Opposite of Normal
By Mahitha Vijily
Talent Time 2013 Essay Writing English – Category 2 Winner
Last night, I went to sleep and the next morning I opened the front door and everything was the
opposite of normal. I had expected to experience the powerful rays of the sun, but instead the sky
was pitch black, resembling a barren and deserted alleyway. confused. 1 went up tot eh calendar
to confirm the date. It read April 18th, 2013 which was a Monday. Flabbergasted. I tried to
comprehend this bizarre sense of logic. Yesterday, I had gone to sleep on a Friday, anticipating
for the weekend with a grudging sense of acceptance, I rushed downstairs to discover that I was
home alone. With an ounce of fear creeping in, I commenced to get ready for school. There was
orange juice in the milk carton, the yogurt was in the freezer, the bathrooms were locked and the
fridge was not working. Today, by far, was very far from normal. I sprinted to my bus stop, and
for once, without looking back.
Nearly, ten minutes had passed and the bus still hadn't arrived. With dread killing my
hopes, I heard the screeching sound of my school bus. As I looked up, something was horribly
wrong. Instead of seeing the mechanic yellow lump, my eyes met with a crimson massive
vehicle. I hopped on this peculiar bus to see myself surrounded by strangers. They bore their
steely eyes into me like I was an alien from outer space. All the seats were occupied, except for
one. So I hopelessly stumbled to take that.. As I replayed the events of the day, I wondered
where normal was, or where my parents, friends were. At last the bus lumbered on a hill, and I
expected to see the usual tannish building. To my awe, I saw a fort enveloped in fog and mist.
Cobwebs were plastered everywhere and the fort creaked as students, including myself rushed in.
The hallways were filled with green goop, and teachers were nowhere to be seen. On a normal
day, the teachers would be guarding the halls and we students would be seated in class. Exactly
twenty minutes had passed and the first bell had not yet rung, which was very strange. Strung
with loneliness, and surprise, I once again longed for normal I mustered up some courage and set
out to visit the front office, determined to get back normal.
The office was desolated and the usual business was not present. As I bit back my
trembling lip, I trudged further into the office. There were two doors to my right and two doors
to my left. As I pondered on which door to open, I felt someone push me. Appalled, I closed my
eyes to brace myself. After a minute or two, I adjusted to my current surroundings, which was a
barren green space. There were scattered books all over the room, and I searched for a trap door
if possible, anything to get out of here. Suddenly I froze to hear a hollow screeching sound,
almost deafening me. I looked back and shrieked. Normal, Where are you, when I really need
you? Standing before me was a ghost. Yes, a real live a ghost. Haha, very normal. The ghost
shrieked once again and grabbed hold of my shoulders. I tensed and my vision became blurry. As
I began to focus on my new surroundings, I saw my math teacher was holding out my latest
assignment. Yes, normal was back, or so we hoped.