Candles

06 | T R A N S M U T E

THERE WAS SOMETHING ABOUT THE way early morning made someone feel. It was always quiet, and still my favorite part of the day. Mostly everyone was asleep at this time and the environment just seemed so much peaceful. I did not have to worry about any type of noise bothering me and I did not have to worry about any headaches threatening to form. After about one in the morning, I had learned that was when mostly everyone shut down in their homes. It was only a little while after two and I was more than just wide awake.

I was exhilarated.

I had finally managed to unpack every single box in my new home and everything was properly put in their place. I was extremely proud of myself for being able to get this done in only a short amount of time. I thought I would not finish unpacking for another week but I had clearly proved myself wrong by getting it all done tonight. The pile of empty boxes piled by the front door and my plan was to find a dumpster to leave them at before I went to work.

I was now drinking a cup of tea at the kitchen table, staring at the blank wall ahead of me. I could have gone to sleep after unpacking, but I was not up for it. This was my second night here and I was not quite comfortable with it. I fell right to sleep last night because I was too exhausted to try to fight against my eyelids. Tonight, however, I was wide awake and I was going to take advantage of it. Why force myself to sleep when I was not even tired?

My fingers ran along the top of my mug and I stared down at the translucent beverage. Smoke rose from the mug but I knew the tea was no longer burning hot. I had already taken a few sips and my tongue did not burn at all. I stirred the liquid with my teaspoon and watched the liquid hit the sides of the mug as if it was trying to escape. I tugged my bottom lip between my teeth and tilted my head to the side. My first, full day of living in Seattle had been completed and I did not know how to feel about it. For the first day, it was excruciating and tiring. I was supposed to be keeping my head down and avoiding chaos at all costs. Instead, I was running right for it. I already made someone hate me and I was certain I was not going to keep my job for much longer. I was already stressed.

After I gave Harry his earphones back, we went our separate ways until it was time for me to go home. Surprisingly, I did not get yelled at when I returned the earphones to him. I assumed he would accuse me of stealing them but he did no such thing. He just quietly thanked me and attached them to his little iPod. Since he did not yell at me, I took that as a sign. I was sure to keep my distance from both him and Jillian. She left before any of us did, though. It turned out she had to go pick up one of her friends from work. I had heard her telling Harry this when I went to go to the restroom. The two of them were hanging out by the door and I could not help but listen. When you had to go, you had to go. You could not stop the conversations going on around you. You could not help but to listen, either.

Harry was supposed to leave an half hour after me but I was more eager to leave the shop than he was. I was emotionally exhausted and all I wanted to do was just lay down in my bed. I took a small nap as soon as I got home and that was probably why I was wide awake now. I did not mind, though. I liked being up at this time. The only company I had were the photos on the breakfast bar and the tea sitting right in front of me. I was not going to try to have a conversation with my drink, though. I was mad...but not that mad.

My purse sat on the other side of the table and I reached for it, immediately remembering I had a pack of gum in there somewhere. I did not like gum very much but when I did buy it, it was gone within the next day or two. Whenever the flavor disappeared, I would trade it out for a new piece until my jaw would start to ache. My wallet fell out of my purse and the first thing I saw was my driver's license. I stopped looking for the pack of gum and frowned at the sight of the photo of me. I glanced down at the name and tugged at my hair.