Sixth Grade Beginnings

Chapter 11

As the hours passed into the night, the moist air that threatened rain finally gave way to the swollen clouds above and it began to pour. Thunder rolled softly in the distance and echoed into the room of Phoebe as she tossed and turned in her bed. With a pain stricken face, she moaned softly and kicked off her blankets. The dream she was having was mixed with logical, realism, fantasy and pure absurdity. Nothing made sense and most of it was completely jumbled together as if it was some abstract painting that should be hanging in a museum somewhere. With a loud crack of lightening, Phoebe awoke and began to pant until she grasped reality. Disoriented, she grabbed her glasses off the night stand and looked at her alarm clock to see the time; 6:17am. Not having to get up until much later in the day due to the weekend and no impending school ahead, the girl lay back down and did her best to relax her body. Lately she hadn't been having very good sleep due to similar experiences. All of her dreams didn't have any rhyme or reason and more than half the time, when she woke up, she couldn't remember even a little bit of them other than the feelings she experienced during it all.

Beginning to feel a little queasy, she gradually pulled herself out of her bed and made it across the hall into her bathroom. She could hear her mother getting ready for work and did her best to be quiet and avoidable. Suddenly she heard the doorknob twist and turn and an attempt of entering the locked door.

"Phoebe honey, are you in there?" Her mother quietly asked.

"Yes Mother." The girl replied politely, "I'll be out in just a moment."

"It's mighty early in the morning... Is everything okay?" Reba asked through the door with a note of concern.

Is everything okay? Phoebe wondered as her mother's words echoed in her mind. Knowing that she didn't need to needlessly worry her parent, Phoebe finished her business with little success. "Yes, I'm fine." She replied faintly before turning on the faucet and washing her hands.

Opening the bathroom door, her mother stood there with a towel in hand as well as a fresh pair of clothing in her arms. "Are you sure?" The adult woman asked as she placed her hand on the young girl's forehead.

Phoebe smiled at her mother's loving touch. "Yes, It seems that the storm outside just woke me, is all." She replied.

"Well alright honey, if you insist." Reba smiled back and walked around her daughter into the bathroom with her hand on the side of the door. "If you need me for anything, I still have about an hour before I need to leave the house. Don't hesitate to ask."

The reassuring calm words of her mother softly put Phoebe's heart as ease. "Okay." She nodded then let her mother close the door and made her way back to her bedroom.

One of the windows had been slightly ajar and she watched as the wind made her curtains dance. Walking slowly to the window, she could feel the storms hostile breeze; it was warm and comforting. Despite the welcoming wind, Phoebe knew it was best to shut the window if she had any hope in going back to sleep... Although with her hand on top of the sliding portion, she couldn't bare push down. Phoebe had been looking at her own reflection and images of her dream began to flash violently in her mind.

"What was it about?" She asked herself, pulling fragmented images from deep, deep within her consciousness. She could remember colors, shapes and a few people but nothing seemed solid. Then the pain she had been experiencing returned and Phoebe clutched her stomach. "I must still have to use the bathroom...." She dwelled, turning around and walking to her bed to patiently wait until her mother was out of the shower.

Minutes seemed like hours as the poor girl's stomach began to toss and turn into something ugly. Promptly she began to recall all the food she had consumed throughout the past day to pinpoint anything out of the ordinary. Was it the cafeteria food, perhaps? I recall Helga having issues with it before... Or maybe it was the food served at Gerald's house? She wondered. Neither plates had anything new to her nor could she think of anything else, leaving her at a loss. "Well whatever it is, it's clearly not agreeing with me..." She moaned again. Rolling up in a ball, the small girl practiced her breathing to keep herself calm. She knew panicking, even under duress, wouldn't do anything but make the pain greater.