Beneath The Floorboards

They were not happy. None of them were, not even the dog. They wanted to be platonic, but their imperfections seeped through like a virus corrupting a computer. Nina knew perfectly well that her family was far from that. She knew it was but a dream up in the clouds of forgery. How did she know such things? Well, Nina Vargas happened to be a private girl. For this, she needed to be clever. She was good at picking up hints and clues, breaking down people's evident weaknesses for her own gain. This skill proved to be useful for her, and a primary point in finding her family's fraud.

When her parents argued she was told to cover her ears and eyes. When her dog died they said he ran away, but Nina found Veterinarian papers mere hours later. When she went on impromptu "vacations" with her mother and sister she inhaled deeply when bidding ado to her father, smelling relevant traces of alcohol that smoldered the insides of her nose. Whenever she went to her "special friend" she observed her surroundings, thus unveiling a therapists' office. Nina knew it all, and all it took was some relentless searching.

She went through her family's cycle, tricking them masterfully into believing she would do the cultural things Americans did when becoming adults, and she persevered. Then when the time came, Nina ran. She left her family without a single trace, because she was just that good. Nina not only observed her family through her childhood, but she learned from them. Taking her life lessons, Nina chose one thing she wanted out of life: happiness.

And from that she also learned that if she were to be stuck on planet Earth for life she could never be happy. There was nothing for her to do on Earth that could make her happy, well at least not for a lifetime. Sure there was the adrenaline rush of a rollercoaster, and the tingly adoration gained from food, but nothing could ever make Nina Vargas permanently happy.

If there was such a thing she would love to know, but for her there wasn't, so she had to make it up, and Harry Potter books were the segue into Nina's imaginary world. This is why Nina Vargas' head was running ramped. Last time the ideals lasted three days, four hours, thirty-eight minutes, and sixty-two seconds. A new record for Nina. Now the ideals were churning in her head for an unusual amount of time. Five days, six hours, forty-three minutes, and six seconds. Another new record. Maybe it was due to the pure boredom that caught her, or maybe it was her lunch, but Nina Vargas' mind was still turning with ideals.

After realizing the amount of time she had spent on thinking of these ideals Nina Vargas instantly stopped digging into her nails. She sped to the bathroom in thirty-six seconds, making sure to avoid the blotches of paint on the floor. She flicked the tap water on, making sure to let it run a bit before attacking her hands with the sure-fire cure of soap mixed with H2O.

"Crap. Why the hell does it have to be a damn paint job? It's never a paint job, and I could do just fine with any other materials! But nooooo! It just 'has' to be made with paint! Just 'has' to be on a white wall! Just 'has' to be so f'ing annoying!" Nina hadn't realized she was talking to herself incessantly until she heard a shady whisper in the air. "I can keep your hands clean." Nina immediately shot up and asked, "Who's there?!" Nina could barely make out the figure of some awkward, blue hue. She eased her eyes into a squint, as to not startle the creature. "You know I can see you, right?" There was no answer. "Come on, blue thing! I know you're there." Nina began to talk fiercely towards the blue hue, "Answer me! What do you want anyway?!" The blue hint of air wisped away as the wind blew, leaving a trail of varied colored sparkles.

Nina seemed to be trapped in the essence of the whole thing, because she could distinctly hear a "whoosh" sound as the blue hint of air drifted away. Nina entered a trance, following the air like a lost puppy. The sound was ringing in her body, making her hairs stand up like soldiers armed for battle. Nina danced through the patches of multi-colored people. She knew there was no point in it, but she continued to stalk the sound of the blue hue. She followed and followed, feeling like she was on a treasure hunt.