A New Stranger?

“Hey! Class has started. Where are you headed?” I froze as I heard someone call out to me. “I... Uh-” I turned around. “Haha, gotcha!” Exclaimed Eren, my annoying classmate. I scoffed and headed into the class. This place is annoying. Man, if Eren hadn’t gotten in my way, I would’ve been in the ground outside by now. The quiet, beautiful place full of dirt. Much better than this dump. Everyone hastily sat down as the teacher entered the classroom. “Okay everyone, today is going to be a fun day. Our subject for today is imagination.”

That piqued my interest. I mean, imagination is something we are all well acquainted with, but in my second year of high-school? This subject will be interesting, to say the least. Let’s see what she has to say. ”As kids, we were told imagination is power but is that saying true? As it turns out imagination is one of the most important things we as humans have. As a child, how many of you had an imaginary friend?” Almost everyone raised their hands. I’ve had enough of this. I’m leaving. This teacher was accustomed to me leaving during lessons and didn’t have a problem with it as long as my grades were consistent. “This lesson might help you, Aiden. I suggest you listen to what I have to say.” I, being the rude one, left.

I headed for the ground which was one floor below me. As I walked down the stairs, I noticed a girl. She walked right past me without making even eye contact. As I thought about it more, I realized I had never seen her before. As I came to that realization, I turned around to see the empty corridor. Confused, I continued to walk towards the playground. As I finally arrived, I saw a group of girls walk past me, snickering. “Isn’t that the lonely guy who mopes around the ground everyday? “Don’t be rude! He may be lonely, but I think he is a nice guy.” Said one of the girls, being reprimanded immediately by another one. At the ground, I saw the mysterious girl again. This time, she was going inside the building. Just as she entered, the bell rang. “Ugh. I’m going home.” I said aloud. Just as I got home, I fell asleep.

My father died earlier this year. Ever since then my mother has been living in another house. She said couldn’t live in the same house my father died in, so I have been living by myself these past couple of months.

I awoke to the sound of someone in my house. “Who’s there? Mom? Is that you?” I asked. “Oh? You’re up already?” A voice came from the kitchen. Suddenly, a girl emerged from the kitchen. She handed me a plate and sat down in front of me. We stayed quiet for a few minutes. It felt as if I was being interrogated but in a nice way. “Who are you?” I asked, pushing my food to the side. She gave me a puzzled look. She got up. “You know me. You’re the reason I’m here.” I got up. confused. I started to back away and darted towards the phone. She sat down. “I... How can I put this? Okay, I’m going to give to you blunt. I’m not real. Okay, I am real but also not. You see, you imagined me into existence.

It took me a while to process that. “So, I imagined you and now you’re real? I don’t remember imagining anyone.” I let go of the phone. “I don’t know, I just remember opening my eyes and all I remember is you. Where you live, where you go to school, and how to find you. That sounded like something straight from a movie, but whatever.” I thought about it more. I remembered the teacher’s words. Imagination is power. “Fine, I’ll believe you. For now...”

She didn’t have a place to stay either, so she slept on the couch in the living room. The next day, She went to school with me. “Hey Aiden! You’re here!” Yelled out Eren. ignoring the girl beside me. “You do see her, right?” I asked pointing at the girl. “See who? I don’t see anyone.” He replied. Scared, I moved away from her. Just as I did, another student called me out. “Yo Aiden, Is that a new student?”

Confused, I headed to class. “Alright everyone, we have a new student. And here she comes. Her name is Ethel. Please be nice to her.” Ethel entered, and sure enough, it was her. The girl I “Imagined” into existence. As she began introducing herself, I overheard some kids wondering if the teacher went mad because they couldn’t see her as well. “Teacher, nobody’s there.” a student called out. “What’re you talking about? She’s right there.” Another one said. She IS real! To some of us, at least, I thought. “You can go sit anywhere you like.” The teached told Ethel. She sat next to me. Even as she pulled the chair, some students still couldn’t see her.

Periods went by and even some of the teachers couldn’t see her. I couldn’t deal with this. “I’m going home,” I told her. ”This is annoying enough already.” I said and went home. This girl... People can and can’t see her, Why? Is she really imaginary? I’m confused. I turned on the T.V and flipped through the channels. “Ugh, nothing good. Again.” The doorbell rang. “Huh? Who could this be?” I went to open the door. “Hello Aiden! I-” I closed the door. I went home early to get rid of her, but here she is. She kept ringing the bell. “What?!” I yelled, opening the door. “It’s just that,,, no one can see me anymore. Unless you’re there, I’m invisible to everyone,” She said, entering the house. “I’ve been trying to find a place to live, but nobody’s talking to me. So that’s why I’m moving in. Hope you don’t mind!” She giggled. “You can have the spare room upstair.” She ran to her new room, filled with excitement and joy. This is going to be annoying.