Dropped

Boredom and Repetition

I sat on my bed staring at the ceiling. My alarm was blaring at me from my nearby chest of drawers. Eight AM. I forgot to turn off my alarm, despite summer break starting today. I tried to close my eyes and sleep through it, but the sound in my ears kept me awake. Yawning, I stood up and fiddled with my alarm clock.

"There." I said aloud, yawning. That wouldn't be bothering me again for a while.

I got dressed and went to the bathroom. I brushed my teeth. I ate breakfast. I watched television. Nothing important. Nothing unique.

This is me, Louis Park. This is my life, nothing but a background character. If there's anything special about me, it would be my memory, which is slightly above average. That sounds like a positive, but it really just made me stand out less. While my friends were complaining about school I couldn't even join in. I just memorized the formulas, the dates, the names, and it was easy. I wondered if my friends even remembered me now that the break began. If they hadn't, would that still make them my friends?

I glanced at the TV. It was displaying an advertisement for butter, tag-lined: "Butter? I think so!" I didn't really get it. My phone vibrated from my pocket. A call.

"Hm?" I answered.

"Yooo Lou, wassup?" My friend Jouey Kallonie, at least I consider him a friend, greeted me with a laugh.

"Nothing." I readjusted my seat on the couch.

"Bro you sound so bored. Wanna hang? I already called up the others." I thought for a moment.

"Yeah, sure."

"Aight, see you at The Park." And then he hung up. The Park, shortened from its full name, Hunsi Park, is where my group of friends and I always hang out. I got ready, then walked to The Park—it was nearby.

My friends waved me over, they all seemed to arrive before me. The cast of characters was quite unique. Jouey, for one, had dyed blue hair and was quite the eccentric. He was also a flirt, assuming people who are horrible with women can still have that title. The rest of my friends all were similarly intriguing characters. I wonder sometimes how I ended up hanging out with them, but I thought about how side characters were always placed by the main characters in order to make them stand out more, and that satisfied my curiosity.

We hung out for a while, then I went home.

The second day of our break began soon after.

I woke up and got dressed. I went to the bathroom. I brushed my teeth. I ate breakfast. I watched TV. I hung out with friends. Nothing important. Nothing unique.

The third day.

Wake, dress, bathroom, teeth, breakfast, TV, hung out. Nothing important. Nothing unique.

The fourth day.

Nothing new.

The fifth day.

Nothing.

Sixth day.

Nothing.

Seven.

No.

The days began to drag on and blend together. Despite my life plan—graduate, get a job, meet a wife, have kids, die—despite my life prior to this point, despite my better judgement, despite everything. I wanted more. I was bored. I've been bored. I've felt this way the whole time. I've felt this way my whole life, pretty much. When you remember everything, everything starts to feel like a memory. With these thoughts invading my mind, as they do every night, I drifted off into sleep.