Candor And Curiosity (A Slenderman Romance)

Chapter 10

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Before I knew it, Monday had arrived. It arrived on a cool spring morning when the air was clean and crisp, and the birds were singing their lovely songs.

Too bad I hadn't gotten much sleep on the night before.

 As soon as my alarm clock went off, I slammed the top of it and jumped out bed eagerly, despite feeling like a tired wreck.

I knew that this first day at my new job was going to be like a high schooler's first day at school. I'd be excited for the first two days and get all worked up, only to complain about having to go to work by the time the third day rolled around. 

But, there was nothing I could do except to live in the moment, so I eagerly took a shower, got dressed, and had breakfast. Before heading out, I quickly went up to my mother's room and peeked in through her door. I was hoping that there would be a small chance that she was awake, but at seven in morning I didn't know why I had expected that.

"Bye mom." I whispered, and her loud snores were the only response I received. I skipped down the stairs, grabbed my things from the living room, and hopped into my car. 

The sun was beginning to rise, and the sky was painted in a lovely orange hue. An orange glow covered the land below, and a cool, light breeze passed through the neighbourhood and washed away all fatigue from my body.

Something about today felt different, and it was as if something new was coming in the wind. I switched on the engine and for the first time in a while, I switched on my car radio.

As I drove out of the neighbourhood, through the town square and pulled on to the highway, I sang along to the familiar songs that were being played on the radio station. As I sang, a warm feeling enveloped me, and I soon realized that ever since John had died in the fire that night, I hadn't sung a single song.

People had always told me that I had a beautiful voice, and John had been the one to advocate it the most. Sometimes, I would sing while I did my work, and he would clean while listening to me sing. I thought my voice was pretty average, but he said I sung like an angel.

Coincidentally, for the talent part of the Miss Cheshire Beauty Pageant, I had performed one of my favorite Bonnie Tyler songs, and my mother had always attributed my win to that particular performance. David had appreciated it as well, and had kept asking for me to sing at one of his father's dinner parties for months, until he gave up after realizing that I wouldn't relent.

It had taken a lot of courage for me to get up on that pageant stage, and a lot of convincing myself that beauty pageants weren't superficial or meaningless. But the eager push of my mother and the cash prize that I had needed to pay off my student loan pushed me to go through with it, and in the end I had ended up winning.

The radio tunes soon ended, and the morning news came on. I assumed that it would be the usual political announcements since nothing eventful ever happened in this town. Today, however, was different.

Good Morning Cheshire. I'm your morning announcer, Susie Haddock, reporting to you live from Rockland FM radio.

Breaking news: Thirteen year old boy found dead in Pine Ridge Lake early this morning. Autopsies reveal that the boy was hit upside the head and then thrown into the lake where he drowned. Investigators say-

My heart sunk as I listened to the news report, and I resisted the urge to change the channel. I felt deeply saddened by the tragic news, but I couldn't help but wonder who would do such a thing to a little kid.