The hot shower provided a great contrast against the cold atmosphere that lay just outside of these four walls. Add to that the fact that there could be another storm coming tonight, and voila, I found myself not wanting to leave the warm embrace of the running water anytime soon. Sure, I had always been a sucker for hot showers, but it was particularly because we hadn't had said facility in our house until just a few weeks ago. What you had here right now was simply a kid who was enjoying a luxury he hadn't had the chance to enjoy at his own house for essentially his entire life. As such, being a guy who had grown up only experiencing hot showers in hotels or during scarce visits to a relative's house, I found myself very much enjoying the feeling of inner peace that came with the steaming downpour.
Of course, as with any other instances in my life where I got the opportunity to be isolated from the outside world, my mind just couldn't help but to wander off and venture into alleys of thoughts that I hadn't visited in ages. As my eyes locked on towards the downward spiral of water making its way towards the sink, a vague auditory memory began to rise up from the ashes, bringing me back to the days where I wasn't yet tall enough to reach things that my mom couldn't.
Argument. The noise that I heard was nothing more than the sound of argument.
And despite the fact that the argument was not actually there, a reality that had not changed from even back then, I found myself slightly cringing at the waterdrops' eerie imitations of the human voice. I knew there was nobody talking outside. I knew that right at this moment, I was the only person occupying the second floor. I knew this from the bottom of my heart, and yet in the back of my head, I simply couldn't shake off that feeling of weariness and trepidation I had been so accustomed to throughout most of my life. The same routine over and over again. It seemed that even with the passage of time, I was still unable to escape from its clutches.
"Okay, I think that's more than enough."
I turned off the tap and let the last drops of water made their final surrender against gravity. Grabbing my towel, I dried myself off and as usual marvelled for a bit at the sheer amount of condensation that had occured on the mirror. Right as I was about to finish wearing my clothes, I heard from the floor below the familiar sound of the front door opening. It seemed like dinner time was coming soon, and so I might as well head down as soon as I was done putting away the dirty laundry. After all, food had always been a good escape plan for me whenever I needed something to clear my head.
Let's just hope that the antacid I had earlier had done its job properly, I thought with my head feeling a bit wobbly on my way out.
~~<>~~<>~~<>~~
"How was your day, honey?" My mom asked the moment she saw me going down the stairs.
"It was okay. Just went to school as I was supposed to," I answered dismissively. Seeing that I had completely skimmed over the entire bag fiasco with my sister earlier, I found myself completely uninterested in opening the bigger can of worms that was telling my mom. Not like if I had told my sister in the first place, that would like change anything. Sure, my sister, I could handle the lambasting from, but my mom? No, I would rather not.
Then, I guess better not do it again next time.
I know. What do you think was my reason for putting the bag front and center on my desk as soon as we got back? Come on now, Hazel, you know I've been around the block by this point better than anyone.
Yeah, totally. Definitely explains the two times you've done this same exact mistake, right?
YOU ARE READING
Sleep Deprived
Teen Fiction"A rewrite of a story that I had once written, and a story that has continuously been playing in my head ever since." Noel, a tired yet somewhat still trying high schooler, is plagued by a problem that has made it even harder for him to overcome his...
