Normal People by Deanna Wiseman (some good books to read .TXT) 📕

Dying isn’t something normal people think about until it’s too late. We have been thinking about it a lot lately. By we, I mean Nicole, Mike, Seth, and I. It all started our junior year. Seth was taller then the normal 17 year old and had a cruel sense of humor. He had shaggy blond hair and eyes bluer then the sky. I had been crushing on him for 5 months, but I knew it was pointless. He was popular, I was invisible. I had brown hair to my back and green eyes hidden behind my nerdy glasses. My dark hair contrasted with my already pale skin making me look ghost like. Combine my looks with my good grades and I’m the stereotypical nerd. The only reason Seth knew I existed was Nicole. She was my best friend and his twin sister. She was able to slide the social ladder with ease thanks to being beautiful and smart. She had the same color hair and eyes as her brother, but her hair fell to her back in soft waves. She was the type of girl the boys drool over even when she’s taken- and she was. Her boyfriend, Mike, was a great guy. He had every thing I didn’t: family, a love life, money. His father was a lawyer- the best in the state. Even with all this Mike was kind.

There was a deserted house on the outskirts of our neighborhood. The four of us would meet there on Saturdays to play games and get away from the normal world. We knew the house was empty due to the peeling pink paint and broken windows. The shingles were falling off the roof and patches of weeds interrupted the yellow grass every couple of feet. It had a glass patio door in back and at least 10 acres of dead orange trees surrounding it. Several housing companies had tried to buy it, but the owner wouldn’t sell. He said he’d use it one day for one thing or another. Of course it was the subject of gossip at our high school. There were rumors that there were dead people in the attic or that there were ghost haunting there. Some of the rumors we had started ourselves to keep others away, the others had been around nearly as long as the house had.
It was a Saturday, and we were in the house, bored out of our minds. “What do you want to do?” Nicole asked yawning loudly. “How about truth or dare?” Mike suggested I shook my head quickly. ”No way. We will not play that game.” I demanded. “Okay. It’s settled then were playing truth or dare.” Seth said starting a circle. I frowned. I hated this game more then anything else in the world. “Can we please play something else? I really don’t want to play this.” I begged. “Why are you afraid? Is this game to bad for Lizzy?” Seth mocked me. I glared at him and joined the game. “You get one pass and one skip, after that you have to do what ever the other person tells you or your out of the game and we all have the right to make fun of you for the rest of your life. No one can say a word about what happens to anyone out side this group either, okay? Now, I’ll start.” Nicole explained. “Mike, truth or dare?”

We had been playing truth or dare all week. The dares were getting worse and worse and we all had used our passes and skips. It was the Saturday following the one we had started and we were back at the house. “This is getting old why don't we do something else today?” I offered, though I knew it was a wasted effort. “No way, Liz, I want to win this thing!” Nicole said poking me in the back. I shook my head and decided to bow out. I had been getting a bad feeling all day and didn't want to push my luck any further. I was already at the bottom of the social food chain they couldn’t do much. “Well I’m out I've been getting bad feelings since we've started and I trust my gut.” I said getting up. Nicole laughed. “It's your witch blood isn't it? Fine I got a alternative to save your butt.” Seth opened his mouth to complain but she glared at him. I started shaking. That was the other reason for my social weirdness. My mom had thought she was a witch. Everyone made fun of me for it though my mom had been dead for over 3 years now. I had studied to try to appease her when I was little but when I became a freshman I refused to touch any thing related to witchcraft at all. I was brought back when Nicole cleared her throat. “You can leave unhumiliated if you do a summoning spell for us. I know you know one because I saw it when I was in you bedroom the other day.” She said. My head spun. I could get out of all this unscratched if I did one little spell. I knew if I did the summoning successfully they would think I was awesome .Plus there was the added bonus of people not making fun of my mother anymore as well.

I sighed “Fine, one summoning. I'll summon my mom's ghost then you will all lay off of me, got it!” I said irritated. I knew I could do it, that wasn't the problem. The problem was that the dead didn't like to go back once they were up. Death wasn't pretty and if they had the chance they would do whatever they could to not be dead again. I told Nicole I had to prepare and I would do it the next day. So Sunday afternoon we all met at the house and I began.
After chanting and burning ceremonial herbs I cut my palm and let some of my blood drip into the fire. Almost instantly my mom's ghost appeared. Everyone gasped in shock. My mom turned to me. “Elizabeth? Oh, I knew you would call me eventually! I miss you and your father so much.” she said smiling at me. I smiled back. “We miss you too, mom. I raised you because my friends here didn't believe we had witch blood in our veins. They say you committed suicide though I told them repeatedly you were murdered for your power.” I told her filling her power flow through my body. I reminded myself this is why I quit witchcraft in the first place. The power was addicting and corrupting. Once you use it, it starts to control you as well. I shook my head a little to clear my thoughts . “Oh! Well it looks like they believe you now.” she said walking over to Nicole. “I think she will do nicely don't you dear?” she said looking back at me I felt the push against my control. I narrowed my eyes at my mom. “Do nicely for what?” I asked but I already knew. “For my new body of course. You know the rules honey. A soul for a soul. I have to take the place of a living being in order to remain alive.” She said smiling a loving smile in my direction. Nicole looked at me in fear. “Your not g-going to let her steal my b-b-body are you Lizzy? “ she stuttered out. I laughed a dark laugh completely forgetting my previous fears as my control broke. “Why shouldn't I Nicole? You have been nothing but mean to me. She's my mom. You're just a bully.” I said silkily. Nicole was trembling now and the two boys were hiding under a table. I looked at my mom and nodded. She grabbed Nicole's arm and pulled her to me I grabbed the knife and began chanting. Right before I could plunge the knife into her heart Seth tackled me. I stabbed him in the stomach and he fell to the ground. Then before Mike could run I stabbed him as well. Finally I turned to Nicole. She was screaming now. “Please! Please let me go! Elizabeth you're possessed! Snap out of it! I'll help you hide the bodies just please let me live!” I smiled “You are just as selfish as I thought. You don't even care that I killed your brother and boyfriend right in front of you. Don't worry I won't have to hide the bodies. I'll just put a charm on the town. No one will even remember you three existed.” I whispered in her ear as my mother laughed. Then I plunged the knife into Nicole's heart.
Most normal people don't think about death till it's too late. Nicole, Mike, and Seth were no exception. I'm just glad I'm not normal.

Publication Date: 05-26-2012

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