Lucid Dreams

I was standing in front of the gym, smiling. My hair wasn't packed up in my usual ponytail, instead it was brushed out till it's silver tresses shone under the moonlight. I smoothed out my red gown, running my hands down the length of the dress from my impressive bossom down to my hips. It wasn't a nervous gesture, I was rarely nervous, yet there was something so strange about this moment, it could not be defined.

A light breeze blew around me, ruffling the trees, and I realized that I was cold. My breathing felt laboured, and I could feel an ache in my bones, an ache that came from holding myself so stiffly to stop the tremors that threatened every now and then to break out.

I did not know why I was so opposed to shivering, but somehow I didn't want to be the girl with silver hair, standing alone infront of her school's gym, smiling strangely and shivering. There was something so sinister about that, and I could bear anything -- even another hour of waiting, as long as I could hold off the tremors.

I let my mind wander off. My parents would be deep asleep by now, even though it was just nine o'clock. It would never occur to them that their perfect daughter, with straight A's who was so perfectly behaived and well mannered would sneak off in the night to join a group of badly behaived students who had planned to break into a night club, but then my parents had little clue now about what went on in my life. I didn't blame them though, I found it hard myself to adapt to change, and I couldn't really imagine them who had known very little change in their lives and their careers, my Mom a nursery School teacher, and my Dad a traffic warden -- keep up with the series of changes that had went on in my life in just one month.

The nights gentle breeze rustled the trees around me again, carrying with it this time, soft laughter and the voices of my new friends. Relieved, I let out the breath I had been holding, and finally relaxed my muscles enough to allow a slight shiver run through my spine. The wait was over, my friends were here.

When we had planned the previous day to steal into a night club this night and watch our favorite band, everyone had opted to meet up at Greg's house since his parents were not in town and his older brother was cool, but it was a good thirty minutes walk from my house, and the school was only five minutes away. I had chosen to wait in school, while they would all meet up at Greg's and then come to the school to pick me up.

''You look like all those lovely vampires Aaliyah, standing in the moonlight the way you are now, in your lovely dress and with your silver hair.'' Greg said walking up to me and kissing me softly on the lips.

The old Aaliyah would have told him how scared I had felt as I stood alone, waiting. I would have warned him not to joke about vampires when we were outside at night, especially a moonlit night. The old me would have told him I didn't consider it flattery to be compared to vampires -- the old me would have said all this if I wasn't already flustered by his proximity and the fact that he had just kissed me, lightly, his lips barely skimming across mine. That was the old me, the new me allowed a soft sultry chuckle escape my lips as I side stepped him and went to say hello to the rest of my partners in crime.

''Watch out Greg, this vampire can bite.'' I said over my shoulder to him as I hugged Pamela and gave David an awkward part on the back, noting Pamela's leather jacket, tank top and leather pants, and wishing I had also come prepared to beat the night's chill.

I must have shivered again because David took off his sports coat and draped it across my shoulder, revealing his well defined abs that pushed against his tight T -- another thing that had changed within a month, David's body. Just recently he had more extra flesh than he had muscles, then he and Pamela started what they called 'get hotter before college year' and it had worked. Pamela had been able to work up the hour-glass figure she had been only content to crave for in the past, and David had transformed himself into a chocolate skinned Adonis. I was proud of them.

''So I guess we should be going already. It's easier to get in with the crowd, we don't want to show up late and be the only ones outside, that would give the gaurds enough time to check every detail of our fake ID.'' Greg said to David, casually hooking an arm around my shoulder then he lowered his voice and whispered into my ear. ''You know you don't need David's jacket, I have a lot of warmth to offer you.''

''Ah! And you're still intent on seducing Medusa?'' I asked, tilting my face up to look at him, as I tried in vain to still the erratic beat of my heart. His hand on my shoulder wasn't helping matters.

He looked down into my eyes and a ghost of a smile played on his lips. ''But you are not Medusa Ally, you're more like Aphrodite, created from the white foam of Uranus.'' We had stopped walking and now, he threaded his fingers through my hair as he spoke, I felt like I was on the threshold of something magical. This time, when he lowered his lips to mine, he stole my breath away in the most intimate, the most sensual kiss I had ever experienced.

My eyes were still closed as I savoured our moment when he laughed gently and twigged my chin. ''Open your eyes now Aaliyah, we need to catch up with Dave and Pamela.''

I nodded, feeling like Cinderella on the night of the ball, like Aphrodite in all her glory. I felt like Aaliyah, the real Aaliyah, the Aaliyah my parents didn't know, the one I myself didn't know, the Aaliyah Greg was going to show me.

I didn't know how to dance, so I couldn't understand how I blended in so well at the club when we finally got in, I just knew how good it felt to surrender myself to the music, to the booze Dave and Greg kept bringing, and to Greg's magical fingers. There was something so surreal about the moment, and I was drunk on it.

Suddenly feeling an urge, I downed the booze in the paper cup I held, flung the cup away, then lifting up my voice, I shouted with all my strength. ''I'm graduating from high school tommorow!''

Everything happened so fast afterwards. I was vaguely aware of Greg holding me, as David explained to the bouncers who had appeared out of no where that we were actually about to graduate from college not high school. They must not have believed him, because we were tossed out.

I woke up the next morning with the worst kind of headache. Someone had parted my curtains to let in the sunlight, and I winced as the ray's hit me when I tried to get up. I remembered the events of last night and how I had ruined what had started out to be a perfect night, the only escape I had ever been given from the bore that was my existence.

As I showered and dressed, my mind still on last night, I realized that I was grateful. For one moonlit night, I had been allowed to be the Aaliyah of my dreams, and it had just been that -- a lucid dream. I had known it would not last.

I chose a flowery modest gown and put on the only strappy heels I had. I was back to being the uninteresting Aaliyah, the responsible Aaliyah, I had my future to think of after all.

Because my parents couldn't afford to send me to college on their meager salaries, I had done all I could to secure a scholarship. All my spare time was spent reading or doing extracurriculars that would make my college and scholarship application look impressive. I had been so buried in my efforts to get into college that I had literally allowed the better part of high school life pass me by, then I met David.

It wasn't really David that challenged my boundaries, making me want to become more than I was, to live a little more, it was the guy who he introduced to me, it was Greg.

I felt my lips curve in a smile as I said his name silently to myself. He had dared me to push my boundaries yesterday, to become a new Aaliyah, an Aaliyah who wasn't scared of life, but that had been yesterday, today I had to slip back into my role of responsibility, I had to get into college.

My mom and Dad were waiting for me when I got downstairs, smiling from cheek to cheek. They couldn't attend my graduation because they had to work, but they told me how proud they were, and sent me off to school with a smile on my face that was just as huge as theirs.

It was worth it. All the time I spent studying late into the night, all the parties and sleep overs I had skipped in other to read and keep my grades up was worth the joy I had seen on my parents' faces. I mentaly adjusted my shoulders, ready to continue carrying the burden of getting into school, willing myself to forget the other Aaliyah, the one from yesterday, and I was almost successful.

I opened the front door to find Greg standing in front of me, looking incredibly handsome in a tuxedo. ''You're carriage awaits Ma'am.'' He said bowing dramatically and stepping aside so I could have my resolve crumble at the sight of the low slung Maserati that was parked behind him. Who was I kidding? If yesterday was a dream, then I wanted to keep dreaming. I said as much to Greg, making him smile in that sensual way that stole my breath away, as I let him lead me to the car, and further into my dreams.