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Dream World Mirau by Josephina Mari
Day Fourteen of NaNoWriMo

I woke in the real world about an hour before sunrise feeling tired and groggy even though I got more then enough sleep. Other then the sleepiness it seemed like my other cold symptoms vanished overnight thanks to the cold medicine I took. I walked downstairs, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, and then I headed over to the kitchen to fix myself a bow of cereal. On the days I woke up early enough my breakfast consisted of Captain Crunch in strawberry soy milk, but on other days I would grab a couple pieces of bread to eat on the bus to school. Today was a Captain Crunch kind of day. I ate my breakfast quickly as I wondered how my day of school would go, and how my first day of training would turn out. My book report on Romeo and Juliet is due today for English class so my nerves were already strung high. Once I finished eating I put my dishes into the dishwasher then I walked up stairs to change into my school clothes. A majority of the girls at my school dressed in the school uniform which consisted of a long sleeve white button up undershirt, with a gray button up jacket over the top, a matching grey knee high skirt, mid-length white socks, and slip on type shoes. My parents bought me two uniform sets when I first started school, but I never wore either one. It didn’t feel like I was me anymore when I looked like everyone else. I changed into one of my many tee-shirts, a pair of dark colored jeans, a pair of white ankle socks, and my chucks. I noticed I still had that odd bracelet tied around my wrist that I found in my English book. I was meaning to ask Karou about it, but that didn’t make any sense. If Karou’s world was a dream then how was I able to bring something here to the real world from it. Maybe it was a surprise gift from one of my family members to help motive me into doing better in school.

I would have to wait to find out the answers until I could talk to Karou again, so for now I tried to put it out of my mind. I quickly gathered my school supplies into my backpack, put it on my shoulders, then I ran downstairs and out the front door closing it behind me to catch the school bus that was pulling up to the house. I sat down in the next available window seat in the bus, placed by backpack in my lap, and then I watched the world fly by me outside the window as the bus continued on its path to pickup more students and bring them to the school campus. I arrived on campus with about fifteen minutes to spare before my first class English started. I knew that I would feel much better after my book report was turned in and all the pressure surrounding it was lifted off my shoulders. The school pus pulled into the campus drop off parking lot and all the students got off to go to where they needed to be. I decided to head straight to class so I could turn in my report before the bell rang if my teacher was already there when I arrived. I said a quick “Good Morning.” To my teacher as I entered into my classroom for English and then I put my backpack in my desk chair and unzipped it. I scrambled through the textbooks until I found my English Literate book and then I took it out and put it on top of my desk. I opened up my textbook to the start of Romeo and Juliet where my finished book report was waiting. I picked up the book report and then I nervously walked over to my teachers desk to turn it in. “Here you go Mrs. Harris. I hope you like reading it.” I said as I handed the papers to her. “Thank you Ms. Swanson. Please have a seat at your desk. Class will begin shortly. Today we will begin reading a new story about a brave hero named Hercules. I think you will like it.” Mrs. Harris said to me smiling for a moment before she put on her reading glasses and then she began to look over my book report. I returned back to my desk and put my back pack on the floor next to my desk then I turned the pages of my Literature book until I found the next story that took place in Athens, Greece during a time when the gods and the underworld fought over control of the middle plane where the humans lived. I finished the first page of the story by the time I noticed my classmates start to fill into the room. After they made a trip over to Mrs. Harris’ desk to turn in their reports they came and sat down at their assigned seat.

At about five minutes until class was going to begin I watched as Mrs. Harris stood up from her desk, carrying her teacher edition of the Literature book, then she made her way to the doorway leading into the classroom. I though I heard her say something about a new student, but I couldn’t quiet make it out over all the chatter of the other students. “Did that mean someone would finally fill the empty chair next to me after Jody had to drop out of school since he was moving to another state? I miss him a lot since he was a good friend and always helped me with things I did not understand clearly. I hope he is doing well in his new school.” I thought to myself as I watched Mrs. Harris motion for the new student to come into the classroom to fill the only available seat left. “Please introduce yourself to the class and tell us a little about where you came from and what you hope to learn from taking this Literature class.” Mrs. Harris said as I watched a dark haired, dark skinned boy walk into the room. Why did he look like someone I knew, and why couldn’t I remember them clearly. It’s like the name was right on the tip of my tongue waiting to jump out at any moment. “Hello everyone. My name is Ben Sammons and I am a transfer student this year. I came here from the Indian Reservation south of town to act as a representative for my people. I want to learn about the different cultures so that I can help educate everyone about mine. I want to put all the misconceptions to rest so I decided to enroll as a student here to learn what I can. My father has been teaching me English over the past three years, but some words are still a little hard to understand. Through this class and the others I am now taking, I hope to gain a better understand so I can communicate better.” The boy said and then it hit me and I instantly knew who he reminded me of.

He looked a lot like the wolf warrior Ben in my dream. I didn’t see it at first since the new student worn the school uniform, but I was for sure if he wore Mirau’s traditional clothes then this Ben would be an exact clone of the Ben I knew. It was such a strange feeling I got from him as I watched Ben Sammons sit down in the chair next to me and then he opened his literature book to a random page. “Excuse me miss. What page are we reading from today?” I heard Ben Sammon’s say to me after he looked like he had given up trying to find it on his own. “We are on page five hundred fifty two. Today we are beginning the story of Hercules and the Gods of Olympus. My name is Mariam, but you can call me Mari if you want. If you need any help with the words let me know and I’ll be glad to assist you.” I said trying to return Jody’s kindness when he did the same for me when I was the new kid. I believed that kindness was like a chain, when someone is kind to you then you should be kind to someone else. If you don’t then you break the chain. “Thank you Mari. That is very nice of you.” Ben Sammons said smiling then he looked up at Mrs. Harris as she called attention to the class after the bell rang three times signaling it was time to start the lesson. The class continued silently reading to themselves after Mrs. Harris read the first chapter aloud and answered any questions that the students had. At 9:45 AM two bell sounds rand signaling it was time to head over to the second class of the day. I wanted to ask Ben Sammons about the dream I had, and if he was connected to it in any way, but I didn’t know where to even start. He probably wouldn’t believe me if I told him about the forest I woke up in, and the people I met along the way.

“Excuse me Ben right? There was something I wanted to say...” I told him as we walked out of the classroom into the crowded school hallway. “Sure Mari, what is it? My next class is biology just down the hall so I have a few minutes before I have to head over there.” Ben said looking at me curiously as I struggled to find the right questions to ask him. A few seconds of silence passed between us before I said “I think it’s really cool what you are doing. You are trying to bring two groups of people together to better understand each other, so that they can overcome their differences and live together peacefully. I think it’s really a great thing to do and I hope everything works out for you.” As I heard myself speak those words I felt like I was betraying myself since I was unable to say what I truly wanted to in fear of what Ben might say afterward. “Thank you Mari. I hope everything works out well for both my people and yours. We should get going to class or we will be late. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Ben Sammons said before he disappeared into the crowd of people leaving me standing alone outside the Literature class. I sighed once before I made my way though the crowd of people to my history class on the other side of the building. I made it to my seat just in time before the bells rang to start class. After history was lunch break from 11:45 AM to 12:45 PM and then I had math class and last was gym. The rest of my school day didn’t seem quite as exciting as my first class was, but I still felt totally drained by the time I got on to my bus to head home.

I was always the last one to arrive home at the end of the day so I was always greeted with a hot meal waiting for me as I walked through the door. I left my shoes and backpack at the door then I sat down to eat while my family took turns talking about how their day went. I told them that we had a new student in class today, but I didn’t go into any details on how he seemed to resemble a guy in my dreams. I still had not told my family about the dreams I had been having for about two weeks now since I wasn’t sure how they would perceive my dreams. After I finished my meal I thanked the chef of the night who happened to be my sister this time and then I put my dishes away in the dish washer before I retrieved my backpack and headed upstairs. Thankfully I only had to read fifteen pages of my Literature book tonight for homework and then I could relax the rest of the evening. I changed into my pajamas for the night and then I took out my Literature book, took a seat at my study desk next to my computer, and then I began to read. Time flew by quickly and it was almost 10:00 PM by the time I finished the chapter I was assigned to read for tomorrows in class discussion. I closed the book and returned it to my backpack before I walked over and turned off my bedroom light. I carefully made my way over to my bed and climbed in under the blankets wondering if I’d get the chance to ask Ben Sammons about my dream and Karou about the mysterious bracelet I found in my backpack that I had not taken off my wrist since.