It Needs a Name

Chapter 2

The sunlight had managed to leak into my room, despite my efforts to cover the windows as completely as possible. It seemed like you could never get rid of every bit of sunshine. A small bit always dripped in from some unknown source…

This was a bad way to start the day. My room was supposed to be a safe, dark den - a bat cave, if you will. But no. I had little sun spots on my walls and carpet. This qualified as an invasion. It was like D-Day all over again. I had to evacuate the troops. Of course by troops I meant my laptop, I-pod, and my down comforter. 

I somehow managed to juggle these items down the stairs, stopping to check what room my mother was in. It sounds like the kitchen, I could hear her flinging around bowls, plates and glasses, her arms flailing about like someone trying to direct air traffic.

After sneaking by the mother figure, I pulled open the old door that led down to our placebo-basement. Placebo because the room itself was not large enough to fit my qualifications for a basement, nor was it far enough below the ground to make me feel safe. I was still open to attack, but now I had a thin layer of house above me. This would have to do.

I made myself a Jamienest out of my comforter and a medium-sized pile of old clothes. After making sure my nest was up to snuff, I folded myself into a sitting position, laptop settled on my lap.

After waiting 1000 years for Word to come to life, I opened my word document from the day before. A quick scan of what I had managed to get down told me that I was in a decent condition to move forward with this train of thought. Excellent. 

Just as my fingers started to peck across the keyboard, waking from a nights rest, I heard it. The unmistakable screech that could scare the feathers off the crazy, albino pigeon in the parking lot of the .99 Store.

Mother was on the move. Her radar sweep was in full power, she was trying to sniff me out. My small layer of house was nowhere near enough to keep her from finding me. 

Show's over, fellas…. 

"JAMIE LEE THOMAS! WHERE IN GODS NAME ARE YOU?!", my dear old mother belted out those words in such a high pitched voice, that I feared the windows might crack.

I had just enough time to shut my laptop, and stash it under some hideous holiday sweaters before the dragon lady made her grand entrance.

The door jumped out of the way, trying to escape my mother's wrath, the staircase shook in fear. The dust bunnies scurried to safety, spiders took cover in old boxes. 

I did't have have any place to hide. I was a sitting duck.

"Jamie, what in the world are you doing down here? You shouldn't be here, it's dark and there's mold. What the hell are you doing anyway, down here in this creepy place?!", she asked me this in rapid fire, her words like machine-gun rounds that shot straight through me, spraying blood and guts all over the walls.

"Quack….". Oh, fanfuckingtasitc. I just quaked at her, now she was gonna send me right back to the loony bin. 

Mother shook her head, stepped closer to me, her ears perking up, "Excuse me? Did you just say…'quack'?" 

I dropped my eyes to the floor, studying my pale toes. Answering would just make it worse. Can it, shut, zip your lips. Stand still. She can't see you if you don't move.

"Jamie, please, please just come and get some breakfast. I don't have time for these games right now, I have to leave for work soon", my mother whined at me as she oozed up the stairs and off to the kitchen. 

Bad move, mother dearest. 

See, one of the agreements that she and the good folks at College Hospital came to, was that she had to stay home with me for a few days. It was supposed to help me adjust to my life outside the hospital. That's just the nice way of saying 'We have to make sure Jamie doesn't end up giving us a repeat performance. No one wants to sew his arms closed again. I'm still trying to get the blood off of my fingers.'

I kept my eyes on my toes, forcing myself to forget about that day. I just had to think about my toes. Toes, toes, toes. Everything is toes, and nothing hurts.

I just remembered how much I hate feet…