Future Stories?

Smoke

Chester sighed as he slung his school bag over his shoulder and slipped his shoes on. He slid his headphones in and searched for a song as his hands automatically made it's way to the door's handle, slowly twisting it and pulling the door towards him. He settled on a song and let his phone fall into the pocket of his sweatshirt. He made his way out the door and closed it securely behind him, hearing the faint sound of a lighter flicking on and a loud cough from his father, a heavy smoker.

Chester tugged at the ends of his sleeves, forcing them to cover his hands as he walked down the driveway and onto the road. Sometimes he woke up too tired to walk to school, but forced himself to go anyway, figuring it was his last year of high school and he wouldn't have to even go after May came around and it was already April.

He could already see the school and desperately wanted to turn around and make up some excuse as to why he couldn't go, although his father wouldn't let him stay home no matter what. He could have the worst flu and would still have to force himself to sit in a classroom for seven hours on the verge of throwing up. He was thankful he only had to worry about it for a couple more months.

His eyes were dry and he felt like he was about to pass out at any moment. He was never one to sleep well and if he actually went to the doctors, they would diagnose him with being an insomniac. Most days, he was used to the drooping of his eyes, the deep bags that resided beneath them, and the lack of energy he felt, but today he was just purely exhausted. He wasn't sure he could even make it the rest of the way to the school, though he was already half way.

He turned down his music and headed for a group of trees instead of the public school. He figured he could just rest for a while within the trees and skip first hour, which was only a study hall. He found a small clearing and sat within it, pulling a pack of cigarettes out of his bag once he was settled. He dug around for one of his lighters before feeling cool metal against his palm. He stuck one of the cigarettes between his lips and flicked his lighter, causing the flame to ignition. He inhaled, filling his lungs with the thick smoke before pulling the cigarette out of his mouth and exhaling, blowing the grey fog away from his face.

He finished his cigarette within ten minutes, glad he stopped to smoke. His mind was cleared, but he was still exhausted. He decided to just skip the entire day, though it'd mean hell from his dad later. He laid down in the clearing, using his bag as a hard pillow, and closed his eyes, falling asleep within minutes.

~

The sound of sirens broke Chester away from his sleep with a strong jerk. He flinched at the noise, cursing it silently, before realizing where they were coming from. His eyes bulged and he looked to the sun to tell the time after realizing his phone was dead from playing music while he was sleeping. He learned the little trick when he was a kid and figured it was just the end of the school day.

He got off the ground, pushing dirt off his jeans, then noticed the thick, grey smoke gathering together in the sky where his house is located. He quickly tossed his bag back on and ran back to the road, heading home.

He saw his house engulfed in flames and froze, slowing down to a complete stop a few feet away.