The blue sky was slowly turning pink as I sat on my bed, gazing out the window. Soft music played in the background while I lost myself in the sunset. It was a Friday night and I had nothing to do and nowhere to be. I checked my phone, a completely pointless action but one I found myself doing often, expecting nothing more than the empty screen I saw. I considered going to sleep but decided to stay up until it was dark.
The pink sky turned black as I heard my mom close the door to her bedroom, meaning she'd gone to bed. I turned up the music and closed the blinds, laying down only to stare at the ceiling.
"Cause we are the helpless, selfish, one of a kind
millennium kids that all wanna die,
walking in the street with no light inside our eyes."
I started wondering why I was home all alone on a Friday night rather than out partying with the rest of my friends when I honestly had no reason not to be, but I realized that I didn't know why. I looked towards my window and considered sneaking out, but it wasn't late enough yet. I closed my eyes and let my thoughts take over me.
I woke up to a phone call from my friend, Amelia.
I answered, "hello?"
"Hey, Jade! Are you coming over?"
This was rare. Someone was actually asking me to hang out?
"Tonight?"
"Yeah, are you busy?"
"No."
"See you in half an hour?"
"Of course."
I hung up, got off of my bed, and opened my closet. I scanned it for something nice, settling on a pair of distressed light denim jeans, a white t-shirt, and a windbreaker. I put on a pair of sneakers, grabbed my phone and wallet, and opened the window.
The hardest part of sneaking out was climbing out from the second floor, and as I made my way through the window I nearly fell straight down. I gripped tightly onto the windowsill and dropped onto the ledge below me, which was barely a ledge at all. One false step and I'd be flat on the ground. I shuffled my way across until I could reach the nearest tree, and then I reached out and grabbed a branch. I jumped off of the ledge and hoped for the best. The branch didn't snap, and I continued my way down the tree, finally reaching the ground.
It was a short walk, probably only ten minutes, but in the quiet of the night it felt like forever. In a good way. I could walk down the road with nothing but streetlights and stars guiding my way for hours. It was somewhat therapeutic. I just wish I had brought my headphones.
When I finally made it to Amelia's house, I didn't even knock before I was greeted with an open door and the sound of my friends saying hello. "Come in! Come in!" Amelia beamed. I made my way through the door, matching everyone's excitement with a smile. It's times like these when I felt less empty.
I quickly made my way to the kitchen for a snack or a drink, whichever I found first, and everyone followed. The entire house was filled with kids I knew from school, but I wasn't in the mood for small talk. Besides, I was just a ghost to most of them. I opened the fridge and poured some soda.
—
I woke up on the couch with a headache. There were only a few people left and the room was quiet. "Have a nice nap?" Amelia asked, sitting down next to me. I looked at her, confused. "What happened?" "Someone spiked the soda." She paused and laughed before continuing. "Oh, you should've seen yourself. It only took three drinks and you were out." Then she laughed some more, and I laughed too.
"What time is it?" I asked, sitting up and realizing I didn't have my phone, wallet, or jacket. "About 2 am," she paused, noticing my panic, "if you're looking for your stuff it's all in my bedroom. You can go up and grab it when you're ready to leave." "Well, I think I'm ready to leave right now, if that's alright." "Of course!"
I went upstairs to Amelia's bedroom and found all of my things, taking a moment to appreciate how amazing she was at decorating. The room was a mixture of reds, whites, and pinks, and fit her personality perfectly. I found a sticky note, wrote something nice, and left it on her pillow. Then I went back downstairs to leave.
"Bye! See you around!" I shouted through the house, not wanting to leave unannounced. "Stay safe!" Amelia shouted back.
I didn't really want to go home just yet, so I decided to go for a short walk to the nearby coffee shop, which happened to be open 24/7. It was only a twenty minute walk, and I had time to spare.
During those twenty minutes I somehow found myself questioning everything. Why hadn't I stayed home? Why didn't I realize the soda was spiked? Did I embarrass myself? Hopefully not. Amelia would've told me if I did anything stupid, right? Why didn't I take an Advil before I left? My head hurts like hell.
It was a painful walk, to say the least. Being lost in a spiral of thoughts and extremely hungover, if not still drink, don't go well together. I finally made it to the coffee shop, and considering the time, it was pretty busy. I ordered a macchiato and sat down next to the window, pulling out my phone and scrolling through Twitter.
I put down my phone and looked around at the people I was with. Besides the baristas, there was a couple talking at a corner booth, an older gentleman who sat all alone, a group of boys ordering drinks, and a girl who had just walked in. I went back to scrolling through Twitter, still cautious of my surroundings.
The next time I looked up, the boys had finished getting their drinks and were now sat on the opposite end of the shop, and the girl who had walked in was now walking towards my table. I was anxious, to say the least, and quickly avoided any eye contact as I stared at my phone, not interested in my feed at all.
"Is it alright if I sit here?" She asked, motioning towards the empty chair in front of me. I finally made eye contact. "Sure."
She wore a black oversized sweatshirt as a dress and her hair was long and platinum blonde. She had a soft face and a warm smile as she sat down and started drinking her coffee.
"Sorry if this is weird. I just didn't want to sit alone." She said, setting her coffee aside and looking at me. Her voice was sweet, but there was an edge to it. "It's fine, don't worry about it. The company is nice." I told her. "What are you doing here in the middle of the night?" She tried her best to break the silence as she shuffled awkwardly in her seat. "I had nothing better to do, I guess. What about you?"
"I prefer coming here at night, it's a lot quieter. You're not tired?"
"No, not really. I slept a bit ago."
"So, what's your name?"
"Jade. Yours?"
"Indie."
We continued to drink our coffees and talk, and time was nothing but a construct. I didn't know whether a minute had passed or an hour, but I figured it was time to check.
3:03am.
"This has been so nice, but it really is getting late. I'll see you around?"
"Absolutely."
I grabbed a napkin and a pen and left her with my number.
