One More Day

Chapter 2

"You must not be alone; for to be alone is to be full of fears and alarms." ~ Bram Stoker

!__________!

To: Mom
From: Me

Hey mom, sorry for saying this just now but I'll be staying with Sis for the week. Hope you don't mind.

As you hop on the bus on your way to your sister's apartment, you send the text, plug in your headset to your sister's Walkman, and tune in to...

...
-!

Oh, right... We accidentally swapped.
Forgot that she has my Electro and Rock playlist.
Eh, some melancholic R&B should do for now. It's not too bad.

~Mom... Turn back...~

Today was more than you'd expect. Aside from the aforementioned, the newbie teacher in Phys Ed was introducing the different knots mountaineers use and he decided it was a good idea to hold a timed competition between classmates. It was not a good idea, to say the least.

~Mom... Go back...~

Meanwhile, Entrepreneurship was an entire period willingly made free by the most laid-back teacher to either nap or finish your other requirements. Now that's a good idea. You decided to check on your group for Practical Research, the leader said it's going smoothly.

Finally, to prolong the end of the day, the Disciplinary Committee called a short gathering to briefly remind everyone of the oncoming club fair next week, all will be discussed in the morning, so the gathering was just for mental preparation.

~Mom... Half-father... Scolding... Get back...~

Not in the mood to read, you scan the passengers rather hastily.
An elderly man with a newspaper, a few napping working-class citizens and four chatting students.

You zone out staring at the bus window. For some reason, your vision narrows to you looking at your reflection as your hazel eyes dart between your eyes, then your lashes, then your brows, until your nose and back again in random sequence.

Is the air getting stale or thin?

~Arguments... Angry... Stress... Go back... Hurry up...~

Despite trying to recall everything that's happened (in a slight attempt to distract oneself), you finally tear away to notice your left leg thumping. You barely managed to firmly plant your hand over your knee only to feel a slight ache near your calf. The lyrics of the song suddenly become less muddled as the dancing keys of the piano solo snaps back into focus.

Right. I was tuning in to music.

Letting go of your leg, you lean your head back to stare at the bus ceiling.

Fucking anxiety kicking in.
Not an attack. Not yet.
Calm down. Nothing's happened yet.
Mom still hasn't called you.

With a long exhale before breathing normally to quell the growing fear, you finally look beyond the window to see the sky's long gradient of sleepy purple to hazy orange, the lime coin that is the Sun telling you that it'll be just before nightfall by the time you arrive.

But still earlier than Sis, that's for sure.
Wonder if some marble potato with cheese is her vibe tonight.
She better have meat...

You continue to stare at the sunset.

Sunset...
Sun...
Sunny...
!