Lion's Pride

Chapter 13 (Part 1)

J . a . h . ' . e . i . m

The Following Morning

     THE SOUND OF MY PHONE GOING OFF WITH IT'S USUAL ALARM awakens me, the marimba tone becoming more and more familiar by the second. I groan in displeasure, turning over on what I thought was going to be the wooden, polished floors, but instead turns out to be my plush bed. I am more than covered with the white satin sheets around me, swimming inside of the the pool they have enclosed me in. I begin stretch my cramped legs, cracking my knees while keeping my eyes shut closed and the annoying sound still playing from my phone. My hand finds it's way near my vibrating phone, picking it up off of the floating glass nightstand and dismissing the alarm. The particular alarm I had set would essentially let me know about which football conditioning did Coach B plan on throwing our way this morning. He has different styles of conditioning, ever single one of them being beneficial. It was now 8:03 on the morning by the time the sun had decided to peek through the wide window, making the tiredness disappear.

     Yawning, I rub away the crust from my tired eyes. I rotate this way and that, making sure to dig deep. Swinging the pearl white duvet cover away from my body, I try my absolute best to recall the events that aspired last night. I quickly come up empty minded with nothing. My legs stretch themselves over the edge of my personal side to the bed and I scoot to my right. With my eyes partly opened to a slant, one would think that I smoked heavy marijuana with the way I looked in the morning time. I stand to my full height next, stretching all over again. This time I made sure not to forget cracking my back. My sights find their way down towards the lower half of my body. It was then that I grew confused because I couldn't recall stripping down and out of my clothing before bed. My grey and black boxers are the only thing covering my body, the morning wood between my legs almost breaking the seam.

     I completely remember being fully clothed the night before, not with just my under armor boxers on. Something didn't make sense to me and it made me cautious. Before I could even think my next topic, which meant anything different than the fact that I was naked, my stomach begins to lurch. I think nothing of it because often times when I awake after drinking, I just needed to eat something and everything would be back to normal. Proving myself wrong about this time, I take off in a sprint to the master bathroom, instantly squatting down with my knees just above the cold floor. I start to heave and heave, and then heave some more. The contents in my body flowed continuously out of my mouth from the previous day, which happened to not be that much. When the time comes where I think that I have finished blowing chunks, I flush the toilet and stand to my feet.

     Grabbing my electric toothbrush and Optic White toothpaste, I run some luke warm water in the sink just before applying the fresh paste. As the mint of the paste connects with my teeth, a headache starts to form. Although Hennessy is my favorite drink, it always made me regret ever touching the bottle the following morning. I finished brushing my teeth and fill my mouth with some mouth wash. I spit out the liquid after I am satisfied with the cleaning and my breath no longer reeks of the liquor smell. I look up and into the large white led framed mirror at my normal morning reflection. The curls on my head had been raffled with and I figure to myself that when I had slept the night before, I used playing in my hair as a coping mechanism. Something I've used since birth. It's actually one of the first signs to let someone know that I am falling sleepy, upset, or just nervous.

     I think nothing more of it and make my way out of the bathroom just after cutting out the white ambient light. I waltz over to the left side of my large bed, taking the soft covers in my hands and beginning to lay them neatly. A clean room provided space for a clean mind and I will always stick by that theory. I neatly place the decorative pillows in their original order when I am satisfied with the look. The white duvet and contrasting black velvet blanket against red pillows look aesthetically pleasing to my eyes as I walk over to my night stand on the right side of the bed. I finally pick my phone up and bring the dark screen to life. Glancing at a few notifications that I'd missed, I scroll through them for a minute. Going to my home screen, I check my personal messages first. My stomach flutters, reading a text from Danielle sent to me about two hours ago.