Just Pretend to Sleep

For Daily Flash Fiction Challenge
Must use words: "nightmare," "coffee," and "window"

She wanted to be good. She wanted to do what her teacher told her. All of the other kids were already stretched out on their mats, their small heads huddled in rows as they drifted off to sleep. She longed to follow their examples, especially because she didn’t want to get in trouble and miss out on recess again.

But what if she had another nightmare like last week? Her classmates had teased her for the rest of the day when she had awakened sobbing, disturbing them from their naps. At first, she’d been too upset to be ashamed, but then she had thought about the tears streaming down her face and how Mr. Thomas had taken her out of the room to calm her down. She had been terrified of naptime ever since, preferring to accept punishment rather than risking sleep again. But she missed the playground. And the swings – especially the swings.

She couldn’t even remember what the nightmare was about. She only knew it scared her. And so did the thought of waking up like that in front of everyone again. She sometimes had the bad dreams at night at home too, but there wasn’t anyone to hear her there. Her sobs were always drowned out by the yelling.

Mr. Thomas sat in his chair by the window, a cup of coffee in front of him on the desk. He didn’t seem to be paying any attention, but, soon, he would look up. He would see that one pair of eyes wasn’t closed. She curled her short, jean-clad legs defensively against her stomach as she felt the sting of his disapproval even before it was directed at her.

Forcing her lashes to close, she hid in the darkness. Maybe, if she just pretended to sleep, everything would be all right.