Brandon Imamura, 14 years old.
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.
“Shut up.” I slam my finger on the off button. My whole body feels tired. I don’t know why. Last night… I had a sandwich for dinner, finished my homework, took a shower, and I went to bed, nothing too strenuous or anything. Finally, I decided that I had to get myself out of bed. One leg slid off the edge. Let’s go, Brandon, you can do this. The next leg slides off. One problem. I’m still lying down on the bed. Now, any NORMAL person would just lean up and stand up, but you obviously haven’t met me. I have to support myself with my arms. Why? Because I’d rather be lazy as hell instead of using my abs. That aside, I push myself off with one palm. And that’s where it all went wrong.
I suddenly felt a reflex action in my body, as I lurched forward a few feet, into my bedroom wall. I looked at my hand. The middle of my right palm was read, and the undersides of my knuckles were a bit swollen. Now, THAT was a bit strange. However, I just discarded it as my body flinching from a swollen hand. Was it from the basketball I played yesterday? Probably. I went on to prepare for my day at high school. The same boring freshman routine I’ve done for months.
Hayley Reyes, 16 years old.
I stared at my cereal for God knows how long. I sniffled a bit, but I ignored it. I might’ve been coming down with the chills, but it couldn’t be anything worse than that. My mom told me that it’d get better at school. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s not to argue with her. My little brother Leo didn’t really catch one yet. Sure, he’s 13, but most 13 year olds aren’t
that oblivious. But the more I thought of it, she could be assertive, but not really THAT annoying.
“Hayley! What are you doing? Finish your breakfast; the bus is going to be here any minute now! You and Leo are just like your dad! You need to...”
…Maybe not, but that’s how moms are, right? While I was thinking about I family, I noticed that my cereal was getting really sloshy. I look down and see the oddest thing. The milk is a lot colder than it was when I poured it, and some ice crystals formed in it. The milk on the edges of the spoon froze solid. This was starting to freak me out.
I called my mom over to look at this. She looked at me like I was crazy, and then she realized that she might’ve left it in the freezer. However, I didn’t have time to explain the partially frozen spoon, as the bus would come soon. As I walked out the door, waiting until the day I could finally get myself a car, I saw that my fingertips were a bit blue, but it disappeared. I ignored it and got into the bus, but the weird thing was, I had taken the milk out of the fridge, not the freezer. And I was sure of it.
Devroux Alter, 16 years old
I had just got onto the bus and sat next to Hayley, one of my best friends. She and I had known each other since we were 4, so we were like siblings, almost. She had an odd look on her face, like she was puzzled about something, but she smiled when she saw me. Even with someone as close to me as her, I couldn’t muster up the courage to tell her what happened this morning. Sure, she had stuck up with my stupid antics and stuff, but making jokes and saying something downright crazy were two different things. But I still have that image in my mind: the image of me burning glass with my finger.
I hope that wasn’t as stupid as it sounds. It probably was. But ANYWAYS, I waved to her and said hi. We started a normal conversation. I talked about some stupid stuff on TV last night and cracked jokes, while she casually laughed along and talked about how dumb Snooki looked. It was the same old stuff, but our conversations were always fun. As we the ride went on, she was a bit quieter today. Her face still had that puzzled look, and she looked out the window for a bit. She placed her hand on it, like she was trying to reach through or something. Suddenly, she turned around and said, “Dev, this might sound crazy, but…”
I raised an eyebrow and asked what happened. She looked like she was about to say something, but she laughed and said, “Never mind, it’s nothing,” We then continued our conversation earlier like nothing had happened. As we neared the school, everyone got ready to get off. It wasn’t then until I noticed a slightly odd shaped bit of condensation on the window glass. At closer inspection, I saw that it was ice. A thought popped into the back of my head. As everyone was getting off the bus, I quickly placed my finger on the window, where the handprint was. As I exited the bus, I saw a small burn mark, and I saw the ice melting. Whatever was happening, it wasn’t natural.