Normal

“The Great are never normal, Hamilton. And likewise, the Normal are never great.”

-The Great Inflictions of Hamilton Grimsby.

Chapter 1.

              Where am I? I’m lying on a cold slab. It’s white. Everything is blurry. There are tools? Yes, tools on the walls and on the table next to me. Where am I? I hear hushed voices. I try to lift my head, but I can’t. I feel so heavy. And sleepy. So sleepy…

I jerk awake in my cot.     

“Holy shit!”          

  I feel hot, but my sheet is kicked to the end of my bed in a ball. I take a deep breath, trying to slow my rapid heart rate and sit up. I run my fingers through my short hair, pulling at it when I get to the back. I take a deep breath and close my eyes. What does it mean? It can’t be my future. I’m safe here. I open my eyes again to find Alexia looking at me from the base of my bed.   

         “Something wrong, Ricki?” She asks, her eyebrows furrowed. Her long blonde hair is up in a high ponytail. She wears a tight black cami just long enough to skim the top of her dark blue jeans.        

    “Yeah, no, sorry,” I shake my head giving her a little smile.      

       “Was it a dream? What was it about?” She questions me. She places her fists onto the metal bars that are the baseboard. “Come on, tell me.” Her brown eyes are intense.       

     “Chill,” I tell her, “It’s nothing.” I vigorously run my fingers through my hair, making it stand on end. “What’s the time?”   

         She glares at me a little before answering, “Ten till seven, darling. Time for you to get up already,” she pauses and sits on the bed, “You know you can tell me if you had a dream.”

            “I know. So, it’s a good thing I didn’t have a dream.” I reply, kicking my legs onto the floor. I yawn and crack my neck. I look around the room. I’ve lived here for almost a year now. The rows of metal cots with white sheets have become so familiar to me that it feels like home. I grab my military style hat off the dresser next to my bed and jam it onto my head. I pull on green cargo pants over my panties, pick some lint off my white tank top, and stand up. “Wanna go to breakfast?” I ask her.  

          She looks at me warily, “Sure,” she stands with me and heads to the door. I grab my black jacket and follow. We pass Pan, Devin, and Figgie, I give them a little wave. Figgie is the newest to the group. She gives me a polite wave back. Devin ignores me as usual and Pan smiles at me. She got here about the same time I did.     

       I catch the heavy door out and we walk down the bland hallway. We pass the Female Body Bunk, Male Mind Bunk, and Male Body Bunk. I roll my eyes as we pass the Body’s. We reach the Dining Hall and grab our plates to stack with food.      

      I get eggs, bacon, and toast, go, and sit down next to Willa. “Hey, Willa,” I say.

            She’s another moody girl, but I like her more than Devin. “Hey,” She replies to me, picking at her sausage, a frown on her face. I look around to see who else is here already. I see Mia, Kim, Nina, Vaughn, Evan, and Connor from Body and Peter, Daniel, and Gabriel from Mind. Alexia sits down across from us, “So, that dream you had….”     

       “I told you,” I hissed at her, “You shouldn’t worry about it. I’m not worrying about it.”             “Liar,” I heard Willa mumble into her grape juice. I glared at her.