AUTHOR’S NOTE: “5 MARKS” IS A FICTIONAL SERIES ABOUT A TEENAGE GIRL NAMED AMANDA MCCONNELL WHO IS EXPERIENCING SOME COMPLICATED AND UNEXPLAINED SITUATIONS. SHE IS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHY SHE KEEPS “DYING” AND WAKING UP REPEATEDLY. THIS IS THE FIRST INSTALLMENT OF THE SERIES. A NEW INSTALLMENT WILL BE PUBLISHED EVERY FEW WEEKS.
PART 1
It all started on a chilly Sunday morning. The wind swirled through my large windows into my frilly white room and I could feel the cold breeze brush past my face. Here I was laying down on my soft twin-size bed, too tired to get up. I couldn’t stop thinking about it, the “dream” I had last night. It felt so real. “BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP,” my alarm blasts out like the sound of a fire alarm: 9:00 A.M. I get out of bed and unsteadily head to the washroom. There was another mark on my right forearm as if I was tallying. There were two marks scratched on it. As I was looking at the mirror, those flashbacks started to reappear from the dream. The more I thought about it, the longer the flashbacks were from the dream. After eating my scrambled eggs and drinking a glass of orange juice, I was ready to go to Michelle’s house. I locked the door of my apartment and headed to the elevator.
“Ting… Heading to the main floor,” indicated the robotic voice of a woman. Waiting at the bus stop I glanced at my watch. “10:05” was the time. I started to sweat nervously which was weird. Was it because of the dream? I had a feeling something wasn’t going to go right.
“Miss… Are you going to come in?” asked the bus driver.
“Oh, yes! sorry!” I said surprised as I put my token in the box. I decided to sit at the far end of the bus because personally, that was the most comfortable place for me away from the large crowd that would always be sitting at the front. I had a bad feeling that something awful was coming. I got out my favourite book, “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins. It taught me many lessons about life — like how sacrifice can show true humanity and emotion in a time where there is a lack of it.
“HOOOOONNNKKKKKK” sounded the bus as the driver saw something coming in front of him. Oh, no. Could it be? Impossible! Now things were going to turn out bad as I had imagined. This feels like deja vu. Did this happen before?
Crunching metal and plastic was heard as the bus hit the white Subaru car that came from the wrong direction. Could it have been a drunk driver? What was happening? I start feeling dizzy. Why is there blood everywhere? Where am I? I asked these questions in my head as I closed my eyes, slowly losing consciousness.
“BEEP BEEP BEEP!” sounded my alarm. I gasped out loud as I jumped out of my bed. What just happened? Was it a dream? What’s going on here? Ouch! I felt something scratch my arm and it felt very painful. It was like my energy was rapidly draining out. ANOTHER MARK? This is the third mark I’ve got. Every time an accident happens in my “dream” I get one of these weird marks on my arm. Am I dreaming? If I was, then I wouldn’t have felt that scratch that I got a few seconds ago. Did I actually dream of those accidents? No, I must be going crazy! I need to go see my friend Michelle, she’s an expert in everything.
Every time I see Michelle at school, her nose is always in a book. I can notice her, not by looking at her face, but by her books. Now that I think about it, I feel as though I’m forgetting something, something extremely important. I check my phone to see the date. Monday, January 7th. Underneath the date, a notification popped up instantly. It was from Michelle!
“WHERE ARE YOU? CLASS IS ABOUT TO START SOON!” she texted all in caps. Missing class? Oh my! That’s what I was forgetting about. I threw my phone carelessly on my bed and dashed to the washroom and washed as fast as I could. Oh no! Oh no! Oh no! I’m going to be super late! I put on my school uniform, shoved my homework inside my backpack and bolted outside, skipping breakfast. I checked the time on my digital watch: 8:40. Five minutes until the bell rings, and five minutes until I get in big trouble again.
I hopped on the big blue bike that I just bought a week ago and pedalled my way to school. My apartment was exactly 5 minutes away from school by bike, and but over 20 minutes if I walk. I was panting. My lungs were exploding, but I made it exactly on time. I was huffing and puffing. I walked upstairs to the second floor. Pain from the marks on my arm radiated out across my body as I walked into class.
Part 2 Coming Soon
