Essence: The E.S.T. Org. Read Free Page A

treatment for being a teacher’s kid. If the kids only knew how scared the principal was of the parents. She would always cave to the parent’s demands.
    On his way out of their once tan, large SUV that should have been traded in years ago, Mom blurted out to Nicky loudly, “Love you!”
    “Not so loud Mom, I’m a studly eighth grader now.”
    “Oh really? Well, since you’re so old and studly now, how about you get a job and help with the bills at home?” Nicky smiled and shut the door.
    Nicky’s first day of school had to include Max the bully. At almost five feet seven inches already, he was a thick 150 pounds. Max had dark brown hair that was shaved on the sides with a curly Mohawk on top. He had eyes that Nicky described as black and beady. Before he could reach his first class he heard the voice that had tormented him for so long.
    “Hey dummy!” Max ‘lovingly’ yelled out to Nicky.
    They were close to the bathrooms in a secluded spot of the school. Max figured if he hurt Nicky, no one would see or hear them.
    “Just stay away from me.” Nicky felt differently than he had in the past. He didn’t fear Max like he had for the last couple of years. When Max approached Nicky from behind to give him his regular wedgie, Nicky felt a burst of anger. As he turned his head towards Max, he let out what sounded like a loud roar. It knocked Max on his butt. Luckily it wasn’t a direct hit, only a glancing blow. It could have been much worse.
    Max was scared and so was Nicky. Nicky had already disobeyed his father. Max ran screaming and crying down the hall as kids and faculty ran into the hallway to see what had happened. Nicky ran and hid in the bathroom.
    “What was that?” another boy in the bathroom asked Nicky.
    Nicky played it off. “I don’t know.”
    He hurried back to his first class, which was his least favorite subject, English. The rest of the day was uneventful.
    As the final bell rang for the day, all Nicky wanted to do was to go home, have another salmon omelet, and forget the day. He couldn’t shake the incident with Max. As cool as Nicky thought roaring like an animal and knocking someone down was, Nicky felt scared and confused, and he wanted answers. “What happened to me in that cave?” He thought.
    Nicky’s dad was waiting for him in the car loop in their four door ‘sexy sedan,’ as his dad referred to it. The 2009 Pontiac G8 was highly customized, and Nicky’s dad felt an uncomfortable affection towards it. “What’s up, buddy? Get in! I got something special for you.”
    As they drove away, Nicky noticed the same light in the sky that had tormented him a few days ago.
    “ I’m guessing only I can see it ,” he thought to himself. “So where are we going?” he asked his dad.
    “Well, since you love fish so much now, we’re going fishing.”
    “Cool,” Nicky said.
    “Take a look.” Nicky’s dad pointed to the back seat.
    Nicky turned around to take a look “Cool.” Two new shiny, red fishing rods were laying in the back seat.
    They drove to a pier on a lake five miles away from school. Nicky wanted to catch fish with his bare hands again, but he thought to himself, “ That may look a little weird.” As they cast out, Nicky felt happy that he was fishing with his dad, but still uneasy about the strange light following them. “Dad, can I tell you something?”
    “Sure Monkey, what’s up?”
    “I think we’re being followed.”
    “Followed? By who?” Dad asked.
    “I don’t know. It’s just a strange light in the sky.”
    At this point Nicky’s dad knew it wasn’t just his imagination, and was taking Nicky’s concerns seriously.
    “Do you see it now?”
    “No, but they’re close. They were just following us. My guess is, soon we’ll find out who they are,” Nicky stated with concern in his voice.
    That night Nicky had a nightmare. It was full of wild North American animals chasing him relentlessly, while Native Americans were watching and following