Emotion. That's the first thing I remember when I wake up. The second thing was Dad's warning. Beware of Emotion. Happiness is poison. It's deadly. It's a burden. My mind was all jumbled up and I still had no clear image of what Affection and Happiness really is. Sighing, I got up and walked downstairs to eat dinner and then went back to bed. The next morning, I miserably got out of the house and tried to find the youngster. No one came. Panicking, I ran across the street twice, not knowing what to do since my direction skills weren't perfect and I had no idea of where the school was located. Luckily, he came at last and I stumbled right across to him. "Why are you panting?" he asked. I looked at myself, and saw that I was breathing in and out rapidly and also, shivering. Before I could stop myself, I blurted out, "I'm Happy that you're here." The horror! I used one of the forbidden words! "Were you sad because you thought I wasn't going to come?" I didn't know what Sad meant, so I asked him. He laughed (which I think is a sign that means he is Happy) and said, "Sad means the opposite of happy. When people are sad, they usually cry." Once again, I learned something new. We separated and I got to my class. The teacher asked us to take out our homework and she started calling on people's names for answers. "Hughs!" "Yes?" "What is the answer to #5?" "What?" "Weren't you paying attention?" "No Ma'am. And I'm sure no one else is." A period of laughter and then, silence. "Hughs, see me after class." "Yes Ma'am." And so after class was dismissed, I went to see her. She had a face that made me feel uneasy. "Hughs, did you do your homework?" "What homework?" "You realize I'm angry with you?" "What's that?" "Excuse me?" "What's Angry?" "This is not a joke!" "I know." The teacher shook her head and said, "Angry means that you are not happy. You are unhappy. When you disobey someone of higher authority, they usually get angry. Now do you understand?" I did. "I'm sorry Ma'am. I didn't mean to make you Angry," I said. The teacher's face relaxed. "It's all right, Hughs. Thank you for the apology. I appreciate it. Just do the homework tonight and turn it in tomorrow, all right?" "OK." Angry. Another word they never taught me back at home. Interesting. I strolled out the door and went to the empty table I sat at yesterday and again, threw my lunch away. A couple of older kids were talking behind their hands and whispering and snickering. I gave it my all to ignore them as they continued peeking at me and then turning around when I looked at them. It was like I was a contagious disease and that they would get contaminated every time my eyes met theirs. Cameron and I met up after school and just like yesterday, he started talking immediately about his model rocket and how he was going to launch it tomorrow in the school courtyard and how I should come and watch him even though it's school hours. My eyes grew wide as I discovered that I might have something they called a "friend", a person that share Emotions and Feelings with you, a person you could trust. I never had a real friend before, I never needed one, but now, it feels good to have one. I even smiled, which I never did back at home. But I had to kill them, destroy them, wipe them out. My heart thumped louder and the smile disappeared, replaced with a frown. How could I possibly kill someone so amazing, so wonderful, so...HAPPY? Resentment grew in me and I struggled to break free of its grasp. "Are you OK?" I snapped out of my dream and looked into Cameron's wide eyes. "Uh...yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about me. I got to rush home now...um...see you!" Before he could respond, I sprinted to Mom's house, ran into my room, and jumped into my bed. Dad pulled me free of my body and I floated...or rather, sank.