Once In a Lifetime

Chapter 2, An Empty Fridge

July 25

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As I opened my eyes the next morning, I felt a weight on my arm. I saw my cat, Yoda, laying on my arm with his whole body. I giggled and said, "Well hello to you too, Mr bean." I talk a lot to him, even though I know he doesn't know what I'm saying. However, it looks like he always listens to me.

I looked over to my right side to check the time and it said 09:13. I must admit, I can't read analogue clocks. Well, I can, but it takes a while, so I'd rather not. But at least I don't use AM. You know what I hate? The US using PM and AM. Why? Why do you always have to be different? Same goes for soccer and football, tax not being included in the price or wearing shoes inside the house.

I carefully pulled my arm back from under Yoda and stretched both my arms over my head. I got out under the covers and sat straight on my bed with both hands on my legs. I sighed and stood up. I was just in my pyjama shorts and an oversized shirt.

I started walking to my door, opening it and walking in the living room. Everything looked the same, except for some of the stuff that wasn't there anymore. Little things like notes and shoes.

My parents are very organised, and so is our house. I must add that my parents are not the ones who clean. We have cleaners and all of that, so without the cleaners in this cabin, it would be a mess. But I do know how to take care of myself and my environment. I've been doing all the cleaning since we arrived, but I don't mind doing it. I don't even think my mom knows how to do the dishes.

I walked over to the stereo and pressed the 'on' button. I love music, so when I wake up, one of the first things I like to do is listen to music. I walked back to my room and picked up my phone from the nightstand. I looked at the screen and saw two new messages.

'from mom, 4 hours ago: Hello, the flight was good. We ate breakfast on the plane, and it was not horrible for once. We are now driving home.'

'from mom, 3 hours ago: We just got home. We'll be at work from eight till six'

I decided to answer with a simple 'okay' because I wasn't in the mood to talk to her. The first couple of days are the hardest. I get frustrated at little things, cry a little more and have more nightmares than normal. After a week I start to enjoy it more. I like the space I have when they're gone. But the best thing is that I start to feel more like a normal person, because not everything has to be so fancy and formal.

I'm not really a morning person, but I'm not really an evening person either. I mean, I love sleeping, but I have no problem with getting up in the morning. I love being up until late, but I often fall asleep if it's after 2:00. Watching movies with friends is always exciting, because I mostly sleep through the whole film.

Not being a certain stereotype bothers me. I don't know how to compare myself with characters because I just can't choose who I am. Or who I should be. I want to be able to see myself in characters, but not one person is completely comparable with me.

I opened Spotify, clicked on my playlist and then on 'shuffle.' I heard 'Candy' from Robbie Williams through the speaker, and I bopped my head on the sound of the music as I walked over to the curtains. I grabbed one and slid it open to the right side. With the curtains being open, a bright ray of sunshine shined right into my eyes. I immediately squeezed my eyes shut and walked back to the living room. I repeated the steps with the curtains and shuffled over to the fridge.

I opened the door and looked for something I can eat. The fridge was almost completely empty except for a slice of butter and an empty carton of milk. "Great, even though dad went to the store yesterday, he didn't think about buying something for me." I sighed out loud. I was getting more and more annoyed, because it's not that hard to just buy something for me to eat. I mean, it's not like we don't have the money.