Before The Mask

Chapter Three

The bedroom was small and plain with only a few pieces of furniture and dull, tan carpet. White walls surrounded Wolf as he slept upon a twin-sized bed. A worn, light green blanket covered his body along with several stuffed animals. One of those stuffed animals was a paint colored horse, the other a teddy bear, the third a rabbit and finally a small grey wolf. To the right of the bed stood a simple nightstand and across from the bed was a plain wooden dresser.

A particular song suddenly began to play loudly through the halls of the house followed by the bedroom light being flipped on. Wolf awoke to this disturbance yet he kept his eyes shut, feigning sleep. He listened to the sounds of bare feet walking across the carpet of his room. Some might have found this sound to be minuscule or they might not have even heard it but Wolf certainly heard it clearly. He gauged the sound of each step and the time between each step. He heard the way the individual walked and how they distributed their weight. It was a female, heavy set and roughly 5'4" tall. He identified the steps as belonging to his mother.

"Rise and shine, sweet pea. It's time to get up." Her voice sent an icy cold wave through his chest and his heart began to beat rapidly. He stirred and forced out a tired groan to make it seem as if he was only just beginning to wake up. His mother seemed to believe this play. He heard her foot steps as she left the room and shuffled down the hallway. Wolf opened his eyes and sat upright in his bed. The sounds of the music coming from the stereo in the living room became irritatingly obvious to him.

"Because I'm happy. Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof. Because I'm happy. Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth. Because I'm happy. Clap along if you know what happiness is to you. Because I'm happy. Clap along if you feel like that's what you wanna do." The upbeat song which was on a continuous loop made Wolf clench his jaws in disgust. This particular song would be played on the loud speaker in his house every single morning of every single day like a sick joke. No other song would ever be played. He quickly grew to detest the song, feeling nothing but rage as he'd heard it over and over and over. The song was his step-father's choice as an attempt to bring some form of happiness into the home and he would often dance to it each morning, encouraging the rest of his family to dance as well to no avail.

To Wolf, all he heard in the song was the continuous and never ending loop of torment that was his life. He would wake up each morning and that song would be playing. He would go to school to experience the same dull routine. He would go home to his mother who would inflict her torture upon him and finally he would go to sleep; only to wake up the next morning to the same song. He often pondered if he were in fact trapped in some form of hell loop. As if he had died and was living in his own personal hell.

The only days in which his torment seemed to vanish were the days in which he visited his grandparents per court order. His grandparents were kind, loving and good people who had partial custody of Wolf as a child. He would be permitted to go to his true home with his grandparents every Thursday, some holidays and some weekends. These people were the only people in his life who ever showed him genuine love. When he would go to his grandmother's house, his life with his mother would nearly completely disappear for a short time.

Wolf stood up and made his way to the dresser. On top of the structure was a single white shirt and a pair of blue jeans which were chosen and laid out for him by his mother. He got dressed and headed down the hallway into the living room. He saw his mother sitting on the couch, already watching her favorite reality show. She would often take up a large portion of her time watching reality shows on the television, envying the attention and drama those individuals had. Wolf glanced at the kitchen which was open to the living room, walking over and climbing onto the bar stool that was positioned next to the counter. A bowl of oatmeal which was prepared by his step-father awaited him there.