Chapter 1:

Chapter 1: Baby Blue

The Dreamer With no Dreams


Any sane person would jump for joy, Yet Sky woke up with the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Sky opened his eyes to see the ghost-white popcorn ceiling. The smell of pancakes filled the air, and for a single moment, he felt like a kid again. He remembered simpler times when he so desperately wanted to grow old.

The buzz of his phone dragged him back into reality. With a pit in his stomach, he reached for the phone, and let out a sigh of disappointment.

He unlocked his phone to dozens, if not 100 messages all wishing him happy birthday. He began clicking on everyone’s name, replying with the same message.

“Thank you so much!” He typed out sighing.

He threw his phone to the side and collapsed back into his bed. His eyes felt heavy, as if someone tried forcing them shut. A voice suddenly called out, waking him up.

“Sky Breakfast!” His mother exclaimed from the kitchen.

“Coming!” He replied, still fighting the urge to go back to sleep.

He sat up, threw his feet to the side, and stepped on the cool tile. It sent shivers down his spine, like walking across a frozen lake. He hurried over to his dresser to put on some socks.

As he walked down the hall, he glanced at the pictures his mother hung on the wall. It contained pictures of the two of them, with a few pictures of her favorite art.

As he arrived in the rustic kitchen, His mother greeted him with a huge smile on her face. She wore a pure white apron, with a single smiley face in the top right corner. She wore her gold-stained hair in a high bun. She held a dark black spatula in one hand, the other on her hip. She struck a pose.

“Happy birthday kid! I made your favorite, pancakes!” She said grinning from what looked like ear to ear. She threw her arms up celebrating and ran towards Sky with open arms.

“Thanks, mom.” Sky replied, dodging the incoming hug.

Sky’s mom put on an obviously fake frown, she looked like a puppy begging for food. She continued the fake frown, as she walked with her head down back towards the kitchen.

Sky sat at the hardwood table they built together. He ran his hand down the table and felt all of the imperfections they missed when they built it. Sky’s nostalgia forced a smile on his face.

Sky’s mom did a quick 180 to return to the kitchen. She began scrubbing the dishes she used to make the food.

“You can take the day off.” She said as she continued to scrub away at the dirty dishes.

“Nah it’s okay, everyone already expects me.” He replied as he continued to eat the pancakes.

“Is she on her way?” His mom asked concerningly.

“Haven’t heard from her yet.” Sky replied, distracted by the pancakes.

Sky’s mom frowned. “Anything?” His mom asked annoyed.

“Nothing.” He answered with his mouth full.

She continued to scrub away at the dishes as she loaded them into the dishwasher. She threw off her apron, revealing scrubs.

“Wait woah, I thought you had today off?” Sky questioned.

“They called me in this morning. But I will get home ‘ASAP.’”She replied with a wink.

Sky let out a depressed sigh. This wasn’t the first time that plans got canceled by the hospital.

“You really deserve a raise.” Sky said in response.

“Tell that to the boss-man.” She said through a giggle.

Sky put a smile on his face for his mom.

“Love you, mom.” He said with a smile on his face.

She smiled back in response and headed out the front door.

Sky continued to munch down on his pancakes when his phone buzzed. He received a text from “Mom.” He unlocked his phone to read the text.

“I almost forgot to ask, did you have another one of those dreams last night?”

“Nah.” Sky typed back with his fingers sticky from maple syrup.

The grey bubbles quickly appeared, indicating his mom had already begun texting back.

“Good. We will celebrate tonight, okay?”

Sky didn’t reply, mainly because he didn’t know what to say. By the time she got home, he would probably already have started snoring.

Sky scrolled through his phone for what felt like 5 minutes when he heard a knock at the door. Sky jumped, dropped his phone on the table, and looked up.

Through the window, he could see a girl standing at the door. She stood around 5’5, maybe 5’6. She stared at the door with her arms crossed and tapped her foot in an impatient manner. She walked up to the door and knocked again.

“C’mon Sky we’re gonna be late!” She yelled through the door.

“Coming!” Sky yelled back as he ran for the door.

Sky opened the door to reveal her standing there with her arms crossed. His chocolate brown hair floated as the wind picked up. She had a small round head, and ocean blue eyes, combined with a smaller than average nose.

She dressed slightly better than your usual high-schooler; she wore a dark blue sweater that matched her eyes, over a white collared shirt. She wore a pure black skirt on, combined with her favorite pair of white skating shoes.

“Hey, sissy.” Sky said in a goofy tone.

“I am not your sister, don’t call me that. Why are you not dressed? C’mon, hurry up!” She said as she pushed him back inside the house.

Sky just noticed he failed to dress. As she continued to push him, he quickly checked his watch, and it read 8:09AM.

She practically dragged him to his bedroom and opened the door for him. She finally let go of his wrist and pointed towards the door.

“Change, now.” She said in a serious tone.

“Did I ever tell you how scary you are?” Sky replied in a sarcastic voice.

She rolled her eyes and walked down the hallway. She continued on to the living room and sat on the midnight-black leather couch.

Sky shut the door behind him. He walked across the cool tile, this time protected from the cold with his socks. He opened his closet door and was greeted by the subtle smell of mildew.

He went through the countless t-shirts he had and decided on a graphic long sleeve sweater. After getting dressed, he checked his outfit in the mirror. He wore baggy black pants, and a necklace his sister gave him a long time ago, as well as a pair of cherry-colored high-tops for his shoes. He quickly fixed his hair and swung open the door. The same short girl greeted him.

“Oh hey, Paris.” He said looking down at her.

“When did you get so damn tall.” She replied in a frustrated tone.

She grabbed his wrist and dragged him through the house. They made their way quickly through the hallway, and towards the front door.

“Wait I have to set the alarm!” Sky remarked while still being dragged.

She hesitantly let go of him and Sky regained his balance. He walked by the front door and punched in the code while Paris impatiently watched. He checked his reflection in the door one last time, fixing his hair again, then pressed the “AWAY” button on his alarm.

As they walked through the front door, Sky felt all of his senses instantly stimulated. It smelled of Spring, a combination of pollen and jasmine flowers.

“Stop daydreaming, and get in the car!” Paris yelled from the driveway. “How did I miss that?” Sky thought.

Sky always loved Paris’ car. A baby blue mustang, with cool leather seats that felt like sitting on a cloud. Apparently, she got it for her 16th birthday, a gift from her father.

As he hopped in the car, Paris passed him the AUX cord.

‘Want the music?” She said with a side smile painted on her face.

Sky grabbed the AUX in response and sat down. He scrolled through his phone looking for the perfect song to play, and finally landed on his choice.

Paris rolled down the windows and threw it into reverse. She backed out in a hurry, turning up gravel and making a slight squeal in the tires. She put it in drive and stepped on the gas.

“You know, being late is not an excuse to speed.” Sky said grabbing onto the handhold and a worried look on his face.

Paris laughed in response. “It’s your fault we’re late!” She said with a huge smile on her face.

As they continued to drive to school, Sky didn’t know how to express the emotion he felt. It felt like fear and joy all mixed into one bittersweet emotion. Like falling down from the highest point of a roller coaster.

As they continued on their normal route, familiar sights greeted him. The old man sitting at the corner waved to them as they drove by. The kids at the bus stop stared in awe of the beautiful blue muscle car. Everything was the same as yesterday. The same things, just a different time. This left a bittersweet feeling in Sky’s stomach like he ate too much junk food.

As soon as the drive began, it ended. They both swung their doors open and stepped out. Sky turned and looked at Paris. She wore a serious expression on her face as if she just received word that her pet passed away.

Confused, Sky asked, “What’s wrong, you okay?”

“Did you really think I would forget?” She said, gnashing her teeth.