A lugubrious and bleakly gray landscape greeted Cammie’s roving eyes as she scanned the outside world, settled comfortably in the window seat in her father’s library. It’s really my library, Cammie reflected. He never uses this room. I can’t fathom why. It’s lovely. The plush cushion warmed her feet pleasantly, but as she pressed her face against the cold glass the effect was lost and tentacles of ice crept through her body. She shivered.

Cammie was searching for someone, or something. She wasn’t sure what, only that she was looking for it and had to find it. It was mysterious and at the same time familiar. But this thing never came close enough for her. Sometimes she’d feel a sort of friendly presence but it would fade as soon as it appeared.

From the other room she heard a television set blaring MTV, giving things away in some sort of ‘epic’ rally. Just brief interruptions between commercials, really. The rest of her family was undoubtedly watching the show, eating microwaved corn and beef made from cardboard.

Cammie was different. She knew it. It was almost like a bubble inside of her. Every time her brother bullied her for watching the winter outside her window, or her professor looked upon her disapprovingly for staring out the window in class the bubble swelled a bit. At first it hadn’t been so bad, but recently it’d been threatening to burst. They’re both just bullies, Cammie consoled herself. A big bully and then a smaller one.

“She’s won our grand prize! A trip to Hawaii with her BFF!” screamed the announcer from the other room. It was painfully loud to Cammie and she covered her ears to block out the noise. The surround sound speakers her parents had purchased the week before had really been a problem for her, and Cammie felt a growing animosity towards them. They’d cost a fortune, too. It was obvious because even her affluent parents had hesitated the write the check.

Cammie looked down at her lap, scribbling a few words on the sheet of paper that rested there. It was supposed to be a biography of someone she looked up to, but she looked up to no one. She wanted to be her own influence, not follow someone else’s footsteps. Because it was a class assignment, though, Cammie knew she had to do it, so she chose Albert Einstein, sure that it would be simple to find a few sources and some inspirational quotes that she could throw in. It hadn’t been the slightest bit easy. Her one and only source was wikipedia and the inspirational quotes were few and far between. Cammie stared at the paper, trying to make the biography write itself or at least use her mind powers to incinerate the offending object.

Nothing happened. She knew nothing would. Nothing ever did. She forced herself to push those thoughts away and set the paper down again with a sigh. Cammie returned her gaze to the gray, windswept world beyond her window, ignoring the shouts from behind the door.

The sun set, and still Cammie sat in the window seat. Watching, unblinking. The television finally turned off and footsteps like a herd of elephants ascended the stairs. Yawns were heard. Cammie sighed, accepting that there would be no friend today. She stood, cracking her immobile limbs painfully, and silently trotted out the door, up the stairs, and slipped into her room like a shadow.

Maybe tomorrow. With that thought, Cammie climbed into bed and fell asleep, the shadow of a smile ghosting across her face.