Author Games: Circle

Task Four | 1-10 Entries

1 // IVY DEVLIN

DROPPED

~~~

2 // ALLOY PIRRIE

     MINUTE ONE: THERE'S NOTHING BENEATH THE CHRISTMAS TREES- NO PRESENTS, NO GIFTS FOR THE BOY WHO LET GO. NO THANKS IN NOVEMBER; NO FIREWORKS IN JULY, EGGS UNSTAINED ON EASTER SUNDAY AND EVERY OTHER HOLIDAY SPENT SOMEWHERE, SOMEWHERE ALONE.

ALL YOU REMEMBER IS WAKING UP TO SPEND THESE TITLED DAYS ALL BY YOURSELF. AND ALL YOU REMEMBER IS

MINUTE ONE: HOLIDAYS DON'T EXIST.

When Alloy Pirrie went to school, his fifth grade class didn't understand why he was silent so often, with a gaze that lingered on the sky and distant walls. The other boys thought of him as strange, the girls gossiping and muttering about the odd, pale and blonde kid three seats over. Most didn't know the color of his eyes, nor had they ever seen his lips move.

So, when the teacher announced the activity for the day, not one curious little mind was shocked when he refused to move. When it was time for recess, Alloy never wanted to play ball; at lunch, he didn't eat, and he rarely came with a backpack or paper or the homework of the previous day- he simply existed to sit.

It was Mother's Day.

But Alloy had no one to sign a card for.

MINUTE TWO: YOU COULD'VE WRITTEN TO HER, TO EURELIA- DO THE OTHER BOYS AND GIRLS KNOW WHAT YOU DID? GOD, YOU'RE NOT A CHILD ANYMORE! IT'S TIME TO STAND, TO CRY, TO GROW UP! YOU HAVE TO STOP REMEMBERING-

STOP REMEMBERING HER!

MINUTE TWO: SHE DOESN'T EXIST.

He was alone. An hour earlier, he'd been locked in the classroom; the teacher and the other students ushered out the door in a triple-file line and left him behind. Desks were toppled and torn shreds of paper fluttered from the air conditioning fan. The gentle whirring of the machine intruded the space until it turned off; then, silence, one noticeable and eerie.

They blamed him for the mess. Markers were tossed about without the caps and pencils were broken, ink spilled on the carpet from cracked pens. A ceiling light had fallen, flickering on and off; he sat in the middle of the classroom, breathing heavily, fatigued and wondering- where is everyone?

He told himself the wreckage was not his fault- why, it was Eurelia's! She'd been there, for three minutes until the class ran away. All Alloy wanted to do was introduce them to her, but their faces said no, we don't like your sister.

He looked up. And there she was, staring back from the filtering light bulbs.

MINUTE THREE: SAY HELLO, ALLOY. BE RESPECTFUL. IT'S NOT NICE TO SEE YOUR SISTER AND SAY NOTHING! YOU'RE NOT A CHILD AFTER ALL, SO LEARN YOUR MANNERS! NOD, BOW, SPEAK YOU DAMN CHILD, GROW THE FUCK UP AND TELL ME-

TELL ME, WHO MADE THIS MESS?

MINUTE THREE: EURELIA ISN'T HERE.

When the door swung open, a man in a fine suit and tie wandered in. His eyes were bright, Alloy thought, and his hands were soft as he picked me up. My skin against this monster's felt dry and weary and I wanted to sleep- Alloy wanted to sleep right there in the tall man's grasp.

"I'm taking you somewhere nice, is that okay?" he asked the boy, me, with that tone adults use on children. I am not that child.

But I nod. I don't want to be here anymore- I don't.