Julia Crow

TWO

Julia could not sleep, she heard her father in his room cleaning all the things he had destroyed, and the stinging of her cuts kept her tossing and turning. She finally gave up on sleep and tried to block out the noises her father made by putting on her headphones. She quickly found out that simply staring at her ceiling with her music on was not enough of a distraction. She got out of her bed, wincing from her head wound, and pulled her laptop out from under it. Opening her laptop, she watched a few music videos and eventually found an interesting news report on a small riot in the inner city. The riot was incited by the new raise in taxes, and the shutting down of several small businesses that were no longer able to keep up with the increase in the price of goods. Tensions had stirred, according to the news article, between the United States and their trading partners; causing foreign trade to essentially shut down. As the article continued to explain how the skyrocketing prices and limitation of basic essentials to the public are the cause for the average citizens rising issues. The protest, having turned extremely violent. As she listened to this report, she found this did nothing to ease her mind. How could the problems of the whole world ease her mind when she had her own issues to deal with? She quickly shut her laptop and swapped it for her novel she was reading. Too soon the sun rose, and she could not hide in her room anymore. She dressed herself and cautiously emerged. Again she stared at the door, trying to listen for sounds of her father sleeping. Once again, she heard silence. She opened her door, stepped out, and nearly jumped out of her skin when her fathers voice rang out from the kitchen.

Good Morning, Julia. He said, but not in a menacing tone. His tone was warm, the way he used to greet her before her mother died. She found this extremely uncomfortable and tried to avoid the interaction.

Hey, you need to eat. He said calmly. She froze, she had not eaten in front of anyone since her mother died, least of all in front of her father.

Im not hungry. She said shortly, not daring to look at him.

At least come and sit with me. I made you tea. He said sitting down at the dining room table, which until this morning had been piled with newspaper and old beer cans, completely unused. Noticing the dining room table, she then took a look at the rest of the house. Her father had spent the entire night completely cleaning the house; everything was dusted and organized. He even took the time to hang up old family photos and replace lightbulbs that had been blown out for months. The entire house was warmer, and Julias mind was plunged into chaos. She had no idea how to react to any of this and it took all of her resolve to fight the instinct to sprint out of the house. Instead, she approached the dining room table.

What are you doing? She asked bluntly as she sat down across from him. He ignored the question and dug into his plate of sausages and eggs. This deflection was effective because she picked up her tea and took a small sip, not wanting to anger him. Though she hated every moment of this, it was decidedly better then the alternative.

How is school going? He asked casually, looking up from his plate. He shaved his face, revealing his square jaw, and deep laugh lines.

Im passing. She said, this was an understatement. Aside from her low C average in Trigonometry her grades were excellent. He nodded, satisfied with her answer, short

though it was.

So any plans for the weekend? Gonna go out with your friends.

No.

You should. He said smiling widely at her, again not menacingly but as he used to.

Go out this weekend. You might have fun.

I She took another sip of tea and stood up abruptly.

I cant do this. She walked from the dining room and out the front door, the moment she got out she sprinted as fast as she could, trying to put as much distance between that house and her quickly as possible. She ran so fast she did not notice a small group of four of her classmates in her path before she accidentally charged into them. Landing on her side, she felt her cuts start to bleed again. The group picked themselves up angrily.