I've never been much of anything.Everything I did was always average.I never had any quirky talents or was crazy hot(naturally, I mean).I'm just another Average Joe.
Or was. Let me tell you.
I had been walking to school on a chilly Halloween morning. I’d rounded the corner when suddenly a huge set of hands sprang from the bushes, snatched me up, and pulled me into a sea of green leaves and prickly thorns.
A gruesome face smiled wickedly down at me. It was a man. He had a giant scar that stretched over his eyes and up his forehead. It looked like it had never fully healed and I was afraid it would start gushing blood any minute. His eyes were cold and hungry and his skin was gray and dirty. His mouth was wide and his lips were covered in scabs from being bitten down on far too much. His head was mostly bald, but there were tufts of black, greasy hair in patches. Overall look: grotesque and piss-your-pants creepy.
“I have a score to settle with you, Jimmy.”, he snarled.
I wanted to tell him he had the wrong guy, that my name wasn’t Jimmy; it was Kurtis. But my mouth wouldn’t cooperate. I couldn’t yell for help.
A click sounded next to my left ear and I didn’t have to be a genius to know what it was.
I closed my eyes, desperately trying to gather my courage and speak.
“Shit!”, hissed the strange man,” Stupid fucking piece of shit!”, he pulled the trigger again and nothing happened. He tried again, then checked the gun.
It was empty.
He gave a growl of fury and I winced. He threw the gun in anger and it slapped me on the head. I screamed, the pain finally bringing out a response in me. Hot blood oozed down my forehead and dripped from my eyelashes.
“Shut the hell up, motherfucker!”, the man roared. He pulled an enormous butcher knife from his filthy hoodie.
He laughed menacingly,” Now you gonna pay.”
I tried to pull my hands over my face as protection, but he slammed them to the ground and held them there.
With one last evil smile he slashed the knife across my face, tearing the skin apart and revealing the bloody insides.
No way to scream then.
I won’t give you all the gory details, because I’m pretty sure you don’t want to hear them. To put it simply: I got stabbed to death which, obviously, makes me dead.
Now here’s where it gets tricky…and annoying.When I died, my spirit became relieved of my body. I’d looked around a while, still able to see the people passing by on the streets and all the other things I’d seen before the...incident. It took me a bit to realize that I could float around, almost like flying. So I ‘flew’ up into the sky, hoping that I’d reach the clouds and find the golden gates of heaven waiting for me.
But there weren’t any gates or doors or castles or people with wings growing out of their backs. Instead there was alone man, sparkling gloriously in the sun.
“Who are you?”, I had asked.
“Do you not know God when you see him?”, the man had answered.
“Actually, no. But even if I did, I thought God wasn’t human.”, I’d indicated.
The man had just shrugged his shoulders lightly,” That doesn’t exactly mean I can’t appear as one.”
“Uh-huh.”, I had stared at him for a long time, then said,” What do I do now?”
“You return to the Earth.”, God had uttered, sitting down in a chair that had appeared out of nowhere.
Shock had overwhelmed my face,“ Go back? Why in the world would I need to do that?”
God’s expression was unchanged,” You are not yet ready to enter heaven, child. Unfinished business awaits you below. You must attend to it, and then and only then shall you come back.”, he’d explained mysteriously.
“ Business? What kind of business? How will I know—”, but I didn’t have time to finish my last question, because a bolt of bright light had engulfed me and once it had faded I was back on the ground, my bloody corpse rotting in the brush below.
And so here I am now, confused and freaked out and very, very dead.
Turns out I’m invisible and able to walk by people unseen. Very cliché. But if I tried to walk through someone I just bumped into them like a brick wall. Not so cliché. Whenever I touched someone, they shiver, stop, look around, then shrug and move on.
I floated down the sidewalk and noticed a piece of mirror laying on the ground. Can I see myself in this thing? I suddenly wondered. I pulled myself to the ground with much effort and peered into the glass. What I saw shocked me and also made my mood just a tad brighter.
There in the mirror was me, but not the weird ghost me. In this reflective piece of glass I was human. I had flesh, blood, bones, eyeballs, the whole thing. I pressed my spirit fingers against the mirror and quickly pulled them back. I had felt the beat of a heart through the glass.
It was my heart. My human heart.
Boy, was I going to get a kick out of this.
A foot came crashing down and crushed the mirror loudly with its heel. I took a quick note that the shoes were Converse.
“ Oh, shoot. These are brand new!”, said a girl. The voice was different—not girly but not manly. It wasn’t tomboy-like either. I have no idea how to explain it.
I looked up at the girl. She had a tiny scowl on her face and she was sitting on the curb inspecting the bottom of her shoe.
Her hair was sandy blonde and her bangs covered one eye. Her wild green eyes were wise, filled with mysterious wonders and knowledge. Black eyeliner coated her eyelids. It swung out and up, looking like wings. My sister called it the cat-eye. I called it Amy Winehouse Impersonator.
Her lashes were long and heavy with mascara and her lips shone brilliantly, a clear sign of lipgloss. It smelled like cherries.
She wore a black T-shirt covered with bunches of safety pins.Her jeans were ripped and frayed, exposing both of her knees.She also wore black fingerless gloves and mutiple cartilage ear peircings to top it all off.I caught a gimpse of a tattoo of a black rose that was half-hidden by her shirt.
An air of relief left her highly-glossed lips,” Thank God I didn’t ruin anything. These shoes cost way too much.’, she turned to pick up a piece of glass.,” Who’d leave a shard of mirror in the middle of the freakin’ sidewalk, anyway?”
She sighed, stood up, threw her backpack over her shoulder and walked on.
For some reason, I felt the want to follow her.
"Not the want,Kurtis,but the need.", said a failiar voice from below me.
I looked down and sure enough, there in the mirror was the humanoid face of God.
"Is she my unfinished business?Is this girl what I'm after?", I asked.
He gave me a nod so small I almost mistook it for a flinch.Then, just like that, he was gone.
I turned around and panic rushed over me.The girl was gone.God damn it!
I 'flew' as fast as I could down the walk and raced around the corner.I let out a sigh of relief when I bumped right into the girl.
She stoped abruptly and pulled her jacket tight aroung her,"It just keeps getting chillier and chillier,doesn't it?", she complained lightly.
"Debby!Debs!", yelled someone from the other side of the street.It was another gir.She waved her hands above her head and ran recklessly across the road to her friend's side.
"Michelle!Be careful!", Debby screeched.
Michelle had reached the other side by that time and Debby pushed her,"Are you a total idoit or do you want to die before you can even drive?", she scolded her, still some excess panic in her eyes.
Michelle burst into laughter,"Look, I made it across in one peice, didn't I?You need to chill.",-she looked Debby up and down and placed her hand on her hip,"And besides, even if I did die, at least I was able to do it before that happened.", she smiled michieviously.
I gagged silently and tried not to puke up my ghost-guts.
Debby stared, wide-eyed and extremely taken by surprise,"You..?", she let the question hang, but pointed an accusing finger at Michelle.
She just shrugged,"Things happen", she stated simply and started walking in the direction of the high school,"Let's go!You don't want to be late on your first day,newbie."
Debby rolled her eyes and stomped after Michelle.
I tagged behind, tuning out their girly 'blah's and 'waa's.I stared at Debby, trying to take in all the little, specific details.
She had small brown freckles across her nose and cheeks that were barely visible.Her nails were painted a deep navy, almost black.She wore an assortment of mistmatched jewelry that looked, when together, very cute.
My eyes darted down her neck and across her back.On her right shoulderblade was a beauty mark in the shape of a hand.I chuckled softly and wondered what that represented.
I reached a transparent hand out to touch it, to stroke it softly.But the school bell suddenly rang and my hand jumped back.
"Come on!", Michelle pushed before grabbing Debby by the arm and yanking her across the courtyard and through the high school doors.
I thought about following, then realized how boring it would be for me to sit there all day listening to boring lectures when I no longer had to.I decided to wait for Debby outside and tried to sit down.I was unsuccessful.So I just floated there in midair and eventually doze off
When I wke the school grounds .was covered with teenagers.My eyes flew open, desperately searching for Debby.
Then there she was, sitting under a tree talking to a huge group of people.I joined them.
"So does your stepdad still threaten your family?",asked a familiar voice.It was Ryan, my best friend.
Debby shook her head,"Nah.We got a restraining order anyway, just in case.",she answered.By her tone you wouldn't think they were talking about something so deep.
"That must suck!", Ashley-a hot chearleader-gushed.
Debby shrugged, still very nonchalant,"Not really.He was only a step.I knew he would be a total creeper from the beginning."
"Man, if only Kurtis were here.You'd probably have him hanging on your every word.",Ryan laughed.
I shot him a glare I knew he'd never catch.
Debby laughed with him,"It's always flattering to have a fan.",she said.Her teeth were white and neat.
"Trust me, Kurtis would be more than a fan,he'd be your slave.He's always been really emotional and wimpy.You could probably make him your little bitch if you wanted!",declared Cam, another of my friends.
Debby just smiled and said,"I can't wait.",It looked like she wanted to say a ton more, but she kept her mouth shut.
I drowned out most of the conversation after that by playing random songs in my head.Eventually the group started to disperse until it was only Debby and McKayla-a very popular girl who just so happened to be lesbian-sitting under the tree.
"Who exactly is Kurtis, anyway?Those guys made him sound like a total pushover.",she asked curiously.
McKayla thought a moment,then said,"He can be a pushover sometimes",-She saw Debby's expression and added-,"But only for someone he really likes.He's been known to pretty much worship some of his past girlfriends that he got really...intimate with."
Debby pursed her lips,"That is...horribly romantic.Shows how big of a dork he must be,too.",she laughed.
McKayla wagged a finger at her,"Now don't get me wrong.Just because he loved his girlfriends a lot doesn't necessarily make him a dork or lame.Kurtis is actually very masculine."-she snorted loudly-,"If I was straight I'd probably be gushing about how hot he totally is."
"What does he look like?",Debby crossed her legs and started plucking blades of grass from the ground.
McKayla gave her best attempt at showing a straight,girly response:Her eyes became huge orbs and she started fanning herself, giggling quietly,"Well, for starters, his hair is a deep, midnight black.It has some really cool green streaks in it and he usually wears it in a low ponytail.And his eyes, oh dear God, his eyes!They're a beautiful, clear brown.They remind me of a nice, crisp Coke on a hot summer day.They always look so...so open, but you can never tell if he's happy or mad or depressed just by looking at them.They never share the same story as the rest of his face does."-she paused to draw a quick gulp of breath-,"He's a pretty average height-only a couple inches taller than you.He has big, muscley arms and a six pack so defined you'd think you wear imagining it.Kurtis usually wears vintage stuff, so I wouldn't be surprised if he came to school in a Led Zeppelin shirt tomorrow.And lastly-the best thing of all-when he talks to you,"McKayla's eyes glittered as she stared at CDebby-,"When he talks to you, he takes you to a different place, a place where you want to stay with him for ever and ever.He makes you feel grown and mature, thrilled and proud.It's so awesome.",she finished softly, her eyes scrutinizing Debby's face.
She chuckled,"Are you sure you're not straight?",she teased.
McKayla scowled and crossed her arms over her chest,"I just described to you the most amazing guy and you instantly start questioning my sexuality.",she pouted a bit.
Debby rolled her eyes,"Well,duh!No offense, but lesbians shouldn't have a clue about what makes the 'perfect guy'.",she pointed out.
"That's nonsense!Just because I'm a lezbo doesn't mean that know about it or think about it once in a while.",-she snorted for the second time before mumbling-,"And here I thought you would applaud me for my awesome acting skills."
"Which they are awesome, by the way.",Debby said quickly.Then she sighed,"Kurtis sounds like a total god!Why would he want someone like me in the first place?"
"Because you're pretty and cool and determined and outspoken and smart and more than a little punk-rocker chick.To put it cruelly:Kurtis eats that shit up.",McKayla said reassuringly.
Debby laughed,"Really?",she inquired,undecided.
"Yes.I am one million percent sure.",McKayla stated.
Debby gave her an unreadable look,"I just hope you're right",she said simply.She got up and brushed the grass and tree bark of her clothes,"Well, I'd better scram.Leah'll freak if I don't come home soon."
McKayla stood up,her face quizzical,"Leah?"
My mom.",Debby explained before pulling out a watch from her jeans and stealing a quick glance at itShe tensed up,"Shit!",she muttered under her breath before giving McKayla a hurried,"Goodbye."and dashing off.
I did my best to follow behind her,but I still wasn't really used to the whole 'I'm-on-a-floating-cloud' thing yet.I managed to keep Debby within my sight, but just barely.
Debby scampered up the front steps of a huge, white house with light blue shutters and doors.She opened the door and slammed it right before I flitted into the long hallway.
"Home!", Debby yelled up the stairs.
"Debra Anna Mark!Do you know how downright terrified I was?I thought something horrible had happened to you!",called an unfamiliar woman back down to her.My guess:Leah.
"Sorry,Mom!A whole bunch of kids ambushed me after school.The had me talking so much I lost track of time.",Debby said.It wasn't a lie.
"Well, at least you're popular.We Marks were mad for big-crowd excitement.",The voice was getting closer.Then a beautiful woman walked gracefully down the stairs.From what I saw,she was wearing beyond expensive clothes and smothered in makeup.She looked a little confused,"I did tell you us Marks have always been designed for popularity,right?",she asked.
Debby sighed,"Yes,Lea-I mean, Mom.'Us Marks have always been beautiful,popular,and powerful, that's for damn sure'.",she quoted.She looked utterly bored by the subject.
Leah smiled.It looked wicked and mean on her face,"I'm glad you remembered at least one of the things I told you.I don't talk just to hear myself speak, you know.",she scolded.
"I know, Ma.Look, my friend Ian wants me to come to his football game tonight.I won't be long.",Debby informed Leah,obviously not one bit intimidated.
"Ian?Are you sure he's just a friend?And what kind of name is Ian?He doesn't seem worthy of having a precious Mark in his presence.And that reminds me:did you try out for cheerleading?Did you know that if you're a cheerleader you're automatically popular?That makes you one step closer to taking over the school.",Leah babbled on,popping question after question.
Debby sighed heavily and trudged into a spacious,light kitchen,"Mom,Ian is an awesome guy.Leave him alone.And no, I didn't try out for the cheerleading team because the cheerleaders here are nothing but sluts."
Leah followed her,"Well, I don't care if you end up doing it with the whole football team!If it's a chance to be popular,you take it.",she said.
Wow.What an ass.
Debby just grabbed a Dr.Pepper from the fridge,muttered a frustrated,"Whatever.",and left the room.
Her hand reached to grab the mirror shard. It hit me right in the chest, and her hand shot back,” What the..?”, -she glanced around, then pulled a leather motorcycle jacket from a backpack that I hadn’t noticed at her feet. She pulled it on and whispered to herself,” Must be getting colder by the second.”
