"When it Rains. . ." by Sara Dungavell

He was a god! Katie thought holding her breath, feet frozen to the floor. The silent world slowed and thickened as the boy moved gracefully down the hall, walking purposefully toward her. His beautiful black eyes stared deeply into her soul. He was the all, he was the everything, he was existence itself. Katie blinked. The lunch bell shrieked above her head and more students flooded the halls with a crash of lockers and boots. The strutting god slid hastily into the bathroom. Weird, Katie thought, breathing again.

The cafeteria was a block of noise that echoed and amplified the teenagers it was trying to contain. With distaste Katie entered and set her lunch down on one of the grimy tables. She hated the cafeteria. She was doing her best to ignore the hordes of youth swarming around her when a familiar face appeared just beyond the chaos.

"Heather!" Katie called happily, waving through clear patches in the storm of humanity. Heather saw her best friend and smiled. She glided through the mob to join Katie. "I've never seen you in the cafeteria before. I thought you had fourth lunch" Katie shouted to make herself heard.

"No, I have this lunch," Heather said as she smiled her precise smile, her low voice cutting easily through the noise detritus.

"Well then why haven't I seen you eating in the cafeteria before?"

"I don't eat" was Heather's simple answer.

"You don't eat?" Katie asked bemused.

"I'm a robot, didn't you know?" Heather tilted her head and smiled again. "Calypso 37, top of the line when my parents bought me. Now, of course, I'm ancient technology. Mr. Foresses is a hundred times better programmed than I am, and Ms. Teajumpy actually has a compartment where food can be shunted if she decides to eat. I feel quite basic compared to those two." Starring at her friend, Katie slowly got to her feet. She'd always thought Heather was a little off, but she'd rather liked her friend's oddities. Being a robot though . . . that was a bit too much.

The day had changed drastically during school from a sunny calm beginning to an overcast and windy afternoon. By the time Katie headed home it had started to rain.

"Rain, rain, go away come again another day!" screeched a group of little children as they ran past Katie. They were dancing like demons in the sudden shower. The rain stopped. Weird, Katie thought, still a little shaken by Heather's revelation, and she peaked cautiously out from under her umbrella at the now clear sky. Then just as suddenly as the rain had stopped it started again. Large dark droplets splattered the ground all around Katie who quickly righted her umbrella. A gust of wind ripped it from her hands, and she ran after it through the thickly falling rain. A droplet hit Katie's outstretched hand, she screamed. It wasn't raining water. It was raining tadpoles! Katie dove for her blue striped umbrella and brought it up fast over her head, shuddering and brushing off all the slimy little bodies that had landed on her. She looked back over her shoulder. The children were still outside. They were all standing with their heads tilted back and their mouths gaping open, eating the tadpoles. Katie wretched with disgust and shuddering again ran for home.

Katie was still shuddering as she walked through the back door into her laundry room.

"Mom?" Katie called loudly. She'd had a creepy day; she needed a hug.

"Yes dear?" Her mother answered in a light pleasant voice. Sighing, Katie felt warm relief spread through her. She asked the first question that came to mind.

"What's for dinner?"

"I think we'll go out for supper tonight."

"K, where too?" Katie asked wrestling her green spotted knapsack off her back and onto its shelf. The bag had taken on a bit of a personality during the day and it didn't want to cooperate.

"The new neighbours look healthy. I think we'll go eat them," Katie froze midway through pounding her knapsack with her closed umbrella. Taking the opportunity provided, the bag wrapped a strap around Katie's leg and slithered up onto her back again.

"Eat the neighbours?" Katie asked in a terrified squeak.

"Of course dear," her mother said, sticking her head around the laundry room corner. "We vampires need to watch our iron after all." Katie looked at her mother's curly head in horror. Vampires?! On the very edge of complete hysteria, she stopped. Being a vampire wasn't that odd, Katie supposed. Her best friend was a robot after all. She went back to wrestling her snake-bag onto its shelf. Weird day though, Katie thought, I should have known it was a bad idea putting my socks on inside-out this morning.