To Do List

Call Mom

My hand paused above the paper, and I had the biggest itch to cross number one out. I really really really did not want to call my mother. Honestly, it would be like a one sided conversation. I could just picture it: "Hey mom. How are you?" Silence. "I'm calling about the moving thing- you know, me moving to your place for the summer." Silence. "So… how's work going?" Only then would she begin to talk, and only in small, clipped, precise phrases. I shook my head and stared back down at my forlorn list.

Make/Buy a going-away present for dad

Now that was a tough one. What does one give to someone when they are leaving? I still haven't really figured it out. But it'll come to me eventually. Dad's got a sense of humor- I'm sure even if I give him a rock from the forest he would grin like the happiest man alive and make up some joke about it. Years later I would find it still buried in some drawer of his- he's a bit of a pack rat.

Pack up clothes, toiletries, music, books

If there is one thing in life I hate, it's packing. I always forget something. So, just to be safe, I put down the basics. I'm sure I'll get to mom's house and realize I've forgotten my toothbrush or something.

Return book to library (and pay the fine)

I rolled my eyes at that one. I could probably return the book and sneak out of the library without paying. Hopefully the librarian would forget about it or something. It's quite a big fine, more then I'm willing to pay, seeing as I have no job which alternately equals no money.

Say goodbye to all friends Sara

My inner self is almost shrieking at that one. Only a few of my friends know I'm leaving. A few of my friends meaning not Sara. Hopefully she wouldn't freak when I told her. If I told her.

Clean room

Hah! Like that's ever going to happen.

Make sure you're not forgetting anything!

Actually I was kind of hoping I'd forget something, that way I had an excuse to either a) buzz back home away from mom or b) go shopping. And before you start assuming anything, I am not shallow. I just like shopping. But I'll admit that I am a bit of a preppy dresser, complete with blonde hair and blue eyes; it's almost disgusting how much Barbie and I are alike.

I folded the list up and shoved it in my pocket, where it would most likely be forgotten and probably go through the wash, which was something my mother hated. I remember how she'd storm into my room, throw my jeans onto the floor, and say "Your lip gloss went through the wash. Again." Then leave. Ah good times. In a way I'm glad my parents split. They were always fighting, and they really are polar opposites. How did they fall in love anyways? It makes no sense. Then again, nothing in my life makes sense… with the whole creeping into people's houses at midnight thing.

I started to shove my clothes randomly into boxes, taking care to fold all wrinkly items. Everything else was tossed unceremoniously into the box. Rummaging under my bed, I grabbed a fistful of clothes and shoved them into the laundry basket. Reaching under again, my fingers grazed against something hard; my diary.

"So that's where it went," I muttered, blowing the dust off of it. I hadn't written in it since… well I can't even remember. I opened it to the first page and started to read.

Dear Diary,

Melissa Briars

Mrs. Briars

Melissa + Scott love

I saw Scott today. He brought me a flower from his mom's garden. He gave it to me, but I just pushed it out of his hands. "I like you even without flowers," I told him, but he just stared at the ground and didn't say anything, so I picked the flower up and put it in a vase. When I went back to the door, he was gone. I hope he calls back.

I made a face at my very first diary entry. Everything was done in horribly messy writing with hearts decorating every other word. I had had a huge crush on Scott in grade five. How I missed those days when you could simply walk up to a boy and say 'I like you' and that was it. I flipped the book to the last entry.

Dear Diary,

I have a bit of a problem.

I smiled at the introductory line.

You see, I live a double life. Kind of like an undercover agent, or superman. Sounds lame, but it's true. I'm a modern day Sandman, someone who helps put people to sleep. I can fly, and I can hear people's thoughts. I just found out today, after my birthday party. At first I didn't believe any of it, but it's really true! I can even turn invisible!

I stopped reading there, and shook my head. The last entry I had written on my fifteenth birthday and it sounded like I was delusional or crazy. In fact, if my parents had found this, they probably would have sent me to a Shrink. I tossed the diary into the trash pile. I wouldn't need it ever again, so why bother keeping it? I continued packing, thinking about the diary entry that I had just read. The truth is, that entry gives me no justice, so I will explain it to you fully, and not like a story, either. Just the facts, and only the facts.

Okay, so first of all, recall to your mind all the things you've heard about the Sandman. He puts people to sleep, right? And no one ever sees him because they're too far gone into sleep. The Sandman is also an old man with a gray beard dressed in wizard robes, or in alternative, a dark, handsome, young man. Now erase everything you've ever heard about the Sandman. Make your mind blank, open, ready for new thought. Hear me out, because I'm certainly not crazy. The Sandman is just the head guy, the man who runs the whole operation. He sits at home while his lackeys- that is to say workers- do everything for him. I am one of his lackeys. I was chosen at the age of fifteen, asked if I would help out, and I agreed. I am what is called -in the magical underground- a Silen. My powers are pretty basic: I can turn invisible, fly through the air, and occasionally read people's thoughts. And there's the whole putting-people-to-sleep thing. I do that to.

So there it is, all laid out for you.

Did I mention I hate packing? But there's nothing for it; packing must be done in order for me to go to my mom's house for the summer… a new place… new people… new adventure…

Little did I know just how much adventure was about to be forced down my throat…