Mark said, "What?" while he was frozen in fear.
"Am I still dreaming of nightmares as usual?
Or have my nightmares begun to live inside me, trapping me in terrifying moments?"
At that moment, he heard a voice calling his name — "Mark!"
He woke up.
They had arrived at school.
He opened his eyes and realized that the one calling him was his friend, Sarah.
Sarah had woken him up and said,
"Mark, why do you sleep so much? You're not like you used to be.
Do you stay up late at night? Tell me, I'm your friend, and I'm worried about you."
He answered, "I'll tell you everything after school."
As they walked and talked, they met Teddy, smiling gently and greeting them warmly.
He stood and waved at them.
Mark noticed the signs of tiredness and tension on his friend's face.
Teddy looked at Mark and said,
"I want to talk to you after school."
Mark replied, sighing, "Alright, Teddy."
Then Sarah said,
"Come on, let's get inside the school, guys."
While they were entering, Mark tried to recall his memories —
how he had met Sarah and Teddy,
and why they were always exposed to bullying and harassment.
Amid the laughter and shouting of the students, and the soft breeze of the morning,
he remembered, smiling unconsciously,
without realizing that he had completely forgotten his nightmares and disturbing dreams.
He said to himself:
"Last year, when we moved from Dream Home City to this town,
I had no friends.
They used to bully me and mock me because I have dark skin,
and I don't speak well — I have trouble pronouncing some words and letters.
And I limp when I walk.
But there was one person who accepted me — my first friend, Sarah.
She always comforted me.
And she, too, suffered from bullying because her facial features weren't English —
they were Asian-Arab."
He continued remembering:
"In the first two weeks at this school,
I was bullied and insulted every day,
until one day, John, Jack, and Sergey started harassing me near the playground.
Sarah saw me from afar and rushed to defend me.
From that day, she became my friend.
As for Teddy,
I met him in the library when others were mocking him,
calling him 'the one-eyed boy' because he suffered from a squint.
Sarah and I stopped them from bullying him,
and since that day, we became the best of friends.
What amazing friends I have!
I don't understand why people love bullying others just because they're different.
Is being different something shameful?"
He heard Sarah calling him again,
"Hey Mark! Come on, hurry up, let's go to class!
Why are you walking like that? Anyone seeing you would think you're walking on eggs, afraid to break them,"
she said jokingly.
Then Mark hurried to catch up with his friends.
As he joined them, they were talking and laughing when they saw John and his gang,
as usual, bullying a new student at school.
Mark and his friends were scared,
but despite their fear, they faced John and his friends.
Coincidentally, the principal, Sally, was walking down the hallway and heard students shouting.
She rushed to see what was happening and found the scene.
She immediately intervened and scolded John and his gang for always bullying other students.
Mark and his friends were happy —
they finally managed to overcome their fear.
But as John was leaving, he looked at Mark and his friends with a dark, hateful stare —
as if promising them revenge soon.
They were terrified by John's look,
filled with evil and anger.
But the principal, Sally, reassured them:
"Don't worry. I'll take care of him myself and inform his parents about what he's done."
Mark and his friends felt relieved after hearing that,
and they went to class.
Their teacher, Mr. Max, the math teacher, began the lesson.
He looked at Sarah and asked,
"Do you know the answer to this question?
How much is four times ten?"
Sarah replied enthusiastically, "Eighty, sir!"
The teacher smiled,
"Well done, my student. As I know you, you always care about your studies and never forget your homework. Excellent!"
Everyone clapped for Sarah.
Mark looked at her, admiringly but shyly,
unable to tell her what he felt.
The day passed quickly, and school ended.
As they were leaving, a new student approached Mark and his friends to thank them.
He introduced himself — his name was Frank.
He said that John bullied him because of a skin allergy that caused rashes on his face.
Everyone felt sad for Frank and comforted him.
Then they invited him to join their group.
Later, Sarah suddenly remembered that Mark had promised to tell her what was bothering him that morning.
"Mark, did you forget?
You told me that after school, you'd tell me what's been troubling you,"
she said.
Mark replied,
"Alright, but let's go to the treehouse. We can talk there."
When they arrived at the treehouse, Mark began speaking:
"If I tell you what I've been through these past two days,
will you believe me?"
They all answered together,
"Yes, tell us."
Mark said he had a terrifying dream —
he dreamed that he killed all the students at school,
and in another dream, he found himself in a psychiatric hospital.
Sarah interrupted him apologetically and said,
"That's strange… even I had a nightmare last night —
huge rats and scorpions attacking me.
I couldn't sleep at all."
Then Teddy began telling them about the snakes and insects
he had seen in his dreams for the past three days.
Even their new friend Frank said that he dreamed about the bullies too.
But they were all surprised that Mark's dreams were the strangest — and the scariest.
Mark interrupted them with a trembling voice:
"Before I dream these nightmares…
I always hear a disturbing laugh.
This morning, when I was leaving my house,
all of you said you saw a crimson balloon and heard voices…"
Everyone fell silent.
The atmosphere became heavy —
and the look on their faces was filled with fear and dread.