Never Normal

Karen sighed and looked at him.

"Look, if you want to fix something with your brother, I'd say you do it now. Waiting for something to happen isn't going to work. I learned that the hard way."

She took a sip and was glad that the tea was finally at the right temperature. She gave him a sidelong glance and then shrugged.

"Well, I'm going to help you out. How? By doing this: I'm tired so I need to sleep, I'll be going upstairs and going to sleep." She smiled at him and then stood up and walked out of the small dining area, up the stairs, and into her room. She shut the door slightly louder than usual to notify that she has gone to her room. Not caring to change, Karen flopped onto the bed and pulled the covers up to her neck and closed her eyes. Thinking. Peace, silence, finally.
 
Mark couldn't help but smile at her as she left. With a shrug, he left her house and walked to his own home.

He ignored his older brother who was watching T.V when he came inside, but instead he headed straight for his room. When he opened the door, Mark saw that his room has been completely trashed. He wasn't about to get into another fight with his brother. As he looked around his messed up room, Mark spotted a notepad that he didn't recognize.

He picked it up, and upon further inspection, he found out it was his brother's idea notes. It was filled with scary story ideas as well as ways he could scare people.

"I could use this to my advantage..." He muttered with a smile.

He hid the notepad in a place his brother would never think to find it, cleared off his bed, changed into his night clothes, then went to sleep.
 
The next morning Karen stayed in her bed and in her warm covers. She really didn't feel like going to school again after the incident and the after affects of so much physical contact was just kicking in.

"I beg him to let me be homeschooled and he refused. Look where it got me." She muttered.

Sighing, Karen attempted to stand up and walk towards her dresser, but a wave of nausea and dizziness hit her and she decided to sit back down on her mattress.

"Yeah, definitely not going to school today."

Tucking herself back into the covers, Karen snuggled close to the wall and went back to sleep.
 
Mark got up early that morning. He took a shower, got dressed, and ate breakfast all before his brother got up.

"Good morning..." Mark muttered under his breath.

His brother ignored Mark completely and just moved into the living room to watch T.V. Without another word, Mark gathered his things and headed for school. He had the notepad in his backpack now. Even though Mark would be early getting to school today, he didn't care. He just wanted to get away from his insane brother for a while.
 
Karen slept till around three when school ended. She woke up and blinked the sleepiness away and yawned, stretching her arms up above her head. Her head still felt heavy and she sighed.

"I'm not going to school for a while...not with my head like this."

She glanced at her phone and then at her computer. The picture of her mother and a five year old Karen sat next to it in a delicate frame.

"I wish you can help me with this stuff mom." She muttered and then sighed again.
 
Mark's brother had to stay after school today for detention, and his mother was going to be home by the time he was.

Mom should have something that could help Karen out... He thought. With that thought, he quickly got his things together and ran to catch up with his bus that was leaving a bit earlier than normal.

"Welcome home Marcus." He mother greeted as he walked inside his home. She was cleaning up around the living room.

"Mom, do you have anything that could block a telepath's powers?" Mark asked. His mother believed strongly in the paranormal, and she always had something that could possibly help defend oneself from the paranormal.

"Why? Did you meet a telepath at school?" She asked curiously.

He nodded his head. "Just don't tell Luke..."

His mother nodded her head in understanding. She knew all to well that her eldest son was a bit insane. "Well I think I have something that could help out this telepath of yours. But I think it's somewhere in storage... You'll have to wait awhile until I can get it."

"What does it do?" He asked curiously.

"If a telepath wears it...then their power would be blocked off. They wouldn't be able to hear thoughts. If someone else wears it, then the telepath wouldn't be able to hear their thoughts. Keep in mind that it's a myth that this object can actually do these things. It's not guaranteed to work."

Mark then walked over to Karen's house and knocked on her door.
 
Karen awoke to a muffled knocking on her door and she stumbled out down the stairs and opened it. Her hair was slightly frizzier and untamed and she was rubbing her eyes to get rid of the crust that's conjured up at the corners of her eyes.

"Oh...Mark. Come in...I guess." She stammered. She wasn't expecting anyone and she was hoping to just sleep the day off.

Sitting on the dining table, she looked at him and yawned, stretching her arms over her head.

"What are you doing here today?"
 
"I asked my mom if she had anything that could help a telepath. She said yes, but it isn't guaranteed to work. I wanted to make sure you were okay with it before I gave it to you out of the blue." He explained.
 
Karen yawned and nodded.

"Better than having a headache every day." She said, holding out a hand.

"I'll use it tomorrow, then I'll tell you if it works."

Her eyes were still a bit tired and she ran her hand through her hair.
 
Mark pulled an amulet out of his pocket, then handed it to Karen.

"The symbol is the protection symbol. My mom said it was supposed to block a telepath's powers as well."

gamu0013.jpg
 
Karen nodded and took it. Putting it on, she didn't feel much different until her headache slowly started to fade away and her relief was great. She didn't remember the last time she went even a minute without a headache from reaching other people's thoughts.

"It seems to be working just fine." She commented and looked at the the necklace.

It was different all right, but it worked.

"I'm not in the mood to go back to school, though." She added looking at him.

The incident was still fresh in her mind and she got a bad feeling every time it would come into her mind.
 
"I understand. I'm just glad I could help you out a bit. I can't begin to imagine what life is like for you everyday." He said as he looked into her eyes.

After a while he remembered he brought the notepad with him. "Oh! I found something of my brother's." He said while he took out the notepad from his back pocket. "This has his story and scare tactic ideas in them. I was thinking about using some of these against him. Bring the stories to life some how to scare him and his buddies. Why do you think?" He asked. Mark held out the notepad for Karen to take if she felt like it.
 
Karen shook her head.

"I'm not one to hold onto grudges. I've seen--well heard--enough people having their lives consumed by grudges and it's not the best thing to do. I also don't do revenge, if you would like to--go ahead, I'm not going to stop you. But I don't do that."

Standing up she felt five times better than she did when she opened the door, but she was still plenty tired.

"I'm really sorry, but I need to gain my sleep back...I haven't gotten much in the last...ten years or so, so I'm probably going to stay home for a while. Don't worry--it's happened before. It's nothing new. I'll see you later, Mark. Oh...and don't forget to lock the door behind you."

Karen walked up the stairs and to her bedroom. Landing on her bed, she took full advantage of the peace and slept.
 
"Well...Have a good rest then." He called after her. Mark then left her house, making sure to lock the door before he closed it. He wasn't holding a grudge against his brother, he just wanted to make sure Luke didn't do something like this again. Mark wasn't about to push it with Karen. He simply walked back home, having nothing better to do. He was sure Luke was there by now though.

Maybe I shouldn't go home just yet... He thought. Maybe I'll just go to the park. Yeah, the park sounds like a nice place. And it isn't all that far from here.
 
When she woke up, she felt refreshed. Something she's never felt after a long night's sleep.

It has to be the thing he gave me. She thought. Smiling, she walked over to her computer...her hand hovered over the mouse.

"What am I doing at the computer?" She asked suddenly.

Scratching her head she walked down the stairs and to the kitchen. Lazily pouring a cup of orange juice she heard the sound of crashing upstairs. Raising her eyebrows, she walked up the stairs, sipping at her drink. The room to her father's bedroom was opened ajar and Karen nudged it open a bit further with her toe. What she saw was something she would never get out of her head.

It was the young librarian at her school's library, with her dad, in his bed, half naked.

"Wow." She said nonchalantly, taking another sip. "So, when were you going to tell me this?"

Karen leaned on the door frame watching her father. She could hear his thoughts trying to grasp an excuse.

"Never mind." She said taking another sip. "Not like you can lie to me anyway. Proceed. I was planning on listening to my heavy metal anyway."

Slamming the door closed, Karen walked down the hall way and back into her room, hearing the faint noises.

"Gross." She muttered, switching on her iPod.