Carpe Tenebras: II

I am a nerd; plain and simple. Everyone that knows me knows that, and everyone that doesn’t, should. I base my life off learning and when I’m not learning, my body starts to malfunction. As you would expect, that’s not a good thing, so I try to learn as much as I can.

I was in a classroom, sitting on top of a desk. I was faced towards a chalk board and my English teacher, Ms. Gates. To a lot of people, Ms. Gates seemed like a nightmare, the kind of teacher you’d definitely want to drop if you got her class. Her lesson plans were deep and thought-provoking, much like the set-up of Honors English. However, she did not teach Honors English; learning they had been fooled into taking an equally hard class, many non-intellectuals complained on a regular basis. Personally, I like thinking, even though it sucks a lot of the time if the answers don’t come right away. However, a year with the somewhat unhinged Ms. Gates had made thinking a little bit easier and I owed her a lot. She was poised, as always, a top a turquoise stool covered in yellow chalk dust. We were having a conversation about the relationship of Huck Finn and Jim when…

“We have to get up.” I groaned and flipped myself over, ignoring the comment.

“Wakey, wakey!” That was my best friend’s mom. I figured it was morning; through my eyelids, I could see that the living room was bathed in a harsh neon yellow light. Birds chirped merrily outside, probably hidden in the lilac bush next to the porch. I dared to open my eyes, but soon regretted my decision. I groaned again and somehow willed my arms to move into push-up formation. My 16-year old body creaked as I lifted myself up off the cottony sleeping bag which smelled like piss that I’d borrowed from my friend. I rubbed my eyes, feeling the sleepies attached to my eyelashes, and began to yawn. Swinging my arms violently to the left side of my body, I felt something pop in my back, a welcome reprieve from the former discomfort left by sleeping on the floor.

“What time is it?” my best friend Johanna yawned in question. Too early.

“7:25,” Jo’s mom Kaylee Pidgeon kindly informed us. The other person in the room, Amanda, sighed. Amanda was another one of Jo’s closest friends and we got along well. Her dad had requested Amanda call him at around 8:30; we had an hour. At the suggestion of relocating to the family room, we waddled through the kitchen, dragging our sleeping materials behind us to the family room at the end of the old Victorian. All three of us collapsed, Jo into the couch by the TV, Amanda on the floor in front of the same couch, and I gave up near the doorway, feeling content enough with the other couch to lay in front of that.

I tried to fall back asleep but to no avail; the journey had been a cause for me to open my eyes and, normally, once my eyes were open fully, there was no hope of returning to my former state. I reached for my contact case hidden inside a top pouch in my new blue backpack. Even though school had just ended, I was in need of a light but durable bag and when I’d spied this one at Costco for only fifteen bucks, I knew I was in love. I wiped my right hand on my black Adidas sweatpants, and unscrewed the right lid. I continued my ritual until I could finally see my companions. Then, I popped out my dark blue retainers and placed them in their sparkly blue container. I smirked to myself, remembering the apple sticker with an A+ on the underside of the top retainer which reinforced my nerdiness. I put both the contact case and retainers back in the pouch. Heaving a great sigh, I stared forlorn at Jo.

“What ‘cha wanna do?” she asked me. I managed to grumble a word resembling ‘sleep’. She chuckled and turned to Amanda.

“What d'you wanna do?”

“I really have no idea,” she replied in her awake-voice. I heard Jo’s stomach grumble like a lawn mower, causing her to suggest we make breakfast. I laid down into the uriney carpet and tried to rest. Staying up writing and listening to each other’s stories until one wasn’t what could be properly deemed a ‘wise’ decision. Jo and Amanda left to go find something to eat; I contemplated my story. After about 2 minutes, I lugged myself out of the sleeping bag and up into the kitchen.