Preview: Thresholds of the Grand Dream (1/2)

The opening chapters of my first novel!

Every night, when the kids at Sonia Obata's new school go to sleep, they go to the Grand Dream. In this mysterious place, they can do whatever they want—play a game, write a song, or paint a masterpiece—without a single adult to bother them. It seems like a paradise. But when Sonia discovers something has tampered with her memories, she realizes there's a dark secret lurking deep within the Dream. She escapes the Dream's clutches and sets out to shut it down before it causes a psychic disaster.

By day Sonia goes to school like any ordinary kid. By night she crosses the thresholds of dreams, looking for a way to save her friends and classmates. She must not only fight through bizarre visions and terrifying nightmares, but also confront the bully she once was, along with the trauma of her mother's death.

WEDNESDAY - AWAKE

1

Sonia could not remember her dream.

She arrived at the bus stop in front of her apartment complex, still piecing together the few scattered images that remained. There was a clock tower with moonlight shining off its face, and a huge pool with glittering water…and that was it. Whatever she did, whoever she saw, it had all blown away like dust as soon as she woke up.

It was all middle school's fault; it had to be. Today was her first day, and her heart felt like a pincushion. She wouldn't know a soul, the classes would be too intense, and half the kids would look at her pixie-cut hair and think she was a boy. She gave sixth grade a week before it turned into a catastrophe. With all that ahead of her, of course she'd forgotten the dream.

The bus rolled in from around the curve and opened its doors. Some older middle schoolers from the other apartments climbed aboard. Sonia took a deep breath and climbed in after them. No use worrying about a dream now. Time for reality.

"Sonia! Right here! I saved you a seat!"

A girl with red hair was waving at her. Sonia had never seen her before in her life.

The door wheezed shut, and the last students from the apartments shoved from behind. Sonia stumbled down the aisle. The redhead patted the open space on her seat. Nothing else was free, and the bus was about to move, so Sonia slipped off her backpack and sat down.

The redhead hooked their arms together. "You're finally here!"

Sonia pulled but couldn't break her arm free.

"Are you as excited as I am?" the redhead said. "I hope we have the same classes. Oh, I've been waiting for this forever!"

The bus lurched forward. "Uh, sure," Sonia said. "Can I ask you something?"

The redhead pulled her single braid behind her shoulder. "What is it?" Her smile was so bright.

"Who are you, and how do you know my name?"

The redhead's smile froze. "Very funny, Sonia."

"No joke. Who are you?"

The redhead loosened her grip. "It's me, Rebecca. We're friends."

"You sure? You didn't mix me up with somebody else?"

The redhead—Rebecca—lost her smile. "Sonia Obata, right?"

Sonia leaned away.

"Your middle name's Mayumi, your favorite movie's Toy Story, you hate tomatoes, you have an uncle who teaches English in Osaka, and there was this boy at your old school"—Rebecca smirked—"Brandon?"

Sonia's face warmed up. "That's enough." Everything Rebecca said was true…but that was impossible. "G-give me a hand here. When's the last time I saw you?"

"Last night, in the dream."

Sonia spat out a laugh. "Ha, okay, you really had me there."

Rebecca growled. "Fine! Forget it." She let go, crossed her arms, and spun her head toward the window. "Go sit somewhere else."

Sonia's skin prickled, and she stopped laughing. "I-I'm sorry."

But Rebecca wouldn't budge.

Sonia scooted aside and checked up and down the aisle. Every other seat was full, not that anybody would want her butting in. If they didn't ignore her, sooner or later she'd do something to make them hate her. Just like at her old school. Just like Rebecca.

But how did Rebecca know those things? Sonia hadn't met anyone since she'd moved to Chattanooga. She never used her real name online or on her clothes. If she'd gone to registration last week, they might have met there, but Dad had already enrolled her way back in June. And what were the odds some jerk from her old school happened to know a certain redhead at her new one? If this was a prank, it was the weirdest Sonia had ever heard of.

The bus rolled up to Baker Middle School. Sonia rushed out and ducked into the building before Rebecca could catch up.

Signs pointed all sixth graders down the hall. Sonia swerved around seventh and eighth graders who stood there like columns. She reached a staircase in the center of the building, where a sign directed her downstairs.

The cafeteria roared with the chatter of sixth graders as Sonia wandered through. Everyone had already clustered into groups and found somewhere to sit. Most of them had probably been friends since preschool. How could she expect any of them to notice her?

A sharp pain flicked her ear. "YOW!"

A boy with copper hair sprinted past her and disappeared into the crowd.

She rubbed her ear and hunted for a place to sit. If she ever got her hands on that jerk…

Another boy glanced at the flowery butterfly on her shirt. "You know that's for girls, right?"

"Yes, I do." She bumped his shoulder and stormed on. Yep, middle school was off to a terrific start.

Somewhere in the noise, she thought she heard someone say, "Clock tower." She turned around to find who'd said it.

A hand squeezed onto Sonia's wrist from behind her. "Gotcha!" A small, brown-haired girl locked her elbow around Sonia's arm. "Rebecca told me what happened. We're figuring this out right now." The girl dragged her across the room, pressed her into a chair, and sat beside her. Rebecca sat across. The brown-haired girl pointed at herself. "You know who I am, right? Come on, Sonia."

Sonia gritted her teeth and shook her head.

"It's me, Erin! Sonia, what happened?"

"She doesn't even remember the Grand Dream," Rebecca said.

"No way," Erin said. "How do you forget that? You were staring at the clock tower when you woke up!"

Sonia said, "Clock tower?"

"What about my brother? You've gotta remember him." Rebecca pointed across the cafeteria at the copper-headed boy.

"Him? He flicked my ear a minute ago, but that's it. I give up; what's his name?"

Rebecca's mouth hung open. "You really don't remember. I can't believe it."

"Remember what? How am I supposed to know you, really?"

Rebecca bent her head down. "You'll just laugh at me again."

The bell rang, and some teachers called for quiet. Everyone sat down. A man walked up to a lectern by the cash registers and introduced himself as the principal, Mr. Hartnell. He said some friendly words and introduced the other faculty members.

Sonia leaned toward Rebecca. "Listen," she whispered, "I'm sorry I laughed at you earlier. Just please, tell me what's going on."

Rebecca twisted her braid around her fingers. "You really wanna know?" She leaned forward. "Sonia, the reason I know you is because we've been having the same dream."

Sonia waited for Rebecca to grin or glance across the table, give some sign she was joking. But she looked as serious as the principal over there explaining the dress code. "You…and me?"

"And me," Erin said. "And everybody else here. We've been friends all summer."

"You expect me to believe that?"

"You don't have to," Rebecca said. "It's still true."

Sonia flopped into the back of her seat and exhaled until she was empty. These girls were out of their minds.

Mr. Hartnell ended his speech, and everyone in the cafeteria stood up. It was time to go to their first classes. Sonia shook herself and dug into her backpack for her schedule.

Erin peered over her shoulder. "Looks like we have first period together. Let's go."

She led Sonia upstairs, where they split from Rebecca and headed down the east hall. Sonia trailed a little, in case anyone thought she was friends with this weirdo.

Their classroom was the third on the right. Erin took a seat by the far wall. Sonia lingered in front, looking around. Maybe she could get away with sitting somewhere else.

A group of boys sat together nearby. "So how about that game last night?" one of them said.

"Man, that was wild. That three-pointer you threw? Never seen anything like it. What'd you guys do after?"

"Me, I went down to the water slide."

Sonia inched closer to hear more. Even if the town had a water slide, who would go there at night after a basketball game?

"I just can't believe it," one of the boys said. "You're all really here. I was worried you were all just part of the dream, like the clock tower."

Sonia rushed over to Erin's desk. "What was that about us having the same dream?"

Erin folded her hands. "Not much to it, I guess. Every night, all the kids at this school go to the Grand Dream."

"Everybody?" Sonia sat down behind her. "Is there a clock tower in it?"

Erin nodded. "There's also a pool, a museum, a garden—everything you could want."

"How can a whole school have the same dream?"

"What I wanna know is, how did you forget? It's kind of a—oh no, not him!"

Rebecca's copper-headed brother plopped into a desk next to them. Two other boys sat beside him, one small with big, mousey front teeth, the other tall with stretched-out arms. "Morning, girls," the copper-headed boy said. "How's it going?"

"Isaac, don't sit there," Erin said. "For once, just leave us alone."

"It's a free country. I'll sit where I want." Isaac grinned at Sonia. "Hey. How're you?"

"My ear still hurts, you jerk," she said. "You're Rebecca's brother, right? What are you, twins?"

One eyebrow jumped up. "Um, yeah. You know that."

"She doesn't remember you," Erin said. "Or me, or the Dream, or anybody else. So do her a favor and go away."

Isaac's grin faded. "You really don't remember me?"

Sonia shook her head.

The bell rang. Isaac stared off and stroked his chin. "She doesn't remember…"

Their English teacher, Mrs. Russell, came in, called roll, and started explaining the curriculum. While she spoke at length about her favorite authors, Isaac turned and started whispering to Sonia. "Hey, sorry about your ear. I was just goofing around. How about we start fresh? I'm Isaac, this is Bart"—he nodded toward his mousey friend and then at the taller one—"and that's Justin." He held out his hand. "It's very nice to meet you, Sonia."

What the heck, maybe he did deserve another chance. She reached over to shake his hand. "Nice to meet—"

Her palm squished on something moist and slimy.

She jerked her hand back. "Ew! Ew! Ew!" She mashed her hand inside her pocket to dry it off. What was it, spit? That sick freak!

"Is there a problem, Ms. Obata?"

Mrs. Russell was staring at her, along with the rest of the class, while Isaac snickered behind that slimy hand of his.

"N-nothing," Sonia said. "Just a bug. He's squished now. Sorry."

Everyone turned away and moved on, but Isaac was still laughing to himself—laughing at her. She clenched her fists so tight she could crush something. Yeah, she was a real laugh riot, wasn't she? The kids at her old school sure hadn't thought so, not after she got her hands on them. She needed to teach that stupid jerk a lesson. Bust his stupid teeth right out of his stupid skull, knock that stupid grin off his stupid face…

And turn every kid and teacher against her. Just like at her old school.

She opened her fists, sniffed some air in, and blew it out, as slow and even as she could. She was in charge. She could let it go. This was supposed to be a fresh start. She didn't have to hurt anybody.

After class, Erin got up and touched Sonia's arm. "Don't let Isaac get to you," she said. "He's not even worth it. You're cooler than he is any day."

Sonia felt something swell in her throat. "Thanks."

She squirted on some hand sanitizer on the way out and went to second period alone, while Erin headed for a different class.

Spanish class was around the corner, close to the center stairway. As soon as Sonia took a seat, Isaac burst into the room. She gripped the edge of her desk and stared straight ahead. Maybe he wouldn't notice her. There were still plenty of empty seats, especially over in the far corner.

He took the desk behind her. The hairs on her neck spiked up. Oh, to be a porcupine.

A few rows away, a girl with a ponytail was smiling at her. "You're the one who did that awesome dive at the pool a few weeks ago, aren't you?" the girl said. "I saw it. It was so cool."

Sonia tried and failed to picture it. "You aren't talking about the Grand Dream, are you?"

The girl puffed out a laugh. "No, I'm talking about the Alamo. Of course, I—look out!"

Something damp hit Sonia in the back of the neck. She scraped at it and peeled off a spitball. She twisted around. That idiot Isaac was beaming as if they were the closest of friends.

She grabbed him by the collar and yanked. "Listen, I don't care whose brother you are. If you want to go home with all your teeth today, you'll keep your saliva off me. Got it?"

His smile vanished. He nodded. She let go and moved up two seats, watching him to make sure he stayed put.

The girl with the ponytail grimaced. "I know how you feel. He put gum in my hair last year."

Sonia kept her eyes forward, away from Isaac. She was still in charge. And at least it wasn't just her.

She caught up with Rebecca and Erin at lunch. "Hey," Rebecca said. "Erin told me about the spit shake."

"He got me with a spitball, too," Sonia said. "No offense, but your brother's a jerk."

"I know." Rebecca let her head sag. "He bugs us in the Grand Dream all the time."

"The Grand Dream, huh?" Sonia took a seat. "I think I'm starting to believe you."

"Do you remember anything?" Rebecca poked her tray with her fork.

"No. That's what I don't get. If the Grand Dream is real, and if I did go, and you really are my friends, how come I don't remember it? It sounds like a pretty big deal, so what happened?"

"You think if we knew, we wouldn't tell you? I've been looking forward to meeting you in real life all summer. We've had so many near misses—at the mall, at the park. Now you're finally here, and you're a total stranger. It's like our whole summer never happened."

Sonia had lost enough of her old friends to know the feeling. "I'm sorry."

"It couldn't be your fault," Erin said. "It's just gonna take some getting used to."

Sonia stared at her tray. "So how do I get used to it?"

"We'll figure something out. There's gotta be something out there that can jog your memory, right, Rebecca?"

"Of course," Rebecca said. "You're still our friend, Sonia."

Sonia felt something in her throat again. If these girls wanted to be her friends, then they were crazy. But if they really did—if she had people like them on her side—then maybe sixth grade wouldn't be too bad. "But how do I know if the Grand Dream's real?"

"You'll know when you go to sleep tonight," Rebecca said.

"How about this?" Erin said. "Tomorrow, when we meet up in the morning, we'll tell each other what we were wearing in the Dream."

"You're on." Good thing she wore pajama pants to bed. "How'd it start, anyway? Why this school?"

"You'd have to ask the one who started the Grand Dream." Rebecca scooped up a piece of broccoli with her fork. "And he isn't talking. All we know is, once you're enrolled here, you're in."

And Dad had enrolled Sonia back in June, as soon as they moved. "And it's only kids?"

"There aren't any high schoolers, that's for sure," Erin said.

"Not yet, anyway," Rebecca said. "Something tells me the eighth graders aren't going anywhere when they graduate."

"And it's everybody here?" Sonia said.

"Everybody except the teachers." Rebecca pointed out the window, toward the building down the hill. "Even Baker Elementary's in there."

Sonia looked around at the other tables. All around her, kids were calmly chatting and laughing together, like they didn't have this big shared secret. "How the heck did I forget something like that?"

"Whatever happened," Rebecca said, "it must have been big."

Sonia watched her start poking her tray again. Rebecca deserved better from Sonia, after what happened on the bus. "Listen, Rebecca, I'm sorry about what I said earlier. I shouldn't have laughed at you. If you're willing to give this another chance, then so am I."

Rebecca looked at her, and for the first time since they'd met on the bus, smiled at her. "Of course I am. We're friends, Sonia. We always will be."

Sonia smiled back. Even if these girls were out of their minds, she wouldn't have it any other way. They liked her, wanted to hang around with her, and were willing to forgive her, and that was enough. Now, after so much anger and loneliness, she could finally say she had friends.

2

The bus rumbled and chugged as kids filed in. Sonia found a window seat a safe distance from Isaac and dropped in, with Rebecca beside her. Sonia leaned her head back and sighed. "Weird day," she said. "How can everybody act so normal?"

"I guess we're just used to it, " Rebecca said. "Me and Erin have been there two years now, and it's never really hurt anybody."

"Two years?"

"And no," Rebecca said, "the teachers don't know. Actually, you can't tell any adults about it. Don't even bother."

"Yeah, right, as if they'd believe me."

"It'll be fine," Rebecca said. "You'll love the Grand Dream. You sure did before."

Eventually the bus turned off Lee Highway onto Royce Avenue. After a curve that pulled everyone slightly to the side, the sign for Lee Meadows Apartments emerged up ahead. Sonia lifted her backpack.

The bus stopped and opened its door, and the seventh and eighth graders that lived in Lee Meadows stepped into the aisle. Rebecca stretched back so Sonia could get through.

"Bye," Sonia said. "See you tomorrow—tonight, I guess."

"Can't wait," Rebecca said.

Sonia hopped out and hiked up the driveway, past the apartment office, to building 14. At the end of a short, open hallway, she took her keys out of her pocket and opened the door. A rapid, noodly trumpet solo from one of Dad's many, many jazz albums was playing inside. "I'm home!" Sonia slipped off her shoes, dropped her backpack, and hung her keys on the tail of a small chameleon sculpture she'd made a few months ago. She had been sculpting for about a year. It helped her forget some of the things that bothered her.

"Back here," her dad hollered. "I'm still at work."

Sonia went down the hall to her dad's office. Dad spun his chair around. "Hey, Sonia. I just have another hour or so." He paused his jazz. "How was school?"

"Interesting." She strolled to his desk. A smiling lizard she had sculpted sat beside the monitor. "There were these two girls—they were kinda weird, but we're friends now."

"Sonia, I'm so proud!" He pulled her in for a hug. "I knew you could do it."

"It wasn't even as hard as I thought."

"I'm glad things are looking up, after last year. You don't deserve to be alone." He added gravely, "What about boys?"

Sonia thought about Isaac and stuck out her tongue.

"Okay, then. But you like the school? How are the teachers?"

"They're fine. I think I could get used to this place."

"Can't wait to hear more about it," he said. "Oh, and we're having Lisa over for dinner."

Sonia bounced on her toes. "Sweet." Any day she got to see Dad's girlfriend was a cool one.

She grabbed a Coke from the kitchen and some Sculpey from the cabinet, and left the TV on while she kneaded the clay.

Sure, at first Sonia hadn't liked the idea of Dad dating. Sometimes she still had trouble imagining him with someone other than her mother. But Sonia had never expected him to meet someone as great as Lisa Ichizaki.

Dad had met Lisa online back in April, after he started planning the move to Chattanooga. She was a psychology professor who had lived in Chattanooga her whole life. When the Obatas finally did move, Lisa showed them around town, to the best stores and her favorite restaurants. Now they did almost everything together. Sometimes, Dad even asked Lisa to look after Sonia while he was busy.

But Lisa never treated Sonia like just a kid who needed a babysitter. She took Sonia seriously. Whether it was about a movie they watched, or a sculpture Sonia was working on, or one of Sonia's anxieties or regrets, Lisa always cared what Sonia had to say. She never dismissed Sonia and never looked down on her. Lisa always had useful advice, especially on how Sonia could keep her anger under control. It had already stopped Sonia from pulverizing Isaac that morning.

Sonia could talk to Lisa about anything. Even the Grand Dream didn't seem off-limits. For all Sonia knew, she had already told Lisa about it a long time ago.

By the time Dad clocked out of work, Sonia had built the rough shape of a winged giraffe. She set it aside to help Dad with dinner. He'd marinated some chicken during the day, and now he prepared it for the oven while she chopped vegetables.

Twenty minutes later, while Dad and Sonia laid their dinner out on the table, the bell rang. Sonia dashed over and flung the door open to a hallway washed pink by the sunset. "Lisa!"

Lisa Ichizaki's ponytail rocked in the breeze. "Hey, Sonia!" She mussed Sonia's hair. "How's your new school?"

"Pretty nice. I've already made a couple friends."

"Then something must have gone right." Lisa eyed Sonia's dad. "Good afternoon to you, too, Roger."

He and Lisa kissed. That was Sonia's cue to leave them alone and wait at the table. Hanging out with Lisa was one thing. Watching her smooch Dad was another.

They soon sat down with her, and everyone started in. At first, the adults talked about work. Lisa's classes started on Monday, and she was still getting things ready. Dad mostly had bland corporate meetings about auto insurance to talk about.

But soon, the conversation steered toward Sonia's day at school, especially her new friends. "Didn't you say they were a little weird?" Dad said.

"Ooh, weird friends," Lisa said. "They're the best kind. What are they into?"

"Oh, well…" Sonia saw Lisa's eyes glitter with curiosity. Rebecca had told her not to tell anybody, but surely if anybody would understand the Grand Dream, it was Lisa. At worst, she and Dad would probably assume it was just a game. "They kept talking about this thing where they fwabababa—"

The thought stumbled on the way to her mouth. She knew what to say, but it apparently didn't want to be said.

Dad and Lisa were staring.

"Huh," Sonia said. "I can't remember. I guess in all the excitement…" She knocked on her head. "Well, it doesn't matter. They're really nice."

She moved on to telling them about her teachers. A few times she tried slipping in the phrase "Grand Dream," but she only spat out empty air, as if something had snatched the words out of her throat.

She finally gave up and let Dad and Lisa take over the conversation. They had only known each other a few months, yet they talked as if they'd known each other for years. Nights like this, the three of them almost felt like a real family.

Sonia felt a twist in her stomach and turned her head away. She liked Lisa, but more as a friend. Not so much as her future mom.

A framed photo glinted from a table in the corner. It was an old portrait of Sonia's mother, Miranda, her long brown hair falling in waves and her eyes green as a spring lawn. The photo shone a little brighter than the others around it, the baby photos and family gatherings, since Dad took special care to dust it at least once a week. Sonia could only look for a second. It reminded her of how her mother had died.

Had it really been two years? So much had changed since then. Their home, Dad's job, Sonia's school, and of course, Lisa. Hard not to wonder what Mom would think.

After dinner, when Dad took the dishes to the kitchen, Sonia and Lisa stayed at the table. "So tell me more about school," Lisa said. "Anything interesting happen?"

"Well…" Sonia leaned close and lowered her voice. "Don't tell Dad," she said, "but I almost blew my top at somebody at school."

"Did it turn out okay?"

Sonia nodded. "I remembered to breathe, and I told myself I'm in charge, just like you suggested." She wrung her hands. "I wanna do this right. I can't screw this up like I did with my old friends."

"Don't pressure yourself too much, Sonia. Middle school's tough, but it sounds like you're off to a great start. I'm proud of you. Keep it up."

"Thanks," Sonia said. "I appreciate it."

Lisa stayed for another hour before she left to go home. After that, with no homework, Sonia returned to work on her sculpture, keeping an eye on the clock on the wall. Ten o'clock couldn't come soon enough.

As soon as it did, she hopped to her feet. "Well, better get to bed."

"I didn't even have to tell you," Dad said. "You must be tired."

"It's been a weird day." She kissed Dad on the cheek. "G'night, Dad."

Sonia brushed her teeth and changed into her pajama pants.

She turned off the lights and crawled into her sheets.

She closed her eyes and let the world drift away.

Now she'd know for sure whether her friends were telling the truth.

Preview part 2 coming soon!

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