School Room Blues

I am wearing a single piece nightgown which goes all the way down to below my knees. The girl with the frantic look on her face was pushing me to get going. There are two dressers in the room as well as two beds and I decided that the dresser closest to the bed I was sleeping on must be mine. I had absolutely no idea what I was supposed to wear but when I looked in a nearby closet I felt relief when the choice was already made for me.

Whatever school this Nia went to required uniforms and there were several hung up. It consisted of a white shirt which buttoned up the front and a skirt that went just below the knees. Anyway, I removed one of them and started dressing myself. I must admit I felt like a pervert because I normally didn’t have the opportunity to see girls without their clothes on let alone be able to touch one. Once I was done I grabbed a book bag that was on top of the dresser and followed the younger girl out the door.

I had no idea where I was going. Once I got outside I could see I was in a little village. It wasn’t like a little village like you would see in a documentary about some third world country, it was actually very nice and it looked like the people here took pride in its appearance. There wasn’t any trash lying around and the buildings looked well kept. As I was looking around I heard a voice call my name.

“Nia! Nia!” A young girl called. She was dressed pretty much the same way I was and she looked pretty hot. She had dark hair and brown eyes. She wasn’t too fat or too thin and she had a beautiful sounding voice. I was starting to think there was a good chance that this Nia was popular.

“So I heard Bobby asked you to the dance Friday? He is so gorgeous. Did you give him an answer yet?” She said the whole thing very enthusiastically like she wanted gossip she could spread around the school. Wait, did she just call a guy gorgeous? Is that how girls talk about guys they like? I so wish I could take back the last 30 seconds because I did not need to hear that. I’m sure a girl has never talked to her friends that way about me. At least I’m pretty sure.

“I’m still thinking about it.” I responded. As I was listening to my own voice I thought my own voice sounded pretty hot too. Turning myself on was a completely new experience for me and I was hoping my cheeks weren’t turning red because I could feel

my pulse race a bit. I didn’t really know if Nia had already given an answer or not. But a girl does have a right to change her mind, right? At least that’s what I’ve always been told.

“What’s there to think about?” the girl responded, “He’s so hot and you two would make such an adorable couple.” Did she say adorable? The thought of dancing with a guy totally killed the mood I was in which was probably a good thing.

“There’s more to a guy than looks.” I said, justifying my previous response.

“Well, don’t keep him waiting too long or you’ll miss your chance.” She said scolding.

“He’ll be the one missing out” I retorted.

“Well, listen to you, I’ve never heard you talk that way before!” She noted.

“Maybe there’s things you don’t know about me” I said playfully.

“I’ve been your best friend since the third grade” She said laughing, “I know everything about you.” I don’t know how I was going to fool Nia’s best friend. Sooner or later she was going to get suspicious. We walked to school and made it to class before the bell

rang. We had desks that were right next to each other in the front row which made me really uncomfortable. I felt like everyone was watching me but having a body like the one Nia had, I couldn’t really blame anyone for staring. I’m sure the real Nia is so use

to it she probably doesn’t even give it a second thought.

As we studied our lessons I was pleasantly surprised by how much of it I already knew. This took the academic pressure off but it didn’t do anything about the social pressure. During the first break, this boy came up to me. He had wavy blonde hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a uniform but instead of a white shirt, his shirt was blue and instead of a skirt, he was wearing slacks.

“So Nia,” The boy started off, “Have you thought about going to the dance with me?” I assumed that this must be the gorgeous Bobby my best friend was telling me about. The way he was looking at me I wanted to throw up but I kept it cool.

“Yeah, I thought about it.” I calmly replied.

“And?” He injected.

“I’m still thinking about it.” I responded playfully. I have to admit I was starting to get into it. Girls never gave me the time of day or if they did they scowled at me so to be the one to dish it out had a certain appeal that I was starting to enjoy way more than I should have.

“Your killing me” Bobby responded, “Is there something I can do to help you make up your mind?” He asked.

“Maybe” I answered. Was I flirting now? That is so wrong on so many levels.

“And?” he prompted.

“I have to think about that also” I said. I could tell I was driving him crazy. It really felt good to be the one in control for once even if I really didn’t want anything to do with this guy.

“You got to give me something.” he begged.

“Don’t rush me” I said sternly, letting him know I meant business.

“I’m not waiting for you forever.” He threatened.

“We’ll see about that.” I shot back as we left for separate classes.

My best friend, whose name just happened to be Lidia, just looked at me with her mouth open.

“I can’t believe you did that! Why didn’t you give him an answer?” She asked.

“Because boys like the chase.” I explained, “If you give them a good chase they will appreciate you more when you finally let them catch you. They will boast to their friends that they were able to catch you when other boys couldn’t. It’s a huge boost to their ego and they will love you for it.” I couldn’t believe I was saying all this garbage. I had to say something and it just popped out. I had no idea where it came from or if it actually worked or not but it sounded good. I really surprised myself. I had no idea I could come up with stuff so fast off the top of my head.

“I had no idea you were so smart” Lidia wondered, “How do you know all that?”

“I overheard someone talking about it once.” I remarked.

After school we went over to Lidia’s house and did our homework together. We gossiped about boys and painted our nails and listened to loud music. I had never been alone with a girl before. It was a shame that I couldn’t be alone with her as a guy. I was still in heaven though because I had her all to myself. Lidia is an amazing person. I can see why Nia is best friends with her.

I went home for dinner. Nia’s family all ate dinner together. Nia’s parents asked each of their children how their day went. I told them that I was driving Bobby crazy about the dance and Nia’s mother told me I shouldn’t make him too crazy. Nia’s father told me that I was playing games and that it would get me into trouble someday. Nia’s little sister said that boys were gross. I told her that one day she wouldn’t think that way but she protested.

The one thing I noticed in Nia’s world was that there were no computers. There were no TV’s. I had thought I saw a calendar in the kitchen so I went to check the year on the calendar. The year was 2351. That didn’t make any sense to me. If I was in the future, I would think there would be a lot of technology but there wasn’t much technology here at all. I found out that my bed time was 10:00 pm. Once I laid down I feel into a deep sleep.

When I woke up I was in my own room and in my own body. The clock that used to be on my nightstand but was now on the floor stated it was 10:30 am. I got up and rushed into the kitchen. My mom was just hanging out.

“Good morning Kiddo.” She said, “It’s about time you woke up.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“You’re usually up by 9, I was going to send your sister into your room to make sure you were still alive.” She joked.

“What day is it?” I blurted out.

“What do you mean what day is it? It’s Sunday. Are you feeling okay?” She asked a bit concerned.

“Yeah, I think so.” I said. I left the kitchen and went back to my room. I noticed the strange ‘tin can’ thing I bought at the flea market yesterday and I peeked inside the holes. One of the scenes was clear now. I saw inside a hallway. Several kids were there but this time I recognized a few of them. Bobby was there and Nia was there. Lidia was there too. I had to have been dreaming but how did my dream become a scene in the ‘tin can’? I am really starting to think I must be losing it.