Rooftop

4.

    "Okay, let's go and get some coffee, because I got a very minimal amount of sleep last night and need some," Magenta tells us.

    I tell them that I need to go home to help my mom clean the house, before walking back home. And Brad tells Magenta that he needs to do some schoolwork, which sounds made up, considering the fact that it's the middle of June, but she doesn't question the validity of it.

    "Do you actually have any schoolwork to do, or was that just made up?" I finally ask Brad, after Magenta walks in to get some coffee.

    "I'm homeschooled, so, no, it wasn't a lie. I just have to do a couple of lessons in English and Math, and I'll be completely fine for the rest of the day. I only have around and hour of schoolwork a day, because I work on it over the summer, and, sometimes, on weekends. So if you wanted to do something afterwards, we definitely could."

    "I probably won't be able to. There's a lot of cleaning that needs to be done, and my mom can't help because she's a work. We reach our houses and go in to do our different tasks.

    It takes me forever, and by the time I finish cleaning, it's already dark, but the entire house is practically spotless, though there were some things that I couldn't clean, like the windows, which seemed to always be cloudy, no matter how many times I washed them, or some of the kitchen cabinets, which I wish weren't painted white. I go up to my room, and fall asleep, almost instantly.

    "Hey Columbia, I have a present for you. It's hidden somewhere in this room." I start looking around, trying to find my final 5th birthday present, but to no avail. Eventually Dad tells me to look behind the sofa that's pushed up near a wall, but has enough space behind it to hide in.

    I climb on top of it and see a big box, with polka dot wrapping paper, and a huge white bow on the top. I rip the paper off of it, and see a brown box. My dad comes over with a pair of scissors, and cuts it open, revealing a machine.

    "This is a record player. You can use it to play music on. All you have to do is put a record on it, and turn it on, and then you can listen to music."

    I'm awakened from my dream by my sheets being ripped away from my body. I try to grab them, but then realize that they have been put onto the floor. I open my eyes just a little to check my clock, and see that it's the middle of the night.

    "Columbia, I need some help." I groan after I finally figure out that the person's voice is Brad's.

    "What do you want?" I ask, wanting to go back to sleep.

    "I need you to come with me down to the Bean. I have a huge science test worth half of my grade tomorrow that I haven't studied for at all."

    "That sounds like a 'you problem'." I attempt to grab the covers from the floor, but can't reach them, and decide to sleep without them.

    "Could you please help me with this? I'll never ask you for anything ever again, and I'll pay for all of the coffee you want tonight." By now I'm pretty sure I won't be able to get back to sleep, and reluctantly agree to help him out, though I'm doing it mostly for the coffee.

    I throw on a denim jacket, which would make my black leggings and black t-shirt look presentable, if my hair looked better.

    "I'm not going to be able to go out of the front door without my mom hearing," I tell him as I slip on some tennis shoes.

    "Well let's just climb up the window. It's not that hard, and it's only about 10 feet, and it's really easy to climb."

    He demonstrates by climbing down, then bowing as soon as he reaches the ground. I turn off my bedroom light and going down after him. The concrete hurts my feet a little when I hit the ground, but I just shake it off and walk with Brad, who is now carrying a huge textbook, some notebooks, and pencils. He probably left them on the ground when he came up to get me.