THIS IS YOUR LIFE

WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?

Nine-year-old Stan Marsh could not believe it; it was Friday morning and he was late to school, again. Monday didn't count; he just recovered from a cold so he walked into Mr. Garrison's class only an hour later since Sharon wasn't sure if he was well enough to get back. Wednesday shouldn't have been his fault either but Shelley had to lock him out of the house when he remembered he forgot his homework inside. But today… he could blame himself for waking up late due to an alarm clock that didn't go off and looking all over the house for a missing shoe. By the time he finally got out of the house the bus had already left and both his parents had to go to work early and could not drop him off. So as Stan hurried his little body to South Park Elementary, he knew full-well that this time Mr. Garrison would not at all be sympathetic.

The streets were pretty busy due to the usual busy morning schedules of the towns' people. Stan checked his watch, only five minutes left before he would be called out again for his late absence. He was running along so quickly he ran into a pair of legs. He looked up to see a pretty scruffy-looking man looking at him.

"Sorry," Stan said in a quick breath. He was just about to go off again when the man held him up.

"Hey little boy, do you have a couple extra quarters I can use for the bus?" the man asked.

"Sorry, no."

"Wait!" he halted him again.

"I have to get to school!"

"Can you at least tell me the directions to Henry's Supermarket? See, I'm new here and"-

"Sorry, I don't have time"-

The man blinked. "It will only take a second."

Stan eyed the man in the dirty faded jacket old boots and unkempt, gray hair and beard. There were leaves in the beard as well and he kept one hand in his pocket. He didn't trust him for that very reason.

"Really sir, I have to get to school."

"Please little boy, all I need are directions." He took a step forward.

Stan began to walk again. "Sorry- I'm late to school."

"Do you not trust me?"

"Really sir- school"- with one last nervous look to the man, Stan ran out of sight.

The man in the dirty jacket watched him as he went with his arms behind his back. He studied Stan, rubbed his chin with a hard, thinking look before walking into the shadows of the trees behind.

Stan was out of breath by the time he hurried into Mr. Garrison's classroom, and as he suspected, he was not at all pleased.

"Just where the hell have you been Stanley?" Mr. Garrison demanded.

"W- was late. Woke- woke up late," Stan rasped.

"Well take a seat Mister. You just screwed up the grammar morning warm-up, I hope you're happy!"

"Sorry…" Stan took his usual seat next to Cartman and Cylde.

"Dude, why were you late again?" Kyle asked his best friend during recess.

"I told you, I woke up late. And I would have gotten hear earlier if some crazy homeless guy didn't stop me," Stan said as he hung his body over the bars of the jungle gym.

"Some homeless guy held you up?"

"Yeah. He looked real crazy. Asked for change for the bus then the directions to the supermarket. He was walking towards me with a hand in his pocket. No way was I going to help him out."

"Yeah, good thing you didn't," Kyle agreed.

Stan was then hit suddenly with a huge headache. He gripped his head and gritted his teeth in pain before it passed.

"Dude! Are you okay?" Kyle frowned, hand on his shoulder.

Stan frowned. That was weird. He let out a shaky breath. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine."

"Sure?"

"Really, don't worry about it."

But by the time school was over the headache only worsened. With that he also felt sick to his stomach. He hoped his cold wasn't coming back. He lazily dropped his backpack to the floor when he walked into the front door of his home. His mother Sharon poked her head from the kitchen to greet him.

"Hello Stanley. How was school?"

"Been better. Mom, I think my cold is coming back," he answered.

"What? But you've been feeling fine all week."

"Yeah well my head hurts like hell. I just don't feel too good in general."

Sharon felt his forehead. "Hm… you don't feel warm. But let's check just in case…" She took out a thermometer from the medicine cabinet and placed it inside her son's mouth. A minute later she read the digital numbers. "Well you don't have a fever honey."

Suddenly the room tilted in Stan's eyes and he fell to his side. He gripped onto the carpet, waiting for everything to stop spinning. He finally gave up and threw-up his lunch.

"Oh dear! I didn't know you were feeling that bad. Come on, let's get you to bed," Sharon spoke and lifted him to his feet.

After a clean shirt and brushing his teeth, Stan got into bed, rubbing his eyes and gritting his teeth. His mother came in with Junior Strength Motrin and a glass of water.

"You tell me if you need anything, anything at all, all right sweetie?" Sharon told him after he took the pills. She rubbed his arm before shutting the door behind her.

Stan lay on his side. Why was the world still spinning? He never felt this dizzy before. Hoping it would go away soon; he closed his eyes and tried to focus on other things. Unfortunately he stayed sick in bed the rest of the evening. His head still hurt and he didn't think he could stomach any dinner. It really blew because he was planning on seeing a movie with his friends and Kyle was to come over after dinner to play video games, which he still did do.

"I don't think Stan is feeling too well to play Kyle," Sharon told him when she answered his knocking on the door.

"He still has a headache?"

"Unfortunately."

"Damn, he had one all day at school."

"Maybe you can come tomorrow?"

Kyle looked up to see the bedroom light on in Stan's bedroom. "Well, if it's just a headache… it's not really contagious. We'll only be playing video games…"

Sharon thought. "Well, fine, but I don't want your mother blaming me if you get sick too."

Kyle smiled and nodded and stopped inside the house and went into his best friend's room.

"Still feel like shit?" Kyle asked.

"Yeah. It's not a cold though, these are different symptoms."

"That sucks dude."

"Can people catch two different illnesses in one week?"

Kyle shrugged. "Feel up to playing X-box?"

Stan grinned. "Always."

The video games did help a bit and by the time Kyle left Stan was a bit happier, but not any closer to feeling physically better. Sharon took his temperature again when she tucked him in for the night.

"Still nothing. I'm sure it'll go away tomorrow Stanley. Just get some sleep, all right sweetheart?"

"Mom? Can I have a story?" Stan asked innocently.

She smiled. She couldn't remember a single day in his whole life in which she had not read to him when he felt sick. She sat on his bed and pulled out Tommy and the Sea Monster and began to read. After, she set the book on his nightstand and kissed him good-night.

"You'll feel better tomorrow," Sharon said again before leaving.

Stan did fall into a heavy sleep that night thankfully. When the morning arose, the sunlight poking in his eyelids, he woke up. The first thing he noticed was his headache was indeed gone. Also, it seemed like he was no longer on a rocking boat. Mom was right, again, Stan thought to himself. He turned to his side and saw that the Tommy and the Sea Monster book was no longer on his bedside table which was weird, his mom never put away the books she read to him. Shrugging, he sat up. That's when he realized he was wearing a different pajama top than last night too. No longer was it his favored Terrance and Phillip top but a rather large faded shirt that read Meat is Murder! That was funny, where had that shirt come from? Not only did no one in his family own such a shirt, he would have known if his mom or someone else put on a different pajama top on him in the middle of the night, he was after all a very light sleeper. But it didn't stop there- his whole room for the matter was different. The walls were still purple and he still slept in the same bed but all around his room where books and what-not about animals, and on his walls posters and charts about animals.

Okay… this is a little weird now, Stan thought slowly. He loved animals, always had, but he didn't recognize any of this. Was it some joke or something? He growled deeply. Cartman had probably done this; he always gave him shit for being a little animal-loving pussy. Trust him to really show it by decorating his room like this. He probably even took pictures of it too and put it on the internet so everyone in school would see what a hippie he really was. Angry, Stan went downstairs for breakfast to see if his parents knew anything about this.

He sat down across from his sister Shelley and a minute later Sharon set a plate of eggs and waffles for him and orange juice.

"Good morning sweetie," she kissed his cheek. "Feel any better from last night?"

"Yeah, a lot better. You were right," he answered as he dug into his food. "Mom? Where's Dad?"

"Oh, he went out early this morning to be with your Uncle Jimbo for the day so it's just us. I'm sorry, I knew you kids wanted to be with him today," Sharon looked sympathetic.

Stan raised a brow. "Er, not really."

Sharon only laughed.

"Um, Mom? Why is my room covered in all these animals posters and charts and whatnot?"

Both Sharon and Shelley shared a look.

"Why because you love animals silly," his mother answered, taking a seat next to him.

"I know but, I never owned any of those things in my room. I don't recognize any of it."

Sharon looked at him funny. "But it's your room Stan; it's been that way for years."

"No it hasn't!"

"Maybe you aren't quite well yet," Sharon touched his forehead but he brushed it aside.

"And what's with this shirt?" he showed her his Meat is Murder pajama shirt.

Now his mom and sister really looked confused.

"That was your father's but after he gave up trying to be a vegetarian, he gave it to you."

Stan almost choked on his eggs. "What? Dad- a vegetarian? No."

"Well we all tried to go vegetarian a couple years back. You're the only one who stuck with it."

"The only time I ever tried going vegetarian was last year when I tried to rescue baby cows. It didn't work out because I caught a pretty serious disease, vaginitis," Stan explained.

"What? You never caught such a thing," Sharon told him.

"Yes I did! God Damnit, what is going on here?"

"I don't think you're fully healthy yet Stanley. I know you by now, you always try to act healthier than you are. But Mister, I think you're still sick."

Stan looked at her with an open mouth. "I feel fine Mom."

"I won't hear a word of it. After breakfast I want you to get back up to bed."

Stan could have knocked over his plate in frustration. He was feeling completely normal!

"Damnit… can I just have some bacon to go with my eggs then, please?"

At this Sharon almost choked on her food.

"You didn't just say that," Shelley told him.

"What are everyone's problems today?" Stan cried.

"Stanley, you haven't eaten meat for almost two years now…" Sharon told him.

"Yes I have! I am not a vegetarian!"

"But you are," Shelley said.

"I am not!"

"Oh, I know you wish you weren't sometimes. No doubt you get sick more often than any of the kids in class because of it, but sweetie, you don't eat meat."

"I do too! I'll show you!" Stan raced into the kitchen and found a can of bacon bits. He took out a handful and ate them.

"No," Sharon gasped.

"See? I eat meat!"

Sharon got up and took the bacon bits from his hand. "I want you to go to bed now Stanley."

"But Mom"-

"Now Stanley!"

Growling, Stan marched back upstairs. He sat on his bed, his mind racing. Why were his mom and sister acting this way? Was this all some elaborate joke? It couldn't be, his family wasn't big on pulling pranks. Then what was it? Stan angrily took off his shirt and threw it on the floor. He did not like to be messed with and right now, he was really being played the fool. Ten minutes later Sharon walked in. She felt his forehead again.

"Why are you acting this way?" she asked, sitting next to him.

"Why are you acting this way?"

"You don't feel warm. Let me take you temperature to be sure…"

Stan moved away from her hand when she tried to stick the thermometer in his mouth.

"I feel fine Mom! Now answer me this: why the hell are you and Shelley acting so weird around me? Why is my room this way? Why everything!"

Sharon set the thermometer aside. "I don't know what to say to you Stanley except you are the one acting funny."

"It's Cartman isn't it? He convinced you all to pull a real funny prank on me to make me look stupid didn't he?" Stan demanded.

"Eric Cartman? No, he didn't do anything."

"Then why Goddamnit is"-

She put her fingers over his lips and tucked him in despite his flailing about.

"Now I want you to get some sleep. Perhaps you'll start to remember things when you wake up. I'll be back up by lunch time."

She kissed him and stepped out. Stan angrily stared up at his ceiling. Maybe she was right; maybe he still wasn't feeling well even though he thought he did. Hoping he was delirious, Stan had no choice but to fall back asleep and hope that the next time he woke up, things would be the way he knew they were.

That was chapter one. I hope you liked it. Please leave me a review okay? It's what keeps me going. Thanks.

Magical love: Rose, July 9, 2010