Purple Haze, Part 1 - Something Old, Something New

I've never been the 'cool kid' in school. Never the 'smart one'. Not even the normal one. I've never fit in with any type of social group, and with a name like Zoe, being a teenage boy, didn't help with trying to fit in. My peers all made fun whenever my name was called out on the register. Every single time.

My alarm rings, and I'm woken from yet another tasteless dream. This time I was sitting on the edge of my bedroom window, chewing gum, just looking down. Just looking. What a waste of a dream, I'd of thought that if my unconscious mind was going to occupy the time taken up while sleeping, it would of at least conjured up something interesting or exciting. But no. Tasteless. Every single time.

My mother calls from the living room to say goodbye, she's off to work again. I have no clue as to what she works as, I've never really taken any interest, and she's never spoken about work whenever we have our 4 second chats, before I escape into my isolation. That would be my room.

I go through my usual morning routine, and head towards the kitchen to pick up the packed lunch my mother may or may not have made me. As I'm just about to leave my room, I take a look at the empty space next to my bed I always keep tidy and clean. It's the space I'll one day have saved enough money to occupy with a guitar. I've always wanted to play one. I still hope.
I get to the kitchen. Ah, she did make me a packed lunch today, at least now I save a few bucks from buying my own lunch. That also means that I don't have to hang around in the cafeteria at school today either. Two birds with one stone. 

As I leave my house I let my mind wonder. What if I could find a place where everyone accepts me? Where no one makes fun of me and my name? What if I just packed up all my stuff and left now, forever? Ha, don't be silly Zoe, you'd die out there. No money, no food, no where to stay. Nothing. Still, I wonder. School goes ahead as usual, people laughing, calling names, funny looks, some whisper as I walk by. It doesn't really bother me any more, I'm used to it. At lunch I sit next to Greg, he isn't really popular nor non-popular. No one really labels him as a friend or an enemy. He's not a nobody, but he's not a somebody either. Greg doesn't mind me sitting next to him at lunch times, he's always outside of the cafeteria also, and he doesn't speak much.

"Hey Greg, you okay?"

"Mhm.."

"Nice day today, huh?"

"Yeah"

"So what did you do over th-"

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Now can I eat my lunch?"

"Oh, uhm, sure. Sorry"

"Yeah". So we both sat there, eating our lunch. No talking, no interaction, no anything. Just the way Greg likes it.

After school some kids wait outside and throw water balloons at me. Around a dozen or so are thrown, but luckily only three hit. Two in the chest, and the other soaked my crouch. There's a potential nickname, but the kids are too busy laughing and jogging away to realise where they hit me. Luckily it's a sunny day today, so the stains will dry up quickly. A place where everyone accepts me. Where no one makes fun of me and my name.

Today I decided to take the short cut on my way home, through the park. The trees look nice today, like you know they're alive. Pure, ripe green leaves hang from every small branch on each tree. I love taking a short cut through the park on sunny days. Kids having fun in the small playground next to the astro turf football court, the gravel on the path crunching underneath my foot at each step I take. Despite my (usually experienced) bad day, I get a good, warm feeling walking through this park. Like it's a small forest, with untold wonders waiting beyond the trees. As I strolled through, not thinking about my direction, a boy approached me on a bicycle, maybe two or three years older than myself.

"Hey man. Wanna buy something that'll blow your mind?"

"Uhm, sorry, I really just want to get home"

"Listen kid, this shit right here will take you somewhere you never thought possible. And for a small price..."

"Somewhere... Never thought possible?"

"Aye. You'll feel like you're on another planet, away from all your worries. You'll feel amazing. Complete"

"Well..."

"C'mon, don't you wanna live man?"

"Hmm, what is it?"

"Well, I call it 'the good stuff'. Names don't matter here kid"

"I dunno, I don't have much on me"

"Well just give me what you got, see, I like you. I'm gonna be nice"

"Okay. Here, that's everything"

"Mmh. Okay take this. Prepare to fly kid, prepare to F-L-Y"

"Sure....thanks". As he rode off, I realise I forgot to ask what the hell I actually do with it. Do I eat it? Snort it? What do I do with it now?

So now I stand here in the middle of a park, with purple and green coloured... leaves? From a plant of some sort maybe. There's no point in just staring at it lay there innocently in my hand, so I say screw it to myself, and eat the damn thing.

5 minutes pass, and nothing. Man, I wasted this weeks allowance on that? I knew I got ripped off. I take a seat on the nearest bench, and instantly throw my head into my hands. Stupid, stupid, stupid. You'll never be able to save up for that guitar if you keep spending every penny you get on silly things. Stupid. But to my dismay, once I look up everything has.... changed. I mean completely and utterly changed. There's no more kids, no more playground, no more football court. There's just.. trees, and it looks like they stretch for miles. The same trees from the park I was just in, but the leaves are purple now. And it looks like they're, breathing! I can actually see the trees breathing! The leaves elevate and the base bends back slightly. I can hear the inhale and exhale. It's faint, but I can definitely hear it.

What's going on? I decide to get up and explore this new place. Is it new? I mean I was literally in the park 5 seconds ago, and the bench is still h-

The bench I just got up from has disappeared. Replaced by a thorn bush, but as I take a closer look, the thorns are... miniature fingers? Moving in a come hither motion. Like they're directing it at me, as if the bush wants to tell me a secret. Am I seeing this correctly? I back away in slight shock and turn around. I see a river and a crossing in the distance, so I walk towards it.