Glimpse by Steve Whibley Read Free Book Online Page A

seemed to shake the entire room. In a blink, it was over, and I was alone, trembling at the corner of the mattress.
    Whatever was wrong with me, it was getting worse. And I wasn’t sure how much more I could take.
    Morning was like a kick in the shins: unexpected and painful.
    The few brief moments of sleep I had managed to steal were filled with images of screaming neighbors, horrifying teachers, and ape-like thieves. My body ached from being so tense all night. Even my jaw hurt. I showered, then dragged myself downstairs and paused just outside the kitchen. It’s my birthday , I remembered. If I knew my mom, she’d have some kind of grand affair waiting for me: balloons, streamers, and perhaps some kind of huge breakfast. The only thing I knew: I couldn’t tell my dad about the other hallucinations. I’d be psychoanalyzed for the next three years. Instead, I took a deep breath, forced a smile, and rounded the corner.
    Becky was alone at the table, attacking a towering stack of pancakes as if she only had minutes to eat them all. She looked up and gave me a frizzy-haired sneer.
    â€œWhere’re Mom and Dad?” I asked.
    â€œOut,” she mumbled through a mouthful of food.
    I looked at the pancakes and suddenly felt famished. “Are there any… um…”
    â€œNope.”
    â€œWell, do you think I could have a couple of yours?”
    Becky groaned, stabbed one of the pancakes with her fork, moved it to an empty plate, and shoved the plate toward me.
    â€œWow, thanks.” It was entirely out of character for Becky to do something nice, and I considered for just a moment that she might have poisoned the pancake. But it had been on her plate, so I decided it was safe, and I started eating before she could change her mind and demand it back.
    â€œI guess since it’s your birthday, I’ll share. Well, that, and because you’re a hero .”
    â€œ Hero? What are you talking about?”
    She gave the newspaper on the table a shove and it skidded toward me.
    The Abbotsford Gazette wasn’t the city’s main source of news, but it was delivered to everyone for free. There, smack in the middle of the front page, was a picture of my battered face. I remembered the reporter snapping a photo the previous morning. The headline read: “Local Boy Stops Attack.” The article used the word “hero” more than once, and by the time I reached the end of the story, a big weight had lifted off me. I’d had a pit in my stomach about going back to school. I knew most people thought my outburst in Mrs. Farnsworthy’s class had been a prank, but I was afraid it was only a matter of time before I blew my cover by having another hallucination. And here was the perfect attention shifter—and on my birthday no less. Obviously, attention would not shift from me, but at least it would shift to something more positive. I was no hero, but I would take what I could get.
    â€œYou look pleased,” Becky said, her tone all sarcasm. “Hoping people will forget about your little screaming fit yesterday?”
    Becky was in seventh grade and in a different school, so the fact that she knew anything about my… episode… stunned me. “How did you…?”
    She waved a dismissive hand. “Jasmine, of course.”
    Jasmine was Colin’s sister and every bit as annoying as Becky. I’d be talking to Colin about keeping his mouth shut around his sister when I next saw him.
    Becky forked another chunk of pancake into her mouth. “Apparently, Colin thinks you’re possessed .” She nodded toward the newspaper. “I told her you’re just a big wimp, but now I think maybe you are possessed. It’s not like you to be brave.”
    â€œGee, thanks,” I said.
    A car door slammed in the driveway and Becky jumped to her feet. She grabbed my plate, tipped the last couple of pancakes from her plate to mine, and shoved it