Glitchophobia

Prologue: Part One

The alarm rings from the room across from the little girl's bed. She pays it no mind, however, as she is engulfed in her slumber hoping this alarm won't be the end of her dreams of not a barren wasteland; but a land full of flowers, all she can keep to herself. Of course, it wasn't as if she would wake up in an actual wasteland and she knew that. She was just scared. Horrified by the thought that she now ranks as a middle schooler in the school hierarchy, unable to comprehend what true hierarchy looks like. Sure, for her, the word is just a flashy word she overheard from the grown-ups and she now believes it is "extremely cool" without the slightest worry of what it might represent.

With a gentle touch on her shoulders, she has to face reality once again as her sweet dreams of a terrain full of pretty flowers and colourful butterflies swarming her reach their end. Despite how upset she was, waking up to her mother's bright smile and her lovely pats for waking up without a fuss was enough band-aid to soothe her soul. To the grown-ups, this must have been a miracle bestowed upon by the very god itself! She got out of bed without waking up the entire neighbourhood on her first day of middle school. What more could they ask for?

The little girl in question is Maria. Specifically, Maria of the Quintrell household.

As her mother helped her with her early morning routine, Maria just followed her instructions with a thought process so empty she might resemble a zombie from an unsuspecting view from afar. Although her mother simply shrugged it off, assuming she couldn't sleep last night out of stress, which was partially true; she just didn't know the reason she slept late was rather different than she anticipated. Who would've guessed being able to pull off a dream with an extreme variety of natural beauty would require such mind exercise beforehand?

After little Maria had completed her morning skin care, they headed towards the kitchen. Although Maria was hungry, her appetite was also coaxed by the delicious smell radiated from the kitchen. After all, it was the father's cooking turn today. He had already created the perfect breakfast for her darling girl: two yolks, forming eyes reminiscent of the endless void that is the early morning sky. A bright tone of yellow so bright it could compete against a perfect panorama of a rainbow formed in light clouds showering ever so gently. Two strings of bacon as eyebrows paired with cheese falling next to the white portion of the egg, intended to complete the portrait. Although one may not recall it instantly, the father had undoubtedly made a good attempt at recreating Rapunzel with breakfast material. Art or food, it didn't matter. In Maria's eyes, it was perfection. A masterpiece on a plate. Her eyes lit up in excitement as her plate was served.

"Wow!" She yelled excitedly. "Is this Rapunzel, daddy?"

"You bet it is!" he replied casually, preparing her milk. "Daddy tried his best to recreate your favourite princess for his princess' first day!"

"Awww," she exhaled erratically, "This is too perfect! How could I ever eat her?"

"Come on, Maria," her mother intervened, "Surely you don't want to be late on your first day?"

Her voice suggested she sought not to scold her, instead warning her through sarcasm. Maria nodded in agreement and picked up her fork, poking the yolk.

"At least..." she thought to herself, "...I won't feel any guilt from eating you now, even though I still admire you..."

The father sat down after serving everyone tea and they all ate their breakfast in silence, yet maintained quite a jolly mood regardless.

From there on started the real challenge. Of course, it helped her anxiety that her parents agreed to drive for her today so she wouldn't get nervous on the bus from day one. That wasn't enough on its own, however, as her ecstasy kept getting to her head. She spent her entire summer travelling with her parents and not even spending any time with her friends. What if the atmosphere is too cold? What if her friends were hesitant to talk with her again? What if they changed? Or worse yet, maybe her new class were full of strangers. Wait... what if she gets bullied for her interest in books again? She was trying to push away the thoughts but it was to no avail as they attacked her one after the other, strengthening her fatigue from the lack of sleep even further.