Watch The Skyline [Hiatus]

Chapter Two - The First Night [Rewritten]

Mackensie finished her dinner quickly and returned to her room, going straight to her bed. She laid down on her back and held up the watch and photograph above her using both hands. She was in awe once more, thinking of how it was simply so fascinating that she was now holding onto something that was probably important to someone almost a hundred years ago.

It was almost a little sad.

Mackensie carefully put the delicate photograph back into its rightful place and gave a brief glance to the right side of the watch. It wasn't ticking and the time was fixed at 7.06. I wonder when it stopped working and why? Mackensie asked herself. She tapped the front of it with her finger a couple of times, as though that would actually have an effect on it.

But it did. The watch started working again. Oh. Mackensie sat up immediately, a smile spread across her face. Awesome! She grabbed her cellphone to look at the time and adjusted the pocket watch to match it accordingly. Satisfied, she slowly shut the hunter case and placed it on her nightstand. 

Mackensie leaned down and lazily reached for her book bag, dragging it towards her and the bed. She unzipped it and reached for her agenda book to see what she had to do for homework before bed.

Why do I even bring this to school with me? she asked herself as she opened the agenda book to the present date, only to see that the entire page was empty with not a single word written on it. I don't even use this... She closed it shut and put it on the bed next to her before staring at the floor to concentrate on recalling what work she had assigned for the day.

Read a chapter out of Health my book, start on those flashcards for Environmental Science... she tapped her chin before giving an unenthusiastic smile as she started to remember all the work she had to do. She sighed and reached into her bag for her history book and a highlighter, along with her notebook and pen.

Desk or bed? she asked herself, wondering where she should go to do her work. She flipped herself over and laid on her bed, grabbing a pillow to put underneath her chest to support her as she laid her book out in front of her to read. Why did she even ask herself that question, she hated sitting at desks to do her work.

Mackensie never made it to the third page before she laid her head down on the pillow and closed her eyes. This is so...boring... She stayed there for a while, completely still and just thinking about what she could be doing to get her work done...instead of actually doing it.

Procrastination was something she did often for things she didn't care about. Like her health work.

Her thoughts eventually wandered back to the pocket watch and she found herself reaching out for it on her nightstand, though her face was still planted into her pillow. Once she had it in her grip she turned onto her side and curled up into a small ball, bringing the pocket watch to her face.

I'm so happy I own this now, she told herself. Thinking back to all the things she had to do in order to save up money for it. She got an allowance each month from her father, which she would save up. The amount wasn't too much however, and she had calculated that if she only relied on her allowance as means to buy the watch, she would have to wait at least seven months before she could get into its price range.

So, on top of taking babysitting and dog walking jobs, she volunteered to work at the commission stands for multiple sport events at her school. She was paid a small percentage of what she was able to sell for the night, so she was happy about it. This was despite her personal dislike for sports, which she thought the country was too obsessed with. But, she reasoned, it was all for her pocket watch, so it was worth it.

Besides doing that, she also cut back on buying other things like food and clothes. If she couldn't mooch off of her parents or her friends, she just didn't get it. Of course sometimes she couldn't resist getting ice cream once in a while, but for the most part she was good at being frugal. All her hard work paid off, as she was now holding the watch in her hands. It was pretty and elegant, and it even had a picture inside, a bonus piece of history that she wasn't expecting. Mackensie smiled and a sense of accomplishment came over her.

She grazed her thumb over the cover as she continued to look at it, before thinking about her homework once again and trying to motivate herself to actually do it. Sighing, she sat up abruptly in hopes that the sudden movement would wake her up. It did, but just for a split moment before she went back into her lazy and somewhat sleepy state of mind.

All right, Mackensie. She told herself in a determined voice. Read that chapter, at least look up the terms for the flashcards...just do something. She picked up her book and placed it on her lap, staring down at the words on the page. 

Reading through her least favourite subjects was grueling and torturous, but she eventually got through it and was able to put her books away with a sense of relief that she didn't have anything to worry about for school the next day.

Mackensie picked out an outfit for the next day and laid it on her dresser, putting her backpack next to it with the things that she would need. After doing that she got her pajamas and went to go take a shower, coming back to her room half an hour later refreshed and completely relaxed. She climbed onto her bed and crawled under her covers. Once more a feeling of excitement crossed her heart as she saw the pocketwatch, the picture inside of it especially was a big factor of this. She wondered who the people on the photograph were, to the point of where it caused her to have a little trouble falling asleep.

Mackensie turned over in her bed and reached out for it on her nightstand once again. She held it by her face and looked at it from underneath the light that shown through the window blinds of the light pole right outside.

She stayed awake for the next ten minutes, as she played out different scenarios in her mind regarding the history of the watch and its previous owners. She started to doze off after a while. Not wanting to break her state of potential sleep by turning around to put the watch back on her nightstand, Mackensie slipped it under her pillow and made herself comfortable.

Thankfully for her, it did not take long before she was fast asleep.