FicWad

"And we'll return with the news at five after these messages..."
Commercials. I sighed, getting up and leaving the remote stuffed between the two couch pillows next to me. I walked into the kitchen to check on the progress of my food. Staring at the microwave as the hot pocket spun around slowly on the plate, the clock said I would have to wait another two minutes before ingesting dinner. I pursed my lips and turned around to see Natalia, my roommate, coming out of her bedroom with her boyfriend Gabe.
"Hey Adia." She smiled slyly, "What's up?"
"Well for starter's, Gabe's-" I was cut off before making my point.
"Why are you looking there!?" She inched in front of him as I rolled my eyes.
"If you're going to fool around, let's not do it in MY apartment."
I glanced at the microwave again, a minute thirty. Damn. Natalia then proceeded to search the living room area for something.
"Uh, me and Gabe are gonna be out for the rest of the day, alright?" She looked at me over her shoulder.
"Sure. Whatever." I shrugged, trying to hide my disappointment and Gabe got up and grabbed his keys before speaking.
"We're celebrating our one year anniversary." He smiled.
I scratched my neck. Me and Natalia were supposed to go to a club tonight. She's been promising it for weeks. Then again, she's been doing that for weeks. It's not like I haven't dealt with that before. I had two deadbeat parents, always giving me older, more beat-up stuff while my brother got everything he wanted. Life always seemed to revolve around him. Why couldn't I get attention from them? Or Natalia? Or anyone? The microwave then beeped happily, completely derailing my train of thought. "Yes!" I cheered.
I managed to see Natalia roll her eyes at my nutritious dinner choice. I took the plate out of the microwave and hissed as I burnt my hand. I watched a small blister form and I cursed technology for being so good, yet so vile.
"Ok Adia, we're going. Don't miss me too much." She giggled, hugging me goodbye.
"I'll try." I chuckled, biting into my hot pocket. "Bye Natalia, bye Gabriel! have fun you two!" I waved.
Gabe cringed at the mention of his full name. As soon as I saw their car drive away, I sighed peacefully.
"Now I can relax in peace."
I watched commercials advertising new cars and clothes, sales and bargains. It was all the same old thing, buy buy buy, sell sell sell. Nothing really jumped out anymore. As I picked up the remote, tired of seeing Billy Mays on my TV selling OxyClean for the 50th time, the informercial jumped to an end, replaced with a colorful background. I could feel my head tilt to a confused state. A cheesy announcer voice threw rhetorical questions my way.
"Do you wish the world would revolve around you? Are you tired of seeing America's Suitehearts falling in love with their own sins? Do you deal with troublesome thoughts? Do you have a matching self-esteem?"
I stared at the television as a Hollywood sign came into view, covered in some kind of toxic slime. I squinted, trying to see behind the sign.
"Well, do you?" The voice, now irritated, asked again.
I looked around, seeing if anyone else was behind me that the TV could be talking to, then realizing I was the only one here.
"Yea, I guess." I felt like an idiot, talking to the TV.
Have they ever put someone in a mental institution for talking to a TV? I mean I'm nuts for even thinking the TV is talking to me. I shook my head and grabbed the remote, going to change the channel.
"Don't touch that button!" The TV yelled.
I gasped, dropping the remote. The commercial turned to a wonderfully cartoon-like conductor, outstretching his hand. The voice-over continued on, talking about an escape from the real-world, a life where everything DOES in fact revolve around YOU. As I head more, I got up to inspect the TV closer, soon coming face-to-face with the conductor.
"...And to enjoy it, all you need to do is take my hand." He smiled, kind of crazily.
I started moving my hand towards the screen, mesmerized by the music in the distance. As I lightly pushed my hand on the screen, my hand was soon on the other side of the glass, in the conductor's hand. I moved the rest of my body in slowly, feeling strange and euphoric. I turned around, back to the view of my apartment, to watch it dim out of sight.
"This way miss." He led me through an odd box, then shoving me out two doors.
It was unusually bright here. I opened my eyes fully, taking in how odd my surroundings were. Weird people passed by me, they seemed to be drawn, like cartoons. I saw a sign, 'Normal Land' pointing into the box I was pushed out of.
"Normal Land?" I questioned, turning around to see a group of photographers shouting and flashing their cameras.
I covered my eyes, shoving through the crowd, irritated by the flashes.
"Come on Adia, smile! The world loves you!" One of them called.
I stumbled on the beginning of a hill that led to a toxic river. The photographers closed in on me, backing me up the hill more and more. Before I fell into the green river, I felt something grab me. I screamed, flailing my arms to get free. I was placed on a merry-go-round horse and my eyelids were drooping. I felt myself nodding off and I closed my eyes.
"Oh! Sorry!" I heard a voice behind me and I was suddenly more awake.
"Who?....What?" I turned around, looking for the source of the voice.
I stared up at a very darkly dressed man with intense eyeliner and I think gold wings. He smiled.
"Are you a fairy?" I scratched the side of my head.
He tossed his head back and laughed, gold powder falling from his ensemble.
"No, no, no. I, my lady, am Mr.Sandman." He puffed his chest out. "I am the reason for sleepy eyes and vivid dreams, and I am at your service."
He grabbed my hand and kissed it, and in doing so, he touched the burn on my hand. I pulled it back and hissed, shaking my hand, to try to get the pain subdued. He gasped.
"What is that?!" He pointed at my finger, almost too animatedly.
"It's a burn. I burnt it when I was trying to get my hot pocket." I frowned.
"Hot pocket? What is that?" He tilted his head.
"Oh, nevermind. I'm from 'Normal Land', so I guess it's different there." I shrugged.
"Normal Land! Oh you have to tell me all about it on the way to Dr.Benzendrine's office!" He picked me up and jumped over the toxic river, pointing to the paparazzi. "Oh, and for future reference, stay away them. Bad things happen when you get tangled in that flash."
I nodded as he started to skip off into the bright green horizon.
"Wait, Dr.Benzendrine? Who's that?" I called, hurrying to catch up.
"He's a very good friend of mine. You'll like him, he can treat that funky little burn there in a second. I'm going to have to put you to sleep though, the road is going to be a bit bumpy."
I nodded as the gold powder fell around me. My eyelids grew heavier and I sunk slowly into the grass around me. Maybe things would be a little more normal when I woke up.