R.E.M

Chapter 2: Daycon Bay

A bright ray of light entered the room through the half-shut curtains onto Alexis's face. It didn't take long for her to wake up and shut the curtains angrily while squinting her eyes. She slammed her head against her pillow and reached out for the black digital clock on her bedside table. Six thirty in the morning and she was still in bed trying to avoid another day of school, another day with those people. She let out a frustrated sigh and got up. She stretched her arms and legs and walked to her wardrobe to put on her uniform. It was just a blue polo shirt with a gray skirt and an ugly blue hand me down cardigan from her cousin who went to her school a few years back. She hated having to wear it every single day. It felt like she could never express herself and that the school didn't encourage being different but she just had to accept the fact that she'd be attending for two more years and that's that. She put on her uniform and left her darkened room. The usual routine. She brushed her beautiful long and flowing hair and put on some mascara and eyeliner to enhance her shining gray eyes. One long stare from her could make you feel so cold. Just from her eyes, you could tell she's been hurt before, you could tell she just wants to quit and stop trying. It’s fascinating yet true how eyes are the window to the soul. Alexis left the bathroom and rushed downstairs as if she wanted to get out of the house immediately. No breakfast, no goodbye to her parents, she just grabbed her pastel blue school bag and her jet-black skateboard and quickly slammed the door behind her. On the board, she rode down on the hard concrete pavement next to the shore outside of her house. Wind in her perfectly flowing hair she felt free especially when she was going fast.

Here we are, Daycon Bay. That's where Alexis has been raised all her life.  Never moved and never been anywhere else. She never traveled to the outside or had an adventure around the world like all the other kids. Daycon Bay was the only place she ever knew. You'd think she'd like having the beach outside her house and a colorful neighborhood around it. Palm trees around every corner, children running around playing on the soft beige sand either on their bikes or playing with a football. The serene sound of the waves crashing on the shore and the color of the clean and shining blue ocean were all too good to be true. It was always hot and calm in Daycon, it seemed like the perfect vacation spot for every family. Bars next to the beach and not to mention the good-looking lifeguards. For Alexis, this was all free. She had a vacation just outside of her doorstep. Despite its beauty, Alexis was sick and tired of Daycon bay and grew bored of it. It was always the same around there. People from different countries would always come and go to spend some time there. People always change except for her and her family. Often, she would sit on her balcony when she was younger and look down at all the people moving in and moving out. Wondering where they came from or where they were going, she was very intrigued that's why she'd always befriend the new kid next door. One time it would be a girl from Cuba another it would be a boy from Canada but every month or two they would leave and turn over a new leaf. She was always fascinated by the stories about other countries and the many different traditions and foods. She'd always wonder if she'd ever get to taste poutine or ever drink a Havana Loco. She often fantasized about what snow would feel like and how cold it would be, whether or not it would melt in her hand if she held it. She never could see the beauty the rest of the world had to offer. No mountains and no city life, all she had was a large town next to a beach. Yes, there were hotels and nightclubs but it wasn't as busy as a city could be each and every day and night. Some would call her lucky for not having to deal with the hustle and bustle of a city life, not having to deal with long distances and having to catch a train during rush hour just to get somewhere but no, she didn't feel this way. Often she'd ask where all the blinding city lights were or all the giant billboards and Broadway stars ready to perform a new show. Alexis always longed for a bit of adventure but she could never have any. Often her parents wouldn't trust her to go out and if they did they wouldn't let her go far. She often hid behind closed windows eavesdropping on the conversations other people had. Not because she wanted to be nosey but because she just wanted to listen to what their experiences in different places were or where they were going to hang out as a group next weekend. She couldn't have that because all her friends often stayed in on the weekend and weren't really ever allowed to go out either. At least they were all in the same boat so she didn't have to feel all that bad about it. Out of all the things in the world, Alexis craved freedom but she hadn't had it yet. She'd long for the day she'd be able to go out easily and meet up with a friend without having to be asked so many questions from her over-protective and paranoid mother. That's all she ever wanted. Even just to feel what's outside of Daycon bay just for a second would make her happy but right now that all seemed impossible. Every single weekday that she'd go to school she'd always see the same old things and the same old people. Even work at the daily brew was boring. Red, blue and beige houses huddled next to each other,  the old people would sit in their balconies either knitting, hanging their clothes or talking about the latest neighborhood scandal. The streets of her neighborhood were ever barely busy with vehicles unlike the inner part of town where you'd find some traffic jams but compared to the cities she'd heard of like New York or Chicago traffic jams in Daycon bay weren't as bad. Everyone there had beautiful sun-kissed skin yet Alexis was as white as snow. She couldn't fit in there, she was the odd one out but in all honesty, that didn't really bother her much it just gave her an excuse to be different even though in Daycon bay being different was mostly frowned upon. You see the old people living there have been there for many generations, including her family. They're the type of people that don't like change and the type that are very closed minded. They're not very open to things that seem okay to the outside world like feminism, traveling or the LGBTQ community. She was very accepting of all these things but mention them to her grandmother or many aunts and uncles and you'd just hear gasps and whispers.

You'd see many scandalized looks on their faces and some looks of disgust while they immediately tell you to either shut up or get help from a therapist. They all seemed to be brainwashed by tradition but not Alexis though. Alexis thought differently from all her family members. Having grown up with people from different countries and listening to many new ideas made her more open to different things but she had to hide that from her family. She had to hide the fact that she supports women getting as equal respect as men, she had to hide the fact that she wanted to go to France and scream out from the very top of the Eiffel tower and she had to hide the fact that sometimes she would question her sexuality because she was just unsure of who or what she likes. To her, these thoughts were all a normal part of life. From what she heard from the American teenagers that moved in 5 months ago everyone her age have these thoughts. She just simply continued gaining speed on her skateboard just so that she can get to school and get another day over with. Passing by the bar she could see many middle-aged men passed out on the dance floor and some young women leaving with someone new from the last night. Same old things she had seen every single day for years and years but they didn't bother her. One of the things that really comforted her in Daycon bay were the smells of fresh coconut from the palm trees and the smiles on the children's faces when they had managed to knock some down with a long stick their father had made them. She was like that once. Happy and carefree, not thinking about what was out there and what she was missing out on. Just a little girl playing with dolls and marbles on the streets with little to no cars, climbing on her friend's shoulders just to get some juice from the coconuts that would always grow around there. Alexis got used to it though. There was nothing new and soon it became a boring old routine. Going at full speed on her skateboard didn't fascinate her anymore because it happened every day that she had to struggle to keep up with father time and that's what she was doing at that very moment, trying not to be late to school. Alexis often asked herself why she bothered to care to be on time but then she remembers her only friends would shun her if she ever tried to "rebel" or so they called it. They weren't very open-minded people either. They were the goody two shoes group who often had something to say about the girls that wore shorter skirts and experimented with new people every month. She felt that her group of friends weren't her cup of tea but she had to deal with the fact that once upon a time her friends from last scholastic year got into a heated argument with her and as much as she would like to go back to them she fears she can't fix things so she just sits there day by day wishing for a different and crazier experience and waiting for the moment she'd be leaving everything behind so she could finally start over a new life. As she turned around the corner she could hear the school bell ring at Daycon bay Highschool. Once again lucky Alexis was on time. She took a minute to sit down on the white fountain that was right in front of the large stone stairs that led to the entrance of the large building that was next to the far south-east shore of Daycon bay. She got up, left her skateboard with a staff member and rushed inside, out of breath to catch up with her group of friends. She was just getting ready to face the toxicity of their words as she climbed up the stairs step by step with a fake smile on. Only those who knew her well could tell it was forced. Unfortunately, 9 years is not enough to know a person.