Free The Reinvention of Bessica Lefter by Kristen Tracy

conversation, I packed my backpack and picked out my clothes. And then I got in my bed and let my mind swim for an hour. The house felt very empty without Grandma. I didn’t hear her laugh. Or her voice. Or her terrible Frank Sinatra songs. I listened hard for all the sounds I missed. There was so much emptiness at one point that I thought I started to hear the ocean. And the next thing I knew, I had the weirdest dream of my life.
    The weirdest dream of my life was short and terrible. I was in the middle-school bathroom. I recognized it from orientation. For some reason, I was standing in there and missing all my classes. Girl after girl came in to use thebathroom. But none of them talked to me. Sometimes I gave them paper towels after they washed their hands. A few of the girls came in laughing with their friends, ha, ha, ha . But I didn’t laugh. Because nobody told me the joke. I was very nervous about missing all my classes. But, weirdly enough, not nervous enough to leave the bathroom.
    Lots of girls kept cramming their way into the bathroom. Girl after girl after girl. They all seemed to know each other. Then the PE teacher showed up, and she made us do exercises. And I didn’t want to fail PE. So I did them. Jumping jacks. Squats. Push-ups. Then the cheerleaders showed up. And surrounded me. The whole squad. And they did cheerleader things, like flips and bends. I was afraid one of them would end up in the toilet. Or bang her head on a faucet. But they were very coordinated and that didn’t happen.
    Then Principal Tidge showed up. And she stood right next to me. And nobody else thought this was weird, so I didn’t say anything. And Principal Tidge started doing exercises too. And the PE teacher yelled at us to jog. So we did. Jog. Jog. Jog . Even Principal Tidge. Then I saw Sylvie. I was shocked! Because she didn’t even say hello. And she was jogging too. Then I heard laughing. Why were people laughing? And then I realized they were pointing at me. Even Principal Tidge!
    “What’s her name?” somebody asked.
    “Bessica Lefter!” Sylvie said.
    I couldn’t believe Sylvie did that. I couldn’t believe that Sylvie would tell all these bathroom laughers my name.
    Then Principal Tidge was laughing so hard that she tipped over.
    Then I woke up. But I wasn’t laughing. I was so hot I was sweating. I kicked the covers off me and stared into the darkness. This was the first dream I’d ever had where Sylvie acted like a complete jerk. I didn’t understand what it meant. I closed my eyes again. But I never totally fell back asleep.
    THINGS TO DO IN MIDDLE SCHOOL
1. Avoid Psycho-bullies, Crispitos, and Dolan the Puker
2. Attend my classes in the correct order:
   Nutrition
   English
   Math
   Lunch
   Geography
   Public Speaking
   PE
3. Continue boyfriend search for Grandma
4. Try to stop hating Sylvie (even in my dreams)
5. Find a lunch group
6. Learn

hen my mom poked her head into my room and told me that it was time to get up, I couldn’t believe it was already morning. Partly because I felt like I hadn’t slept enough. And partly because it was still dark outside and I could hear Dad snoring like a lawn mower.
    I stared at the ceiling and tried to remember how to get from one class to the next. Because maybe that was why I’d stayed in the bathroom during my dream. I knew where to go for PE, because the gym was in the center of the school. But things got a little fuzzy for me after that. There were so many things to remember and keepstraight. Too many . Psycho-bullies. Hallways. Teachers. Classrooms. Bathrooms. Dolan the Puker. My locker. Beef nuggets …
    “It’s time to get up,” my mom said again. Then she flipped on my light and blinded me.
    Sitting up in bed, covering my eyes, I suddenly felt two different ways about school. I really wanted to go to school. I really didn’t want to go to school.
    But I got out of bed anyway. At first, nothing was different. I already had my