“Ahhh” I groan as I sit up and awaken to this agonizing pain in my stomach. It reminded me of the last time I went through a tub of ice cream, thinking that my lactose intolerance had subsided that day. I was SO mistaken and really paid for it…. The strange thing was that I haven’t even looked at and dairy within the last three months. Whatever this was though had waked me up and it was pretty clear that I wasn’t going to be able to get back to sleep. I grab my phone and look at the time. It was 6 o’clock exactly and just seeing that gave me a weird feeling kind of like I should know what this means instead of it just being a coincidence. I push that thought aside and figure that since I’m up and have to meet Anasha earlier than usual, I’ll go ahead and run now.
I roll out of bed, head into my bathroom to rinse with some mouthwash then grab my phone, headphones, and make my way to my living room. “Hey Brook” I say to my black pit lab as I lace up my shoes. She eagerly follows as I go to grab her leash, “You ready?” I playfully ask her and she yelps in excitement. With her leash on I wrap my ear buds around my ears, head out the front door, and start playing my favorite dubstep song to run to. I walk and wait patiently for the beat to drop but instead of it just being a song and beats to me, it’s like something is building up in me as the song progresses. I can tell the beat is about to drop in a few seconds so I turn the volume to high and start to lightly jog. Before I ever noticed that the beat had just dropped I’m already running. The wind against my face, heat of the morning sun playing against my skin, and the feel of concrete against my feet all seemed to blend together while I lost myself.
I looked down and noticed that Brooklyn was struggling to keep up with me. She’s usually a good distance ahead of me whenever we run but I, I guess, today she was kind of having an off day. To give the dog a break I start to slow myself down but then it hits me. The same stomach pain from when I wake up felt like a punch to my lower intestine. I ended up doubling over because I literally couldn’t stand to bare this, whatever it was. Luckily, my pain was short lived and I felt back to normal a few seconds later. That seemed like more than enough of an opportunity to go back home so the dog and I jog back and are walking through the front door in what seemed like no time. Brooklyn still ended up lagging behind me.
As I pass her food and water bowls, on my way to my room, I fill then up and toss her a treat too. I already had what I wanted to wear, ironed and laid out so all I had to do was hop in the shower and do the usual morning routine to get ready for school. I turn on the water and while I wait for it to heat up, undress and start playing Often by The Weeknd. As I step in, the heated water feels so familiar and sane. No matter how my day goes or how weird and hectic things get, my shower will always be the same and help me think through whatever is troubling me. I wash my body and run some water through my hair. “Today was just a weird morning” I say aloud as I finish messing with my hair and turn the water off. It wasn’t until I stepped out of the shower that I realized how wrong I was. Even with my door wide open, there was a thick fog of steam everywhere in my bathroom that traveled throughout my room too. Things were getting way too bizarre for me to stay in here, so I opened my window, gather my things to finish getting ready and what I needed for school, and headed to my mom’s bathroom.
I got dressed and ready for the day in no time. I was trying to make sense of all that had happened to me so far but once again decided to push all of that aside and just focus on what I was currently doing. After walking out the door, and locking it, I texted my mom to let her know that I was leaving for school. It had rained a little while I was getting ready so I decided to take the long way to school today. I didn’t feel the need to mess up the new Converse I was wearing, by going under a fence and walking through mud and grass, so I turned and started walking the other way. I guess I had gotten pretty lost in thought because when I looked up to see where I was, I had been passing the front of the school and making my way to the doors by the bus loop. I shrugged it off and pulled out my phone to text my mom and let her know that I made it. When I unlocked my phone, I noticed the time and saw that only five minutes had passed since I left the house. This walk usually took around twenty and should’ve taken even longer because I had to go the long way around. Now I was getting extremely weirded out and concerned so I went to my mom’s contact. I was about to call her, but something in me told me not to. My gut feelings are usually right so I wasn’t going to question this one. I set my phone to text her in about a half hour explaining that I had to take the long way home and would talk to her later. I wasn’t at all as sweaty as I normally am when I get to school, so I just walked past the school’s restroom entirely and went to the table my friends and I sit at. After sitting down, I feel my phone vibrating and see that it’s a call from Anasha.
