*   *   *

My apartment door slams with an earsplitting CRASH, but I don't even flinch – just dash into my bedroom and yank my suitcase out from under my bed. I have to get out of here, I just have to! With every inch of my body shaking, I unzip the bag and begin throwing necessities inside. Parts of the prediction are echoing in my head, my skull vibrating in fear.

Your Life is in danger

  Say nothing to anyone

All this time my cellphone has been vibrating with missed calls and text messages but I don't dare reply back. I have have no way of knowing if that qualifies as speaking or not. I can't risk my life. With a grunt I slam my suitcase shut and proceed to dive into the bathroom to collect my toiletries. A strong scent of lilac Febreeze collides with my nose, making me cough. I thought I told Talia, my roommate, not to spray too much of that stuff in here! My annoyance quickly disappears though as I start collecting everything I need from here and finish packing my bags. Though I really should check to make sure I have everything I need, the only think I bother to look for is my bank card and my phone. I hear a soft thud from across my apartment making me jump from right and my heart pound against my rib cage.
“Sylvie? Is everything ok? What's with all the noise?” Talia's voice calls from her bedroom door.
“Nothi-” I freeze half way through the word with my mouth hanging open. I didn't just say something. No, I couldn't have...I did! Now is when I start hyperventilating. My whole body is going into panic mode because I let a sound escape from my mouth.
Talia's head pokes into the doorway with a look of concern on her face. “Did you say something? What's going on?”
I have no idea what to do- I can't answer her, so instead I just snatch up my bags and zip past her and out of my apartment door, adrenaline coursing through my body once again. As I thud down the steep, carpeted staircase, I can just picture the dumbfounded expression on Talia's face. I wonder what she must be thinking? That I'm crazy I bet.
     BEEP
Sure enough, a text pops up on my phone from her, questioning my behavior. Oh, what am I going to do? I'm such a mess. My friends think I'm insane and my life's in danger. Maybe I am crazy, but I can't risk it. I just can't.

    *   *   *

After three hours of waiting at the bus station, I'm on a Grey Hound to Winnipeg, my home town where my mom lives. Since the bus is leaving from Vancouver, it will take at least two days to get there which means two days of no talking. It'll be a challenge – I'm kind of a chatterbox – but fear should keep me quiet. Purposely, I chose a seat at the very back and placed my bag on the seat beside me so no one could sit next to me. I also plug in my headphones to avoid any conversation from the people on the other side of the aisle. As I sit with my head back against the seat listening to some Demi Lovato music, I scan the messages firing up on my phone from my confused and annoyed friends:

Answer me!

Don't be silly!

Where are you?

Come back!

It's just a stupid fortune cookie!

I shake my head. This is going to be a long trip.

    *   *   *

Lying on the bed in my old bedroom brings back so many memories. Just two years ago I was spending every waking moment here trying to stay caught up with my homework and get good enough grades to graduate. That seems like so long ago...time flies.
I arrived here last night and told my mom what happened. She didn't question me but I could tell she thought I was overreacting. I don't really know where I will go from here, if I can ever go back to Vancouver, but I'll figure it out eventually. First thing though, I should text my friends and let them know where I am. I probably owe them an apology as well, I kinda just left them hanging...
     BEEP
An alert pops up on my phone – a text message from Jennifer.
“Looks like they thought of that first!” I laugh as I pick up my phone. The message from Jennifer is quite long, so I scan the words as swiftly as possible:

Hey Sylvie, I don't know where you are right now and you haven't been answering my other texts, but please, lease read this. So I went over to your apartment today to talk to Talia about, you know, the fortune cookies. Well, she told me what she had been doing right at that moment.

Another message comes through, this time it's a picture of an empty cereal box. Huh? Why would she send that...? Wait a second. It's a “LIFE” cereal box...my “LIFE” cereal box that was definitely not empty when I left for dinner that night. The realization hits me as I read the next text that Jennifer sends:

Your “LIFE” was in danger. Not your human life, but your “LIFE” cereal! Talia had snuck into your room, stolen your cereal, and ate it. This all feels so silly now. Yes, the prediction came true, but not in the way you thought. You were never in danger. Doesn't that make sense?

I sit in silence for the next fifteen minutes. I have no idea what to say, or even think. The more I play that situation out in my head, the more it makes sense. How could I be so stupid? This just goes to show how much of an over reactor I am.
“Argh!” I groan as I thrust my face into the pillow. Now I've wasted a whole whack of money and time on the bus ride out here, and did I mention how embarrassed I am? I humiliated myself in front of  two of my friends and my mom by coming all the way out here.
I am never going to live this down.