I
JASON ALEXANDER JACKSON
Jason and Dan sat up on the high wall that surrounded their school. The Academy for the Gifted and Talented. Uh. Jason wished with all his heart he could go to a normal public school. But no. His parents insisted on advertising him as a geek. Jason’s talent? Computers, or technology in general. And the school? In New York, away from the Jersey shore he had grown up by. Away from his twin sister who got all the luck and was normal and untalented. But he had met his best friend there, Dan. Dan was the joker and really cool. Jason grabbed his schedule.
“Come on man. Next period. Lunch break’s over in like five minutes,” he said. Then Alyssa Fielders walked by and Jason forgot what he was talking about. Whenever she walked by, his brain tended to short circuit. Alyssa was in the same grade as him and the most popular girl in school. She was also the prettiest. Unlike most popular kids, she was actually nice.
“Jason? Jason?” asked Dan. “Earth to Jason.”
“Sorry, uh what?” asked Jason.
“Girlfriend alert,” sung Dan.
“Shut up,” groaned Jason. Seriously. Who was he kidding? Like Alyssa would ever look at him twice.
“C’mon, we’ve got to get to class,” said Dan.
“Since when have you cared?” asked Jason with a grin, swinging down from the wall. Jason walked towards his locker. Math. Jason was actually pretty good at it. So was Alyssa. Which was the reason they were taking math honors. Bad enough he was the computer geek. He had qualified for algebra honors, so his parents had to make him take it. Jason thought they both needed hobbies. There was more than one time he had made a fool out of himself staring at Alyssa when the teacher asked him to answer something. Jason grabbed his backpack from his locker. Oh, wait! He forgot to mention the most torturous part. It was a boarding school. So yeah. That was basically how the rest of the day passed. Night came, and Jason got into bed. Dan was in the dorm next to his (they weren’t in the same dorm, which sucked), but Jason couldn’t go to sleep. He tossed and turned until he fell into a light doze. He woke up late at night and got the feeling something was wrong. He was just about to dismiss the feeling and go back to bed when it hit him. He couldn’t hear the others breathing. Jason got up and checked all of the other beds. Empty. He pulled on jeans, a t-shirt, and his sneakers as quickly as he could and grabbed his jacket. He went to check Dan’s dorm. Dan met him on the stairs.
“No one’s in my dorm!” Jason hissed.
“Me neither! What the heck is going on?” The boys ventured outside by unspoken consent. The corridor was dark and still. That too was wrong. Even at this hour, people were always patrolling the halls. Then he heard something. He immediately tensed up at the footstep. Maybe a mass kidnapping? He looked at Dan who showed a fist. Jason nodded, ready to take down this intruder. They had too. Jason crouched, ready to spring. The footsteps grew closer and closer until-
“Now!” shouted Jason, lunging at the intruder and knocking him to the ground. He punched the person in the face and the figure, which was smaller than he expected, squirmed and punched under him. The figure kicked him. Jason put his elbow at the throat and pushed down. The figure began to choke, squirming. This was just to keep the intruder down. Jason wasn’t a murderer! He was a black belt in karate though. The figure’s attempts grew weaker and Dan fumbled for a flashlight. He grabbed one and shone it in the person’s face.
“Alyssa?” Dan asked. Jason immediately let go of her, stepping off her. Alyssa coughed, doubling over. Jason could see a bruise on her cheek and a split lip.
“What the heck is your problem? Last I checked it wasn’t against the rule to walk down the hall!” she snapped.
“I am so sorry,” said Jason, horrified.
“It’s fine,” said Alyssa. Jason offered her a hand that she took. He pulled her to her feet.
“Why are you out here?” asked Dan.
“Could ask you the same,” responded Alyssa.
“We can’t find anybody,” said Jason.
“Not a kidnapping,” said Dan.
“Could be an earthquake evacuation. I sleep like a rock,” offered Jason.
“No. I wake up at like a fly buzzing around the curtains. No way,” said Alyssa. “Come on, let’s go outside.” Alyssa too was hastily dressed in a light blue sweater, white canvas sneakers, and jeans. They followed her outside too the patio. What they saw next, Jason would never forget. Tiny fairies hovered around the pool, checking their reflection. A full moon hovered, even though Jason knew it was supposed to be a new moon. Tiny brownies (Jason assumed they were brownies) stood with their small pointed brown beards hammering away. Two dwarves with braided beards fought in the middle of the courtyard, swords going Clang! Clang! Jason stared in amazement. Then, a giant dragon blocked out the light for a minute. Jason walked to the pool in a daze. Naiads waved to him from beneath and on one of the lounge chairs, a mermaid with dark hair sat combing her hair with a tortoise shell comb. Alyssa laughed in delight as fairies came to her, settling their tiny bodies on her arms, her shoulders, her hair. A tiny fairy zoomed up to him.
“How pretty I am,” she said in a tiny voice that sounded like bells. Jason squirmed.
“Uh, yeah. How pretty you are. Look, where is everyone?” Jason asked uncomfortably.
“Are you an elf?” asked the fairy. Jason got a little annoyed.
“No. Why on earth would I be an elf?”
“Well then what are you? A dwarf elf hybrid gone wrong?”
“No! I’m a human.” The fairy gasped in surprise.
“Why aren’t you in our world then? It’s the hour between the worlds. Your people call it having dreams. They’re all off in the world of magic. Why didn’t you go?”
“Um…”
“Oh,” said the fairy, looking very knowingly at them. “You’re a special one. Well, you’ll want to wait for the elves. For today, enjoy yourself!” With that, the fairy buzzed away leaving Jason feeling dazed. A lovely music drifted into the air. A fairy had taken out a golden harp. Fairies flew around Alyssa. Dan laughed. So did Jason. The magic of this unknown place was taking hold of him. For now he decided just to enjoy it. He walked over to Alyssa.
“Pinch me, I’m dreaming,” he said. Alyssa laughed and pinched him. Jason got an idea. He took a Sharpie out of his pocket and drew a small mark on the curve of his wrist.
“There. If the mark is still there tomorrow, I’ll know I wasn’t dreaming,” said Jason. Alyssa got an idea. She climbed up on the high diving board. She bounced thrice and then executed a dive into the pool. It was winter. The pool should have been freezing, but when Alyssa surfaced, she didn’t look cold.
“It’s warm!” she called. “And look! Feel my arm.” She let her arm up over the side. Jason touched it. It was dry. He stuck his hand in. The water felt normal except for the warmth, but when he pulled out his fingers were dry.
“Holy macaroni,” breathed Dan. He cannon-balled into the pool. Alyssa dove under again. The naiads swam with her. She seemed to talk with them underwater. Two pulled her arms and shot forward with her. Dan followed and they did the same with him. After a while, they still didn’t come up. Scary. But they seemed fine. Finally Jason ran up a diving board and jumped in. He sunk through the water and accidentally inhaled through his nostrils. Bubbles blew back out and Jason didn’t need air. He could breathe underwater! He realized it was the nymph (naiad whatever) magic. He laughed. And heard himself. He could talk too! Two naiads swam up to him with Alyssa. Her blonde hair floated around behind her. She looked beautiful, even compared to the lovely naiads and fairies. She beckoned. She pumped her feet and went forward, shooting through the water. Jason laughed and followed, executing a flip. When asked afterwards, Jason could not remember exactly what occurred next. All he remembered was the naiads pushing him and ejecting him from the water and everything disappearing and staggering back to the dorm to see everyone right where they were, sleeping peacefully. He remembered wriggling into pajamas and falling into bed for a dreamless sleep.