Finding Fire

.1

I stood outside of my school waiting to be picked up from basketball practice; usually I would be happily chatting away, except all my friends had something to do, somewhere to be, something that included not hanging out with me that day.

But I was perfectly okay with that, I had a sketch book and my art pencils. Which were very worn down, I made a point to remember to get new ones later in the evening.

In the end, I never got those pencils. That was not one of my biggest worries, because I was preoccupied with something that I had always taken for granted.

Alas everything was fine, it was what was coming that I should've looked out for.

After about fifteen more minutes I decided to walk home, I mean my mom was already forty five minutes late might as well save her the gas. But I felt a small knot in my stomach; she wouldn't be this late if something hadn't held her back. So I hauled my back pack up on my shoulder and pulled out my old mp3 player thinking that I was just stressed out with school work. I scrolled through songs and picked Little Lion Man by Mumford and Sons. The music relaxed me a little, and I let myself get lost in my music. After walking about four blocks, I stopped at a gas station for some snacks and continued on my journey home.

I jogged through the yard and jumped the steps onto the porch, fumbling through my backpack for my key. The object felt unnatural, it felt like a stranger in my hands. Searching the house I called out for my mom. I ran up the stairs  I thought maybe she was sleeping so I tiptoed to her room only to find it empty. The knot in my stomach tightened and I could no longer ignore it. I found my phone and dialed her number, it rung and rung and when it was obvious that she was not going to pick up I ended the phone call. I called my father; he answered but curtly dismissed me, telling me that he needed to work and that he would come home later.

Frustrated, I thought up a list of places she could be and after realizing that they were too far away to walk to, I gave in to the voice in the back of my head saying that I could not do anything.

After a while I finally accepted that if something were wrong I would know.

She probably got caught up with her friends or in traffic I mumbled to myself while pacing the length of the room. But even after I thought it out and found a logical answer for every doubt, for every question I was restless. So I picked up a book and for the first time that day every minute did not drag by.