The Tinkerbell Effect (On Hold)

The Tinkerbell Effect: Chapter Four

A/N: I am really sorry for the ridiculous wait on this chapter!!  The sad part is I had most of it written weeks ago- and just didn't get around to finishing it until now!  I'm up in college for the fall now, which is part of it.  The other is just plain procrastination :D  Anyways, I had the time and had the mood to finish up chapter four, though not as flowingly as I wish.  Oh well.  Enjoy!  Comment!

Chapter 4

     My brain is on overload.

     I haven’t even been able to process the fire incident because not a minute later, Diane had entered the house and found me trembling on the floor.  It took a lot of bull to explain why I was shaking and flinching from her touch.  How could anyone explain that without sounding utterly insane?

     So much has been happening since then that all thoughts are blurring together.  I can’t sleep because of the dreams and fear of waking up with a new injury, I am swamped with homework and upcoming tests for mid-semester, graduation pressing even closer and suffocating me with college and job lectures, and most petty of all- the rumor going around that I am a witch, or just a freak in general.  Like I thought, Jason failed to bring up what led to his face full of earth.

     The stares seemed to double the week after it happened, the whispers more urgent.  I tried to ignore it, but ‘freak’ and ‘mutant’ struck a nerve deeper than I would have liked.  All of a sudden I was hiding in the bathroom during break just to evade the penetrating eyes.

     One day I was hiding out and a couple of girls came in to freshen their make-up.  The moment they pulled the mascara out, I was thier target of gossip.  I was in a stall already and went stock still at the sound of my name.

     “I heard she was raised by her super religious grandmother before she was kicked out for doing chants or something,” a girl with a braid said.  The blonde beside her giggled before shaking her head.

     “No, she doesn’t have any family.  That’s why she lives with that couple who cant get their own kid.  They were so desperate that they settled for her.”

     My jaw just about hit my lap at that one and I was shaking by the time they left.  I just kept repeating, it’s a rumor, in my head to keep from tearing up.

     Feeling out of place since I was five didn’t help my self esteem any either.  Ever since it became apparent I was of abnormal beauty, nothing about my life felt right.  Like a piece was missing.  One can only hold the overwhelming emotions in for so long and I was about to crack.

     Then last week I found an escape.  I walked past a flyer that showcased the local environmental rights group having a meeting for the public to learn more about their cause.  The dark bold letters seemed to scream at me, saying “Come!”  I don’t know what is was, but I had the strongest urge to go to the meeting so I ripped the flyer off the electrical post it was stapled to and folded it into my back pocket.

     That urge only became stronger as the week passed and the time came to go.  I sit on my bed, tugging my boots over my skinny jeans roughly and tying them tight.  Loewen had gotten them for me for my birthday last year, but I hardly ever wear them.  I usually stick with my sandals- or no shoes at all if I can.  But tonight is rather chilly despite it being early March, so I make an exception.  Before I leave the room, I grab a light sweater and my West Virginia cap to be safe.  God forbid someone see me there.

     It is only half past seven, but the sun is already sinking down to the horizon, taking its warmth with it.  I rub my hand up and down my bare arm while walking to the sidewalk.  The meeting isn’t that far away from the house so I decide to walk instead of taking the car, especially since Steve and Diane don’t know where I am off to.