Just cousins

Memories of that summer.

Franko sat at his desk in the dark bedroom above the staircase. The only light in the room came from his computer screen as he typed away. The small digital clock at the corner of the screen read 12:31 AM. Franko let out a sigh of irritation and highlited the single sentence that he had typed, deleting it and sitting back in his chair. He rubbed the exhaustion out of his eyes and glanced out the small bedroom window above his bed. The house next door lied vacant, a result of his screw up. It had not always been an empty house full of tarnished dreams though. At one point in his life it was filled with hope and happiness. He would often spend time there with his mom, his aunt, and his cousin. He stared out at the house lost in memory. He shook his head in an attempt to snap out of it. "I gotta finish this damn peper!" He said aloud, slapping the exhaustion from his face. Turning back to the computer screen, he examined it in disapproval. "Finish huh? I haven't even started yet." He thought in annoyance. To be honest there were many ways to start this story but choosing just one place was too difficult. He wanted this paper to really speak to his classmates, to express his feelings perfectly. His grade depended on it, his career depended on it, and, "she" depended on it. He quickly removed the thought from his head, focusing back on the paper he had to write. He thought about it intensely. The best place to start would have been that fateful summer, at camp Ikuwa, when the leaves were bright green and the heat of the sun seemed to hang suspended in those woods. Many events had transpired out there as well as were he sat at that moment in time. In this very bedroom. A deep rumble echoed from the pit that was Franko's stomach. Deciding that it would be rather difficult to write while hungry, he stood up, pushing the roller chair back and heading out into the dark hallway. He decended the staircase and flipped on the kitchen light. His mother sat there in silence, drinking from a mug that appeared to contain hot cocoa. She glanced up at him warily then back down at her cocoa in silence. Franko walked past her and grabbed a granola bar from the jar on the counter top. He unwrapped it and started back up to his room. "Do you want the light off?" He asked as he reached the doorway. She nodded in silence. "Alright then, goodnight." He said, flipping off the switch. He heard her mumble something along the lines of. "Night" under her breath. He bit into the bar as he headed back up to his room. He and his mother had not been on speaking terms for two years now. He didn't blame her though, after all, it was his fault. He returned to his bedroom, sitting back down in the roller chair and facing his computer screen. Finishing the granola bar, he cracked his neck and streched his arms out, preparing to type. This time he would do it. He looked at the screen with a determined expression. He had to get this message across, no matter what. "Where to start? I guess out in those woods... Though it goes much father back then that." He thought with a melancholy grin. He placed his hands on the keyboard, inhaling and exhaling deeply. He would tell this story no matter what. That was the mentality that he had as he began to type out the title, there could not be a more fitting title than the one he had come up with. "Just cousins." Was displayed, centered on the screen in a bold, black font. With the title in place he began the story that had ripped this family apart.