The Dream Catcher

Chapter 2 Evelyn

After completing the word escape, my heart stopped beating. It was terrible. The last thing I remember was falling asleep. What had I done to deserve this? I am terrified. I solve the next word. Escape. Blue,. What am I supposed to get from that? Mike isn't even helping. All he can think about is the new video game update that he has to get in order to play tomorrow. I have a test in social studies!
I take the post-it notes and separate the vowels from the consonants while Mike is looking for a

trap door or some place to crawl or climb out.
¨Mike come see,¨ is say as I take a step back from the wall. It is blank and that doesn't help when you don't know the places of the words or how many you are supposed to use.
¨Why,¨ says Mike.
¨I figured some of this puzzle out,¨ I say as I solve another word.
¨Why is everything a puzzle to you?¨ says Mike.
I don't answer. Probably because I know he is right. I have never remembered a time when I wasn solving puzzles. When we were three, Mike would play with trucks and I would be solving my little Minnie Mouse puzzle in the corner because no one would acknowledge my smarts.

Escape. Blue, Purple. I didn't know. For once my brother acknowledged what I did yet he didn seem to care. I went to all of his sports games and calculated all of the points he scored because he wanted me to, but he never said thank you. Never. Not even at the end of the season.
♡
December 7th, 2011

The snow was falling and the wind chill made it feel like below zero, as little white flakes fell from the sky. It was close to Christmas, as me and my brother walked around making snow angels, in every inch of space on the yard. Mike walked up and threw a snowball at my head. It hurt. I quickly made a snowball and threw it right smack dab on the forehead. I could tell it hurt Mike.
¨Ouch. That really hurt. Why would you throw a snowball at my head?¨ exclaims Mike.
♡
We were four at the time, and yet had a pretty expansive vocabulary. That was the first memory I had of Mike. It is pretty sad that I remember him getting mad at me. I am looking around as I see Mike stressing about getting the new game update.
¨Mike, if you help, we can figure this out together. Just help me solve the post-it note words and we can get out of this room,¨ I say comforting so he will consider helping me.
¨About that,¨ says Mike in the voice that makes you think oh no but also what now. ¨ I stepped on this piece of paper about five minutes ago. I didn't think it was important.¨

I grabb it out of Mike's hand and read it over.
"Mike! Why would you keep this from me? This is so important and you didn't even give it to me! Why?" I scream as he backs away slowly.
"Chill out. I found this six minutes ago. You still have four to solve it," Mike explains.
"Four minutes! Who said I have to solve this? There are still fifteen letters left and I have no idea what they spell! Why don't you solve it and get us out of this place.
I had never yelled at Mike. I had always kept my emotions to myself even when I knew he was wrong. He seemed so aware that he made things difficult and yet didn't make an effort to help. We stood there for the next thirty seconds, quiet.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to be a pain," says Mike as he solves the next word.
Escape. Blue, Purple, Red,. I was surprised. I solved the next word. By my calculations the room should start shrinking in three minutes. We have six words left. Mike hands me what he thinks is another word.
"Here. Evelyn I didn't want to make you mad. I guess I was caught up in my video game," pronounces Mike.
I think of the time just before we fell asleep. My mother was missing. I had to comfort Mike. I realized if we were going to get out of this room, we would need to work together. Mike needed me, and I needed him.
"It is okay. I should not have freaked out. Let's finish this together," I say as Mike hands me the next post-it.
We solve into the last seconds of space. Mike and I get the next word. Green, I look at the last letters.

They are P, K, N, I. I glance at the sentence. It is all colors. Then I get it.
"Pink!" I say as Mike thinks the same word. He slaps the post-its onto the wall and we are done. Or not.
The room started shrinking. Why? Right as I started thinking what we had done wrong while ropes dropped from the ceiling. Mike and I grab onto them and try to pull ourselves out but it is impossible. Mike is crying at this point. Again.
"Mike, just say calm. We will get out if you stop worrying and just think!" I scream at Mike as he starts screaming the colors. That I when I get it.

♡

I have been smart my whole life. Tests came easy and quizzes were like chocolate cream pie. Sweet. Mike and I might be twins but we are definitely not alike. No offence but he is really bad at school. I try my harvest to help him but he doesn't listen. All he does is ignore me and I don't know how to help him. He doesn't get good grades and I try my hardest to make him want to learn, but he doesn't. I don't know what I am going to do with him.
♡
My heart is pounding. No. Soaring through the sky. I had an idea. I look at the cards. They had been a few feet away at this point science the room had shrunk. The colors of the ropes were the same colors that the cards had spelled out. I look at the ropes, then the cards.
" Mike," I exclaim. "We need to pull the ropes. Maybe it will do something." As we are pulling random ropes I get the idea to pull them in order.
"Stop," I say as Mike finishes taking his emotions out on the ropes. "Pull them in order of the notes," I say.
Mike pulls the first rope, I pull the second rope, Mike pulls the third until the room stops. We stop. Everything is quiet. We are still. The room starts spinning. Fast. Until I am about to puke, the spinning stops. All I can see is candy.