I sat up in my bed, sweating.  I got up, went straight to the bathroom, and started to brush my teeth.  I took off my clothes, and went straight for the shower.  Turning the knobs, I let the therapeutic flow of warm water rush over my body.  “No more Mr. Kuzmaul,” I said with relief.  As I was just reaching for the bar of soap, however, I noticed a faint sound outside the bathroom, a rough slow breathing.  I turned off the water and the breathing grew louder.  With every ounce of dread, I looked at the door and saw the doorknob start to turn. 

“AHHHHHH!!!”  I fell out of my bed, stood up, clutched my stomach, and pinched myself to make sure I was really awake this time.  I looked at my calendar.  It was Monday, today was the day!

The class bell rang for lunch and I went out into the quad, mind racing and heart pounding.  I pinched myself again and walked over to Jackie’s circle of friends. 

I tapped Jackie on the shoulder and asked if I could have a private word with her.  Suddenly, one of her friends dropped a bottle of Mountain Dew, which shattered on the ground.  In utter horror, I looked around frantically to see if Kuzmaul was there.  Jackie looked at me and asked, “Are you okay?” There was no man anywhere in sight, not even a teacher.

After regaining my composure, I took a deep breath and said to her, “Sorry, I thought I saw someone.”  Now that I was relaxed and feeling like a complete idiot for taking that dream seriously, I smiled and asked her, “Jackie, will you go to the dance with me?” 

There was a long pause.  She looked off to the side and said, “Oh, I’m sorry Anthony, but someone’s already asked me.” She looked back at me and said, “I’m really sorry.” 

Another long pause.  “Oh, that’s alright”, I finally croaked out, barely able to speak the words, and slowly walked away as the most horrible pain I had every felt suddenly pierced my stomach.

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