Impractical (1)

12

Tossing in her bed, she squinted her tired eyes to see the clock stuck on five o'clock - Was that the sound of a violin? She pulled her pillow over her head and covered her ears, trying to suppress the sound. It was the beginning of summer – Why would someone be playing the violin before the sun had a chance to rise?

Unable to sleep, her eyes opened once more at the sound of a fist banging against the front door. She groaned and fell onto her feet, rushing across the hall and through the large den as she tripped on her own two feet. Wiping her tired eyes, she saw Joe huddled beneath his hoodie, "What the hell are you doing at my doorstep at five in the morning?" She forcefully whispered, grabbing a blanket from the nearby shelf to hang over her shoulders.

"What the hell am I doing?" He asked her angrily, his eyes half-opened, "Why the hell are you making so much noise?"

"Do I look like I know how to play the violin?" Olivia asked forcefully, listening as the music began to play once more, "I've never touched a musical instrument in my life!" She growled, pushing her way outside and closing the front door behind her, "Why the hell would you come banging on my front door, you know I have brothers!"

"If it isn't you, then who the fuck is making all that noise?"

She looked up to see a figure sitting on the roof of the house directly across the street and scoffed, "Why don't you clean the sand from your eyes and ask her?" Olivia growled at him, motioning to the girl sitting beside the dormer windows, "She might know who you're looking for."

"Hey!" Joe shouted at the top of his lungs, making Olivia's heart drop in her stomach, "We're trying to sleep!" He shouted once more, starting to wave his hands in the air in to get her attention.

Her eyes widened and she pulled back at Joe's shoulders, forcing him into the den of her house, "Go back to your yard if you're going to threaten a stranger!" She whispered forcefully as she shut the door, "I don't want to catch beef with the new neighbors!"

"Olivia, it's five o'clock," He stressed, whispering loudly, "In the morning!"

"I know, I can tell by the smell of your rotten fish breath!" She hummed through tight lips. The sound of the violin began to echo through the walls once more and Olivia's head fell into her palms.

"Your fish breath isn't much better, sister." Joe spat back at her and reached for the door knob, "I don't know about you, but I am not going to wake up at five in the morning during the summer because some new girl on the block wants to rub some strings!"

"Well, I wish you the best of luck with all your endeavors." Olivia watched him open the front door and step outside, growling, "Next time, stay off my doorstep."

"If I were Sal, you'd be begging me to stay," Joe muttered, a smirk on his lips as she shut the door behind him, "Hey!" He yelled once more as he stepped into the front yard and Olivia cringed as she jumped to the sofa to peek out the window.

He waved his hands in the air, walking through her front yard to catch the strangers attention, "Who are you?" He shouted at the girl on the roof, watching as she crawled back into the dormer window and disappeared, "What the hell?" He muttered, glancing back to see Olivia watching from the window.

Olivia stepped back toward the door and stuck her head out, demanding, "Get off my yard, moron!"

"I'm taking a stand." He told her, suggesting, "Join me."

"You're insane."

After waiting a moment, she watched him march toward the house across the street, "Joe, you're insane!" She shouted at him once more, saying, "Drop it, go brush your teeth, and we can eat some cereal in the den."