Journey by Jay T. (the gingerbread man read aloud .txt) 📖

The alarm rang, and I hit the snooze again. This happened on a regular basis. My parents had to drag me out of bed for me to wake up. That’s exactly what they did today. I got dragged out of bed, and I finally woke up and did everything like I normally would. I brushed my teeth, put on clothes, did my hair and makeup, and went downstairs to eat breakfast. I had a pretty normal teenage life. I just came back last night, from Atlanta, from visiting my aunt Josephine. I visit her every summer, all summer. My aunt Josephine is exactly like my parents. My parents are people who have worked very hard to get to where they are today. They practically own this town. That’s how people know who I am. “It’s Mae Sharpe. Her ancestors founded this town and now her dad is the mayor while her mom is the supreme judge.” They taught me to only care what I think, not to get the approval of others. In this town, Sharpston, I have to get the approval of others, especially my parent’s. I am the type of person who has to be perfect. That’s the reason I don’t know who, in my life, really knows who I am. I don’t know who really watches for the true me, or who just sees the surface of who I am.
It’s the first day of school, and my parents are about to leave for work.
“Mom, I just came back last night, and I had to take a cab home. The least you and dad could do is drive me home from being away for three months. How does a parent forget to pick up their youngest child from the airport?” I rant.
“Sorry, darling. Your father and I had a tough day yesterday.” My mother stated.
I rolled my eyes and walked out of the kitchen and into the front hallway. I did one last check in the hallway mirror, grabbed my keys and my jacket, and left the house. I drove to school, and when I got out of my car, Chance Hyde, was waiting for me. He was my boyfriend that I had been dating for four years. Although we’ve known each other for all of our lives, we were best friends who decided to take a chance and try what other people urged us to do for a long time.
“Chance,” I yelled when I ran up to him and gave him a big hug. “Oh, I’ve missed you.”
“I missed you too,” He smiled and gave me a kiss on my forehead. “That was a long summer without you.”
“Maybe next summer I won’t go to Atlanta.” I say.
“You better not. I miss you like crazy and so does everyone else.” He holds my hand, and we start towards the school. I see all my friends waiting by my locker, and they all tell me how much they missed me, and how much I missed over the summer. My best friend, Lia Adams, kept avoiding my eyes. She does that when she had a secret that she wanted to keep from me. I ignored it, for the moment.
Classes and school went by in a blur, and it was time for cheerleading practice. I was nominated for captain at the end of last year, so my coaches made me and the other nominee, Kierra Summers, who is a close friend, co-captains. I met the new members, and then went through what they had learned over the summer. I was a flyer, and so we went through all the routines, and then some. After practice ended, I went to talk to Kierra.
“Hey, Key, what’s going on with Lia? She barely talked to me all summer and now she is completely avoiding me.” I say.
“You might want to talk to her about that. I don’t want to get involved with what I shouldn’t be involved in,” Kierra states. “I want to stay neutral in everything.”
“What are you talking about? You make it seem like its bad.” I look at her poker face.
“Oh, just talk to Lia about this. I’m sure you will figure out what is going on, real quick.” Kierra said that she had to go home and quickly said goodbye.
I left shortly after Kierra left, and I stopped by Lia’s house. I knocked on the front door and Mrs. Adams let me go upstairs to Lia’s room. I stop outside the closed door, wondering if I should intrude or not. I was about to knock when I hear Lia’s voice.
“Stop it. We’re supposed to be sneaky. What if someone hears us?” she says.
“Who’s going to hear? Your mother is downstairs and your father is at work,” a familiar voice says. “Besides, it’s not like Mae is standing outside the door listening to this.” It was Chance. My heart dropped. My mind did not comprehend this. How could they be together? Were they together the whole summer? No, no, they couldn’t be.
I quietly said goodbye to Mrs. Adams and left. I drove to Kierra’s house, and sat outside and debated whether or not to ask her. Instead, I left and drove home. I decided not to think of it.
“Hey, anyone home? Hello? I’m home.” I call out into my house.
“Miss Sharpe, welcome home.” Mary, my family’s maid, walked out from the living room.
“Hello, Mary. Are my parents at home? Wait, don’t answer that. I’ll be in my room.” I go into my room and sleep.
I was driving, and I had just left from a party. It was hot…I was in Atlanta. Where was I going? I was driving, but as I looked out the windows, there was nothing but fields of grass. Where am I? My tire blew out, and I was left on the side of the road, trying to call someone, anyone, to come help me. I hated being alone. There were cars that drove by, but they didn’t stop for me. They kept driving. Why wasn’t anyone helping me? I look in the trunk of my car to see if there was an extra tire, and there was, but I had no tools. As I waited for someone to stop, I lay on the roof of the car and looked at the night sky. The stars were trying to tell me something. “Be careful. Your life is going to end shortly.” I gasp and get down from the roof. I get back in my car and think about what that meant. I turn on the radio, and soon fall asleep. There’s knocking on the window. I wake and see that it’s a man. I roll down my window, and he asks if he can help me. I tell him my tire is blown, and I have no tools. He says that he has some in his car. He walks back to his car, and gets his tools. When he comes back, I thank him for helping me. He says that it’s no problem. I sit in my car while the man works on my car. I fall asleep again, and wake up with the man slamming a wrench into my chest, and him walking away. I try to yank the wrench out of my chest, but the air around me is thinning. I gasp and try to cry for help. No one stops, they just keep driving, and the scene around me starts to blur. I cannot see anything, and my heart starts to slow. I keep trying to gasp for air, but it is suffocating. I start to become weak as my tears that are built up in my eyes fall into my lap and my body stills…
“Miss! Miss, wake up!” Mary is shaking me awake.
“What happened? Mary, where am I?” I am crying hysterically.
“Miss, I was fixing you dinner, and I heard you screaming, and crying. You were having a bad dream. But you are safe now. Why don’t you come down and sit in the kitchen to keep my company?” Mary says.
“Sure.” I wipe my face and get up from my bed.
A few hours passed and my parents finally came home. They went straight to their room, and they didn’t even notice me at the dinner table, waiting for them.
“Mary, why don’t you put their plates away? I’ll just eat by myself.” I ate, and finished then I got up, and left. I didn’t want to stay in the house, so I decided to drive around.
I found a little bar, and I went in. I drank a beer, and then I went to walk around the bar. I played pool a bit, and decided to hit the road again. I was driving, and I didn’t notice the time. It was 4:30 am. I just passed a sign that said “You are now leaving Ever Forest”. I guess I was in that bar for longer than I had thought. Ever Forest was two hours away from Sharpston. If I went any further, I would leave Virginia. I turned around and headed towards Sharpston.
When I got back home, it was 7:30. My parents were downstairs, and they didn’t look a bit worried. They didn’t even notice when I walked in, or that I was gone all night apparently. I sighed and went to my room to get ready as fast as I could for school. I left the house soon afterwards. I parked in my usual spot, and go out. No one was there yet, but the teachers and the staff. I walked into the principal’s office and I asked Dr. Accardo if I could spend some time in the nurse’s office to sleep off my sleep deprivation. He agreed, and said that I would have to miss practice tonight to catch up on what my teachers were saying.
I slept all day that day, and I woke up when school had ended. Dr. Accardo had excused me from all classes today. That’s a plus on being part of the founding family. I went to my locker and saw a note. “We need to talk.” There was no name, but it said to meet behind the bleachers after I finish everything. I talk to all my teachers and they said that I didn’t miss much. I left the school and went to the football field and stood behind the bleachers.
“You showed up.” A strange voice said.
“Hello? Who’s there?” I call. Looking around, I see nothing. I feel goose bumps, but it wasn’t even cold outside.
“You can’t see me. I am here to warn you.” The voice said.
“What kind of joke is this?” I say to the air as I start to walk away. As I’m walking away, I feel my feet getting heavier. Then I hit nothing. I slam into thin air, like there is an invisible wall in my way.
“You cannot leave until you have listened to what I have to say.” So this was the voice’s doing. I try to get up from the ground but I can’t.
“What are you doing to me? Let me go! I have to go talk to Lia! Let me go!” I start to squirm, and nothing helps me up.
“Listen to what I have to say. It will be a big help to you as you start your journey.” I start to stop squirming, but nothing is helping me calm down.
“What the hell are you talking about? What journey?” I look at the air around myself. “Oh, my God, am I going crazy? I am, aren’t