In My Dreams I’m Often Convinced That We Moved Out To An Identical Apartment A Few Feet Away

I dream that I’m going to a private school, classes are so much better ant the teacher is fantastic, but I’m afraid I can’t afford it on the long run. The school is on the highest floor of my building while the teacher lives on the first floor; I go visit her, look out of the window at some fireworks, and start crying: I used to live here, I realize, I recognize the view. I tenderly touch the couch and clothesline. When did we move away from this apartment? We live one floor above now.

I go back home and find my dad cheating on mom with cousin V. I’m so mad that I want to push her from the balcony, but I just kick her out of the house. Dad’s only option is to tentatively go back with mom now, I think. I show him the camera I just won from a vending machine but he’s not interested. It’s worth 500 bucks, I say, pleadingly.

I go meet with Gran, hoping she at least will be happy for me. She isn’t wearing a mask, I notice, and neither am I, we’re gonna get in so much trouble. She asks me to go buy something at the pharmacy. I get there and I already forgot what I was supposed to buy, cream maybe? No, coffee, definitely. The shutters at the pharmacy are already closing. I pop my head in ask if they have any coffee. Thy don’t.

Puppeh

I dream that we find a golden retriever puppy lost on the street and bring him home. We call him Miss February even though he’s a boy. He’s got a big smile and is super soft, we know we can’t keep him because he’s gonna become huge and our apartment is too small, I should call the vet and leave him with them, I’m procrastinating it though.

I wake up in my childhood room, the puppy has crawled under my covers and fallen asleep. It’s the last week of school and I don’t care about being late at all. I’ll skip my finals even, don’t they know I already got my degree? My old high school literature teacher is writing a long math formula on the blackboard, I find solving it as easy as eating a bowl of rice. During recess I tell my classmates all about my puppy.

Mayhaps This Has Something To Do With My Mother Never Bothering To Learn About My Life Outside Of Her Influence?

I dream that I have to go through a series of trials for school, but none of the kids want to partner with me, so I end up competing with my mom. She’s not putting any effort into it and I’m afraid we’re going to come last. The first trial consists in melting down wax bars into disks, then piling them until there’s enough weight to push a button and open a door. I explain to my mom how to do it, she refuses to follow the instructions.

When we finally escape the door, we find a girl (one of my elementary schoolmates) looking at us with pity. She already passed all the trials, she says, and there’s no way we can make it, we’re just too *provincial*. We exit the building and find ourselves in Singapore. We need to find a bookstore and buy a certain book, I open Google Maps on my phone…

The alarm rings.

All This Anxiety, And It’s All Stupid

I dream that I’m a guest at a new school, an alarm sound and all the students get up and calmly go to their assigned exits, I’m not sure what to do. I finally get out of the building and I see Dolores Umbridge being walked away in handcuffs. I get home and now thousands of students are here too, I need to go to the bathroom because I got my period but they won’t leave, I’m yelling at them and feeling like an asshole.

I end up staying for a few days in an apartment with Jamie from Bly Manor; I fall desperately in love with her, but she ignores me, I have to leave soon and all she cares about is a little girl that she’s gonna adopt. Back at home, and now my sister is mad at me too because I’m eating risotto in the bathroom.

Warning: Another Dead Kid. So Sorry. My Subconscious Sucks.

I dream that I’m a nurse in a Middle Eastern hospital. There’s a doctor, a western woman with glasses, who just lost her daughter, and she’s so overcome with grief she’s carrying the corpse everywhere with her. I’m trying my best to work without looking at the dead girl. Another doctor is protesting about the woman’s erratic schedule. I call her to one side and say, “forgive her, she just lost her child.” “What do you mean,” the doctor says, the girl is right there with her!” “Exactly,” I say, and her face colors with understanding, followed by horror.

Now I’m having lunch with my mom and we’re talking about the woman and her dead child like it was a TV episode. I need to go back to school soon, but it’s the second to last day and I’m not sure what classes I have left, if it’s philosophy I’m gonna skip. With my shoes already on, I lay on my bed to check my Thursday schedule, which I never seem to remember. My bedroom is a big, airy attic with plenty of green plants. My aunt M. appears out of nowhere, she sits on the floor with a bin full of water and soap and starts washing some clothes. She keeps glancing at me, I try to ignore her. Finally she walks to me and tries to glance at my school diary. It’s full of pictures of Chyler Leigh and I’m really embarrassed.

And Again And Again

I dream that it’s the last day of school. There’s a young substitute teacher, I’m chuckling with my friends and he throws me out the classroom. Then he follows me along the hallway, trying to decide what my punishment should be. He said I will have to cook something, I lie and say I cook too much at home already. Now we’re inside an Ikea and he’s still following me, a security guard even asks me if I need help. I find my favorite blanket in a trash can.


It’s the last day of school again, I’m driving to class with my cousin, I tell her I’m gonna go work for our rival company and she says, do what you gotta do. The classroom is enormous and nearly no seats are empty, I finally find one right in front of the teacher. A girl offers me chocolate coffee, I refuse politely and immediately regret it. I notice everybody has Nintendo 3DS: why? Did I miss something? The teacher is a young woman with a blonde ponytail, I feel some obvious lesbian vibes. She starts talking and my alarm rings.

Enough

I dream that it’s the last week of school and I’m skipping it, again. ( I’m so fed up with this. Nothing like this ever happened, why do I keep dreaming about it??)

My dad drives me to school, parks in front of the building. I don’t want to go, I say, what’s the point? I don’t care about my grades. When he leaves, I go for a walk instead. It’s sunny, for a change.

A Returning Classic

I dream that it’s the last day of school, as usual it’s a Saturday and, as usual, I’m planning to quit before graduation. But why not hang out in the classroom for one more day?

Dear old philosophy teacher hands out exam sheets. Everybody is panicking except me, I haven’t studied but who cares? My friend M., worried about me, shows me her sheet, I copy it lazily making sure to add some mistakes.

The exam is divided in two parts, “boy” and “girl”. The teacher takes away the “boy” sheet as soon as it’s finished, to grade it. I tackle the “girl” sheet and I’m amazed to realize the questions are about web design and so I can answer most of them. The teacher brings back the first sheet, graded 80/100. He compliments me.

I’m a bit proud of myself now, I really want to finish the second sheet, but my alarm rings.