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Chapter 1 – Rising Sun

  Sitting up in my lime-green colored bed, I wiped away the first tears of the morning. I found myself unable to stay asleep any longer, and this was a sure sign that I was completely rested, even though part of me still wanted to be asleep just to be able to block out the world and dream about bunnies in a flower patch awhile longer. But, after getting ten hours of sleep all of the new thoughts and crisp morning air can keep anyone from doing anything but what the morning calls out to you to do: Smell the flowers, see the sun rise, and admire the dew-covered poinsettias in Mom’s beautifully tended garden. Still, I was determined to rid myself of the happiness that this morning called for.

  Rising from bed and stretching my stiff body, I lifted my arms toward the ceiling letting out another yawn. I enjoyed the feeling of waking my body, so it could move in unison along with my mind. Then I stumbled over to my closet dragging my feet along with me. Randomly, I reached my hands into my closet picking out two items of clothing, taking a quick glance at both of them to make sure they matched well. If there was anything I hated more than my life, it was mismatched clothes. So, I threw the clothes onto my bed and removed my pink pajamas, getting upset when my hair kept falling into my face obstructing the view of what I was doing.

  I stood in front of the large mirror as I slipped my feet into the closest pair of shoes I could find. Looking at myself up and down, I poked the places that were completely imperfect, the places that couldn’t be immediately fixed: my thighs, my arms, my stomach. The only thing that was perfect about me was what couldn’t gain weight: my golden hair, my stunning blue eyes, my pale pink lips, and long, smooth nails. I grabbed some make-up off of the dresser applying it quickly. Then, letting out a sigh, I grabbed my backpack just thinking of excuses to get out of eating breakfast. One thing I did learn at school: food is evil. It’s unnecessary, just like any video game, completely unnecessary. I turned the knob of my bedroom door knowing it was too late to just roll over in bed and claim I’ve fallen ill.

  “Nice of you to finally join the land of the living, Halle.” Logan, my older brother sat on the kitchen counter munching on a piece of bread. He has always been the favorite child, great values, perfect body, straight A’s.

  I simply grunted in response not having an excuse that any other person in the world would understand besides me. Every part of me hated the smell of breakfast and I refused to welcome it and did all in my power to deprive myself of my fifth sense.

  “Are you alright?” Dad patted my shoulder.

  I quickly straightened up realizing I let my weakness towards the food to show, “Yeah.” I refused to offer up any more information. No one ever notices how I actually feel, except Dad on occasion, but when he notices, it’s more of a pestering than any concern I will accept.

  Dad shot me a quick glance of disbelief then continued on to pick up his breakfast plate.

  “I’m leaving for school early today,” I said hoping to brush off any comments about not eating breakfast.

  “Okay, Sweetheart, have fun,” Mom said as she flipped over a piece of bacon.

  “Ugh,” I coughed from deep within the back of my throat. “Don’t call me that.”

  Mom didn’t hear what I said, so I grabbed my jacket and slammed the door behind myself.

  The air was crisp and cold, the sky clear as far as the eye could see. It was the cold weather that I enjoyed, the stuff cold enough to seep through a turtleneck sweater, but not so cold you could feel it through a well-made jacket. People around Montana hate the cold so much, which is funny since it’s one of the coldest places in the US. It makes me angry when people over-dress or complain that it’s too cold to sustain human life—which they do often. I always ask, why not move to Nevada or Arizona, but they always say they like it here. I think it’s hilarious.

  I observed the animal-like qualities of the neighbors next door, Rex and Fawn were the kids’ names—who names their kids like that anyways? The weird part was, their names actually suited their attitudes, Rex could always be found doing something obnoxious like chasing his little sister around until she—or he—fell and got hurt; always acting like a big, scary monster. Fawn was really a quiet child and got into mischief quietly—chewing on plants and eating dirt—whenever her parents weren’t watching.

  I turned my head up towards the horizon in front of me, watching the trees pass as I made my way down the sidewalk. It’s too bad my school was so close; otherwise I might have actually been able to work off my extra pounds by now. The walk there didn’t burn more than a few hundred calories, and it certainly wasn’t enough to warm up muscles.

  Soon, the school came into view, Wolf Point High, and almost as if she had a bright red arrow pointing to her, I spotted Scarlet, my best friend until further notice. Like everyone else I surrounded myself with, her body had an athletic build and everything about her was enough to make anyone—male or female—look directly over my head and at her. Why I surrounded myself with these people, I had no idea.

  “Good morning, Halle!” Scarlet cheerfully gave me a bow.

  “Hello, Scar.” I patted her on the back, wishing she would stop drawing so much attention.

  Scarlet wrinkled her nose, “Are you alright? You look like crap.”

  I shrugged not knowing what to say. “I had a really late night last night.”

  I knew she was wondering what kept me awake late last night, but I had no answer for this lie of mine, so she would have to ask or wonder. The two jocks at the entrance glanced at us and snickered. Pushing past them, I followed Scarlet into the school, noticing the vast change between the sunlight and the fluorescents. They have been bothering me lately, the lights, every time I see them I just get this awful headache and my eyes hurt unrealistically. What’s strange is the sunlight doesn’t bother me at all; it’s just the “fake” lights that get to me.

  I’ve felt this way since the camping trip that Dad, Logan, I took a few weeks ago. That was when an animal found its way into the tent and attacked me. I was asleep, so I didn’t see much, but I’m pretty sure it was some sort of snake. To say the least, I woke up the next morning in the hospital with my arm swelled at least three times its normal size. What was especially amazing was how the bite was located on my foot and the swelling was everywhere else. No one saw more than the tail of the animal, so it’s impossible to tell what species it was. The swelling went down a few days later and I was able to go home, but, like I noted before, I just don’t feel right.

  Students and teachers filled the halls, hustling and bustling about. Locker doors slammed and the constant sound of chatter filled my ears. All of this added to my previous headache from the lights.

  “Head off to class, I’ll be there in a moment,” I said, dashing off into the bathroom before Scarlet could say anything to me.

 

  The bathroom was quite a difference from the noisy halls, no one else was in there, and the only thing left to fuel my headache was the lights. With any hopes, by the time I quit procrastinating in the bathroom, the halls would be empty. After that, my only problem would be the classroom.

 

  I leaned against the sink cradling my body with my abnormally, large arms. I let out a sigh and stared at myself in the mirror. Yes, I certainly was a mess. No wonder people kept asking. The color in my face was completely absent and my eyes were bloodshot. I closed my eyes realizing I look how I felt. My stomach started churning, and the overall odor of the bathroom made me nauseated. I ran into a bathroom stall closing the door behind myself, and vomited. I couldn’t believe the suddenness in which this came on. I never had an illness like this one before.

  Finally, I stood up to my full height, feeling decent enough to make it to the nurse’s office. I opened the latch on the bathroom stall and pulled the door back to allow myself to get out. Just as suddenly as before, I felt the familiar churning and ran to the toilet’s side again. Looking up from the toilet bowl I saw Scarlet, standing over me looking concerned. “Are you alright, Halle? Should I get the nurse?” Scarlet asked. My mouth didn’t allow myself to respond as I began feeling dizzy and hurled once more. The world around me appeared disillusioned and discolored—in fact things weren’t colored at all, everything was black and white. Feeling my every limb go weak, I fell back onto the floor. I heard Scarlet’s footsteps running out of the bathroom and the door slamming behind her. All I could see was the lights on the ceiling up above, and soon my entire vision turned white.