Building Bridges (l.s.)

two

Bzt bzt. My phone buzzed on my nightstand. I grunted and rolled over, and the time on my alarm clock read 10:30 A.M. My mom would call this late, but usually I sleep in until at least 1 P.M. It's probably not healthy, but what the hell is going to stop me? I grabbed my phone and rolled back over on my back and turned it on. It was a message from Parker, saying how crazy last night was and how he hopes I'm not in any trouble. Oh yeah, I was definitely going to kick his ass. As I was replying, telling him I was coming over to share a few words with him, I remembered that I have to go to Building Bridges today at noon until 5 P.M.

"Shit." I mumble to myself. I cancel the text to Parker, and decide to just kick his ass later without a warning. I stumble out of bed and walk over to my dresser, where I grab a pair of underwear and my clothes for the day. I'll spare you the details of my shower, but when I'm done I get dressed and brush through my hair that now sits past my shoulders. My friends always tease me about it, calling me gay and all the other words they think are degrading. Though I am into both boys and girls, telling my friends I was bisexual was something I never considered. The jokes were already enough without them knowing it was true. I have thought about cutting my hair, but I've never followed through. I really like it like this.

When I was done getting ready, I made myself a meal, I wasn't sure whether to call it breakfast or lunch, considering it was 11 A.M. Plus, I never eat anything during this time because I'm always sleeping.

After I was done eating, it was thirty minutes to twelve. I didn't know how long it would take for me to drive, or if I needed to be there exactly at noon. It's better to be early than late though, so I decided to leave. I then remembered those directions that the sheriff gave me, so I grabbed that before I headed out the door.

Turns out it took me just about thirty minutes to get there. It wouldn't have, if I didn't get lost so many times. The directions barely helped me at all, it felt like I kept on going in circles. It seems like the authorities are purposely trying to make my life more miserable than it already is.

As I finally pulled into the lot, I viewed the building and it honestly looked ancient. It was fairly small, with the words Building Bridges at the top. But from the way it looked, it seemed like someone had repainted the words recently and didn't do a very good job. The brick appeared to be crumbling, too, and the paint on the window sills were chipping.

Some place, I thought to myself as I climbed up the creaky steps to the front door.

A little bell rang above me as I opened it, and everyone who was in the room turned their heads to look at me. I tried to ignore the stares, searching for a nurse or someone who could help me. Finally, I spot a woman with scrubs on across the room, and I head in that direction to talk to her. Most of the people who were staring at me were older, maybe in their late forties. Some of them were even eighty or ninety. They were either sitting at a table and playing a game, eating, or in a wheelchair watching the television. I was surprised at how many of them were smiling at me, usually if I walked in a room everyone would roll their eyes and leave.

The lady turned to me as I approached her and greeted me with a smile. Before I could introduce myself she was already speaking.

"Hi," she stuck out her hand for me to shake, "I'm Tiana. I'm the head authority here, but don't be worried. I'm pretty relaxed. We just go with the flow around here." She was bright and warm, I could tell already. I took in her features; her dark soft skin, her chocolatey brown eyes, and her brown braided hair. I went to introduce myself when a wheelchair became visible from behind Tiana.

"Hello Tiana, who would this tall lad be?" A voice came from behind her. It was very high and cute. Soft and high, but cute. I couldn't see him and actually I wasn't even sure it was a 'him', but I assumed.