Shadows in the Dark

  Special

  Karen

 

  It’s funny how you can sit in a giant crowd of people, yet you feel like the loneliest person in the world. Everyone around me cheered their hearts out as the football game went on in front of them. I must have seemed like a complete loser just sitting there. But I wasn’t there for the game.

  I know it sounds weird, but I was there to watch the cheerleaders. I wanted to watch them and see how they could be so happy. I wanted to drown in the thought of being one of them. How I could be popular. But, I’m not. As a matter of fact, I’m far from that.

  I’m the type of girl that avoids most people because I’m afraid of becoming attached to them. So, most of the time, I keep to myself. Every once in awhile, I go to a football game. But it’s only for when my parents are yelling at me. Well... when it’s worse than usual.

  The horn blew and halftime started. The cheerleaders all went over to the bleachers to sit down and take a break. Every few seconds, a girl would walk over to them and start talking. I would assume that it’s a friend. Instead of sitting back in the crowd, I took that as my chance.

  I sat up and walked over to the group of girls. They didn’t notice me at first. But once I got a few feet away, they did. The first to notice me was Lora Martin. She gave me a disgusted look and snorted.

 

  “Hey, guys,” she said as she pointed at me, “it’s Creepy Karen! What do you want?” I stopped dead in my tracks and stood there awkwardly. They all started to stare at me.

  “Hey,” said Becca Swartz, “she asked you a question.” The girls around her giggled. I didn’t move. I kept my eyes on Lora, staring at her for the longest time. She snapped her fingers at me a few times.

  “God, you’re so weird. Yet you wonder why your name is Creepy Karen?”

  “I... uh...” I stuttered. My heart was racing. What was I thinking? Did I expect them to start talking to me like I was their friend? I hadn’t said a word to any of them in the years I’ve known them.

  “You what? Did you expect us to talk to you?" They all laughed at Lora’s remark. My heart shattered at that.

  “Look,” Becca said, standing up and walking to me, “there’s a reason we don’t talk to you. We’re actually liked by people. And, well, you’re not. If people ever saw us being nice to you, that would ruin our reputation. People expect us to be us. So, do yourself a favor and just walk away before you embarrass yourself even more.”

  She smirked at me and walked away back to her friends. Even after that, I stood there. My heart was racing even faster. But I wasn’t embarrassed or scared. I was angry. Very, very angry.

  It took awhile for one of those idiots to realize that I was still there. Lora looked back and sighed. That made all of the others to look at me too. They all gave me a look that said they wanted me dead.

  “Maybe you’re too stupid to understand what Becca just said to you,” said Sarah Grey. “Get the hell away from us!” They all laughed. I crossed my arms and did something I would’ve thought I’d never do. I just realized and said one thing.

  “I’ll see you all in Hell.” With that, I just turned around and walked back to the bleachers. I didn’t hear a single word from them. I didn’t hear them laugh. So at least I got something accomplished. I showed them that I wasn’t someone to mess with. And I prove that even more... really soon

  I sat back down and waited for the game to start back up. It hit the ten-minute mark in halftime and the cheerleaders ran into the middle of the field, cheering as loud as they could, mashing their pom-poms together and shaking them.

  The crowd around me went silent and started to listen to the cheerleader’s cheer. I couldn’t comprehend why they thought it would be important coming for those idiots. I watched as they all got into their formation for the cheer.

  “You can think you’re better, but we can prove you wrong! The Dragons come to beat you and to prove that they are strong! We’re here to win and nothing else and that’s why you are wrong!” The whole crowd ate that up and cheered for them. I, on the other hand, knew that was terrible.

  The girls all got in the formation to stunt, all of them cheering, “Go Dragons!” Lora, Becca, and Sarah all got ready to be thrown up. Just seeing them smile that stupid smile made me mad. My heart started to race again, but faster this time.

  With a mighty push, all three of them were thrown in the air. Becca added in the splits, making the crowd cheer even louder. How could they cheer for them? They’re selfish, stupid, and probably the meanest people ever born! They don’t deserve fame or happiness! They deserve sorrow and loneliness! They deserve what I have!

  That’s when I snapped back into perspective and noticed it was dead silent. Why had the crowd stop cheering? Then, I saw why.

  Lora, Becca, and Sarah were all in the air. But they were staying there. They all squirmed as they floated above the shocked cheerleaders below. No one knew what to do. Some people around me covered their mouths in surprise. I couldn’t help but stare at them.

  “Help!” Lora cried, flailing her arms around like an idiot. My heart stopped racing and I calmed down. That’s when they all fell back down and landed on the girls who weren’t prepared to catch them. The whole group of girls fell down to the ground, moaning in pain.

  More than half the team of football players ran out into the field to help the girls back up. Almost everyone around me started to talk. I sat there in shock, watching the girls as they got back up. Had I done that? It sure felt like it. I looked around and quickly sat up, leaving the crowd of people behind me. My mind was freaking out. My heart was racing.

  I busted through the bathroom door and went to a mirror. I could easily read the confusion in my eyes. Sure, it wasn’t proven that I did it. But when it happened, I felt something in me... change. I felt something that I had never felt before. I closed my eyes and tried to think normal thoughts. I tried to think of other things.

  “It wasn’t you,” I said. “It was just some freak thing that happened. You did not do it.” I felt my heart racing faster than it ever had before. I quickly opened my eyes, but I wish I hadn’t.

  In the reflection, I saw the two trashcans floating in midair, along with the trash on the floor and rolls of toilet paper. I looked back and gasped, backing up against the wall. Then, it all slammed back down to the floor, making the trash cans topple over, spilling the trash that was in it.

  I looked around the room, breathing really hard, more sweat started to drip down my face. I slid down in the corner and huddled into a ball, crying and freaking out. I covered my face in my thighs and stayed in there for the longest time, balling my eyes out. What was I? What had I done? I didn’t move from that spot. Not even after the game ended. I wanted to stay there for the rest of my long, lonely life.

  …..