WORLD OVERRIDDEN

THE BEGINNING OF THE END

It was the usual morning in California, sunny with a capital S. Cavin suddenly shouted out of nowhere, "SHUT UP". Miranda stopped her singing and glared at Cavin. "What did you just say to me?," she said, menace in her voice.
Cavin glared back with equal intensity. "Stop singing that stupid song already. You've sung that same verse five times already. Like, okay! WE GET IT. 'I'm on top of the world AY'," Cavin mimicked her singing voice at the end which seemed to flip her off even more. We were walking back calm and peaceful from the Clartin High School until Cavin and Miranda decided to get into a fight again.
"Okay well, I'm just gonna leave you two to bicker immaturely while I go home," I said half jokingly as I turned on my heel to walk away, them too wrapped up in their fighting to notice. Thinking about the cool interior of my air-conditioned house, I slowly transitioned to a run, excited to sit on the couch and take a much-needed nap.
I opened my front door and sighed with relief, walking the hallway with family pictures, each showing a long, pale face with brown moppy hair. I tossed my house keys onto the counter and walked toward the living room through the kitchen, the couch still fresh on my mind. I passed through, hands in my pockets, and called out over my shoulder, "Hey mom."
I paused when I didn't hear an answer and walked back, hopping over the low counter and into the empty kitchen. That's weird, I thought slowly, turning in a circle. Normally she would be in here, starting dinner. I walked over to the stove and hovered my hand over the top. She never leaves the stove on unattended.
I went over to the bathroom closet and knocked on the door, waiting for my mom's voice answering back. There was no answer.
"Mom?" I opened the door and saw that no one was there.
I suddenly got this overwhelming feeling at the pit of my stomach. Where is she? Is she hurt? Did she get kidnapped? Was there a burglary when I was at school? All these questions were storming my brain and I couldn't think right. I felt light headed and started to panick. OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG. I took deep breaths in and out to keep my sanity tucked in from exploding out and taking what dignity I have left. "Okay, don't freak out," I told myself, gravitating back towards my usual spot on the couch. "She's probably out... getting groceries!"
She got groceries yesterday.
I started pacing, working up a brainstorm of where my mom could vanish to. I went out the back door to get a better look of the house. I walked briskly backwards past the garden to get the full view. The two story house wasn't big but it could have places that no one would look. As my eyes started burning from the sun in my eyes, or maybe the tears welling up, I heard a faint noise. A noise that was so quiet I almost dismissed it until I heard it a second time. I looked toward where the noise led to and saw someone hunched over the garden. I suddenly recognised that brown smeared apron and realized it was my mom.
"MOM?," I shouted, instant relief flooding through me, but only momentarily.
She didn't respond. Not even to look up. She sat unusually still on her knees, frozen like a statue.
"Mom?," I shouted again as I started jogging in her direction. I tapped her shoulder to get her attention.
Suddenly she whirled around and stared at me like I was interrupting her quiet time. It was only one time though.
I saw a vein-like thing hanging from her mouth. It looked like a tail of something. I stared at it as I talked to her.
"Mom? Are you okay? I couldn't find you and I started to get worried and now I find you eating something strange in the garden. You do know there is food in the kitchen right?"
She looked at me like some kind of alien and then slowly nodded. She stood up and started walking back towards the house all stiff. She was acting weird. As if she was a whole new person reborn again in the last six hours. I walked behind her while we made it into the house. She walked into the kitchen and opened our refrigerator and started taking food out.
"Wow mom, are we having a feast of meat tonight or are you just exploring the foods?" I ask trying to lighten the mood of silence within her.
"I'm just hungry, that's all honey. How about you go do homework in your room and I'll check up on you later." Her voice laced with honey but had a deadly tone as she was facing the refrigerator. She wasn't asking.
"Um...ok?" I say with uncertainty as I began walking up the stairs. I walked briskly to my room and shut the door quickly afterwards. I could still hear her shuffling around in the kitchen. I should call my brother and see what he thinks about mom's weird mood.
My brother is in military training two states over, and he knows mom better than me it feels like most of the time. But not when it comes to girl stuff. I scroll down the contact list and find James name. Ring......Ring.....Ring-
"Hello?"
"Hey James, had mom ever gotten into a mood where she gets a craving for meat and - I-I don't know, she's just not acting the same as normal."
"I bet she just forgot to take her meds again. Check to make sure if the bottle is still in the cabinet to make sure that she didn't throw it away."
"Ok." I walked quietly across the hall to the bathroom and opened the mirrored cupboard and saw her meds still there.
"No they're there still. What if she does something.......harmful?" I say with worry.
"Just go back into your room and wait a couple hours to go downstairs. If she's still like that than go to the emergency appointment and ask the doctor what is going on. He'll probably say she just needs to have a different prescription so stop worrying." His reassurance did nothing but fill me with doubt but I said okay instead. Walking to my room and sitting on my bed, I stared at the door listening to my mom's movements downstairs.
James was right. It was probably just me overreacting.But I couldn't help feeling a bit nauseous as I listened to the refrigerator door slams shut for the third time in five minutes.
Probably nothing.

Hey. So this is my first short story, so I apologize if it's VERY rusty. Hope you like it- A.