Ergo, the Ogre

Welcome to the daily Three Things Challenge.
Use your imagination and creativity using one, two or all three words that may or may not be related. There are no restrictions regarding length, style, or genre, though please keep it family friendly.

Tag your responses with 3TC, #threethingschallenge or TTC, and you can add Di’s logo if you wish.

Looking forward to reading your responses.

Your three words today are:
HOPEFUL
WISHFUL
DREAMLIKE

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She awoke in a dreamlike state. It was such a surreal experience that she thought she might still be asleep. The alarm clock negated that theory.

The dreaded day had finally come. Her eyes welled up with tears at the thought of it. She had no idea of what to expect — anything could happen. “Anything” included something good, too. Maybe things would go in her favor. She was hopeful but couldn’t quite visualize such a scenario. Wishful is probably a better word. She wished it would go well, but there was little hope.

She’d done this several times and it never got easier, and it never went well. They made her feel like an amoeba under a microscope.

She got out of bed and got ready to go. Once outside, it was a beautiful fall day. Yellow, red, and orange leaves breezed through the air and swirled around her feet. She could barely see their colors through her tears. The pit in her stomach grew as she walked down the sidewalk toward the school bus stop. There were already five or six kids there. They were all looking her way.

She tried to act normal — meaning not tripping over her own feet or dropping her books — and wanted to throw up. If she gave them something to laugh about now, it would never stop.

The first day in a new school was hell.