• “Laura, do you need to be excused?” asked Mr. Knish. I nodded then looked at my book, and started drawing doodles to make it look like I was taking notes, but I could barely concentrate with Trace Baines the “hottest” guy of the school, who keeps stealing looks every 10 seconds. He had dirty blond hair, was strong, and flawless. Dreamy, right? It’s not that I’m interested; it’s just that he may be interested in me. Or he could be looking at Karla Ores who sits one seat left of me, with her long black hair, cheekbones and sexy body. She looked perfect; all the boys would die for her, except Trace. That is probably why she flirts with him all the time. I sighed; well I have to be dreaming then if I thought he was staring at me. I just kept my eyes on the Rose I was drawing.
    After class I walked to my locker. Jane came along she smiled and gave me a bag; I guessed there was cookies in it. “Hello, here is your cookie bag” she said cheerfully, I smiled and took the bag from her. Jane was one of the prettiest and happiest girls I ever met, with her red hair hanging loose down her back and bright green eyes that showed from a mile away and cute dimples. Unlike me, I was a brunette with choppy hair hanging from a pony tail and light brown eyes with high cheekbones. Then there was Paul with a bright smile on his face waving his book and running towards me and Jane. Paul was cute and smart; I even use to have a crush on him in grade 4. He had black hair and bright gray eyes. Jane and Paul would be there for me every day since third grade. I walked to my locker with them, while Jane was talking to Paul about the history assignment, I kept thinking about Trace and Karla.
    “Hello, earth to Lori!” Jane said while waving her hand in front of my face. I looked at her and smile. Paul said “Be careful Jane, she might bite.” We all laughed and then I dug out ten dollars from my bag and followed Jane and Paul to the cafeteria.
    “Lori, how come you don’t eat a lot? You’re so skinny!” Jane asked while taking a big bite from her salad. It was true, I’m 15 and I can fit in a size 3 I shrugged and put away my half eaten sandwich. Paul was reading his book silently while taking small sips from his juice box. I looked around the cafeteria while Jane was talking to her sister.
    I felt something hit my stomach. I checked under the table but there was nothing there and the affect from the hit seemed to be going all over my body, then it stopped. I didn’t care anyway. I looked up and there Trace was, staring at me. I looked behind me to see if there was a hot chick, but there wasn’t. I smiled and waved, Trace looked away and laughed. I felt embarrassed, was he laughing at me?
    Paul noticed and smiled, “You have something on your face.” He handed me a napkin and a spoon. I checked my reflection in the spoon and there it was; a blue mark just above my nose. “Oh no, what is this!?” I shouted at Paul, his eyes widen and almost fell back, but he caught himself and tapped Jane on the shoulder who was still chatting with her sister. Jane turned around and she saw the mark on my face. She laughed out loud then said the mark looked like a moon. I ran out of the cafeteria hiding my face hoping no one noticed. I ran into the washroom and looked into the mirror. The mark was gone; I thought to myself why the mark there was when I was in the cafeteria?
    I heard footsteps walking closer to the door, I washed my hands then went to dry them. Then Karla walked in and gave me a hope she doesn’t talk to me look. I didn’t look at her and walked away then she called my name, I turned back.
    “Yeah?” I said acting as if I needed to go somewhere urgent. She gave me a dirty look while checking her makeup
    “What?” I didn’t answer. Karla fixed her hair then walked away without looking back. I checked the mirror again, checking for the mark. It wasn’t there; I smiled then walked back to the cafeteria.

    Jane was texting as always and Paul was probably at the library. I went to sit with Jane and she looked up at me,
    “Hey I see you washed that moon off” she said giggling.
    “Actually it disappeared” She didn’t look like she was interested, so I moved on to a different subject. ”Hey, who you texting?” I replied, trying to sound interested.
    “Tim. Guess what he wrote me!” She blushed when she said that. Tim was her boyfriend; they were dating for about 3 months now and had their first kiss one month ago.
    “What did he text you?” I was checking out the blank paper in front of me. Jane showed me her screen and all it said was I love you.
    I gave her a look, “isn’t this what he tells you every day?”
    She smiled then replied, “Yes but I love it when he says that”. She started to text again. I just smirked and left the table, but before I could, Jane asked me: “We still on for the mall tomorrow?” I nodded and left.


    I headed for class when Jaime, Jane’s sister, caught up.
    “Do you think Paul is cute?” she asked with her dimples showing, sometimes I wish I was as cute as her.
    “Umm, sure I guess. Why?”
    She wondered off into space in her mind then came back. “I don’t know, but I think I like him. Don’t tell my sister or she will tell everyone! And don’t tell Paul!”
    “Ok I promise I won’t tell”
    She smiled then hugged me. “Thanks, so far you’re the only one I trust.” She winked then skipped away. I walked away and thought I heard her call my name, I turned around and no one was behind me. I turned around again and guess what? Trace standing in front of me staring me down.
    “Hey Laura.” He said with a smile.
    “H-h-hi.”
    “Ha-ha, cute. So I was wondering if you were going to the dance next month, if you want to go with me.” He brushed the hair off my forehead, charming, but too early for a date.
    “Umm actually I wasn’t going to go, I’m not really a fan of dances, but it’s a maybe.” I tried not to sound harsh. He frowned “Well tell me when you make up your mind.” Then he walked away. I checked my watch, No! Five minutes to get to class! I ran through the hallways and dodging people. I ran pass the janitor and he screamed something at me I thought it was something like “Be careful-.” But then I knew it was too late and everything went black.

    “Laura! Laura! Laura! Wake up!” the voice was rumbling through my head, but I couldn’t get up. I felt arms around me, I opened my eyes and light went in, the head in front of me was a blur at first, I couldn’t tell who it was. But as the vision got better it was Paul who was holding me and his face showed worry. I looked around and saw Jane behind Paul and Ms. Louise standing on the other side of me. Karla and Trace was standing at the back of the crowd.
    “Oh God, Laura your okay!” Jane said behind Paul. “Paul your hogging her again!” I looked up and saw his face, it looked like he was going to cry one minute ago now he looks freaked out, he let me go and stood up. Jane moved in and stared at my face.
    “Umm Jane? Is there something wrong?” Jane wouldn’t say anything but just stare. I heard whispering behind me, probably some rumor spreaders. Jane took out her mirror and put it in front of my face. My eyes widen when I saw that the mark was there. I wanted to scream. I took Jane and ran to the washroom.
    “Quick, do you have any cover up?” I asked.
    “No I don’t bring cover up to school.” She was playing with her hair. I ignored her and looked back at the mirror, and the mark was gone. Now I was scared.
    I walked out of the washroom with Jane following me. Paul was waiting for us at my locker, he asked if I was alright, then the rest of the day we didn’t speak to each other.

    At the end of the day I was sitting with Jane on the bus, she was too busy talking about Tim. She seemed to have forgotten what had happened after lunch, I was surprised that a person can be that forgetful. I kept sneaking peeks at Paul, who was sitting two seats down and across from us. Me and Jane got off the bus and headed for my house, we were planning on studying together, but then while we’re walking Jane’s cell rang. She picked it up and talked for about 2 minutes then she was gone.




    I was lying on my bed, thinking about the events that happened today. First the Mark in the cafeteria then Jamie telling me she’s in love with Paul then Trace asking me out then blacking out after slipping on wet floor then seeing the mark again. It all happened so fast, I couldn’t remember if anything else happened.
    Ginger, my cat, trotted into my room, jumped on my bed and lay next to me, I started to pet her.
    “I guess you want to hear about my day.” Ginger purred and rested her head on my arm. I started talking about my random events then after I looked at ginger and she was fast asleep. I smiled and stroked her softly. The only thing that was on my mind was the mark, how come it keeps coming and disappearing? I got up from the bed and went downstairs.
    I couldn’t think right so I decided to go take a walk. I got my keys and went outside. I looked around and saw a strange figure beside me, I wanted to scream but I couldn’t. Instead I ran. Just keep running and it will be all over, I kept telling myself that. I ran until I reached the lake, I looked to see if the figure was there, it wasn’t. I gasped for air then sat down at the side of the lake. I watched the ducks and their ducklings swim together. I started getting a little tired so I closed my eyes and drifted off…
    “Coming for you…”
    “You better watch out…”
    “Run… Run… Never look back…”
    "Be careful...When your with him..."
    The voices, kept repeating themselves and they kept getting louder and louder
    “LAURA!”
    I woke up screaming and it was dark, all there was is the moon, how long was I asleep?
    “Laura?”
    I turned around and saw a two bright eyes staring right into mine.
    “Paul?” I opened my eyes wider, and it wasn’t Paul who was standing right above me it was Trace.
    “It’s Trace, I saw you lying on the ground and wanted to know why you were, so I went over and saw that you were asleep. I waited for about 20 minutes and called your name, and then you woke up.” Why would Trace want to wait for me? Is he playing some kind of game? Trace pulled me up and held me close to him; I could hear his heart beat.
    “W-why would you wait for me?” I stared up trying to find his eyes, but he kept his head up. He didn’t answer. I tried to see what he was looking at, but instead I saw the lake glistening in the moon light. I looked back at Trace, with the moonlight showing in his eyes, I couldn’t look away; it was if I was staring at an angel. I didn’t know what to say and what to do, I just stared.
    “I have to go.” I said silently and looked at my untied shoelaces.
    “Ok, bye.” Trace then let go of me and left to his car. He switched on the engine and drove the vehicle to the road. I looked around to see if there was anyone close by.
    I walked a few couple of minutes. I kept thinking about the dream. What were those voices? Were they trying to tell me something?

    I reached home and got my keys, unlocked the door and went in.
    “LAURA! Where have you been? I’ve been so worried! First your school called and told me you had an accident, now you come home at 9pm? Care to explain?” Mom’s face was all red, I didn’t want to upset her more then she is now.
    “I was just out for a walk and went to sit by the lake then I fell asleep.” I shrugged as I put the keys on the counter.
    “Still that doesn’t mean sleeping till 9 pm! Laura, you had me so worried!” She tried to hold my face, but I shook her off.
    “But mom, I didn’t know what time it was! I just woke up!” I didn’t want to talk anymore, I ran up into my room and dropped on the bed, I dug my head into the pillow.

    The phone rang later that night. I looked at the clock, 10 past 11. I shrugged and picked up the phone.
    “Hello?”
    “Hey Lori, it’s me Jane.”
    “Oh, hey Jane, what’s up?”
    “Oh, nothing much, just that Tim asked me to go to the dance with him!!” she almost screamed it; I heard her dog barking in the background. “Who’s a good boy? Roll over, roll over! Good boy!!”
    “That’s cute.”
    “I know!! That’s why I need your help with dress and shoe shopping tomorrow!”
    “I was talking about the dog. And isn’t the dance like 1 month from now?”
    “So? If I procrastinate, then all the good dressed will be taken!”
    “Umm ok fine I’ll go with you.”
    “Thanks Laura you’re the best! So what’s up with you lately?”
    “Not much really. I’ve just been thinking a lot.”
    “Oh, is it about that moon?”
    “Kind of.”
    “Well I have to go my dog is about to pounce if I don’t give it attention. Talk to you tomorrow.”
    “Bye.” I hung up the phone.

    I finally got to sleep after listening to the lullaby my grandmother use to play me on the piano. It was along time since she passed away, but I still miss her, I miss how she uses to tell me her stories of when she was a child, when she held me in her arms. I just wish her time wasn’t so early. She died of lung cancer when I was about 6 years old.

    I woke up in the middle of the night sweating. Was my room that hot? I got up and changed into a tank top and shorts. I noticed the door was shut, I thought I left that open. I walked over to the door and tried opening it, it was locked. “What is this?” I tried wiggling the handle but it won’t open. I felt something hit my head.
    “She’s not ready!” it was a female voice who was saying that. I tried to get up, but I couldn’t it seemed as if a wolf was on my back. But what did she mean by not ready?

    I woke up screaming, I looked around to see where I was. It seemed I was on my bedroom floor. I sat up and my head was still throbbing. I looked at the clock; it was about 3:45 am. I put on my robe and went down stairs. I sat on the couch, what did she mean by not ready? What am I getting ready for? What is this game? All these questions ringing in my head.
    “Laura, you ok? You haven’t talked to me since we entered the store.” Jane asked as she was staring at the different colors of dresses.
    “Huh, yea. I think that dress would look sexy on you.” I couldn’t tell her about my dream; she would probably laugh again.
    “You mean this one?” She held up a black slender dress in her hand while checking out the other dresses.
    “Yea, you should go try it on.”
    “Ok Lori, ill be right back.” When she left for the change rooms I sat there alone. Staring at nothing and thinking about nothing.
    “Hey Laura.”
    I turned around and saw Paul.
    “Oh hey Paul, why are you here?”
    “My mom wanted to go shopping for Christmas.” He shrugged.
    “But it’s summer.” I eyed him suspiciously.
    “She likes being early, and all the Christmas items are cheap at this time of year.” He smiled a little.
    “Hey Paul, doing some Christmas shopping?” I heard Jane from behind me. I turned around and my eyes widened.
    “Wow Jane you look Beautiful!” I wasn’t lying her body fitted perfectly into the dress and it was sexy.
    “Yea, I’m guessing you too are going somewhere special.” He was checking out Jane’s dress.
    I laughed, “No Paul, she’s just picking out a dress for the dance next month.”
    “Oh I see. Well I’ll let you too have your girl time.”
    “Wait Paul you can stay.” Jane winked at me.
    “Really?” Paul looked up quickly; I saw sparkles in his eyes.
    “Yea, you can be our shopping bag holder.” Jane grinned.
    “You mean yours; I’m not doing any shopping today.” I said.
    “Oh, are you sure I couldn’t just hang out?” Paul asked while looking at how many bags Jane was already carrying.
    “Paul, Paul, Paul, you have to understand us girls, we need our shopping time. If we don’t have it then we are just nothing but fashion less freaks. And we need our bag holders.” She smiled. I smiled along with her. He looked frustrated.
    “Fine ill hold your bags.” He rolled his eyes. Jane gave him the bags and I went to look at some accessories while Jane was talking to Paul about some video she saw online.
    Staring at pointless signs, is somehow entertaining but not amusing.
    “Laura?” Paul asked with a curious face. “Who are you going to the dance with?” I blanked out for a second.
    “Well, I’m not sure. I mean a few guys already asked me but I told them all maybe.” I wanted to walk away but I couldn’t leave my friends. Jane caught my arm, “So who asked you?” she winked.
    My face started burning up.
    “Oh just a few guys”
    “Like who?”
    “Hmmm, well first it was Eric then it was Josh” I told them about 5 guys “And finally Trace.”
    “No way, Lori! Trace Baines asked you out?!” Jane’s eyes could tell how surprised she was.
    “Yea it was yesterday.” My face felt really hot, I could feels sweat falling down my cheeks. “Guys, I got to go. I’ll see you on Monday.”
    “Ok Bye Laura” Jane and Paul answered.