Rami & Friends

Morning (Rami)

I hear the screech of my alarm clock as it blares through my ear drums wildly. With a slow stretch across my mattress, I my eyes open gingerly, gazing up at the ceiling fan that had made noise all night. Stupid fan.

I don't know why I decided to wake up early today. I don't have any classes today or anything like that. Or it could have been that Kate had been taken into police custody last night. I set my alarm on a whim, hoping I'd get to have a good run on the elliptical this morning.

I was suspecting Kate to get major jail time for the crime she had committed. She stole a bunch of silver bars and saxophones from Saudi Arabia. They found it in her suitcase on her way back. She went to go visit her family for break, I chose to just stay here at the Staged Chicago Theatre School.

She offered me a ticket to Saudi Arabia, but I had declined it. I honestly had no interest in leaving the school right as my acting career was starting to take off. I had a few auditions anyway, but I didn't get any of the parts.

I throw on a moisture-wicking shirt and some shorts. I went to bed with socks on the night before, so I throw my Air Force 1 shoes on, and grab a gray SCTS (Staged Chicago Theatre School) sweatshirt from off of a hook on my dorm room door. Quickly, I grab my keys from my night stand.

As I make my way through the stair well in my dorm, I barely hear anything. I can her the shuffling of feet in one of the corridors, and the faint sound of an outside door opening, but that's pretty much it. As I reach the outdoors, the early morning light shoots down on me, and I cover my eyes. At a swift pace, I "speed walk" to my car.

The car door slams shut, and I get comfortable in my seat. I open my glove compartment and quickly pull out the "Queen: Greatest Hits" album I bought at Target a few weeks ago. I notice my iPhone is in there as well, which is weird because I barely remember putting it in there. I take that out to and place it in a cup holder. I figure I'll listen to a podcast or something on the elliptical, but then I realize I never brought my headphones with me.

The drive is smooth and slow. We have a gym on campus, which I guess isn't bad, but this morning I just felt like going for a morning drive. It feels good to get out on the road every once in a while.

As I pull into the parking lot, my phone buzzes violently. I see who's calling on the screen. It's Katherine, Kate's roommate. Thinking it's probably about Kate and the police thing that's going on, I pick up.

"Hello," I mumble audibly.

"Rami!" she gripes. "Where have you been? Do you not care that your girlfriend got arrested?"

"Of course I care," I say pausing "Killer Queen", which has been echoing throughout my car. "I just figured she needed the space, that's all. I wasn't going to come down to the police station. I didn't even know she landed that late."

"Well, yeah, her flight got delayed a bit." Katherine says, somewhat understanding. "Well, it turns out the value of the silver bars is not as much as she thought it was, because of economics or something. So, we just have to see if she pleads guilty or not."

"What do you mean 'Pleads guilty'? She committed the crime, didn't she?" I ask, slapping my palm to my forehead. "I'm sorry, this is just so stressful."

"Well, they're still deciding on a punishment," Katherine says in her fast-paced voice. "Let's just hope she gets lucky."

And then, she hangs up.