Day After Day

Waking

I cracked open my eyes, sleep still fresh. There was too much of it, because of my eye infection. I extracted myself from my tangle of blankets, and staggered to the blinds. As I pulled on the worn string, sunlight streamed into my bedroom, the sky already blue, permeated by only a few wispy, puffy clouds. I sighed. It was the same weather yesterday. And the day before, and probably will be tommorow. My life was average. Normal. Dull. Day after day.

My name is Rod, and life is uneventful. I had the same routine each day. I was on summer holiday, and it was the worst time of the year for me. I preferred school. It was more interesting than my summer day. I would wake up. Eat breakfast, always Grape Nuts, with sugar. I would wear shorts, and a T-shirt. I would call my friends Nat and Debs, and we would go into town, hang about, and I would come home in the evenings and watch some bad TV.

I ventured into my en-suite, nervous about the teetering piles of old laundry. Old, empty deodorant cans scattered the floor. The glass shower guard was dripping with water stains. The sink was covered in toothpaste and unspecified marks. I glanced in my chipped mirror, and saw a thin, tall boy, with a mop of dark brown hair atop a tanned, freckly face. A few spots were scattered across my face, and my eyes looked tired, and bored. A ghost of a smile flickered across my face as I realised it was my fourteenth birthday, yet my heart fell when I realised it was to be the same as all the others.

I zoomed down the stairs, and into our modernist kitchen. My mother was at the counter, making me toast. I slumped into a chair, and called Nat.

'Hey Nat.'

'Hey Rod.'

'Park?'

'Be there in five mate.'

That's how most of our conversations go. Always the same.

'Mum, I'm off to the park.' I said, dully.

'Okay darling, make sure you have your phone. Nat can come back for lunch.'

Just the same as usual. I grabbed my phone, and set off to the park. I breathed in deeply. I smelt flowers, and freshness. This is the part I love about summer. The mornings, when dew is creeping along the grass, and the sun is still young in the sky. When you have the whole day ahead, full of new and exciting things. This was the only thing that kept me from going insane from boredom, the hope, that maybe, just maybe, something might happen.

I spotted Nat at the park, and waved. He jogged over. Now. Before anything happens, I need to say something about Nat. He always wants every day to be different, and wears the weirdest things. Today, there was a flat cap, and his red hair, usually so straight, had been mussed up, and he seemed to have added some dirt in there. He featured some old dungarees, and some threadbare corduroys. He was wearing knee high, black, woman's boots.

He grinned at me.

'Whats with the face Rod? Eat a lemon?'

'Nope. Just...thinking.'

'Good God. You with your thinking. Lemme guess. Is it about the each day being the same thing again?'

'You got it. The only thing that changes is my appearance. And even that isn't that noticeable.'

'C'mon Rod, you can't just mope around all day. Wanna play tennis?'

'Nah, did that yesterday, and the day before, and the day-'

'UGH! No. Just no. I'm not allowing another one of your days, where you just say no to all, and cry or whatever.'

'I don't cry! I just...think.'

'Riiight.'

'Hrumph.'

'Whoa. Did you seriously just hrumph me? Come ON Rod. Your so boring these days! And Rod, do you know that guy?'

'Guy? What guy?'

Nat pointed behind me, and I saw a tall middle aged man with dark brown, tousled hair. He was staring at me intently. When he saw us looking, he hurriedly looked away, and walked off, in the direction of my house.

'Creepy huh?' Nat exclaimed loudly.

'Shhh! I said, panicking. I was always paranoid.

'Seriously? You think he heard us from here? Wow. Come on, let's call on Debs.' As we walked, I wondered who that guy was, and I couldn't help noticing how much he looked like me.