Suburban Island

Hey Ya (Patience)

-Patience-

I'm still not used to how things are around here. I had a schedule I stuck to before the world was ending. Everything was simpler then. But now, there is practically nothing to do. It took a little while for that all to sink in.

-Three Years Ago-

I jerked my eyes open in a panic. When I looked at my clock, I screamed.

"Aw crap!" I cried. "I'm going to be late!" 8:55? I jumped out of bed and rushed to the bathroom. After washing and getting dressed, I ran down to the kitchen. I found grandma sitting at the table.

"Patience?" she asked.

"Grandma!" I wailed. "Why didn't you wake me?!"

"Wake you?" Grandma asked.

"Yes!" I screamed. "You know that I have dance practice on Wednesdays in the morning!"

"Baby," she said.

"Where is breakfast?" I asked.

"Baby," Grandma said.

"Oh no! Oh no! Oh no!" I kept saying as I rushed around the kitchen.

"Baby!" she screamed. I stopped and whipped my head around.

"What?" I asked. She pressed her hands together.

"There is no point anymore," Grandma said.

"Huh?" I asked. She turned on the TV in the kitchen. My heart sank as I saw those dead-looking black trees on the news again. It looked like the forest was starting to spread again. My school bag hit the floor.

"Oh," I said. I sank down onto a stool in front of the island.

-Present Day-

I'm still not used to it. My aunt and grandma just clean around the house and watch TV. What do I do? Watch Netflix. Read. Video chat with kids in this neighborhood. Other than that, I have nothing else. I flopped back on my bed. Cell phones are unless now too. I think it's the trees disrupting the reception. But then, phones won't turn on period. It's not the battery either. I've tried charging my phone and nothing happens. The chord and plug are fine. The phone doesn't even work when I take out the battery. I've taken good care of my phone too. The land lines don't work anymore either. Grandma has no way to contact my dad in Alaska. She isn't savvy with computers either. I only hope that he's okay.

I looked up when there was a knock on the door.

"Patience?" I heard my aunt ask.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Can I come in?" she asked.

"Sure," I said. I rolled over my side as the door opened. My aunt, Patrice, poked her head inside. She gets mistaken for my aunt all of the time. Even more so when I was smaller. My mom and Patrice looked so much alike, but they weren't twins.

"What's up?" I asked. My aunt trembled as she grabbed her arm.

"Are you doing okay?" she asked. I tilted my head.

"Yes," I said. "Are you okay?" Patrice about jumped at my question.

"What?" she asked.

"Did something happen?"

"Something? No!"

"Is it because of that man Mike and them found?"

My aunt's eyes widened as she gulped. "Well... I'm just worried that the barrier isn't so strong as they said it was." I stood up and walked over to her.