A/N: All hail NaNoWriMo! I've had this idea for a long time after I wrote Scream (and took it down, since it kinda sucked). The couple hundred words from the original will not be counted towards the 50k word total. That's if I make it.
All my other stories are being put on hold. For November, I will have no life. I might upload a few extra things I already have, but no new writing except for this. I hope I can update once a day, but that's a hope right now.
I really need constructive criticism - this is only edited for spelling and somewhat grammar. If you even see the littlest mistake, I want to know about it. After I finish it, it will be re-uploaded in an edited format.

"And… ai! Ai! Ai!"

The "hula dancers" swayed with the beat put on by the drums and the caller. Their skirts weren't green, but made of a straw-like material. They all wore a green top, however, and they all held what looked like pompoms. One girl in the center nearly tripped, and they all started over again, groaning and whining.

Alisa laughed as they all whined. "Yeah, I wish I could do half that. What losers, you know?"

I stuffed another piece of hotdog in my mouth, scoffing in agreement. We had been watching them practice in the lunch area for days now, and they had even started to draw a crowd after awhile. They weren't practicing on the real stage, which was bigger and left them with more room. But they wanted to be outside, in the sun and the breeze. Behind the stage was a massive soccer field, held in by a flimsy chain-link fence. Outside of that was the rest of the town; the mall, an arcade, the junior high, and a bunch of small businesses and houses.

I had brought along my camera for the yearbook, to take a few pictures of the dancers in motion. Alisa followed me, complaining about not making it into the dance class she'd wanted. "I know that the sophomore year is the toughest -munch munch- phut Iy wanned ta -swallow- have an elective! It's just so unfair!

I laughed and nodded, raising my camera to take a picture of the dancers, when they all panicked. Alisa screamed and pointed towards the junior high, which had recently become a ball of smoke and fire. A chunk of building raced towards us, went overhead, and into a classroom nearby. Several screams were heard, and the alarm sounded.

I took a picture before running to the emergency-at-lunch classroom; basically, a teacher on her prep hour. The alarms were signaling for an earthquake, not an evacuation, strangely enough. Alisa was more of an athlete than I, and soon was running faster than me. She only grabbed my arm and told me to hurry.

Somewhere along the line, I made the mistake of looking back towards the junior high. It seemed that the one explosion had set off many more, now completely destroying the school and sending more shrapnel our way.

I worried vaguely about Lilly, my little sister, who had been attending the junior high at the time. I think I worried, anyway. My mind was more blank than anything, and any worry was for myself and those in my immediate area. But I digress.

We had almost reached the empty classroom when another piece of debris rocked the school. Although far away from us, Alisa and I could feel the disturbances. I couldn't hear the screams, as the alarms switched from "earthquake" to "evacuate."

People had been scattered everywhere; it was total chaos for a moment. My legs were done running, they said; my lungs were burning and telling me to rest. But Alisa pulled me on towards the bus area. We were among a small group of about ten people, and few of us knew the others. There was a hula dancer, two guys dressed in all black, a few wearing plaid, one with a designer shirt… and we were all together, all running for our lives.

The camera banged against my chest as a stitch formed in my side. I couldn't keep running for long. As I fell behind our group, arms all pulled me back in.

Small explosions were still obliterating the school across from us. I knew for sure that my sister must be dead. Tears formed behind my eyes as my legs collapsed. The next thing I knew was a vague lifting sensation, and screams…

I jumped out of bed, screaming. When I stopped, I was tangled in the sheets and had a cold sweat all over.

The door creaked open. "Ann? Are you all right? I heard - oh, there you are." My roommate, Charlene, came and sat on the end of my bed. "Annie, did you have a nightmare?"

I began to cry as I leaned on her shoulder. She soothingly ran her hand over my head. "What was it about?" Charlie was specializing in dream studies, so I couldn't blame her, but I was just...

I could barely answer... I was so choked up and miserable. "There was a building, a school, that exploded, and everyone died. Me too." Except it wasn't me, but me at the same time. She didn't need to know that, though.

"It's all right, it wasn't real. Do you need something to drink?"

After drying my tears, I shook my head. "No, Charlie, I'm fine now. I think I'll just go back to sleep."

She smiled at me. "You do that. Good night, and tell me if you get any other nightmares."

Pulling the blanket back over myself, I smiled back. "Good night."

I didn't sleep.

"Damn, Ann, what the hell happened to you?" Vera asked. "Rough night?" She winked a few times, then noticed the continuing seriousness on my face. I had trouble rearranging my features to form a smile. I just couldn't forget...

"Vera, I'm just sleepy. I couldn't sleep." I plucked her sleeve and headed over to the breakfast line. "Coffee..." I mumbled. Vera giggled.

"Do you have the money? I could-"

I cut her off. "Vera, I've got it. It's only a couple of dollars... I'll manage." I smiled weakly. Vera was very well off, while I living in a dorm I couldn't even pay for. She dressed in rich, lacy black outfits (sans eyeliner - she'd kicked that habit in high school), while I usually stuck to loose cotton in whatever color I could find. She had a designer backpack, while I had my home-sewn bookbag. We made an odd pair, to be sure.

Although the line was short, I almost fell over asleep. "Whoa, narcolepsy much?" Vera sighed. "Ann, get more sleep tonight, okay? And don't go falling asleep in class."

I groaned and ordered the drink black. Vera made various gagging noises.

"You really drink it like that? Ew. Just ew." I swear, she almost puked when I downed it as fast as possible.

"Dude. Doesn't your throat burn?" I nodded. "Yeah, of course. But I'm willing to make that sacrifice."

Vera beamed. "There's the Annie I know and love! Now get to class!" She pointed and tried to act stern while cracking a grin.

"I love you too, Vera." I smiled, then sighed and headed towards Theory of Mathematics.

"Hey? Um, Ann, I mean miss Lorick, class is over. You can wake up now..." I felt a gentle prod on my shoulder. A shaggy-haired boy was trying to wake me up.

"Hm? I'm awake. Did you need help on something?"

He shook his head and gestured at the emptying classrom. "No, everyone's leaving. Class is over."

I mumbled about coffee and stretched before scooping up my bag. He still stood in my way, though.

"Excuse me, but could you let me through? I need to get to class."

"Actually... I was going to ask you what happened. You were asleep almost all period!"

I shook my head and said, "I couldn't sleep last night." Right about then my shyness kicked in. "Could you please move...?"

He blushed and scooted aside. I didn't look back at him in my hurry to get to class.