Sketch - A Love Story

2 - [Dom] The 4am Dilemma

The 4am Dilemma

It's 4am. Again.

I never quite know what to do this early. I'm lying here, half-asleep, knowing I don't actually have to wake up for another two hours, but also I'm acutely aware that if I do fall asleep, I'll miss my alarm and won't wake up until at least half 9, which will spell disaster for me and my perfect school record.

Conclusion: 4am is my least favourite time.

I lie there, all by myself. I'm not lonely, don't get me wrong. It's not like I want a girl in my bed or anything - shit, I'm only sixteen. Year 11 is just stressful, I guess, being the last year of Secondary School and everything. Exams looming on the horizon, coursework, homework, all that dull stuff. It's kind of a big deal, so everyone runs around screaming "these exams will determine your future", but there's the select few - such as myself - who still don't give a damn. Coursework? Fine. But one and a half hours of homework 'to meet the expected standard'? No way.

I'm caught off guard and startle as my phone buzzes. I turn over sheepishly, the duvet helplessly wrapped round my legs, and squint at the screen. It's from my friend, Marco.

03:58 - Marco is online

04:05 - Marco
wassup, asshole

Marco calls me "asshole", and has done so for the last few years. I think it was a joke that just became a nickname. I don't mind it. We call each other shit all the time.

04:05 - Dom is online

04:05 - Dom
cant sleep?

04:06 - Marco
nah
04:07
at least it's gonna be friiiiday tomorrow

04:07 - Dom
haha, yeah
04:07
double art class! yesssssss
04:08
:):):)

04:09 - Marco
most people think you chose art so you could hang out with girls
04:09
;)

04:09 - Dom
yeah right... you don't actually believe that do you?
04:12
marco???

04:13 - Marco
course I don't, asshole
04:14
unless you have something to tell me...

04:14 - Dom
im not gonna get a girlfriend any time soon thanks to my "scary emo fringe"

04:15 - Marco
why not? Stacey likes it ;)

04:15 - Dom
DUDE I SWEAR TO FUCKING GOD

Stacey is the most popular person in the entire school. If she has her hair in a certain way, all the other girls wear it in an identical or an "inspired" fashion. It's ridiculous. She sits opposite me in Art, and last week there was a short episode where she made a sudden comment about my fringe. It was a compliment, I guess, but I'm still not sure if it was meant to be.

04:17 - Marco
OK FINE

04:17 - Dom
Why are u even awake?
04:17
i swear you get up at like 630

04:18 - Marco
i was bored... duh

04:19 - Dom
doesn't explain why youre awake

04:19 - Marco
aaaand you, sir?

I smile. I've known Marco since I was in Primary, so he knows how to make me laugh. But I feel my eyes are getting heavy, so I message him again.

04:20 - Dom
im gonna try and get some more sleep

04:21 - Marco
ok
04:21
ill be @ skl by 715 to annoy you

I sigh in relief aloud before leaning back against the headrest of my bed. I send a quick "bye" before putting my phone back on charge and burying my face in the stiff pillows.

But I can't sleep.

Exhausted, I roll over to face my bedside table. It's neat (mostly) and has five items on it: my phone (does the charger cable count? I'm gonna say no); my lamp (tall, bendy, black); a pack of neon orange speech-bubble post-it notes (to write reminders on); a blue Biro (to write reminders with); and a photo frame, with a wooden border and a chip in the top left hand corner.

I click on the lamp to get a better look at the frame. It's a photo of me, my older brother Richie, and my dad at a football game. It's one of those awful group selfies where you can never really fit everyone in, but it still holds its place in my frame as The Best Photo Of All Time (capitals necessary). My dad's got this proud grin on his face, and his arm is slung around my brother's shoulder. Richie has a half-smirk plastered to his face, as if he's pretending to be bored and wanting to be someplace else, but in reality he's having a whale of a time. I'm standing between the two of them, my blue and white striped scarf wrapped around my neck and partially covering my chin. We're all beaming, even though we're soaked through with rain, water dripping down our noses and our cheeks flared red.

I never really liked football, I'm not gonna lie, but that day was one of the best days of my life.

I switch off my lamp, smiling. The Best Photo Of All Time never fails to make me happy. I lean back and pull the duvet back up around my shoulders, before turning on my side to face the wall. After saying a quick prayer that 6am won't come too quickly, I close my eyes, my dad's infectious smile tugging my lips into a weary grin.