I Aesid

     He thudded down the stairs eager to wolf down his food, so he could race back up to his bedroom and battle aliens for the rest of the night. As he sat down at the dinner table his younger sister made her way into the dining room yawning. “Boy, the rain sure does make me sleepy,” Ashley declared. Ashley was Aesid’s younger sister by two years. She was a green Aisha just like him, they’ve always been close as kids but as they grew older he became ever more independent seeking out his video games and comic books over hanging out with Ashley and her teenage drama.

     His mother then approached with a tray of Asparagus Borovan Lasagna that had steam flowing off of it fresh from the oven. As she sat the hot home-cooked meal down on the table a flash of lightning jolted down right outside the window. Ashley jumped in her chair and gave a shrill shriek making Aesid roll his eyes. “Honestly Ashley, it’s just a storm, it’ll pass soon there is nothing to be frightened of.”

     “Gosh Aesid, don’t be so mean, it only startled me is all.”

     “Everything startles you,” Aesid couldn’t help but roll his eyes again. Annoyed with how over the top she always had to be with everything.

     “Oh, will you two stop your bickering, honestly!” his mother replied as she scooped out servings of the food onto their plates. “At least you’re wide awake now Ashley dear. I want your homework finished before you go to bed.”

     As soon as the food touched his plate Aesid began quickly scooping it into his mouth gulping down each bite as fast as he could.

     His mother’s eyes grew wide, disgusted by how sloppily he was consuming a meal that took her all night to prepare. “Now where do you think you’re off to in a hurry like that?” she asked, “I want your homework done too you know.”

     “I already finished it mom,” he didn’t have time to explain that he was itching to get to his outer space game. It just came out this week and all his friends were raving about it. He had to be the only Neopet in the whole high school that hadn’t tried it yet.

     He left the table unexcused, grabbed a can of neocola from the fridge, and ran up the stairs. He could hear his mom complaining to his sister about something but it instantly left his mind as he sat in front of the computer, grabbing the mouse, ready to finally see what the hype for this game was all about.

     Clicking to start a new game, his eyes lit up with excitement. He was playing an Alien Aisha named Eddix and got to travel along the platforms destroying corrupt alien life forms and collecting nerkmids. A catchy jingle played in the background as he defeated creature after creature and jumped over obstacles. He was just about to finish the first level when another bolt of lightning struck down right by the telephone pole outside.

     Suddenly the computer and the light in his room shut off, and he could hear Ashley wailing from the other room. He peered out the window and could tell that the power was down at least on his whole block. “Argghhhh!” he yelled out as he kicked his bedpost. So much for that, he didn’t get very far at all. It was only 8 pm, but he was angry and unmotivated to do anything with the power gone. It would be a struggle to even read one of his comics.

     Laying down in his bed he stared out at the night sky as the stars gleamed and sparkled. They were brighter than usual with the sudden loss of electrical light and looked so pretty amongst the deep dark sky.

     I wonder what it’s like to be a real alien? He wondered to himself as he suddenly became sleepy. If he was an alien he wouldn’t have to worry about homework or his sister whining. He might even have magical abilities to restore the power. He quickly drifted off to a night of restful sleep as he fantasized about flying space ships and collecting cool looking moon rocks. Outside his window, a star in the sky twinkled and something bright began to descend towards Neopia like a shooting star.

     ---

     Lumps of green slime started pushing at him blocking his way forward to the next obstacle. Aesid took out his ray gun and began to attack the strange alien. Beep, beep, beep went his weapon as the great ball of slime was blown to smithereens. He descended to the next level collecting nerkmids on his way when an orange creature with 3 eyes began to pursue him. “Not this time,” beep, beep, beep he shot and just like that the enemy was gone. He was so close to the end of the level now, just two more jumps and, beep, beep, beep. Aesid looked down at his ray gun confused by the sound because he wasn’t using it. It was at this awful moment that he realized he was dreaming and was startled awake to his alarm clock going off.

     He slept in by a good half an hour on a school day. On the bright side, at least the power was working again. Jumping out of bed he quickly got dressed, grabbing his backpack and racing out the door. He missed the bus and now had to walk to school. It was only 2 miles (3.22 km), but he was annoyed at himself for sleeping in. It was such a good dream too if only he could have slept till noon.

     Today was such a beautiful day, the sun beat down on him keeping him warm and the Weewoos were out chirping playfully. Even though he was walking he should still make it to school on time since the bus had such a long route. This was good news since his teacher was strict and would be sure to tell his mother if he was late. The last thing he needed was her grounding him from the computer and the game he’s been so desperate to play.

     Trying to stay positive Aesid looked around at his surroundings taking in the beauty of the nearby meadows. It was at this moment that he noticed something green shimmering brightly about half a mile away next to an old abandoned barn. There was something eerie about it that caught his interest. It certainly didn’t look like something that belonged in Neopia with the way it glowed like that.

     He didn’t really have the time but curiosity got the better of him, and he began to make his way towards the strange glowing object. As he got closer he realized it was a stone of some sort. It looked like a giant emerald but emitted the brightest most beautiful glimmer. Looking around him to make sure no one was watching he went to grab the item and stuff it into his backpack. However, as soon as his fingers touched the warm stone there was a huge flash of light and the world began to spin. He was being taken away, to somewhere else, somewhere unknown. Fear crept inside him making him feel cold and sweat at the same time. He couldn’t comprehend what was happening. After what felt like an eternity he hit a cold hard ground in a dark land he didn’t recognize. He didn’t get long to look before the shock of it all made him faint.

     The End.