Entomophobia

By I. Seymour Youngblood

She heard the sound of a thousand angry insects, chattering, and an ominous voice, “She will join us or she will die.”

It was a dream. And for a while, Lexi believed that. In real life, she was a winner. She didn't just compete, she excelled. Lexi didn't care about being popular; she cared about winning. And Lexi wasn’t about to start losing to the new girl. Each time Jill won, it bugged Lexi. When the new girl started winning over Lexi’s friends, it set Lexi's skin to crawling. And the dreams were getting worse. Was Lexi suffering from simple jealousy or a major case of Entomophobia?

• Language: English
• Publisher: I. Seymour Youngblood
• Release date: Mar 29, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310512452

I. Seymour Youngblood

Author Dr. I. Seymour Youngblood became obsessed with the macabre early in life. In his youth, he performed experiments on small, defenseless , forcing them to watch episodes of Barney & TeleTubbies for days on end and then documenting which ones cracked first. His findings were published in Lil' Psychopath Quarterly. After college, he applied to YELL! Medical School, where he graduated Magna Scream Loud-y. While psychiatry initially intrigued him, Seymour grew tired of helping people. He asked himself how could he influence children's lives, but for the worse? Naturally, he became a principal. At Pfearville Junior High, home of the Ravens, he documented the oddities he saw everyday & titled his papers "The Raven Archives". These are those tales...

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For my sister, Shannon.

Thank you for always being there.

The Raven Archives 3

Entomophobia

by

Dr. I. Seymour Youngblood

Smashwords Edition

Copyright © 2014 by Dr. I. Seymour Youngblood

All Rights Reserved.

Chapter One

Hero for a Day

"If you can accept losing, you can’t win."

-Vince Lombardi

She had dreamed of this moment for so long. Time and time again, standing in her driveway, she would count down, three…two…one…, and then hoist the ball into the air for the final shot. As it left her fingers and floated in flight, she would make a sound mimicking the final horn, signifying the end of the game.

Lexi was nervous, terrified, fearful of failure, and yet excited. She wanted this moment. She was eager for the opportunity.

The Pfearville Lady Ravens were in a position to win the game. All they needed was one more basket and they would not only win, but advance to the championship game. In her mind, Lexi could image joining all the greats: Jordan, Leslie, Bryant, Swoopes, Taurasi, LeBron, Durant.

The scoreboard read: Lady Ravens 43, Lady Rangers 44. With only four and a half seconds remaining, the crowd was on its feet. Half the crowd was ready to erupt in jubilation if she missed the shot, while the other half would be overcome with euphoria if she made it.

Jordyn, you’re going to in-bounds the ball. Fake it to Pelham. He turned to the freckle-faced girl with the braces and added, If everyone else hadn’t fouled out, I wouldn’t even be playing you, so don’t mess this up.

Pelham blinked. She was always on the bench and didn’t have very many friends, but it was unusual for coach to be so…honest. Lexi gave her a supportive hug, which brought a slight smile to Pelham’s face.

Drawing on his dry erase board, their coach continued, As she flashes across the middle, fake it to Pelham and then make a quick bounce pass to Lexi coming off the backside screen. Mattie, set a good screen for Lexi and then get ready for the weak-side rebound and possible putback, okay?

The redheaded Mattie tightened her ponytail and nodded at her coach’s instructions. She reached over and fist-bumped Lexi.

Lexi, wait for Mattie’s screen before you make your move. You don’t have to shoot it immediately when you catch it, so if your defender gets around Mattie’s screen, give her a head fake and step to the side, but if you are open immediately, take the shot. Understand?

Lexi wiped her brow and nodded.

Good. The coach nodded. Pelham, Jordyn, and Sasha, the minute Lexi shoots, I want all three of you crashing the boards for the rebound.

The whistle blew and the referees told the coaches to send their players back onto the court.

This game is yours for the taking. You’ve worked so hard; don’t let it slip away now. You’ve come so far. One more basket and we’re in the championship game. Let’s finish it.

Coach Mahan put out his hand, yelling, Finish it!

The girls stacked their hands on top of his.

Coach Mahan yelled, One…two…three…!

LADY RAVENS! they screamed.

The five girls—Pelham, Lexi, Mattie, Jordyn, and Sasha—marched back onto the court as their teammates and crowd cheered them on. Lexi glanced into the stands and saw her grandmother clapping. When her grandmother saw her, she waved proudly. Lexi made a swift sweep of her hand to return the gesture. Her focus immediately returned to the game.

She took three deep breaths and relaxed. You are feeling relaxed. A wave of calmness comes over you, she repeated her grandmother’s words in her head. Lexi pictured herself alone in her driveway. Using the relaxation techniques her grandmother taught her, Lexi let out a deep breath. It always helped. Her grandmother was a hypnotist, and other than basketball, hypnotism was Lexi’s favorite thing to do. She loved to be hypnotized. The image of her grandmother calmly, rhythmically swinging the gold gentleman’s pocket watch back and forth flashed through Lexi’s mind. You feel relaxed and calm, she could hear her grandmother say. You have no worries. You do not feel stressed, only relaxed and calm. You can hear a babbling brook in the distance and birds softly chirping. You are surrounded by serenity and peace.

Before tests or games, before shooting free throws or speaking in front of her class, Lexi recited the lines her grandmother taught her. Just like in the driveway, she said as she closed her eyes and let out a deep breath.

The referee blew the whistle and handed the ball to Jordyn. A tall, skinny girl with pigtails and pink highlights jumped up and down, yelling and screaming hysterically as she guarded Jordyn. Lexi called her The Clown because of her crazy hair, stubby pig nose, and outrageous antics, like screaming and waving her hands when she was on defense. Lexi wanted to sink the basket and laugh in The Clown’s face.

Jordyn looked left and made a strong fake toward the flashing Pelham. The pigtailed defender leaped in that direction, eager to intercept the pass that never came.

Lexi waited for what felt like an eternity. Come on! she screamed in her head. Finally, Mattie set her screen and the tiger sprung. Lexi made her break. Her shoulder rubbed Mattie’s, but her defender was equally quick and stuck close. Jordyn made a textbook bounce pass. When Lexi caught the ball, she could feel her defender on her hip. Lexi spun and raised her hands in a sudden movement, head-faking a shot. It worked. The defender leaped into the air. Seizing the opportunity, Lexi dribbled and sidestepped.

With no one in front of her, Lexi thought she would have a wide open shot, but the Lady Rangers were not going to make it that easy on her. The Clown abandoned Jordyn and sprinted toward Lexi. With a two-inch height advantage, The Clown could make Lexi’s shot quite challenging.

With a lunatic’s shriek, The Clown leaped toward her. The ball narrowly made it over her defender’s outstretched fingers.

The Clown crashed into her, and Lexi let out a grunt as she tumbled to the floor. A split-second later she heard the final buzzer. The crowd erupted.

Lexi did not know if the cheering was from her fans because she made it or from her opponent’s fans because she missed. The Clown’s towering frame had completely blocked her view of the goal. Lexi lifted her head and saw her teammates jumping with joy while their opponents looked like oversized human balloons, deflating before her eyes. The girl with the pink and white pigtails walked past Lexi crying, and suddenly Lexi felt sorry for her. She no longer wanted to rub it in.

Her teammates sprinted over to her and picked her up off the floor.

You did it! Jordyn proclaimed. You did it!

Way to go, Lexi, several of the girls added.

Her best friend, Elle, sprinted off the bench and high-fived Lexi. The Lady Ravens formed a circle around Lexi as the team celebrated together. Pfearville had won!

It was the best day of Lexi’s life. The excitement, the admiration, the success, it invigorated her. She wanted to do it again.

Chapter Two

Strange Dreams

"I seem to recognize your face,

haunting, familiar, yet I can’t seem to place it."

-Pearl Jam

"Elderly Woman Behind the Counter In A Small Town"

On the way home, her grandmother laid all kinds of praise on her, and deservedly so. You are one heck of a ball player, sweetheart. You scored over half your team’s points, and Mr. McDougal said you had at least a dozen rebounds.

Lexi was absolutely glowing. She never wanted it to end. Can you believe it? We won. We’re in the championship game next week. Isn’t that amazing?

To the victor go the spoils, Lexi’s grandmother replied.

When they walked into the old, two-story house, her grandmother asked, Will you be a doll and take the trash to the dumpster, please?

Grandma, I bet Kevin Durant doesn’t have to take the trash out after he makes a game-winning shot.

I bet he does at his grandma’s house.

Lexi did as she was asked. As she walked to the dumpster, a giant cockroach darted across her path. Lexi screamed and jumped back. The bag of garbage went airborne, spilling trash all over the yard.

No, no, no. She hurried and placed the trash back in the bag, but her eyes were on constant look-out for the gargantuan cockroach. Lexi hated bugs. She hated seeing them, hated the crunch they made when she stepped on them, and hated the way they scurried around like disgusting little...bugs.

Yuck! Yuck! And more yuck! Lexi moaned with each piece of trash she picked up. When she saw the cockroach scamper across the concrete, she screamed again and jumped behind the bag of trash. Holding the cardboard from a used paper towel roll like a sword, she said, Back, back, you beast. The cockroach seemed to stare at her before dashing into the grass.

Lexi let out a deep breath. That was close. She leaned over and picked up the trash bag, unaware of the tear in the bottom. All of the garbage fell out. Her shoulders slumped. Why me?

Lexi hurriedly ran arms full of trash to the dumpster. Whatever rubbish she deemed too disgusting to touch, she kicked with her foot and then used leaves