One lie is all it took (3)
Phase tells us a little bit about his past.
When I was in high school people called me by my real name, Varian or just Var for short. The name means fickle or changing. I never really thought about it but that name suits me considering the very large change in my body.
I spent my free time reading books or playing video games. Not because I wanted the knowledge that reading gets you or the high score in a video game. I liked the idea of living in a different world. I wanted to be able to escape from the place I had been trapped in for so long. Everyone said I was crazy and that I should be happy that I have a mother and father who are together and who love me very much. Now that may be true with my mother but my father was a different story. His idea of 'the perfect child' was someone to fetch his beer like some sort of servant. Now maybe I just think differently from them. This could be the perfect childhood but I didn't see it that way. I wanted to be free of my father and I wanted to take my mom with me. I thought it was possible too. When I told adults my idea of escaping they just said I was being very creative but that more kids needed to think outside of the box like I did. If that's what thinking out side of the box is then I didn't just think outside of the box, I blew up the box! Destroyed it! I can't go back into it. My dreams were in the sky and when the box exploded it didn't send me high enough to reach it and now I'm falling right towards the ground, watching as the worst damage happens.
The day when everything began started like any other day, I woke up, put on my favourite rainbow coloured shirt and threw on some black shorts and I walked downstairs for breakfast. A boring start to a not so boring day.
"Morning Var, did you sleep well?" My mother asked as she walked out of the kitchen.
"Yah mom, I slept just fine." I told her as I walked into the kitchen. "I just had a strange dream, I imagined that I was falling down an endless hole. Right before the dream ended, I stopped midair. A face appeared and told me something. I can't remember what it said though."
She looked over her shoulder as she talked "it's just another one of your bad dreams. Don't think too much of it honey."
"Thanks Mom, I'll try not to." It had been one of many dreams I had like that. Every time the face seems closer and louder but I still can't seem to hear it.
"Breakfast is on the table. It's just cereal and juice."
"Okay, thank you. I'm gonna head out early today. I'm gonna go to school early today. I've got a test and I wanna ask the teacher somethings before class starts."
"Okay sweetie, you can do that. Just make sure that you're home on time tonight. Your father has a meeting today and I don't think he's going to be in a good mood when he gets back" she said in a worried tone.
"What? Why should I have to be back because he's coming home early today? It's not like he's gonna be waiting for me to get home because he wants to give me a hug." I said that and neither my mother or I spoke. We both had our fill of my father. People say that we should tell someone but I never do because I never did think that they could help. Nobody can stop what he's doing, and if someone does then who's gonna provide for the family? I certainly can't do much, I'm only a high school student.
"Be home Var, you know it will be worse if you don't show up as soon as you can."
"What if I don't come home? Can't I just run away?" I wondered about this many times but I knew that it would never happen. If I leave he would focus on my mom and I don't want anyone to hurt her the way he hurt me.
She didn't say anything to me after that, she just walked away with disappointment in her eyes.
"Bye mom." I said sternly still filled with ideas of running away.
When I arrived at school there were very few people. Just a few students and teachers. I quickly walked over to my locker and put my bag inside. I closed that door and ran upstairs to my English classroom where my English teacher awaited me. I told her the day before I wanted help so she said she'd come in early.
"Good morning Var, how are you?" She greeted me as I walked through the doorway.
"Just as confused as always Mrs.Barran." I sighed as I sat down in my desk.
"What about?"
"It's nothing, can I just ask my questions?" I looked out the window as I asked and watched the birds flying. They were free. They could go anywhere they wanted. Free as a bird, that's what I wanted. Someday I'll get wings and fly away and then nobody will ev...
"Var! Are you listening?" She slapped a textbook down on her desk with a thud to startle me.
"Oh uh... yes." I replied. "yah I'm listening."
"Good" she said as she walked out from behind her desk. She proceed to grab a chair and sit in front of me. "Then before you start may I ask a question of my own?"
"Sure, go ahead." I didn't know what she was going to ask but I definitely didn't expect the following.
"Why did you really want to come in early today? I know it wasn't because of the test." Shocked I looked right in her eyes trying to see if I could figure out what she meant.
"I don't know what you mean. I came for extra help."
"Now that I do believe, but it's not help with your English. You've got the highest mark in the class." She paused, took a deep breath and continued. "Listen Var, if something's wrong you can tell me. I'm here for you and all my students but I can't help you unless you tell me what's wrong."
Two voices talked in my head, both of them were familiar. The first was one that belonged to no body. It just lived in my brain. The second was my own voice. I pictured me talking into a dark corner when the two voices talked.
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"Don't tell her." The first voice told me. "If you tell her she's going to call the police and someone will get hurt. I couldn't care less but I know you don't want that to happen."
I don't know why but this voice was always talking to me and giving me advice on what to do. I've only told my mom about him and she called it D.I.D.
I don't know much about the voice because he never answers my question but I do know a few things. He doesn't care for anyone but himself, he did however make an exception for me. He's violent and would try and kill anyone in his way. That was it, that's all I knew about him.
"Yah I know, that's why I'm not going to tell her."
"Good, now tell her this exactly. I've just been missing my mom lately, you see she went on a small vacation for a week and she's coming back today. I'm just really excited to see her." The voice laughed a little after telling me his lie. "See it's so simple that even you can't mess it up."
"Yah sure whatever."
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"Var please, tell me what's wrong." Mrs.Barran pleaded me.
"I've just been missing my mom lately, you see she went on a small vacation for a week and she's coming back today. I'm just really excited to see her." I quoted the voice as he laughed in my head.
"Oh is that all. That's nothing too bad. I'm sorry Var. I thought..." her voice trailed off and she didn't finish her thought.
The bell rang and first period began. I took my test with little difficulty and went about the rest of my day. I played games with my friends at lunch when we went out to eat. The final bell rang and I thought about getting home to my father and what he'd do. I sat waiting for my bus when one of my friends came up behind me and clapped his hand on my shoulder.
"Hey Var!" He said happily. "Do you have any plans tonight?"
"Not really..."
"Good, do you want to come over to my house to hang out?" My heart skipped. What about my mom and dad. What would they say, what would they do?
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"Var! I know what you're thinking. Don't do it!" The voice kept warning and pleading me.
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"Yah, I'd like to go over."
"Sweet let's go!" With that he ran off and I was left chasing him as I thought about what my dad was gonna do when I get home.
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Phase: wow, you told them my old name. Why would you go and do a thing like that?
Me: because I wanted to tell them about your past. You do know you weren't always a... um... fox-human... thing?
Phase: if correct you but I don't even know what I am. It's not my fault this happened to me. I was almost happy being human.
Me: almost.
Phase: I don't want to talk about it. Now give me that keyboard! I wanna do the last words thing today!
Me: what? Phase no! Stodkp! You'rw presifngskng thr wekbg krys!
Me?: Hey so this is Phase. No sit, bad writer! And I just wanted to say thanks for reading this. Have a goodish nihft. Stipp!
Me: sorry about that, I just had to tie phase up so he wouldn't bother me.
Phase: you can cage me but you can't cage my spirit!!!!
Me: so I just wanted to say thank you for reading, I always love to hear your feedback, good or bad, on anything I write. I hope you enjoyed some of phase's past because there's more to come, then we'll get back to the rest of the story.