Night Life {Watty Awards Finalist 2012}

Chapter 3

I walked into my apartment just as the sun rose up into the sky, brushing away the night with its rays of light.

I stepped into the hazy light pouring into my dusty apartment from the large windows behind the couch. I clambered over the couch and pulled open the blinds, further illuminating my dirty home.

I really needed to clean up.

Shrugging it off like I usually did, I went into my room to get ready for another day of school.

As I did my minimal amount of make-up, I yawned, looking in the mirror. There were dark circles under my eyes, which was normal. I noticed how pale I had gotten. My blue eyes, which were now navy due to my insomnia and chronic state of nonchalance, stuck out in my otherwise gaunt face. I pulled at the plain black long-sleeved shirt I was wearing. At one point, when I first bought it, it fit perfectly. Now it hung loosely on my body.

Sighing and dabbing some brightner under my eyes with my finger, I pushed away the thoughts that flooded my mind at the sight of me.

After getting dressed, I went into the kitchen and opened up my cupboards. I pulled out the container of coffee beans and opened it. There was one bean left. Sighing, I threw the container away into the trash. Then I opened the top cupboard and pulled out a box of cereal. Shaking it, I heard no cereal. I threw that away as well. My last resort was the refrigerator and when I didn't find anything in there, either, I let out a frustrated yell and slammed the door shut, making the whole fridge shake violently.

Grumbling to myself, I walked out the door, already late, my stomach protesting and begging for food.

As I was walking to the bus stop, I looked down at my feet, which were pale and bony in my shoes. I was contemplating how they looked almost amphibian-like when I felt a strong force run into my knees and knock my bag to the ground. I felt a sense of dread fall over me as I heard the collision with the ground.

"Hey! Watch it!" I yelled, glaring in the direction of the force.

I looked around and didn't see anything.

"Down here, beautiful," I heard a voice snicker. I glanced down and found myself looking at a young boy, probably six or seven by the looks of it, smirking up at me mischieviously.

"Excuse me?" I asked.

"You were obviously looking for me. Well, here I am," he replied, holding his arms out by his sides. I raised and eyebrow at him. I honestly didn't know whether to be offended by the child's rude behavior or be amused by it.

"You know, running into people and knocking things out of their hands isn't the way to a person's heart," I told him, as kindly as I could. My knees felt like they were throbbing from the force of the impact.

"Maybe not, but it sure is a good way to get their attention," he replied in his high-pitched little-child voice.

"You really should apologize, though. My knees kind of hurt," I said.

"Yeah, but only kind of," he responded cockily, shaking out his silky dark brown hair and smirking at me. For some reason, this greatly annoyed me. I approached him, squatting down so that we were eye-level with one another.

"Look, kid. I've had a rough morning. I don't need you giving me cheek about--" I started saying before I heard a shout come from behind me.

"Liam! What the hell, kid?! I told you to stay with me!" the voice shouted.

"Caleb! Caleb!" the kid, who was apparently named Liam, yelled back, his voice instantly taking on a whiny tone. Liam ran away to the source of the second voice, whose name was most likely Caleb. I turned around to face this new person, crossing my arms over my chest.