I slammed my chopsticks down. “Take that back.”
“Why? It’s the truth.”
“Girls, stop arguing,” Dad finally interfered. We stopped and went back to eating. I hated my sister. We always got into fights like this and it was always her judging me and making me feel like crap. She acted like she knew the future and what was good for me. Apparently she knew more about me than I did.
“But she is right,” Dad went on. “You should focus on your school work more instead of your little hobbies.”
I wanted to scream. Not this again, it was all I needed on top of everything else that was going on at school. I wished for once they could just believe in me. “But that’s what I want to do, I want to become an artist.”
“Someday, dear, you will learn that there are better careers out there. Then you will thank us for making you study more.”
Like that was going to happen. I finished eating my food in silence, not wanting to draw this fight out again, as it was a reoccurrence in our house, and finally excused myself to my room. I slammed my door closed behind me and wished I could lock it to keep my sister out. I knew she would poke her head in here after a few minutes. She always liked making matters worse.
Just as I predicted, my sister came into the room merely seconds later.
“What do you want?” I asked as I lay on my bed and started reading the next volume of Oresama Teacher. I wanted to know more why Mr. Saeki was so keen on adding students to the school. I always found manga to be a great escape from reality, as I could fall into the world and forget everything my family said to me.
Lilith didn’t come any further into the room than the doorway. “I wasn’t joking, you really should focus on better things. Everyone in our family is successful. It would be a shame if you weren’t.”
I rolled my eyes. “Being successful isn’t everything.”
“Sure, keep telling yourself that. Just keep in mind what they said, you will thank them later.”
“I’ll try.”
“Hmm, we will see about that. I was going to say that you should try to fit in, but that is impossible, I mean how many friends do you even have at school? Just Kate. You know she only hangs out with you because she pities you. Alice, you need to just grow up and act like a normal person.”
“Shut up!”
She hurried out the door before the pillow I threw hit her.
CHAPTER 5
I woke up to the wind swirling around my room, papers being picked up like dry leaves. I moaned as I got up out of bed to shut the window. I swore I had closed it already. I took a glance at the clock. It was 3 A.M. Seriously? I needed more sleep in order to function properly. At least I could sleep in the next day, and I was just going to hang out with Kate all day. I couldn’t wait, maybe that was why I woke up so easily.
I shut the window and went back to bed. I put my head down on the pillow and snuggled with my T.A.R.D.I.S. blanket. It was so soft, I loved the feel of it against my skin. I wish I could run away from all my problems with the Doctor (9th Doctor to be exact, but I wasn’t picky). Not that it would solve any of my problems, but it would be fun.
“Alice.” A whisper came across the room. “Come Alice.”
I jerked my head up and peered around the room. Nothing moved and there was nowhere anyone could hide in my room, believe me.
“Alllliiiiice,” the sweet voice called.
That time I knew I wasn’t imagining it. It sounded like a child’s voice. Could it have been the kid I had seen earlier that day? I blinked a few times, trying to concentrate but I couldn’t. Once I heard the voice clearly this time, my mind went into a daze and I couldn’t think clearly. All my mind and body wanted to do was follow the voice. I had to go to the kid, to know what he wanted.
I stepped out of my bed, half aware of what I was doing, half not. It was stupid to follow a voice coming from something you really didn’t know quite what it was, especially when it was sweet and eerie. That much I knew from every horror movie ever made. I swore the creepiest stories had kids in it as well. Even with these thoughts going through my head, I couldn’t stop. No matter the things I screamed inside of my head, my body wouldn’t comply.
Going straight back to the window I had just closed, I slid it open again and climbed outside. Luckily my window went into the front yard and was easy to climb out of. I was afraid of what I might have done if that weren’t the case, such as climbing down a drain pipe or something like in the movies.
No one in the house noticed as I snuck off into the night; in my pajamas no less. I wished whatever this voice was would have ordered me to change into clothes. I mean, what if someone saw me? But then again I was a zombie, not able to control my body at all. I felt helpless, it was the worse feeling in the world. At least I wore socks to bed. It got chilly at night in Oregon.
The autumn leaves crunched under my feet as I left the driveway. The gravel underneath hurt but the socks kept my feet from getting cut. I should have stopped
