Life At All

Chapter 1

"Ugh" she muttered as she awoke to the shrill sound of her mother saying "Tanya, Tanya, Tanya. Time to get up." "Yea mom I know" she groaned as she rose from her bed like a vampire and started getting ready for the day.

He woke up to a morning like many others. The smell of filth permeating his room and the piles will still there. It wouldn't change overnight; it would never change. He quickly got up and got dressed before his dad came in yelling "get your ass up Josh!"

Tanya was sitting on the couch, looking externally like she was contemplating life, but just a result of constant lethargy. She had gotten a granola bar for breakfast and microwaveable noodles and shoved them in her backpack. Her hopes were to eat less than 500 calories a day. Tanya had some struggles. She sat back down on the couch and numbly scrolled through her phone, as her mom started yelling at her sister for misbehaving.

Josh got a bowl of cereal and quickly ate it over the sink, putting the bowl into the dishwasher. It was getting closer to the time to leave for school, but he saw that his other siblings were still not up, and neither was his dad. He was collapsed on the couch, with the smell of alcohol permeating from his open mouth. So he went to their rooms and checked in on them. They were all dressed and laying back, some on their phones, just relieved, and a bit scared, that their dad was not up. "C'mon get up let's go" Josh urged his siblings. He wouldn't dare go up into his mom's room, but he could smell the usual odd odor from the door.

"Tanya, hurry up, come on" her mom shouted from the front door. She mustered all her strength and got up off the sofa and picked up her backpack and slowly walked out. She slid into the front seat, putting her backpack on her thighs. Tanya put her head back and closed her eyes, wishing things were different.

Josh got his siblings out of the house and rushed them to the bus stop. He sighed a breath of relief, and nervously got out his phone, almost dropping it. He put in earbuds and turned-on music, relaxing but still being alert. A few minutes later the bus angrily pulled up, opening its black doors. He climbed on and collapsed in a seat in the back, looking back. He saw lights turning on in his house, but its okay; they're all safe. For now. Josh pulled his hoodie up and shut his eyes, wishing things were better.

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