Post by Deleted on Dec 22, 2010 17:34:59 GMT -6
I decided, for the heck of it, if you guys don't mind, to share a story of mine which I wrote while I was in middle school.
This story sparked a tide of popularity for the unknown nerdy white girl who had written it who had previously been picked on in school for a great many years.
One day, the teacher assistant approached me and asked if she could read my story aloud to my English class. I told her fine, I didn't care, because she had promised me that she would never use my name.
That day, Miss Cole read several other stories which were written by Mrs. Armstrong's English classes, and no names were given. The last story she read, was mine.
When she began to read it aloud, an eerie hush fell over the class, and everyone, including those who had mercilessly picked on me for years, leaned forward in their chairs, listening intently to the words I had written.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The People I Was Not Meant To See
My name is Gutia. If I am to have a name. And if I am to have an age, that would be about 14 seasons. Perhaps I am older, but I lost count long ago. It is not that important anyhow. Or so the teachers say. But they tell me and the others like me that nothing is important. Nothing, that is, except following the Rules. But here is my story, if I am allowed to remember.
I was alone. Or so I thought. I liked it that way. I liked the silence and the solitude. I was on my back, lying on the moist grass looking up, up at the bright stars shimmering through the black cloak of the night. Such a cold, frosty night. The sky was perfectly clear of clouds. The moon had only just begun its long journey to climb up over the trees, casting its light over all that dared to look it in the face.
A noise startled me. I had every reason to be startled, especially when I was not supposed to be Outside. I sat up in terror, paralyzed. A small bird hopped out of the thick bushes. I recall that it looked at me, cocking its head. Sighing, relieved, I leaned back carefully against the rough bark of a spruce tree. My movement startled the bird and it hopped back a few feet. In the distance, a squirrel called, its shrill voice pierced the silence like a knife.
I cannot remember another time like that, a time of relaxing. I can not remember anything except what I have been taught. And even that never sank in permanently. I refused to understand. Then, a dark figure emerged silently from where the bird had once stood, its features hidden beneath the shadow cast from the moon's light which shone brightly from the tall tree behind it.
''There you are! Where have you been?'' an extremely articulate, husky voice announced. I could not move, I could hardly breathe- I could not do anything but stare at the figure. ''Look at me!'' a bright light shone into my eyes. I closed them, but it was too late. The power of the light held me limply, like a puppet. The invisible strings moved me to follow the guard who had found me.
I opened my eyes. By that time the moon had risen higher and had decreased in size, looking at me with its formerly powerful light, but then it could not compare to the artificial hand light the guard possessed in his pale white hands. The light carried me out of the entrance to the woods...
And there it stood.
The sight of The Building was more powerful than the moon and the hand light combined and multiplied by ten. The smell of evil surrounded it like a black fog. The moon seemed to hide behind the trees in fear of getting caught by the sight of The Building.
Once I was inside The Building, the power of the hand light released me. I collapsed on the floor. Blinking my eyes and rubbing the light from them, I sat up. The guard had vanished as they always do once inside The Building. Instead, a teacher stood before me. ''How many times must you be told?'' she demanded, her voice echoed through the empty white halls, ''NEVER leave without permission! You know the people cannot know you exist! They'd kill you, and dissect you for their own curiosity. We've taught you that since you were a child! Why do you never learn? All of the others do!''
Forcing away the trembling I had felt deep inside me, I replied, ''I wanted some air,'' then raised my chin to look proud, ''I wasn't going very far.'' I tried, how I tried to keep myself calm, but, the words flowed out like the spring in the forest which I had taken a drink from, ''I like it outside! I like the fresh air! It's so quiet, and peaceful! And the moon humors me in an intimidating sort of way! And the stars, oh the stars comfort me, they wink lovingly at me, as if saying, 'it's okay! We will protect you from the awful humans, and the horrid guards and teachers and The Wretched Building!''
The teacher showed no emotion, not even anger, which was enough to drive any normal person insane. ''You can breathe the air inside. You can see the stars through the one-way glass upstairs,'' she reached out a deathly pale hand and her icicle fingers dug into the warm flesh of my arm. Talons from an eagle. I will never forget that feeling.
I shrieked and wrestled free of the frozen talons. I ran toward the outside door, the door to freedom, solitude. I wanted to be alone! I wanted to be in the quiet! To breathe the cool air, to see the bright stars!
A foot protruded from outside my field of vision.
The white tile rushed up to greet me in an unfriendly manner. My forehead slammed against it, rendering me motionless. The teacher dragged me down the hallway to the door all the others were afraid of. I tried to release myself. But it was to no avail because I could not move. The teacher opened the door to the discipline room.
* * *
What happened next was too horrid for me to even try and remember. The parts I do remember though, will remain unmentioned. I cannot bear to relive them again. After they fixed my defiance, they concluded that I was mentally stable enough to go back to the schedule.
They think that I have learned. They think that I will never leave The Building again.
They are wrong.
Right now I am planning my escape. I will leave The Cursed Building, I will run past the guards, through the forest that surrounds The Building. To the path beyond that leads to freedom! I may be from another world, another winking star in the sky, but I mean the people no harm. I do know that I look just like the people, the humans. I will not let them capture me. I will blend in. I will become human. And I will study the stars, and breathe the fresh, sweet air until the day I die- amongst the people I was not meant to see.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
After Miss Cole had read the final ending of my story, the football player named Andrew who was seated next to me, who was staring at her with wide eyes said, "Dude... was he like an Alien?"
I rolled my eyes. I couldn't help myself. I didn't care if I would shatter the safety of my anonymity. I turned over to face him and said, "Yes, she was an alien... although I now realize that I did not specify her gender in the story, did I?"
Everyone turned around and stared at me. I stared back at them, slightly uncomfortable.
After the bell rang and almost everyone had wandered off into the hallway, one of the "popular" girls whose name was Erica approached me as I was putting my books back into my backpack. She rested her perfectly manicured fingers on the edge of my desk, which caused me to look up at her.
"What do you want?" I demanded, anticipating another heart-wrenching insult from her carefully painted lips.
She looked down at me, and I saw an emotion I had never seen before in her eyes other than arrogance and venom. Her eyes shone warmth and affection towards me, and a hint of guilt as well. "I'm sorry," she said, then looked down at the floor, "I- I had no idea you had such beautiful words inside you. I will never laugh at you again."
Then, she walked off.
I couldn't believe it. I simply could not believe it at all.
This story sparked a tide of popularity for the unknown nerdy white girl who had written it who had previously been picked on in school for a great many years.
One day, the teacher assistant approached me and asked if she could read my story aloud to my English class. I told her fine, I didn't care, because she had promised me that she would never use my name.
That day, Miss Cole read several other stories which were written by Mrs. Armstrong's English classes, and no names were given. The last story she read, was mine.
When she began to read it aloud, an eerie hush fell over the class, and everyone, including those who had mercilessly picked on me for years, leaned forward in their chairs, listening intently to the words I had written.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The People I Was Not Meant To See
My name is Gutia. If I am to have a name. And if I am to have an age, that would be about 14 seasons. Perhaps I am older, but I lost count long ago. It is not that important anyhow. Or so the teachers say. But they tell me and the others like me that nothing is important. Nothing, that is, except following the Rules. But here is my story, if I am allowed to remember.
I was alone. Or so I thought. I liked it that way. I liked the silence and the solitude. I was on my back, lying on the moist grass looking up, up at the bright stars shimmering through the black cloak of the night. Such a cold, frosty night. The sky was perfectly clear of clouds. The moon had only just begun its long journey to climb up over the trees, casting its light over all that dared to look it in the face.
A noise startled me. I had every reason to be startled, especially when I was not supposed to be Outside. I sat up in terror, paralyzed. A small bird hopped out of the thick bushes. I recall that it looked at me, cocking its head. Sighing, relieved, I leaned back carefully against the rough bark of a spruce tree. My movement startled the bird and it hopped back a few feet. In the distance, a squirrel called, its shrill voice pierced the silence like a knife.
I cannot remember another time like that, a time of relaxing. I can not remember anything except what I have been taught. And even that never sank in permanently. I refused to understand. Then, a dark figure emerged silently from where the bird had once stood, its features hidden beneath the shadow cast from the moon's light which shone brightly from the tall tree behind it.
''There you are! Where have you been?'' an extremely articulate, husky voice announced. I could not move, I could hardly breathe- I could not do anything but stare at the figure. ''Look at me!'' a bright light shone into my eyes. I closed them, but it was too late. The power of the light held me limply, like a puppet. The invisible strings moved me to follow the guard who had found me.
I opened my eyes. By that time the moon had risen higher and had decreased in size, looking at me with its formerly powerful light, but then it could not compare to the artificial hand light the guard possessed in his pale white hands. The light carried me out of the entrance to the woods...
And there it stood.
The sight of The Building was more powerful than the moon and the hand light combined and multiplied by ten. The smell of evil surrounded it like a black fog. The moon seemed to hide behind the trees in fear of getting caught by the sight of The Building.
Once I was inside The Building, the power of the hand light released me. I collapsed on the floor. Blinking my eyes and rubbing the light from them, I sat up. The guard had vanished as they always do once inside The Building. Instead, a teacher stood before me. ''How many times must you be told?'' she demanded, her voice echoed through the empty white halls, ''NEVER leave without permission! You know the people cannot know you exist! They'd kill you, and dissect you for their own curiosity. We've taught you that since you were a child! Why do you never learn? All of the others do!''
Forcing away the trembling I had felt deep inside me, I replied, ''I wanted some air,'' then raised my chin to look proud, ''I wasn't going very far.'' I tried, how I tried to keep myself calm, but, the words flowed out like the spring in the forest which I had taken a drink from, ''I like it outside! I like the fresh air! It's so quiet, and peaceful! And the moon humors me in an intimidating sort of way! And the stars, oh the stars comfort me, they wink lovingly at me, as if saying, 'it's okay! We will protect you from the awful humans, and the horrid guards and teachers and The Wretched Building!''
The teacher showed no emotion, not even anger, which was enough to drive any normal person insane. ''You can breathe the air inside. You can see the stars through the one-way glass upstairs,'' she reached out a deathly pale hand and her icicle fingers dug into the warm flesh of my arm. Talons from an eagle. I will never forget that feeling.
I shrieked and wrestled free of the frozen talons. I ran toward the outside door, the door to freedom, solitude. I wanted to be alone! I wanted to be in the quiet! To breathe the cool air, to see the bright stars!
A foot protruded from outside my field of vision.
The white tile rushed up to greet me in an unfriendly manner. My forehead slammed against it, rendering me motionless. The teacher dragged me down the hallway to the door all the others were afraid of. I tried to release myself. But it was to no avail because I could not move. The teacher opened the door to the discipline room.
* * *
What happened next was too horrid for me to even try and remember. The parts I do remember though, will remain unmentioned. I cannot bear to relive them again. After they fixed my defiance, they concluded that I was mentally stable enough to go back to the schedule.
They think that I have learned. They think that I will never leave The Building again.
They are wrong.
Right now I am planning my escape. I will leave The Cursed Building, I will run past the guards, through the forest that surrounds The Building. To the path beyond that leads to freedom! I may be from another world, another winking star in the sky, but I mean the people no harm. I do know that I look just like the people, the humans. I will not let them capture me. I will blend in. I will become human. And I will study the stars, and breathe the fresh, sweet air until the day I die- amongst the people I was not meant to see.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
After Miss Cole had read the final ending of my story, the football player named Andrew who was seated next to me, who was staring at her with wide eyes said, "Dude... was he like an Alien?"
I rolled my eyes. I couldn't help myself. I didn't care if I would shatter the safety of my anonymity. I turned over to face him and said, "Yes, she was an alien... although I now realize that I did not specify her gender in the story, did I?"
Everyone turned around and stared at me. I stared back at them, slightly uncomfortable.
After the bell rang and almost everyone had wandered off into the hallway, one of the "popular" girls whose name was Erica approached me as I was putting my books back into my backpack. She rested her perfectly manicured fingers on the edge of my desk, which caused me to look up at her.
"What do you want?" I demanded, anticipating another heart-wrenching insult from her carefully painted lips.
She looked down at me, and I saw an emotion I had never seen before in her eyes other than arrogance and venom. Her eyes shone warmth and affection towards me, and a hint of guilt as well. "I'm sorry," she said, then looked down at the floor, "I- I had no idea you had such beautiful words inside you. I will never laugh at you again."
Then, she walked off.
I couldn't believe it. I simply could not believe it at all.