Chapter One

A Chapter by Katie Hiles

This is my life. Lives...

I’ve been visiting the other side ever since I can remember. I fall asleep as Cassidy Grant, a studious and reclusive only child with strict parents and wake up June Goody, a bit of a rebel with two older brothers, a single father, and a mom who couldn’t care less. When I was younger I would talk about my other life, and my families would smile and talk about the imaginations of children.

But right after my seventh birthday as Cass my blonde mom began to worry about my stories. “You’re a big girl now. Big girls don’t have imaginary friends.” When I insisted that I really had gone tubing with my big brothers, she took me to a psychiatrist. The doctor was nice, I remember him asking me lots of questions about my other life. That night I crept into the kitchen, where I could hear my parents talking in their room. “The doctor said it’s nothing to worry about, so let’s not worry!” I heard my dad coax. “I just want her to be normal…” My mom answered. “Didn’t the doctor say it was normal? That this is something that kids just do?” “Yes…” “Then it’s fine!" That was when I began to realize that it was not normal to wake up with two different lives. The last straw was when I asked my cousins what their name was when they woke up. They started laughing and thought I was playing around. I kept my other life a secret from then on.

It might sound stressful; having to keep up with two different lives. At times it has been, but I have found ways of coping. Every time I wake up the first thing I do is look at my hands. When I am Cass I am pale with some freckles on my knuckles. When I’m June I’m tan from the many days spent at the beach and I have a flower tattoo on the back of my right hand and going up my pinkie. There have been many moments throughout my life where I would forget who I was. All I have to do is look down at my hands and I remember.

There are perks, too. Some of the girls at school talk about their conflict of wanting to cut their hair short but then regretting it and wanting long hair. I don’t have this problem. As Cass I grow my natural brunette hair almost to my waist but as June I keep my jet black hair straightened and in a messy pixie cut.

As Cass my parents are busy, especially my dad. I don’t even know what he does all day; he always seems to be on the phone or at his stuffy office twenty minutes away. He is supposed to have weekends off, but usually he ends up working overtime on some “important project” or another. My mom is in real estate. She works from home and when she is in the zone I know to stay far away but she always stops work at five and makes a point to talk to me about my day. I don’t usually have anything to say. It’s hard enough keeping up with classes at two different schools in two different lives, so friends aren’t really much of a priority in my life as Cass. There are three girls who I’ve practically grown up with. I can talk to them but I feel like the outsider of the group. Mel, Samantha, and Megan used to enjoy shopping with me and grabbing burgers at the local grill but ever since graduation they have become obsessed with weight-loss and their boyfriends. I have a hard time meeting guys in this life. Not only because it’s the 90’s, before social media and many other convenient ways of meeting people and keeping in touch, but because my parents always keep me busy with private piano and voice lessons and full-time college takes the rest of my time. I still live at home, not because my parents can’t afford for me to live on-campus, but because they don’t trust me to be away from them with that much freedom.

As June I haven’t graduated yet. I know, weird. My life as June seems to be six months younger than life as Cass, though the year is 2015. My dad is great, one of those parents that you can talk about anything with. He is an author, a mechanic, and an artist. That means that money is usually pretty tight around here, even with my older brother Mike and me working part-time to help out. My other brother, David, moved out and is living in Michigan with his wife and baby. Even with a job I have lots of free time. The public school work always seems so easy after just completing honors courses on it on the other side.

When I wake up my life on the other side always seems so foggy… so far away. Sometimes I will question if that life is really real. But once I fall asleep and wake up in my other life, either as Cass or June, my thought is reversed and it seems like this life is real, and other one is just a dream. When I was 14 this process almost drove me insane. I was Cass… or was I June…? I would start talking about my friend Mel, and my brother David asked “How come I’ve never met them before? It sounds like you’ve been friends a long time.” “We’ve been friends since, like, second grade! Of course you met th…” Then I would realize that Mel wasn’t my friend. She was Cass’s friend. I turned in wrong assignments and would shock people by my skills. “When did you learn to draw like that?!” “My dad’s an artist.” “I thought your dad worked in sales??” ”Oh. Right.”

I couldn’t take it anymore. My families on both sides became worried. I withdrew to my room and hardly came out. Doctors didn’t know what was wrong or how to help, of course. I felt like a freak and I was losing my grip.

© 2015 Katie Hiles

Author's Note

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~*~Peace Keeper~*~

This is very interesting, I really like it so far, it makes me also wonder why she is this way especially since the years are totally different. I do see some changes you might look into to make it go smoother, "I fall asleep [as] Cassidy Grant...and wake up [as] June Goody" and "[When I am Cass] my parents are busy, especially my dad." This just helps it to be read a little smoother. I am looking forward to reading more about Cass and June ^^ Oh I do have a question, does her family on either side get confused if she is gone, or do they even notice she is gone? If this question will be answered with the more you write you don't have to answer it here XD I was just curious lol

Good Job