it certainly gets cold. When Spring would come, it was a literal Godsend, and then, there was Fall. Fall would always be a different time for me, especially around October. I think back ten years before, a beautiful Autumn back in 1996...

     The scent of ceder and musk from the falling leaves and oak with a desire to hibernate. Orange filled the neighborhood streets, as the Mom and Pop grocery store nearby would fill up with Pumpkins, ready to be sold out before Halloween. Clouds would film the skies with that beautiful grey throughout the atmosphere. I loved Autumn, I love the experience as an outsider rather than with others. In reality, it was like looking at a painting, and you get to experience it rather than listen to others experience it.

     With much of the childeren my age would get ready to see their small town heroes hit the green blades of grass every friday night to defend the honor against the opposing football team, I found myself fighting off goblins with some dice and frantically hoping that the right number shows. It's funny how during Middle School, especially around the age of twelve and thirteen, we start to slide on our masks. Out in public, we try to grow up, yet fail miserably, however every friday night, we toss our masks aside to conquer dungeons, save maidens, and rescue princesses. We brag about this but neither of us can talk to a girl to save our backsides.

     I was just as awkward as the buddies I hung out with. I was thirteen, yet I looked like I was half way through High School. I was never a big fan of school, I mean grades were okay, but on a social aspect, I was a bit more of a loner. I had friends, but I found myself wanting chill time.

     However, there were those that chose their time differently. With being a bigger guy, you get ridicule of course, and for me, I always had this annoyance. I could say he was more or less a bully. In fact, this is my first day back from suspension from school for giving this little shit my fist full of hello for pushing and pushing. He was a year in a half younger than me but skipped a grade, and had often bragged of the advance classes that he went. With the untouchable mentality, he would often talk trash to people, and whenever somebody would try to talk or fight back, he'd often have some douche untouchable with a tough guy mentality to back him up. Finally, I slugged him, and as a result, I had a two day break to think about what I've done. Of course a teacher with the sycophant mentality had witnessed my frustation and had me reported. Perhaps to make herself look good to the family, who knows, but I was back.

     Halloween was approaching, and I've heard some of the kids would go out to the woods outside our neighborhood as a tradition. Our woods have had a past that my mom doesn't really talk about too much, except that she forbids me to set out there alone, even with the built in trails around the early eighties. Eating my lunch, another boy around my age, Chris Hosek, a tall blond slight freckled face, and was definitley from the over acceptable group of kids approched me.

     "Hey man, I'm sorry about what my friend Steven Polashek did to you. That punch you gave him...he had it coming." Chris spoke to me. I was more happy that he wasn't talking trash to me, but why was he being nice. I never really talked to this guy before, but I knew he was kind of the leader of his social elite gang. Kids like these were probably those I would see grow up in town, become the town hero, come back, raise their kids here, producing more little slimes like themselves, and so on. He kept apologizing to me, and wanted to make up for what happened. At the end of the conversation, he invited me to go with them to the woods on Halloween.