Fourth Birth: The Oakmont Saga, Book 1

My eyes opened to the morning light, not to my alarm. Something wasn’t right, since I knew I set it the night before. Crap!! I was going to be late.

I raced to my dresser, threw some clothes on and attempted to brush my hair really quick, not caring about my makeup. Then I raced to the kitchen, hoping there was still something for breakfast. When I got there, Momma and Daddy were at the table, but Ben wasn’t.

Had I gotten up too early? I hadn’t actually looked at the clock to see what time it was. I couldn’t have. The sun was too high in the sky for that, even for September. I was running late and Momma and Daddy didn’t seem to care. Momma wasn’t cooking, so I supposed I would have to get a bowl of cereal...ugh.

“Don’t do that,” Daddy told me, as I reached for a bowl.

“Why not.” I was confused.

“We’re going to go out to breakfast.”

“But I’ll be late for school.” Now I was even more confused.

“You aren’t going to school here anymore, at least until we decide if Oakmont is going to work out for you. So...what would you like to do today?”

I was very surprised. “Can I go to school and say goodbye?” I needed to say goodbye to Mrs. Chambers and Mrs. Hartman.

“Yes, sweetheart. I need to withdraw you anyway. But is there anything you’d like to see or do today, before you leave? I spoke with the Headmaster and you’ll be leaving as soon as we give our consent and sign whatever papers they need signed. We want to enjoy today with you, something we didn’t do the last time.” That subject brought a very sad look from him. What was worse was that Daddy was pushing me toward tears, and I was trying desperately to stop them. “We probably should’ve kept Ben out of school too, but we didn’t,” he added, with a catch in his voice.

As his words sank in, and the fact that I was about to go to another boarding school set in, I started sweating and breathing heavy. I couldn’t focus my mind. It was like I was falling into some kind of black abyss. I felt a hand rubbing my back, which helped settle me back down.

What had always confused me was why when it was all happening, I didn’t have all of these emotions. Even when Gary touched me, it didn’t seem wrong. He promised me it was normal and would be very nice. I only got scared when I lost control of the voices and saw into his mind, seeing what he’d done to other kids. He was never mean to me, though. Even then, I almost didn’t tell anyone, but Mrs. Babcock drew it out of me. She was the only person that I’d ever told about the voices, other than my parents.

Thanks to Daddy’s strong hand comforting me, I managed to bring myself back to sanity. I knew I needed to put it behind me, I needed to let it go. At least that was what I kept getting told by my shrink, but it wasn’t that easy.

It suddenly dawned on me, I’d never seen Daddy take a day off work, except for planned vacations and very rarely for sick days. I’m not even sure the last day he was sick. But to take a day off, just to have fun with me, was something totally new, and strange.

Getting to business, there was a place I’d always wanted to see, which I hadn’t for some reason. So, my decision was quick.

“Can we go to the Native Heritage Museum? I’ve never been there and always wanted to,” I asked, hopeful.

“Of course sweetheart, if that’s what you want.” So, we climbed into the car and went into Anchorage for breakfast. The trip was a little more than thirty minutes, a trip that was normally only about twenty, but traffic was a bit heavy.

After breakfast, we went to the museum, walking through the different exhibits in the main building. While we were walking through it, Daddy decided to walk through the gift shop. I’m not sure why, since we never bought anything from gift shops. They’re all full of overpriced, useless items, for tourists to spend money on.

We separated as we went in, each one of us going to look at whatever interested us. I walked around for a little, idly looking at cheap games and toys, before ending up at the glass jewelry case. This was not a place I normally went to. Daddy and I had a lot in common, when it came to shops like these.

As I idly looked over the different things, I spotted a pair of earrings with a label that said they were made by an Alaska native artist. For some reason, they almost called to me and I stood there looking at them through the glass case for quite a while. I wasn’t sure why they fascinated me so much, but I really did like them. According to the little tag attached, they were sleeping eagles or rather “Eagles Sleeping”. They were silver and hand engraved, in the native style. They were more my style, simple and pretty.

“How much are those?” I asked the woman behind the counter, not sure why I had. The woman started to retrieve them but before she grabbed them I stopped her, knowing that I couldn’t afford them.

“Ma’am, never mind. I can’t afford them anyway. Thank you, though,” I said, and started to walk away.

“No problem, but just in case, they’re $295. If there’s anything else you want to know about, let me know,” she replied, with a warm smile. That was actually more than what I expected, but didn’t shock me. They looked like they were worth it, at least in my mind.

Finally, I walked on and only idly looked at other items before finally going to the atrium and looking over the railing at a native dance display in the performance area. A couple of minutes later, Momma and Daddy came up on each side of me and they each put an arm on my shoulder. We all stood and watched the performance until it was complete, then headed out to tour the different house displays of the different native cultures in Alaska.

The displays were very nice, especially since there were almost no tourists to get in the way. Once the snow started falling, the tourists would leave like all of the migratory birds, heading for warmer climates. Of course, the snow started very early this year and I think the museum usually closed for the season before it did.

I seemed to remember reading that we set a record for the earliest snowfall ever. It was only mid-September and there were already several inches of snowpack on the ground. It wasn’t that cold though, and this was great for cross country skiing. At least I thought so, even if others didn’t.

A few hours later, we had finally seen everything there was to see, and more. This day with Momma and Daddy had been one of the best I’d had in a very long time. I wished it could go on forever, but I had a new school to go to that would let me learn again. I wouldn’t be bored anymore. Momma and Daddy took me to a nice lunch at a Mongolian barbecue, my favorite, and then we headed back to Eagle River.

Daddy drove to my school, where we all went to the front office. As we entered, Mrs. Chambers looked up at us. “Good afternoon, Melanie. Are you checking in this late?” she asked, looking at Daddy.

“No, she’s withdrawing from school. She wanted to come and say goodbye to you and Mrs. Hartman. Likely a few others, but you two she mentioned specifically,” he replied.

“You’re leaving us? We’ll miss you sweetie. Are you going to be home schooled again?” she asked, smiling at me.

“No, ma’am. I’ve been offered a scholarship to a school in New York. It’s supposed to be for really smart kids.”

“Wow, that’s a long way, but she really is above what public school can give her. I hope she does well,” she said, looking at Momma and Daddy, with a kind smile.

At that point, Mrs. Ivers stepped out of her office. “Ah, Mr. and Mrs. Brager. Did I hear that you’re withdrawing Melanie?”

“Yes. She’s been given a scholarship to a boarding school in New York. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity and we can’t pass it up for her, as hard as it is to let her go.”

“I understand. We’ll miss her. She’s absolutely the best student I have ever had,” Mrs. Ivers said.

“Melanie, why don’t you go say goodbye to your class? Your parents and I will fill out the withdrawal form,” she told me, rather than asked. with that dismissal, I left the office not far from a dead run.

“And don’t run,” Mrs. Chambers yelled after me, but it was half-hearted and fuzzy sounding. It was the game we’d played since I came back to school. In the beginning, she meant it and was a little stern with me, but as time went on, she became friendly and it became a game between us.

When I got to the classroom door I was nervous and stood outside for a moment. It took a lot of willpower to push the door open. As I walked in, Mrs. Hartman looked up from her desk.

“Ah, Melanie. Everyone has started on a worksheet, but you should be OK to start late.” Mrs. Hartman went back to her work, not looking at me or realizing I hadn’t moved.

I’m not sure why, but the reality of everything hit me. I was unable to move or say anything, feeling like there was a huge ball in my throat. I knew I was about to cry but I had to hold it in.

After being teased and tormented ever since I began hearing the voices, I promised I wouldn’t let them see me cry again. They always teased me about crying and tried to hurt me to make me cry. It was a big game to them, especially Jamie. That’s one of the reasons I liked Mr. Radnick so much. He promised he’d never make me cry and he had kept his promise. I still feel kind of bad for getting him in trouble, but he did do bad things to some kids.

Finally Mrs. Hartman looked up at me again and suddenly got up and came over. With a very concerned look she put an arm around my shoulders.

“What’s the matter, Melanie?” There was a lot of concern in her voice.

“I won’t be back again. I’m leaving and I came to say goodbye,” I managed to whisper, the thoughts of Mr. Radnick taking control of my emotions. I was freezing up, a cold sweat had broken out on me and I had begun to shake a little.

Mrs. Hartman hugged me really tight. “Oh honey. I’ll miss you so much. You’ve been a wonderful young lady to have in my class. Is your Daddy getting transferred with the military?” she asked. That was why most kids left, since we had so many military families in Eagle River.

“No ma’am, he got out of the army a long time ago,” I replied, fighting with everything I had to hold the tears back.

“I’m going to a special school for really smart kids. They’re giving me a scholarship to go,” I managed to say, beginning to get my mind engaged again.

“I hate that you’re leaving, but that’s wonderful,” Mrs. Hartman said.

“The school is in New York and I’ll probably have to leave tomorrow.” I knew I was talking to stop the tears, but it was working.

“Wow, that’s really quick and also really far away. Would you like to say goodbye to any of your friends?”

“I don’t have any friends, other than you and Mrs. Chambers. Thank you for being a really good teacher to me.” I sniffled a little, the only sign that I came close to crying.

Unfortunately, my pathetic life came back with a vengeance. Not able to contain it any longer, I pulled free and ran back to the office as fast as I could, imagining the words following me, “Crying Melanie, cry, cry, cry weirdo, psycho.” Tears streamed down my face and my vision was blurry as I ran. I wanted to outrun the teasing I knew was coming from my crying.

When I arrived, Momma and Daddy were coming out of the principal’s office. I ran straight to Daddy and buried my face in him. He held me tightly while I cried. it lasted way longer than it should have, but we finally parted and he gently wiped the tears from my face.

“My baby girl, who never cries. It’s hard to say goodbye to friends sometimes, but you’ll make new friends.” It was his attempt to be the good, sympathetic parent. The problem was, Daddy didn’t understand. None of them did. They couldn’t.

“I don’t have any friends, other than Mrs. Chambers and Mrs. Hartman, but they can’t be real friends because I’m a kid and they’re grownups. It hurts to be alone all the time.” I looked at the floor, ashamed.

Daddy and Momma shared a quick glance with each other, but didn’t say anything. “I may be super smart like you say, but I still want to play and be a kid but I can’t.” I looked at them this time.

“Sweetheart, I’m sure it’ll be better at Oakmont. You’ll see,” Momma said, kneeled down and held me. I really wanted to believe Momma, but I knew it probably wouldn’t be true.

“It would have been nice if I could still be in AHG. They teach me things I don’t know.”

I forced myself to calm down and get a grip on my emotions, yet again. This was the first time I’d ever admitted to not having friends, and now that I had it sounded pathetic, even to me. I was feeling sorry for myself and I knew it.

“I’m OK now. Can we go home?” As Momma and Daddy started to walk out, I took one final look at Mrs. Chambers and Mrs. Ivers.

“Thank you for giving me a great environment to learn in and being so nice to me. Goodbye,” I said, and walked out.

Mrs. Chambers, seemed to have a suddenly dry throat, and coughed out, “Goodbye Melanie.” She couldn’t seem to say anything else.

“Good luck at your new school,” Mrs. Ivers said, ever the proper principal.

After we got home, I spent the afternoon reading a book I picked up at the native center, enjoying the pictures as much as the information. I then got on the internet and studied the information a bit more, mainly to pass the time. Momma and Daddy didn’t come ask me about my confession at school. I guess they figured it was over now.

When Ben came home that afternoon, I made sure to spend time with him. We played some video games and then we played some board games with Momma and Daddy. It was going to be our last time as a whole family for a while, and I wanted to make the most of it. We all did, even Ben. We even got along, mostly.

That evening, I went to my room and picked up the Alaska native culture book again. After reading the book several times, I went back to the internet to find more details since there were errors in it. The rest of the time before bed had me in a daze and I had trouble sleeping once I went to bed.