Crow's Nest

I'm climbing up the crow's nest so I can clearly see,
And going up the ladder is getting hard for me.
"Enemy ahead" I shout, but my words only echo,
There's not an ear to hear my voice, with me nor down below.
I'm the only one aboard this ship; I'm running out of food. 
I think I'll have to eat my friends, but that seems a little crude. 
So I watch myself get thinner, (I wasn't plump before,)
And just for fun I play pretend that we're back in the war. 
And as I lift the telescope to occupy my mind, 
I try to avoid the thoughts of those I've left behind. 
I'm trying hard to reach you, love, but I can't navigate, 
By the stars or by the moon, and this has sealed my fate. 

I'm talking to myself right now so I don't go insane. 
Not the best of plans, I know, but it helps to dull the pain. 
As I've apparently misplaced my wits, (I had them at the time,)
The thoughts and fears inside my head have all begun to rhyme... 

Pet Peeves List

1. The myth that we only use 10% of our brains. No. Just... No.

2. The letter 'c'. (It either makes the 'k' sound or the 's' sound, but we already have the letters k and s. It's redundant.)

3.When people on Facebook say 'pet peeve #347' or something, when it is very unlikely that their list is actually 347 entries long.

4.When a time machine in science fiction remains stationary, because the only real theory for time travel requires the vehicle to move past the speed of light. Sadly, few sci-fi writers seem to know this, so time machines stay firmly rooted.

5. Also in sci-fi, when a superhero gains powers from radioactive material. The only change would be to that person's offspring, and even then it would almost definitely be harmful to the child's health.

6. When all our spoons are dirty and the dishwasher is still running and I can't find the plastic spoons and while I'm looking my cereal, which I already put milk in, of course, is getting soggy just because I need a stupid utensil.

7. When people say 'I volunteer as tribute!' when the situation has nothing to do with the Hunger Games.

8.When a note or sign uses the wrong kind of 'your'. One time I got a note that said 'Your Beautiful'. Pretty much ruined the compliment. (-:

9. People who have pi memorized for more than ten places. No matter what profession you go into, there is absolutely no reason to memorize pi more than six or seven places. In fact, you only need 42 didgets to calculate the circumference of the ENTIRE UNIVERSE. Also, I was never able to get past seven, so...

10. When people confuse 'writing a song' with 'griping about my life to music'.

11. When advertisements 'put' quotation 'marks' around where they 'shouldn't' be.

12. When you and another person are drinking at adjacent drinking fountains, then the other person leaves, turning off his fountain, but you're still drinking, so the change of water pressure splashes in your face.

13. When the voice-over on a commercial doesn't match the words on the screen. Like, the voice says, 'Horse Riding' and the screen reads, 'Equestrian Programs'.

14. When, out of nowhere, two characters in a book, who had no romantic connections before, start making out. At least give us a warning, like, 'This was the day I met the love of my life', or something. Don't just spring it on us. Jeez.

15. Eating pig meat, since pigs are about the second or third most intelligent animal on the planet. If only the little geniuses didn't taste so dang good...

16. I read that dandelion petals are sweet. I read this in multiple places on the internet, as well as a few books. I tried it. They lied.

17. When you go to the store and the one thing you want, the one thing they ALWAYS have, is out of stock.

18. When you have 16 items and the sign says '15 items or less'. Even if you get away with it, there's this tiny little guilty feeling...

19. When your neighbor's radio plays the same song... over and over... for two hours straight.

20. That last entry reminds me... I hate the word 'neighbors'. I can never spell it right.

21. When someone says 'could care less' when they mean 'couldn't care less'. It's okay if it's aloud, since you could have just left off the 't', but in writing, it makes no sense.

22. Incorrect use of the word 'literally'. Whenever someone says, 'I literally died,' I think, oh no. They're still walking around. Zombie Apocalypse.

23. Saying something stupid, then being asked to explain and having to back out.

24. People who use the word 'like' a lot. Like, it's like, totally a substitute for 'um', but like, it just makes you sound like, even dumber.

25. Using the '@' sign when you just as easily could have typed 'at'. It's a two-letter word, people. No need to abbreviate. You have to hit two keys to make the @ sign, anyway. (shift+2).

26. When the hand dryer doesn't work in a bathroom with no towels. Also,

27. Any bathroom with only a hand dryer, since Mythbusters proved that paper towels are more effective in every way than dryers.

28. People who don't pick up after their dogs. Especially if I was walking barefoot in the grass shortly after said person passed by.

29. Earbuds that tie themselves in knots the moment you look away. Electronic manufacturers have clearly bewitched all earbuds.

30. The 'helpful' rhyme 'I before E except after C or ending in eh as in neighbor or weigh.' I'm no English major, but I suspect that this is wrong more often than it is right.

31. When I think of something I really need to Google, like 'Why is the sky blue?' but I'm at the store or something, so I can't find out, and I just KNOW that I'll forget it by the time I sit down at a computer.

32. The fact that every number can be found on the keyboard twice, once along the top and once to the right. I'm not a big fan of redundancy. See number 2.

33.  Forgetting the name of someone who's really good with names. They walk up to you all like, "Hi, (insert name here)!" and you stare at them like, "Hey... You."

34. High school. For so, so many reasons.

35. Red velvet cake. It's chocolate cake. With less chocolate. And red food coloring. Why does this deserve to be a thing?

37. Knocking a drink over when you're trying to pick it up.

38.Pantyhose. Pantyhose should NEVER be washed. The result is a wad of cloth that can not be distinguished as a wearable item.

39. When someone writes an ellipses with four or five dots..... so annoying.

40. Chairs that are too high when I sit in them. The ride down is fun, but not fun enough.

41. Looking for things in the dark, and then finding all the most painful things in your room in place of the light switch.

42. Being made to sleep in the same bed as your siblings on vacations. And then they take up half the bed despite being smaller than you, and you tell your subconscious, 'Okay, get this through our head. We are older than her. We should take up most of the bed when we sleep, not the other way around! Got it? Good.'
 But does it listen? No! And you're back to square one, curled up on the very edge!

43. Subconsciouses in general. They never listen.

44. When I join a new website and suddenly everyone is using text shortcuts I don't recognize. They're all saying,
 "TTYL & LOT ^^ :-$"
 And I sit there looking at my computer screen all... What? Something slightly closer to English, please?

45. People who get in the middle of distant space while I'm busy staring into it. And then they think I'm staring at them! No. Didn't you see the invisible warning signs? They look like this:




46. Chairs that are too low when I sit on them, though that happens more rarely than number 40.

47. People who know me from some obscure place and/or were in my class for half a year in elementary school, but still recognize me. For all I know, they could be alien impersonators, trying to earn my trust by claiming to know me from a time I don't remember.

48. Realizing that you have a strange sense of humor as you try to share a joke that cracked you up, only to receive blank stares.

49. When vending machines won't take your dollar. IT'S A PERFECTLY GOOD PIECE OF PAPER/CLOTH! TAKE IT! TAKE MY MONEY!

50. Not being able to think of any more pet peeves.

51. When dispensers which are supposed to work with paper cups require more force than paper cups can withstand.

52. When I can't remember what I was going to write, because I thought, 'I could never forget that!'

53.

Feel My Pain

My lunch table is empty. The cafeteria is full. Here's something I've learned recently: finishing other people's sentences before they're begun is outcast material. Answering their silent questions tends to freak people out. Never mind my eyes that seem to peer into your very soul- mainly because they do- all told, it's no surprise I sit alone.

When you hear every thought, something as simple as walking to class is a nightmare:
There he is, they think with a shudder every time my eyes make contact with theirs. Freak. 

If my hand ever touches their skin, even for a second, I have to flinch away from the barrage of hostile thoughts they unknowingly send my way:
I always see him alone... total know-it-all... look at those eyes... what a loser. 

It wasn't always this way. Before I got my 'ability', if you can call it that, I had a few friends. Not popular by any means, but friends.

They left me one by one. "Oh, I'm just going to sit with those guys for the week," they'd say, all the while thinking, Thank God for this excuse, I'd die if I had one more conversation with him. 

"Oh, I don't think I can go with you to that party. My parents won't let me," but I'm going anyway.


By far, though, the broken friendship that hurt the most was Ashley. She was psychic, too. When I was near her, it was like looking into a mirror facing a lake. A feeling of peace went over both of us every time we touched, every time we looked at each other. Neither of us knew where our powers came from, or why it chose us. And really, when we were together, it didn't matter.


 But then something happened. She decided my power was taking over my life.

You never ask questions anymore, she thought towards me, avoiding my gaze after a test in the one class period we shared. You never even speak... it's like you're trying to freak me- freak people out.  I had no reply. She was sitting in front of me, and noticed that I was staring at the back of her head. She turned around to look at me, and for the first time, she flinched just like the rest of them.

That was about when my life plunged into a steep downwards spiral. My parents started to consider counseling more seriously than ever. Meaningful glances conveyed thoughts that were entirely too clear to me:

He was never like this before. What could he be so stressed about? What did we do wrong? Will he outgrow this?

My grades fell, along with my spirit. When it came to people at school, I was feared at best, hated at worst.

To illustrate: a year ago, one of the (many) out-of-my-league girls asked me to a dance. I'd known before she opened her mouth that she had lost a bet, and that she was desperately hoping I'd say no.

I granted her wish.

"Really?" She'd asked, trying to sound disappointed.

"Yeah. Really," I'd muttered, turning away.

After that, every mental insult seemed to intensify. The casual judgments, once as easy to ignore as feathers, now piled on me and became unbearable stones.

The anger starts small. I clench and unclench my fists, then I take deep breaths like you're supposed to. I repeat my mantra to myself:


 Freaking out would make you a freak. Freak out and they'll know you're a freak.  

I close my eyes and grit my teeth. So many years of trying to be normal... I can't let it slip away now.


What the heck is he doing? 

What a retard. 


My mind snaps. About time, too.


I'd envisioned this moment, even as I hoped it would never come. I know what to do.

I spin, grabbing the wrist of the nearest person. He tries to twist away, opening his mouth to swear. 
As luck would have it- or maybe I chose this subconsciously- this guy is one of the worst offenders. I can't count the times he's tried to fight me, forcing me to avoid him for weeks on end. I'd always thought I couldn't take him, but that was only because I was afraid to use my only advantage. Well, no longer.

Everyone's watching. Speaking low but loud, I say the first painfully true thing that comes to me;
 "Stacy knows you cheated on her."

He fakes a laugh, but I'm not the only one who sees his discomfort.

 I smile sarcastically, letting go of his wrist. I turn to face the crowd. For the first time in as long as I can remember, I don't look at the ground or at my hands. I meet the eyes of everyone who stands in the circle square-on, and they flinch away. For once, they're all looking at the ground while I look up.The first guy tries a punch to the back of my head while I'm turned away, but I knew he'd do that. I duck, and as he loses his balance, I grab his hand without looking and pull him down in front of me.

 Everyone takes a few steps back. Someone leaves to report this to a school guard.

 "I wouldn't do that if I were you, Megan," I say, glancing at her as she walks away.

 She hesitates. Ew. How does he know my name? 

 I move on. I make random eye contact again, and I barely pay attention to who it is. I'm interested in only one thing- their biggest secret or fear.

 "Everyone thinks you're an idiot."

 I turn again and again, noting with satisfaction the damage I cause each time.
 Right in the middle, I come to Ashley. I'm in the groove, and I don't hesitate.

 "You're just as freaky as I am."

Tears come to her eyes, more for myself than for her, and for a moment, I regret my words. But only a moment.

 As I continue my tirade, no one else is dumb enough to try and touch me.  Finally, they feel my pain. 
 But I'm not done yet.

I walk to the locker of one of the richer kids and open it with a few flicks of my wrist. Behind me, I hear,
"Did you give him your combo?"
"No! Of course not!"

Smiling crazily, I lift a pair of car keys out of a purse pocket.

Walking through the crowd, I avoid a few more punches. I start to giggle when they make a path for me. By the time I leave the school building, my laughs echo. 

Forget Ashley. For once, it's good to be psychic.