Dawn of the Brainchanger - Chapter One

         It was a warm spring day that morning; the blaze orange sun glittered brilliantly over the glossy water of the brook behind my house. Blitzen Creek, its name was; the namesake of this small town in Michigan I called home.
         I stretched in my seat as I sat watching Good Mythical Morning and eating a bowl of Frosted Mini Wheats. This was how I prepared for my day: waste all the time I possibly can before actually getting ready for school. I always made it to the bus, so I felt content by those standards.
         Then there’s the backbreaking task of actually getting to my locker.
         You see, my locker is smack dab in the middle of these two guys who are, without a doubt, annoying. I've spent the last two years between them. Bradley L. (or just L) and Jaime think they have reason to believe I’m the one smuggling calculators from the math room; but that’s ridiculous.
         Today was no exception.
         Jaime’s locker, number 463, loomed to my left, and he was there, being all weird.
         “Uh, Jaime?” I asked him. “Can you-- uh, move?” I knew asking wouldn’t usually work, but maybe he was being nice to me today.
         “Oh! Am I in your space? Am I in your space??” he asked as he shoved his locker door over mine. “I’m not standing in your space.”
         “No, but you’re being obnoxious--” I made air quotations around my head, “in my space.” I pried his locker door away from mine, and managed to get the lock off.
         As soon as I opened my locker, Jaime stuck his head right in, then pulled it out just as slowly. “Where are the calculators, June?”
         I rolled my eyes and got my stuff, remembering to turn my lock to 0 so as to prevent them from opening it.

* * *

         From my first hour class to my eighth, one constant remains, and his name is Casey Hanson.
         Casey had always come off as charming to me, from his golden blonde hair and muddy green eyes to his innocent sense of humor. He knows clear as day that I like him, and trust me, he's not exactly amused.
He's also three days older than me, which is completely coincidental.
         He and I have the same eight classes; we have the same two semesterly classes, we're both in band and both in choir. That's all you’d need to know to determine it.
         Casey also has a group of friends he hangs out with; I once called them Spoothead Alpha (Casey) and his Band of Idiots, or SABI, for short, but then I learned just what “spoot” meant. They consisted of eight guys Isaac is friends with, including Jaime and L.
They all make me laugh, and the ten of us have been through a lot in the past.
         And then there was Melissa.
         Melissa Royale came into the picture at the end of sixth grade. I used to have the feeling that her and Casey would become a thing; of course, that notion fizzled out fast.
         Melissa is nice, and sweet. She came to Blitzen Creek from Alabama. She has olive toned skin, brown eyes, and black hair with light brown highlights. She and Casey and this other kid named Nolan (also part of SABI) are all really close friends, and they, as far as I've heard, consider themselves all like brothers and sister.
         Alright, I think I’ve bored you enough with my lame backstory, let’s get to the matter at hand.

* * *

         I had gotten into my first hour class, Agricultural Science, and I heard Mr. Larson start to yell at Wendell, his (least) favorite student.
         “Well, you know what the answer is, Wen? No. No! No, no, no, no, no! No. No. No. … Uhh… NO!”
         This continued for a while, and I turned on my video camera and recorded it. This was something for YouTube.
         As soon as he finished, I pocketed the camera, and we started the roll call. And every day, as soon as we got to Lisa Kelley, it was too loud.
I can sort of relate to Casey and his friends. It seems to me like they're so deep into their conversation that the class time becomes insignificant. That happens to me a few times, but instead of apologizing and crud, I just look up, smile like an idiot, wave, and class goes on.
         I'm one of the more eccentric of my classmates, but I double as being one of the shyest. It depends on what I'm doing or presenting. When I'm presenting on an invention in history class, I'll make like a salesman on a TV ad. On the other hand, if I'm reading a boring paper, I'll pop in a lame remark because I have the greatest sense of humor.
         The school day went on; choir was my next class, where I got to hang out with the eighth graders, which includes my good friend Jason Parker. Jason was tall, and he had fluffy chocolate brown hair a few shades lighter than my own. He wore braces and had one of the better humor sides, a trait I look up to. We officially met through speech, when we were in the same category. He started calling me Juno, a nickname I hold dear, and he hasn't stopped since. He's a good friend, and I like him all the same. No, wait. No, not like that, I mean… carry on.
         The morning went by pretty fast, but it was a mere matter of minutes before my life changed forever.

* * *

         I felt a little uneasy, likely from whatever it was that we’d had for breakfast, so I made my way to the bathroom. I looked at myself in the mirror, and I looked fine. However, something still seemed to stir inside, and I couldn't describe it.
         It seemed to be telling me to do something.
         I glanced around, and seeing that the bathroom was empty, I cupped my hands in front of me, completely unsure of exactly why I was doing it. I had no idea what was going on, but I was about to find out.
         As I brought my hands away from each other, a bright flash, magnified by the mirror, surprised me. I stepped back in shock, dropping my hands beside me. What had I just witnessed?
         Just as fast as it came, it was gone. I tried again, this time, facing away from the mirror and praying that no one would come in. Slowly, I brought my hands away.
         An orb of light emerged a foot from my face, illuminating the entirety of the restroom. Ribbons of purple, orange, blue, and yellow intertwined around a glowing white center. The fluorescent lighting seemed to dim drastically at the sight of the light. I glanced over my shoulder into the mirror; my irises were glowing the exact same way, and all of this seemed like a dream.
         I closed the ball and dropped my hands, feeling weaker but knowing one thing:
         I had to show this to Casey.