A Strange Day in July Chapter One The screeching cry of his alarm woke Matthew up on a foggy July morning. His hand felt around the desk, trying to find the clock. He felt all of his stuff dumped on the desk; paper, cups, a plate of cookies, and finally, his alarm clock. He shut it off, making the noise cut off abruptly. He swung himself out of bed and quickly got up. But he didn’t open his eyes. He never did. He wished he could. He wished he wasn’t like this. But he was, and he had to deal with it. He reached inside his pocket, and felt the cold surface of the small stone his mother had left him. Keep it safe, she had told him. Remember me by this stone, and please, never forget about me. Matthew would never forget her. He wished she was still here. But she wasn’t, and he had to deal with it. She would comfort him, play with him, cry with him when others bullied him… Matthew told himself to stop thinking about it. Thinking never helped. He left his room, and instantly, he heard his little sister, Sakura, run up to greet him. “Matthew! Matthew! Daddy already left for work. I’m huuungryyy,” she complained. “Fine, I’ll make breakfast.” Matthew said. He walked into the small kitchen in their small apartment. He used his hands to feel around the drawers, feeling the small marks and holes on the handles he had made when he was younger. He found the one that marked “breakfast”, and picked out each box, smelling which one was unopened. He had learned that ones that had been opened had a stronger, sweeter scent, and ones that hadn’t had a faint, cardboard-y scent. He found one that was opened, and poured out some cereal for Sakura. Like he did every morning. Every day was the same. Nothing ever changed. And he liked it that way. Chapter Two An hour later, it was time for school. Matthew hated school. A place where people made fun of him, and he had to learn useless information. As he walked outside, he heard the bus screech to a stop, but he didn’t follow the sound. He was the only one who walked to school, and that was what he liked. No one would be near him, no one would stare at him, no one would talk to him, and he would be perfectly alone. Well, except for Sakura. Even though Matthew had perfectly memorized the way, Sakura grabbed his hand, and started dragging him all the way to school, like she did every day. The entire way, she constantly talked. Matthew was always amazed at how she never got tired, and how she always had something to talk about, even though he never really listened to her. He knew he had arrived at the gates by smelling the cleaner, fresher scents of the school. He knew it wasn’t real school, but the town made it obligatory for students to go to school during summer. Classes would be shorter and easier, but that didn’t make Matthew hate it less. When he entered the classroom, he could tell he was the last person to arrive by the amount of noise from his classmates. When they saw him, the noise quieted just a bit, and Matthew knew it was because people were staring at him. His desk was right next to the door, so it was easier for him to find. It was at the back of the room, where it was harder for people to stare at him. No one would yell insults at him. No one would whisper about him behind his back. No one would notice him, and he liked it that way. Chapter Three After what felt like forever, school was finally over. The end of school was his favorite part of the day, and his least favorite. As he walked out of the gates, he checked his pocket to make sure the stone was still there. He felt for the smooth surface, but for the first time, he couldn’t find it. He started to panic, and desperately felt the ground for the stone. “Hey Matthew!” He heard someone call his name. “Come look over here and see-” The voice stopped abruptly. He recognized the voice of Charlie, one of his classmates. “What?!” He snapped, turning to face where the voice came from. “Oh- um, I found the stone you dropped.” He said. “Oh no, Matthew lost his precious rock?” Another voice called out. Matthew recognized the voice as Mable’s, who always teased him. Mable snatched the stone from Charlie, and Matthew heard her throw it as hard as she could on the ground. He heard the stone shatter, and Mable’s laugh. Matthew desperately searched the ground for the pieces, but found only three. Out of anger, he threw the remaining pieces into the lake near the gates. He knew he would never find the stone again. The stone had never been damaged. It had always been intact. But now it wasn’t, and Matthew didn’t like it this way. (continued in notes & credits(character limit :P))
Chapter Four (now there will be more mysteries) Matthew woke up, but it was not from the alarm. He felt a piercing pain in his hand, and when he felt around his pocket, he realized he had cut it on a rock. How in the world did a rock get in my hand? He thought. A few moments later, he realized that it wasn’t just any rock, it was his stone. His stone. He threw it into the lake yesterday, so how could it have ended up in his hand? He again felt around in his pocket, and found the two other pieces of the stone. It was still broken. He made breakfast for Sakura, like everyday, feeling grateful that it was Saturday and that there was no school. He decided to go visit the lake near the school, where he first threw the stone. He took Sakura with him, since he knew he couldn’t leave her home alone. At the lake, he sat down near the water thinking. He tried to remember his dream. Usually his dreams just had scents, noises, tastes, and textures, but today, he felt something different. He couldn’t taste, hear, feel, or smell it. Then he realized that he saw it. He remembered feeling- no, seeing a rippling expanse of what seemed to be water, with little circles dotted around it. Never seeing anything like that in real life, he had no idea what it could be. Sakura kept playing in the water, and still Matthew was thinking of what his dream could be. Matthew knew the sun was starting to set because of the crickets chirping all around the lake. It was so quiet, so peaceful, and he wished he could stay here forever… Suddenly, Matthew heard Mable laughing at something not far off. He hoped she couldn’t see him. After a while, her voice got quieter, but instead of feeling relieved, Matthew felt rage surge through him at the thought of Mable. She broke the stone that his mother had given him, the only thing Matthew could remember her by. Now the stone would only remind him of being endlessly bullied. There was no point in keeping the stone if it only reminded him of bad memories. He tossed the first piece into the lake, and heard the plopping noise of it bouncing on the water’s surface. That’s what my dream was! Matthew realized. The endless expanse of water was the lake, and the circles were pebbles. But it didn’t matter now. He tossed the second piece of stone, hearing the plop, plop, PLUNK of the pebble dancing on the lake. He felt the third stone in his hand, and threw it as hard as he could into the lake. Plop, plop, PLUNK, plink, plink Matthew heard the stone skip on the water, but noticed it sounded different this time. He then felt something clatter near him, and when he felt around, he found a stone. The stone he had just thrown. Picking it up again, he threw it into the lake. Plop, plop, PLUNK, plink, plink, he heard the same pattern, and heard the clatter of the stone near him. He didn’t understand. How could the stone keep coming back? Was it going to be a curse, forever reminding him of being bullied? But then he remembered, it was also a reminder for something else. He would never forget his mother, just as he could never lose the stone. It would never leave him, no matter how hard he tried. Matthew threw the stone. It came back to him. He threw the stone again. Once again, it came back to him. He threw the stone with all his might, but the third stone came skipping back. The End congrats, you made it to the end OR IS IT?? ty for putting up with my endless typing :p
