5 Days of Summer

Chapter 20: Thursday

I woke up, feeling nothing; I'm not in a bad mood or in a good mood. I just feel apathetic.

I finally stood up after losing in a staring contest with the ceiling. It was white, just like what I'm feeling. I sigh in front of the vanity mirror. There will be days where you just feel like you don't know why you're acting like this; days where you're sick and tired of living the same life over and over again.

I start walking and open the door, revealing Michelle with her fist raised in mid-air. I look at her with disinterest. She hung her head low and fidgets with her fingers.

"Uhmm, Uncle Jefferson asked me to call you for breakfast," her voice was so low the only word I hear is 'breakfast'. She was about to walk away when I stopped her. She looks at me with questioning eyes as if saying "is there anything else you need?"

"Your ribbon –," I point at her ribbon, fixing it for her, "it was crooked," I left her there, dumbfounded. I, too, am surprised by my sudden action, and then a thought suddenly crossed my mind.

Prayers are always answered, sometimes in an unexpected way. I guess mine was answered, I just couldn't accept it.

~▪︎~

With my dad's guitar, I struggled to find a place where people does not exist. I just want to be alone just for a few hours. The shed's out of the choices, so does the music room — although Justin gave me his key, I still feel like I'm intruding, after all I'm still an outsider who happens to be their temporary vocalist.

I let out a sigh of relief when I finally found a place behind an abandoned classroom. The lawn looks like it was well maintained. I check the area if there are insect creeping around, so far there's none. I sit on the grass, lean back on the wall, and take out the guitar out of its case.

With my index finger placed on the third fret of the B string, and my ring finger placed on the fifth fret of the D string, I started playing Greenday's "Wake Me Up When September Ends". The song reminds me of my dad. He was such a fan of Greenday to the point that he printed some of their lyrics on my shirt when I was a kid. He was trying to learn how to print designs on a t-shirt, so as practice he used some of our plain t-shirts. I even cried back then because he also used my one and only pink shirt — mom scolded him and bribed me just to stop me from crying. 

Back then whenever I go outside wearing those shirts, some of his students would ask me if I'm his daughter or if I know him because of the designs. I'd be lying if I'll say that I didn't held my head high while confirming their hypothesis.

I felt a tear from my left eye, causing me to stop. I wipe it away and let out a long sigh. Those days will never return; the only way to visit them is by reminiscing, but even doing so is already a torture. The only way to keep you happy is to free yourself from it.

"That song's already sad to begin with, and you even made it more disconsolate by the way you play it," I look up to see Ivaun sitting on one of the sturdy branches of the tree. How long has he been up there? How come I didn't notice?

"Aren't you supposed to be in class?" I made my voice a little louder so he can hear. He jumps off from the tree — thank goodness, my neck's aching from looking up — making me jolt along with the "thud".

"The subject's quite boring," he shrugs, "oh and the teacher too," he sits beside me and looks ahead. So much for a model student.

"What were you doing up there?" I ask him, pointing at the tree.

"Sleeping," he casually says and faces me. "So what are you doing here? No sane person would come here, they say this place is haunted."

Ah, public schools and their dark haunting cemetery past.