My Worst Nightmare - Not so Bad

Submitted into Contest #48 in response to: Write about someone who has a superpower.... view prompt

6 comments

Fantasy

First day of school. A.k.a the first day of the worst nightmare anyone could dream of, at least for me. Some kids look forward to school. Some look forward to the social part, and learning enthusiasts look forward to the actual material, but let me tell you. I look forward to none of it. We are only ten minutes into the first period and Mrs. Gibson will not stop talking. “This is my first year teaching here and I'm very excited." When is this period over? These kids are giving me nothing but blank stares. I need to make something up to distract them. "I have a dog whose name is Sandy she is a…”

“No you don’t,” I interrupt before she can continue. 

“Excuse me?" What does this dumb kid think he’s doing. . . and how dose he know that I don’t have a dog‽ 

From her thoughts, she seems annoyed. You need to fix this fast if you want to make a good impression. After all, she called you dumb. You decide in that moment to try extra hard in her class, just so that she knows for a fact that you are the opposite of dumb. You respond  by saying, “I’m sorry for being so rude. I just thought that you didn't have a dog because I don't see any pictures of him on your desk. I’m quite observant." 

“I see,” she replies. “Next time you have something to say, please raise your hand and think about it before you say it.” I respond with a simple 'yes ma'am' and she smiles. This kid is going to be a problem. I hear her think. 

I won't be any problem if you aren't. I force the thought into her head. She looks confused as she stares at me. I give her an innocent smile and she smiles back, dismissing it as nothing but her imagination getting in the way. 

If you haven't caught on yet, I can read minds. Sometimes this 'power' comes in handy, while other times it’s just plain annoying. I can also force thoughts into people’s heads which let me tell you is just plain fun. My parents are the only people that know about it, and they tell me to keep it that way. They say if other people find out then they will take me to labs to do research and experiment on me, and I wouldn't like that.  My parents don’t have any powers, nor do my grandparents, but it was said that my great-grandfather could lift any weight he put his mind to, and that he loved to show off his skills. I've been told that people thought it was suspicious that he didn't work out at all and could still  lift a car. They said that one day, the government came and took him away. . . and he was never seen again. 

I don’t know if I believe the story, but I am smart enough to know that bad things could happen to me if I let people know my power, because they might think I'm dangerous. Hold on. . .  I kind of like the idea of me being dangerous. I mean, people fearing you and all. . . I’m trying not to laugh out loud at the thought. in the middle of class. Even though being feared sounds great, I’m just going to keep my power to myself for now. Maybe. . .maybe if the time feels right, I’ll show someone. But not yet.

  Mrs. Gibson is  struggling to keep the class's attention. Now she's making up a story about an alligator! This year is going to be fun, because she lies and I’m going to know it every single time. If the story is obviously too far fetched, I’m going to call her out and she's going to have to confess in front of the whole class. Mwahahaha! Finally, after what seems like forever, the bell rings,  and everyone rushes out the door as fast as they can. 

I walk to my locker and look at my schedule. I've got  science next, which is all the way upstairs. Just before I can moan about having to walk all the way upstairs, a girl's thought catches my attention. She is telling herself that she is going to eat lunch alone in the locker room so that no one will notice her. I feel bad so I walk over to her. Just at that moment, the  bell rings and everyone rushes to their next class. Because lunch is next period, I decide to catch her before she goes into the locker room . 

Science goes by quickly, and I enjoy it. We talk about a variety of things, and I know that I can easily ace this class. Getting all A’s is really easy for me because if I don’t know something, I’ll just read the smartest kid in the class’s brain or -even better- the teacher's. If one day I woke up and my power was gone, I really don’t know what I would do. Though I doubt that will happen, because I have been able to read thoughts and send them for as long as I can remember. I know that it will stay with me for as long as I live. It has to. 

The bell rings, and I rush out of the class quickly to go wait by the girl's locker room so that I can talk to the girl from earlier.  I'm planning totI ask her if we could eat together. I’m partly doing this because I would eat alone, but so would she. It makes sense to ask her to eat with me, but I’m also just doing this to be nice . 

I see her come in so I quickly pulled out my phone to look casual. When she comes by me I say, “Hey, I’m new here. . . do you know any good places to eat lunch?” 

She smiles and looks relieved that someone is talking to her, “I’m new too, do you want to eat together?” 

“Sure!” I reply with a grin. Maybe my worst nightmare wasn't all that bad. I could have a new friend. Maybe, for once in my life. . .  I could look normal to someone. 

June 26, 2020 17:51

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6 comments

Abby Irwin
16:11 Jul 04, 2020

Great story! I loved the fact that you didn't tell people what his superpower was until a little later in the story. Great job!

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Zan Lexus
13:20 Jul 04, 2020

Interesting power and well written story. Good job. :)

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Elle Clark
10:14 Jul 04, 2020

This is a fun concept and I like how she uses her powers. You’ve got the voice of a teenager down well too. Keep writing!

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Ella Kinnett
13:13 Sep 01, 2020

Thank you!

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Cypress Grey
18:57 Jul 20, 2020

Hello Ella! I'm here from the Critique Circle newsletter :) You've written a great story; I really love the ending and opportunity for a sequel if you so choose! As for the critique part, you may want to work a little on grammar, sentence flow, and word choice to spice it up a bit. However, your word choice does perfectly reflect that of a teenager, so it works in a sense. I also love that you worked in the power without having to tell us what it was directly (even if you did clarify later). Keep writing and please feel free to read or cr...

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Ella Kinnett
17:51 Jul 04, 2020

Thank you all so much!

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