Nora walked into art class groggy-eyed and dead tired. It had been a long day and Nora was out of steam. She could barely keep her eyes open, especially after math and then lunch. Her stomach was full and she needed a nap.

After her nightmare the night before Nora couldn't get back to sleep. She'd dragged herself out of bed at 3AM to finished some lingering Chemistry lab work just to pass the hours until school started. The idea of sleeping and seeing those gruesome images again kept her conscious. She had done alright through this morning's classes but now she was flat-out exhausted. The only reason she didn't just go home, aside from not wanting to instigate her mom's ire, was that she had all intension of meeting Kaden after school, come hell or high water. Since she was walking to the nature center directly from school there would be no point in going home early.

Outside art there'd been a vending machine that Nora'd hit on the way into class. Art fascinated her and this was one course she was glad to wake up for, even if she needed some caffiene to do it.

As Nora took a seat she tried to be slick and hide her drink behind her bag. The crack and hiss of her soda, however, made Nora flinch as she opened it.

Dang it, she thought to herself. That was too darn loud. As if on cue, Mrs. Shaw appeared at Nora's table.

"You know better than to bring drinks into the studio, Nora," she said, chastising her.

Nora half-whined her response. "Please let me drink it, Mrs. Shaw. I didn't sleep much last night. I really need the caffiene so I do good in class."

Mrs. Shaw paused thoughtfully before responding to Nora. "Let's talk in the hallway, Nora."

Mrs. Shaw walked over to the door and held it open. Nora blinked owl-eyed from her table. She'd never been called out of class for bad behavior before in her life. She was mortified over the attention she was now getting.

"Right now, young lady," Mrs. Shaw said. "We haven't got all day. The class is waiting."

Nora felt two feet tall. Some clowns in the back of the class hooted and howled at her. She just knew Eamon was one of them.

The turd.

Nora walked out the door sheepishly, carrying her belongings with her. Her friend Cala, whom Nora didn't even get a chance to say hello to yet, smiled encouragingly as Nora passed by. Cala silently mouthed, "You'll be ok."

Thank goodness for friends, Nora thought briefly before her nerves rattled her insides. She quick gulped down some of her soda for a little liquid courage.

As she swallowed her contraband and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, Nora started apologizing before she got six inches into the hallway.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Shaw," she said. "I was so tired and this is my favorite class. I wanted to be awake for it. And, well-"

Mrs. Shaw was standing outside the now-closed classroom door with her hands on her hips. She sighed as Nora rambled and then cut her off. "Listen, I don't care about the soda. Well, wait. I do," she lectured. She took her hands off her hips and threw them into the air.

"You know better. You can't drink soda in the studio, Nora. It could spill, and plus if I let you do it then all the other kids will want to do it as well," she said before leaning on the wall across the hall. She settled down briefly before popping back off the wall three seconds later.

"What I'm really concerned about, though, is why you're not sleeping. What's going on? Is everything ok at home?"

"At home?" Nora asked.

"Yeah," Mrs. Shaw replied. "At home; with your parents? Or is something else bothering you? Something you want to tell me about? Maybe something I can help you with?"

Nora felt like she was under a magnifying glass as Mrs. Shaw stood there starring at her.

Waiting.

Before she could stop herself, Nora blurted out the truth. "I've been having nightmares. Last night, the one I had? It was pretty bad. And they keep happening. And sometimes even during the day I..."

Thinking a little more as she spoke, (the caffeine was finally kicking in), Nora stopped herself. She realized she'd soon be in the guidance counselor's office if she didn't shut up.

Nora wasn't keen on being head-shrunk.

"You know what?" Nora said back-tracking. "Forget it. Just ignore me. Like I said. I didn't sleep much last night. And it's my own fault. I watched too many horror movies before bed. I also ate a lot of peanut butter last night. Did you know too much peanut butter causes nightmares? I read that somewhere online. I wonder if its true. Do you think it's true, Mrs. Shaw?"

Knowing she sounded full of it, Nora was really surprised when Mrs. Shaw only mumbled to herself. "Looks like today's lesson is right on time." Then she told Nora to drink her soda before joining the class again.

Of all the things she expected Mrs. Shaw to say, that wasn't it. Nora was grateful, though and didn't question her good fortune.

Nora chugged her soda as fast as she could, burping bubbles and thanking goodness no one was around to witness the spectacle she was making. Then she went inside to start the day's work, wondering what Mrs. Shaw meant when she'd said the day's lesson was right on time.