Wake. UP. [Book Two]

Father Figure

*March 14th 2029*

I didn't sleep at all last night, and I doubt Mr. Perez did either. I had another nightmare, that caused me to sleepwalk around the apartment. I had no idea what I was doing, but Mr. Perez said I kept trying to hurt myself. He didn't go into detail on what exactly it was I was doing. I'm not surprised he wouldn't, he's probably still shook up. Even though I don't remember what I did, I had minor bruises allover my legs. This has happened before, it was more constant when I was younger, but now it's every blue moon. This was Mr. Perez's first time, so I wouldn't be surprised if he comes downstairs looking completely miserable. I actually feel bad for the man, no one should have to go through this, ever.

I decided I would beat Mr. Perez downstairs today, only because I didn't want him asking questions on whether I ate or not. He doesn't need to know that I'm dieting. And since Marcelena isn't here, she can't prosecute me either. I already had my bag packed, with my homework, textbooks and other school supplies, along with my notebook. I keep a notebook of logs of the strange things that have happened in my short fifteen years of life. Overall, I have an account of 137 strange activities that have happend, and almost all of them involve me being asleep, or in a dream state. I don't understand it, there's like a weird pattern. It's not every dream, but whenever something terrible has happened in my life, there's this figure lingering in the distance. In the past few dreams, though, he's gotten closer. Other times, he's nowhere to be found and I'm alone with the darkness, that I've learned to embrace.

I stopped my thoughts, when I heard his heavy footsteps trudging down the stairs. When he finally came in the kitchen, his hair was a mess, and he had bags under his eyes. His skin wasn't as vibrant and there were noticeable wrinkles. My face dropped, knowing that my problems weren't just affecting me, but Mr. Perez also. He didn't do anything to deserve the trouble I bring.

"You ate already?"

I nodded, without even thinking about it. I just wanted to be on my way to school already.

"Alright, let's go then."

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I was being sent to the office again, only because I slapped this girl. She made fun of my hair, which I had untwisted for the same reason. She was able to get the whole class to torment me, which led to me being in trouble, and her a trip to see the nurse.

While I waited for another meeting with the principal, I decided to draw out the dream I had last night. I sketched it out, and was almost finished, when Mr. Perez walked through the door. He looked tense and tired. Probably, because I made him miss work. He saw me and sighed, taking a seat right next to me. We sat in silence for a while.

"Uh, Mr. Perez?"

"Yes?"

"Mr. Townsend will see you now."

We both stood, and Mr. Perez strolled into the office first. I followed behind, taking a seat.

"Good afternoon, uh....Mr...Perez, is it? I understand, you're Mariah's new legal gaurdian."

"Yes, I am. What is this meeting about?"

"It has come to my attention, Mariah has been behaving mindlessly in her classes. This is the tenth time this semester and the second this week. She assaulted a girl in her class because she was being tormented. Now, we've given the girl a detention, but as for Mariah, she has one more strike before she is expelled."