🖤⚡️They Met In A Record Shop⚡️🖤

Chapter 12: In Which Allison Wakes Up

(Allison's Perspective)

When I woke up it was late at night, and I knew I hadn't been asleep for very long.
I wondered why I had woken up, and I wondered if one of my siblings was messing with me.
But when I sat up and looked around the room, it was empty.
I shrugged it off and tried to get back to sleep, but for some reason I couldn't. So I began to think about my solutions for when I can't sleep. Reading a book? Drawing? Writing in my journal?
I wish I could have a real journal, but I don't trust my siblings nearly enough, so there's no way I'd leave out a notebook with all my secrets in it. Even if I hid it, they'd find it. So my journal is the notesapp of my phone, where I can write notes and lock them. It's perfect. Except for at night when I don't wanna go on my phone because I don't wanna look at the bright screen or be distracted by notifications...
I was just staring blankly at the wall with no idea what to do.
Maybe I could listen to music on my record player, if I plugged my headphones into it. I had quite a few albums I wouldn't mind listening to.
But then again, who gives a shit whether or not I use headphones? I'm the only one in this house who cares about getting enough sleep– at least that I know of.
It's a relatively small house with six kids and two parents.
I'm lucky to get a room alone. Violet and Lucas share a room. Noah and Henry share a room, too. Maybe I get my own room because I was the first girl. And I know why Violet has to share a room with Lucas instead of me. See, Violet and I used to share a room together. But she hates me. I know she does. Not that I care. She's the annoying little sister, anyway. I'm sure she must've told Mom and Dad that she doesn't want to share a room with me anymore, and they must've actually listened for once in their lives.
I was actually relieved when Violet moved out of my room. I had more space for my belongings, more privacy, and I didn't have to have the room duct-taped in the middle anymore.
Besides, Violet and Lucas have more in common than her and I ever would. It doesn't matter that she and I are the two girls.
Andy sleeps in the attic. He likes it up there.
He has it painted and there's furniture and everything up there. It's actually quite nice.
It had originally just been this plain, boring attic that scared me when I was little. But Andy learned how to paint and at age ten he painted the attic navy blue and moved the majority of his furniture up there before reluctantly asking for help moving his bed and bookshelf.
He's bought more furniture over the years. He had to get a dresser to keep all his clothes in, and bought a mirror to attach to the top of it.
He also has a dark brown desk and a black office chair. He keeps his school backpack in the office chair when he's not sitting in it, and keeps extra school supplies on the desk. A cup of pencils and pens, a tissue box, etc. average stuff to keep on a desk.
But even though his room started out average, as he grew his interests he began buying more stuff using the money he gets from doing chores for close relatives as well as birthday money, Christmas card money, etc.
Now he has posters on the walls, action figures, books by his favorite authors, horror movie props...
And my personal favorite;
He hangs up some of my drawings on the walls. Sometimes I draw things specifically to give him the drawings, and sometimes I draw something out of pure boredom and he asks me if he can keep it. I've always wondered why he's so nice to me all the time when the rest of our siblings are rarely as kind, but I've never voiced that question or complained.
Andy makes sure to stock up on bug spray, cleaning supplies, mouse traps, ant traps, and other stuff like that— he even has a specific drawer in his desk just for cleaning supplies– so he can get rid of bugs and mice and stuff when they try to get into the attic.
Mom and Dad didn't do much to help him switch rooms.
He had been sharing a room with Noah and Henry and he had declared that he was done with it. Mom and Dad thought he was bluffing and that it was a phase, but even when it became obvious that it wasn't, it was only us siblings that helped him to paint and move furniture.
Sure, it gets cold up there in the wintertimes. But he has a space heater and about a million blankets.
He's tough. Always has been. When he fell off his bike at seven years old when he failed his first attempt to learn how to ride the bike, his knee bled, but he barely cried.
And he's protective, too. If my other siblings pick on me while he's around, he won't have it. I'm glad to have him. He's my best friend. Always has been. It doesn't matter that he's two years older than me, or that there's so much we don't have in common. He's there for me, and I'm there for him. We can tell each other secrets.
I wondered what I should draw for him next. And so I started thinking of the horror movie monsters he likes.
He likes the classic ones. Freddy Kruger, Michael Myers, Jason Voorheas, Chucky, etc.
I got my sketchbook and Sharpies, and I turned on a small lamp on my desk so I could see better.
I placed the sketchbook and the Sharpies on the desk before going over to the case on the floor where I keep my records and opening it.
I rummaged through it before choosing the Fight Club soundtrack. Since the original Fight Club songs have no words to them, it's easier to multitask while listening to this album, because there's no words to sing.
I put the record on and started playing it quietly, making sure it wasn't loud enough that one of my siblings would barge in and beat me up over it.
Then I sat down at my desk and took the black Sharpie that I use for outlining, and I began drawing shapes and lines until it all came together to form Freddy Kruger.
Then I colored him in. the burnt sweater, the pants, the fedora, and I tried my very best to draw and color his face, but it could've turned out a lot better.
I wrote my name and the date on it before putting a box around the words.
Then I colored in the background, leaving the box with words in it white so I'd still be able to read what it said.
I carefully ripped the page out of the sketchbook and closed the sketchbook.
I put all of my supplies away before putting the drawing on the desk.
I took a look at the time.

                     12:30 AM

"Shit." I whispered.
I walked over to my record player and turned it off before carefully placing the vinyl back into its case and slipping that into the case where I keep the rest of the records.
I closed the case and went back to my bed. Then I got under the blankets and tried my best to get comfy. I eventually found a comfortable position, and closed my eyes.
Soon I drifted off to sleep.

       🌟🌕🌖🌗🌘🌑🌒🌓🌔🌕🌟

I (surprisingly) managed to sleep through the night with no more interruptions and didn't wake up until my school alarm went off.
Friday.
I smiled.
Today's Friday, and that means tomorrow is Saturday, and that means tomorrow I get to hang out with Marigold at her house.
I live walking-distance from the record shop where we met, and neither of my parents nor Noah or Henry had been willing to take me to Marigold's house, and I didn't want Marigold picking me up because I didn't want her dealing with my siblings.
So the original plan was for me to walk to the record shop and then Marigold and her mom would pick me up there.
But Andy's a good driver, despite only being fifteen and still having a year to go before he can legally drive.
I had known he was illegally driving, and that he was good at it, but I didn't ask him to drive me because I didn't want to increase the risk of him getting caught without a license, especially with me in the car.
But when I got dressed and went downstairs to get a Pop Tart for breakfast to see Andy sitting at the table drinking coffee and eating French Toast, he was smiling.
"I can drive you to Marigold's house tomorrow if you want." he offered.
I smiled.
"Nah, that's alright, Andy. I don't want you to get caught drivin' around without a license." I replied, reluctant to reject his offer.
"Hey, I won't. You know I'm a smart kid." he insisted.
"I don't know..." I shrugged.
"Come on, it'll be fun. I'll let you pick the music." he insisted.
I smiled.
"Okay." I finally agreed, excited to spend more time with my big brother.
"Good." he said, smiling back.
"So make sure to get all your homework done during study hall or after school. I don't want you stressing over homework while you're hanging out with Marigold tomorrow." Andy said, acting like a dad, but being a better dad than our real dad, so I didn't complain.
"I always do." I replied.
"Thought so." he replied.
I laughed before making my way back upstairs.
I finished getting ready for the day and before I knew it, it was time to go outside to wait for the bus.
I grabbed my backpack with everything I needed in it, then I put on my headphones and connected my phone to them.
I played some music off of my playlist as I walked downstairs and towards the front door.
I moved one side of the headphones off of my ear so I'd be able to hear what was going on around me.
"Bye, Andy!" I said as I opened the door.
"Bye little sis." I heard him reply as I walked out.
Then I sat on my porch and nodded my head to the beat of the music in my headphones.
And before I knew it, the big yellow school bus began pulling up the street.