Of June

13- Out Of My Mind

I stretch my legs and twist left in a sprawled-out position, further squeezing my eyes so as to try to catch an extra hour or two of sleep. Instead, they shoot open when I come to my senses and recall the place which was apparently my bedroom away-from-my-bedroom for the previous night. I cautiously move around my head, aware that one wrong movement would be equal to an excruciating crash right with the dirty floor. The clock hanging on the wall across the basement displays the time: 6:46 a.m.

Removing the duvet covering my body, I slowly haul up my heavy head from the arm of the couch, gaining support from my elbows while still lying in the same pose. Bewildered when my eyes grasp the sight of none other than Adam, softly snoring his heart out on an old couch placed adjacent to mine, I let out a gasp. What addles me the most is his head half suspended from the bottom edge of the sofa in a very uncomfortable vertebral position. The hem of his messy shirt is slid up with left leg dangling from the arm of the couch, and the other brushing the floor along with an arm.

I carefully get up, and that's when I notice a shiny blob of drool barely crusting up one corner of his mouth.

Ew.

I cringe in mild disgust, watching him continue his snoring. But he looks peaceful as he sleeps, unscathed and safe, and I liked it that way. Realising that my little observation has been going on for a little too long, I shake my head and begin pulling my now slackened hair-tie to make a new and tidy ponytail.

Seconds later, incoherent murmurs come from behind and I whip around to witness Adam, now just millimetres away from experiencing what could be the worst wake-up method of his life. Still, he drags on his sleep unaware of his cruel fate and brings up a hand to scratch at the side of his nose bridge, nearly starting to take a lazy turn to his right.

No, no, whatever you do don't move Adam, just don't-

He stops midway, causing me to release the breath trapped in my throat. A moment later, I'd just exhaled out a contented sigh when he completes his turn and his head- his poor head- hits the ground with a soft thud, followed by his back and finally his legs.

"I'm awake I'm awake!" He shouts and jerks his eyes open, although they still depict the usual drowsiness.

There's a pause. I stare at him in confusion, he stares at me staring at him in confusion, via slitted eyes still adapting to the sudden contrast in the intensity of light. A couple of moments later, to the point the silence starts seeming rather comical to me, he stands up in a few lazy moves, stretches slightly and continues squinting at me like one would do at a penguin in the Sahara.

"What are you doing here?" He asks, breaking into a yawn.

See?

Before I can even part my lips, he speaks again in a gravelly, tired voice. "Oh yeah. . .ah, the only lamp over there fused or something, and I couldn't leave you-"

"Did you know that there's this option of 'waking up a person' when they're asleep?" I cut him off, motioning my fingers for an air quotation.

"God, let me finish! I couldn't leave you alone in the dark and couldn't wake you up because you don't sleep, you temporarily hibernate", he informs, emphasizing on the last word before adding, ". . .like a sloth. I even tried yelling and shaking your arms like some dumb vibrating machine and you wouldn't even budge!"

"First of all", I answer, trying to keep my cool, "Sloths do not hibernate. Secondly, hibernation is a state of inactivity and lowered metabolism in some animals during winters. So technically, I cannot and certainly did not hibernate in the middle of June."

"Yeah, anyways Miss Ecologist. Carrying you upstairs was the last thing I wanted to do at the time, and I had no other option." He continues, stretching again on tip toes. Rubbing his bleary eyes with his fingers, he then casts a look at me, a faint smile raising his lips.