Dream Keeper

Chapter One - A Day in the Life of Liam Jeffords

What was that? A shape moved in the corner of Liam Jeffords eye. The clock read 0:04 and he didn't feel slumber washing over him any time soon. The shape had yet to move again, and when Liam turned to make sure there was nobody there to kidnap or kill him, the hallway appeared as empty as the schools. Four past midnight is not the time for this brain. This had been going on for a while and he had no clue why. He had absolutely no reason for him to still be up. He hasn't seen a screen since 9:45. Sure, he had school tomorrow but it's only the same as every other day, no big projects or quizzes coming to stress Liam out. He has been eating fine and has been exercising twice a week, nothing hurts and he shows no signs of depression. Harvard says those are the only possible reasons for still being up this late. The body truly is a mystery. He thought about going to get a book to try and tire himself out but alas he felt as if his mind couldn't stay focused and his body would crumble with any slight movement. Yet the sleep still wouldn't come. He laid there trying to drift off until a bird decided then was the perfect time for a one bird opera. Turns out 6 hours had passed since Liam had last checked the clock. Well there is no point trying to sleep now.
He got up and trudged to the bathroom. As he turned on the dim light he could see his deep purple bags pooling under his basic brown eyes. Liam Jeffords is about as basic as they come. His brown hair didn't need much work. It's short length ensured he didn't get much of a bedhead and his small loose curls made it so if he brushed it too much it would get all poofy, trust me it isn't what he wants (it isn't a look for him). To ensure he doesn't have to retake a shower at night he skips the morning shower and goes straight to almost falling asleep while brushing his teeth. Feeling barely any more conscious he made his way to the kitchen.
It's a spacious kitchen so making his way from fridge to pantry got him up. Liam's dad, Marvin Jeffords, had just awoken from the slumber Liam longed for. As Marvin started preparing his oatmeal Liam was just about finishing his raspberry parfait. After exchanging a few lazy words of greeting Liam returned to his room as his sister and mother arose.
Liam's bedroom wasn't the biggest, but it got the job done. As Liam walked in he could only notice the imperfections. How the bed was tucked into a corner where barely any light could reach it. There weren't many windows but the room still shone and reflected off the white walls littered with posters of various bands and movies, dirty with stains of who knows what seem to never want to leave. A full body mirror stood next to the door and the closet was made out of the leftover room between the bathroom and Liam's bedroom. The closet consisted of many monotone colored oversized attire. Liam picked out a grey pair of sweatpants with a matching hoodie and threw it onto his yet to be made bed. After slipping into his attire he wondered how he still had an hour and a half he had until class but when it was his time to sleep it went by in a flash. Liam pulled out a book and started to read.
About two chapters later the clock reaches 8:15. Liam marked his page and got up to prepare his desk for the day filled with online school. The desk was littered with textbooks and loose papers, Liam was surprised it didn't snap in half yet. He pushed the clutter away from the middle making a ruckus as things fell off the desk. When he finally was able to place his laptop down, his mom came in and told him to get online for his first class of the day. It was a quick 30 minute check in class that didn't really matter anyway so Liam opened up a blank tab and typed in WAYS TO FALL ASLEEP in search of helpful articles. Melatonin would work but doing that would worry his parents and they have enough stress about the Pandemic already. Sleeping masks don't work and tea wasn't really his cup of tea. After searching long and hard he ended up on an article by a woman named Laura Marley. The article wasn't like the rest, it said nothing about drugs or tea, instead she says to pinpoint the moment you drift off into sleep. Doing it will supposedly keep you mind from going places. The even weirder part is that he couldn't find any other sources saying to do that. Before he could think about it any longer he was dismissed from class in order for him to get to his real classes.