Lies My Parents Told Me

Chapter Twenty

Sang

I woke up just as the sun was rising. I guessed it was about 4.30 maybe 5. I didn't feel particularly rested. I felt a little off. I figured the anxiety of having to talk about my parents today had seeped into my dreams and left that paranoid sour feeling of dread in my stomach. The sheets and blankets were a mess, I must have been thrashing around in my sleep. I was filled with the restless anxious energy that comes with knowing you have something unpleasant coming up. I decided to tackle this the only way I knew how. Cleaning. I stripped the bed. Folding the sheets and leaving the mattress tidy. I collected my clothes and underwear from the last two days and folded them as well making a tidy washing pile. In the bathroom I found the towel I used to dry my hair hanging on the railing but there was a face washer in my sink. I collected that too with a frown. Maybe Gabriel used it to clean up something yesterday when he was doing my hair. I opened the drawers in the bedroom and the closet. Inside the closet were a series of plain coloured t-shirts in a variety of sizes. In the drawers were clothing sets that started small like for a toddler. Each draw had a bigger size until I found some shorts and underwear that looked the right size for me. I dressed slowly taking care to rest my leg. The throbbing wasn't as noticeable this morning, so I guessed the Tylenol had helped. Sean had left the pack on the bench where I had placed it last night. The bottle of water was a little under half full, so I took two pills out and swallowed them with the rest of the water. My stomach was a little sore this morning. I resolved to drink more water today. Usually, I made sure I had 12 or more glasses of water it helped with the hunger I usually faced. Yesterday including the bottle, I was lucky to have had maybe three glasses.

I quietly padded down the stairs heading for the front desk. I needed to ask the person down there where the washing machine and cleaning products were. As I approached the desk, I noticed the lines of code on the laptop running across the screen. The man sitting behind the laptop was tall, taller than Sean. He had sandy blonde hair that was tousled bright yellow headphones were covering his ears, his shirt looked rumpled. It looked like a vintage video game design, it said Pac Man in katakana on the sleeve. The grey shirt had a big yellow Pac Man on the front. I waved trying to catch the man's attention, but he didn't look up from the computer even though I was right beside him. I cleared my throat; he still didn't look up. I slowly reached out and touched his arm. His head whipped around to look at me. His eyes were bright blue where Gabriel's were a deep electric blue, this mans were more a cornflower colour. They were wide with surprise. He pulled the headphones off quickly dropping them onto the desk.

"Hey sorry, are you okay?" I nodded. "Um hi. I'm Sang, I'm new I was wondering if you could help me. I want to do some washing and tidy up my room where would I find the laundry supplies?" He frowned. "Its not even 5am and you want to do washing?" I shrugged. "I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep. I can leave it until later I guess." I turned to leave him to his computer. "Uh, no sorry I get it, fellow insomniac. I'm Corey. I can show you the laundry." He came out from behind the counter. The way he towered over me I put his height well over six feet tall. He wasn't willowy either, his height was accompanied by broad shoulders. He looked solid. I followed him down a hallway in the opposite direction from the kitchen. We passed some bedroom doors, these had names written on whiteboards. Mike, Derrick, Jay, Jade, Will, and Karen. There were a few empty rooms with blank whiteboards. One with a door open with a cot inside. This place was set up for lots of kids. At the end of the corridor was a T shaped junction.

"To the left is the laundry to the right is our chemical supply room. We keep it locked. If you want cleaning supplies, I can open it, but everything is signed out." I had never had a rule about using cleaning chemicals before. So, I was starting to feel a bit uneasy. Like maybe I was doing something wrong by asking.

"Can I have some bleach and some cloths; I want to clean my bathroom. Oh, and glass cleaner for my mirror. Do I need to ask for washing liquid and fabric softener too?" Corey nodded.