YTZ#12:
Another Inspiration, Another Fiction
This year is about new beginnings. I began a new story series yesterday, you know, for the kids.
And today, it’s a slightly older audience I write to, for my Young Titan Zone.
This new series will ideally become a graphic novel. But for now, enjoy the story!
What follows is a fictional account.
The Fear Grid, Part 1
“
Purity was a sixteen years old. She was beautiful, with a thin, strong face and deep yellow hair. She was happy almost always.
But this morning she woke up in a funk. She’d had a strange dream, gnawing at her waking consciousness with vague memories. The feelings from this night vision lingered, an unease she did not like. It felt as though something gripped her, right in the core of her being. It was the kind of feeling you get when you have to stand up in front of class for public speaking, or when you want to ask a boy out. Fear.
But what was she afraid of? She was in her cozy bed, wearing her favorite pajamas and…
“AN AN AN AN AN AN AN AN!”
Purity jumped fast, threw off the covers, and tumbled out of bed into a heap on the floor. After a moment of holding her body tightly in a ball, she realized what it was.
“Stupid alarm,” she muttered as she smacked the off button on her clock radio.
Purity was groggy and foggy. She rubbed her eyes. She began to pick herself up and get ready for school. As she did so, she couldn’t help but notice the feelings of unease that still clutched at her solar plexus.
What was this feeling? She asked herself. Why do I feel afraid? Of what? That must have been some dream, but… I can’t quite remember…
As she dressed herself, she began to become aware of the fact that her room looked different. It had a dark, bluish tint coating it. Everything seemed coated in some heavy thickness of deep, unsaturated darkness. She rubbed her eyes again. Am I still dreaming? She looked out the window. Clearly it was a bright, sunny day. But even the world outside seemed thick with this dark coloration. The sun itself seemed muted from its normal brilliance.
What is going on with me? She pinched herself. “Ow,” she squealed.
Ok, this is not happening. I am not going crazy. I am not losing my mind. I am not going blind. Am I? She closed her eyes tightly and try to sponge the whole thing away. The feeling of fear, the dark discoloration of her vision, the unsurity of what was happening. Nothing was stopping it.
That is, until she remembered something exciting she had planned to do today.
“Gavin!” she just about melted when thinking of him. He was her crush and she planned to ask him out today. To the dance this weekend. Butterflies of excitement replaced the grip in her belly and exuberant joy overwhelmed her. A smile crept over her face. She opened her eyes and sighed with relief. Everything looked normal again. Her room was bright, the sun shone through and the world outside was warm. The fear that had gripped her was gone, and the dream she had woken from was washed from her mind.
Ah, that’s better, thought Purity.
Purity grabbed her bag, had a quick bowl of cereal downstairs, and was halfway through the front door when her mom called after her.
“Purity, are you already leaving?”
“Yea, mom, I gotta go, I’m running late.”
“Ok, honey, have a good day. Don’t forget to..”
But the words trailed off as Purity was already out the door. Infinity High School was a five minute walk from her home. All she had to do was head down Cherry Blossom Lane towards Grove Street and continue for three or four blocks to the school yard.
The school was set back on the other side of the lot between Cherry Blossom and Lilly, with the recess field on her side as she approached. The tall fence always felt like it gave her a little buffer as she headed towards the school building. One last moment to herself before joining the madness of school.
But Purity loved high school. She was outgoing and had many friends. And today, she had an exciting plan to enact: ask out Gavin.
“Purity!” shouted a familiar voice. It was her best friend, Grace.
Grace was fair and pretty, with freckles sprawled across her cheeks. She was shy, but friendly and quite empathic. A short, curly bob of brown wrapped her head.
“Hey Gracie!” crooned Purity with a hug as the girls met.
“So, you gonna do it today, huh? Ask out Gavin Finch, the most popular boy in school. I can’t believe you’re doing it,” said Grace blushing.
“Don’t psyche me out or anything, Gracie,” Purity chided, looking at her fiend. “Why are you blushing? I’m the one asking him.”
“Yea, but he’s only like the guy every girl at Infinity wants to ask out. I mean I would if I could…” she trailed off shyly.
“Hey, don’t be so hard on yourself, Gracie. You’d be a great catch for Gavin any day.” Purity smiled.
“Thanks, you don’t have to say that. I know when a guy’s out of my league.”
“Stop it. You’re beautiful. And totally worth it.”
Grace gave a meek but sincere smile, like she really appreciated the comment. Still, she kept quiet after that.
“Well, to be honest, Gracie, I am more worried about my history test today.”
Grace gasped, “Mrs. Astaby’s class? Uh, God. She’s the worst. Like, why would we ever need to know all those dates from, like, thousands of years ago. Uh, all my tests were terrible. Only thing that saved me was her easy extra credit. Just meant more work.”
Mrs. Astaby had just switched from ninth to tenth grade history. Grace always reminded Purity… “I am so glad I didn’t get Mrs. Astaby again this year. Once was enough.”
Yep, there is it. Almost every day.
The two girls’ conversation got them to the front door of school. Dozens of students were filtering through the double door into the open hallway and heading to their lockers. Grace and Purity were on the same row, just a few lockers apart.
“Did you ask Leo?” Purity asked her friend.
“Uh, yea. No. I didn’t,” Grace puttered.
“Hey, no worries. I’m only getting around to asking Gavin today. Hey, you should do it today, too. I mean, I’m gonna want you to be at the dance, too, you know. And I want you to have a date. Come on, let’s do it together.”
“Ok,” Grace perked up. “Yea, I will do it. Ok.”
“That’s the spirit, Gracie.”
Grace closed her locker and turned the combination, then came and put her hand on her friend’s shoulder. “Thanks, Purity.”
The bell rang for first period and the two girls parted ways.
Here goes, thought Purity. History.
Mrs. Astaby was in rare form that day.
“Ok class,” she rolled her voice like war drums. “Test day. That means your best behavior! No cheating, I WILL be watching. And I will be confiscating phones! Holy Roman Empire. Dates, names, places. Multiple choice, fill in the blank, and three…” the class moaned notably. “Three essays,” continued Mrs. Annaby sternly. “And I want multiple paragraph answers, 3-5 at least.”
She finished handing out the last of the test papers to Purity, who sat in the front and far left by the window. “Good luck,” added the teacher.
We’re gonna need it, thought Purity.
She pined over the questions the entire hour.
Was it Charles the Fat, or Charles the Bald?
Dates were particularly troublesome, and Mrs. Astaby’s idea of a fun multiple choice is to keep all the dates within ten years time, so nothing was obvious.
When Purity got to the extra credit she breathed a sigh of relief, and thought: finally, one that I know…
—List the seven deadly sins of the church—
She quickly scrawled:
1. Greed
2. Lust
3. Gluttony
4. Envy
5. Sloth
6. Anger
7. …Seven, seven, seven. What was number seven. Damn, I have to get all of them to score bonus points? cursed Purity to herself.
What was the last sin?
Suddenly a feeling overcame her. A feeling she quickly noticed didn’t feel good. And it felt familiar. Like… this morning…
She was there again. In this place of gripping fear. The room turned dark and cold around her. This time the feeling was more intense than last. It clutched her so hard she about gasped. She reached for her heart with her hand, clawing at herself, trying to breathe. Trying to feel something calm, happy, better. It began to feel as though she were swirling, spiraling around… or more like the room was spiraling around her. It took such hold of her that she placed her one hand strongly on her desk and forced herself with all her might to stand up and try to escape the feeling…
“
Please follow along with the story and comment if you like, share if you must.
Thanks for reading.
Blessings to you,
Matthew