Hello Peoples of the Earth!

So, here's the first chapter of the new story I'm writing. For now, I'm going to call it 

No Straight Transformed, mainly because it uses the two main characters from the original No Straight Lines, but also because I can't think of a new name for it quite yet. And, since this is basically raw material, I may also make adjustments and re-post the new chapters, if the adjustments are noticeable enough.

Enjoy!

Chapter One

I woke up abruptly, to a strange beeping sound. What was it? Groggy, I crawled out of bed and turned the light on, blinding myself. Oops. I stumbled across my room to my alarm clock, which I proceeded to whack. It stopped beeping. Ah, silence… 

How much sleep had I gotten last night? I did the math in my head. Uh… about four hours. Well, that wasn’t too good. Then again, I have done worse. 

I got dressed, checking myself for bruises, making sure I wouldn’t be suspected of anything when I made my way downstairs. I brushed my teeth and closed the door to my room, heading for the stairs. As I walked down, hand on the railing, I heard that the news was on the TV. I listened in as I prepped for school.

“—and, last night, one of the most untraceable criminals in the city was found knocked unconscious by the man people are calling The Savior. The man swooped out of nowhere, then vanished just as quickly, as witnessed by one Katherine Thomas, who says she is lucky to be alive.”

“Well,” my dad said, who was in the kitchen waiting for the coffeemaker to be done, “he is sure getting a lot of thanks. I wonder what our world would be like without him…” By then, the coffee was done, which he took downstairs to his lab. My dad’s a scientist, but he prefers to work at home. 

Smiling to myself, I got out the box of cereal and poured some into a bowl of milk. Sitting down in the kitchen, munching on my breakfast, the TV in the other room, I heard the voice change from the news reporter to Katherine.

“—don’t know where he came from,” she was saying. “But it was a miracle. Had he appeared a second later I may not be alive today.”

“And what are we to call this ‘Savior’?” asked the reporter.

“I don’t know,” replied Katherine. “But whoever he is, he’s a hero.”

I smiled again. Having finished my bowl of cereal, I put my dishes away. Checking the time, I realized I had better get going if I was going to catch my bus. It always got there earlier than it was supposed to. 

I ran down the street to the corner that we called a bus stop, where the bus was already picking the other kids up. Hurry, hurry! I stepped on the bus stairs just before he took off. Whew! I chose a seat that was unoccupied, flopped down, and took out my phone to listen to music. 

No one knows my secret. Not a single soul. I won’t let it happen, because of one simple fact: I don’t want to be noticed. Not really. And if I told anyone my secret, anyone at all, word would spread. Because, if they all knew who I am, that I’m the mysterious “Savior” everyone was talking about, that I secretly sneak out at night, then everyone would really start talking. I’d earn friends, but I’d also earn enemies. 

That’s the thing about being known: there is always someone out there who hates you. If you’re less than popular, then people hate you because you reflect the ugly inside of themselves. If you’re popular, then people hate you because they can never be like you. That’s why it’s better to be invisible, filler for someone else’s world so they don’t feel alone. I certainly feel alone at times, but that’s a price to pay for doing what I do. Although, from experience, I would never wish it on someone else, especially a high schooler. High school is so confusing. It’s better to have someone help you through it then rough it alone.

Man, I feel crazy saying all of this. But it’s true.

The bus pulled up at the school at its usual time, half an hour before school actually started. I have no idea why the bus comes by so early, it just does. And I’m fine with that.

I walked over to my usual group of friends, who also arrive early for school. It’s just a thing, to be there early. My friends were talking about a television show called Doctor Who, in which a man called The Doctor, who’s an alien, travels in space and time, falling in love, making mistakes, becoming more human than any of us could ever be. It’s a wonderful show, classified as sci-fi, which in turn classifies us as nerds. Whatever. I’m not that much of a nerd – just in some honors classes. I haven’t really accomplished much in my lifetime, except, you know, the obvious. But it isn’t obvious to anyone else but me. So I just blend in.

My friend Chris cracked a joke, and I was laughing with everyone else, when I blinked, and at the moment when my eyes opened again, I was suddenly looking at her. Katherine, the girl I saved the other night. I’ve known her all my life. Our parents have been friends for almost forever, and they thought it would be a good idea to have us grow up together. And it was, for a time. We enjoyed each other’s company, helped each other when times got rough. 

But then, middle school happened, and she grew up. I no longer qualified to be her friend. Sometimes I liked to take that as a hint that she actually liked me, but I knew the truth: I had my head in the clouds. I reminded her of the good old days too much, days we both missed terribly. But a girl is not expected to climb trees and pretend to be Tarzan, when she gets to a certain age. No, she’s forced to grow up. And that breaks my heart. Why can’t a girl do what she likes, as boys do?

I know this because sometimes I catch her looking at me, with the saddest look, and when I do catch her, she puts so much emotion into her face it’s hard not to know what she’s thinking.

Right then, she looked me in the eye, looking so sad, but happy at the same time, a look of yearning on her face, yearning for an abandoned friendship… and then she walked on, staring at her red Converse High Tops, red hair blowing in the wind.

I wonder, when will I have to grow up?