Experiment 1.0

Monday, June 11th, 2018 3:50 pm

The drive is silent and each of our atmospheres seems to be at war with each other. My mother's hollow and melancholy aura slowly yielding to mine that is rapturous and ecstatic. A white sign passes through the window's view reading "Speed Limit: 65" I look at the speedometer near the steering wheel that says "72". I almost see a smile creep onto her face when I glance toward her. We're nearly halfway through the drive at 3 hours and 41 minutes when I switch on the radio and place my book on the floor beside my feet. "...love? Baby, don't hurt me. Don't hurt me, no more. " I laugh to myself as I shrug my shoulders and reach to change the channel.

Suddenly the car explodes with sound as my mom bursts into a combination of terrible singing and uncoordinated dancing. Note to Self: add "cheesy 90s songs" to the list of things mom loves right between "bouquets of yellow dandelions" and "butterscotch hard candies" I'm frozen in shock for a few seconds. It has been so long since I've seen my mom so animated, not to mention how long it's been since I'd heard her sing at all. "What is love? Baby, don't hurt me." Soon it's just my mom and I horribly singing along to Haddaway and bouncing around like goof-balls.

The song ends and I expect the car to slip back into uncomfortably awkward silence, but instead, my mom continues to sing along to the next song and the other upcoming ones too. Then my eyes begin to droop down and I sway into sleep with the sweet sound of my mom's voice beside me.

I awake to my mom gently poking my shoulder and telling me we're 5 to 10 minutes away. I blink. Did I really sleep over two hours? "Are you excited?" It takes me awhile to answer since I'm still shaking off the haze of sleep. "Of course, I've wanted this for years. It'll be so cool." She nods and her eyes seem to smile rather than her mouth. "Just keep in took and be careful." "Okay," I say struggling to find any other way to respond. She twists her head to the left and her breath catches. "We're here." She says while pulling into an empty space.

I step out of the car and gasp. The building was gigantic-eight stories high. Encased in glass windows that reveal doctors wearing white lab coats working at desks or around the room. Even the structures surrounding it were enormous in comparison to where we live. In Vortex, the tallest buildings in sight were the hospital or a couple four-story apartments. "Well, you ready to go in?" My mom asks and cranks her head. I nod and squeeze her hand tightly. I feel like a small child again. I small child afraid to leave her mother even just for a few months. Butterflies twirl on the outside of my stomach trying to burst out and escape into the air.

I snatch my bags from the trunk as I command the dynamic butterflies to take a chill pill. My mom squeezes me so tight against her I worry she might really be trying to choke me. "You'll have an amazing time Alex." She smiles. "Please call often." I nod. "Brush your teeth and remember to shower each morning..." I giggle. "Mom, I'll be fine." I hug her once more and kiss her cheek. "I gotta go now." The color in her face starts to drain. "Right." I commence walking over to the terrifying doors that separates me from possibly the best experience in my life. "I love you to the moon and back Alex." My mom calls from the car. "I love you more," I answer while turning around. My steps stutter when my eyes meet my moms. A fat tear rolls down her cheek as she waves to me. Approaching the steel doors I still couldn't determine whether that was a tear of joy or sadness.

The automatic doors slide open. I breath deeply and enter.