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The human mind is a strange place. The thoughts fly by so fast that you hardly even realize you thought them in the first place. You can pick out one of the those racing thoughts and elaborate on it as much as you like. You can keep it in your head for the rest of your life sometimes. It can make you question right and wrong or why you chose cereal instead of the left over pizza. Thoughts are strange indeed. I, Drew Tamsin, tried vehemently to keep the thoughts racing rather than picking at them. It only seemed to hurt in the end. I surrounded myself with like-minded people, the kind of people who just live in the moment. Some people just waltz past your guards, your admittance papers, and stick though. They just stick and you can't get rid of them for anything. These people are usually everything you don't like because they push you to be 'better' and to 'think.' Those people kinda suck. But they're stuck. No getting rid of them.
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"Dead men, they celebrate."
One eye popped open and I groaned from deep in my chest.
"As the final chapter fades away."
"You fade away!" I argued with the song lyrics that were in no way associated with my alarm clock.
"Cause they can't hide."
"Neither can I!" I moaned, throwing a pillow across the room."
"We can see their flesh is rotten."
"Ok," I yelled admitting defeat. "I don't have anything for that one." 5:30 AM had won another unfair battle and the sad thing was, it was going to win tomorrow and the next day after that. How does one live with such knowledge?
I sat up, throwing my arms out and stretching. A horrible involuntary dying whale sound escaped my throat until I dropped my arms. A soft thud against my window made me roll my eyes. "I'm going to call the cops! I swear!" But I knew I wasn't. Rubbing the grit from my eyes, I tried to reach my window shades to deal with it but something slammed into my legs like a battering ram. It probably wouldn't have knocked me over if I had been awake. I fell, hitting the floor with a string of curses. "Jezebel!" I shouted, smacking the carpeted floor with a fist in frustration.
A quiet mew that just oozed fake distress reached my ears. Her soft skin brushed up against my face and I pushed her away, "Don't use false sympathy on me!" Another mew, distinctively indignant came from my cat before she pranced out of the room, pleased with herself. "Stupid feline," I muttered, pulling myself up and reaching the shades.
There he was, standing shirtless in his window. Right on time, as usual. "Where do you even get the rocks?" I shouted at the middle aged man through the glass. Kent Lawson was this creepy old dude who lived in the building next to ours. He never wore a shirt, he never shaved, and he had a thing for young girls.. a not nice thing if you catch my drift. "Weirdo," I muttered as he started to flex. "Put on a shirt! Nobody wants to see that prairie on your chest. I should start calling you Laura Ingalls!"
He scowled and gave me the finger which I was happy to do back. "See ya tomorrow!" I called and slammed the blinds shut. Right before I did, I noticed the new graffiti on the adjacent building beside creepy Kent's window. It was a bright yellow smiley face. I liked it! Should have thought of that myself. For a thousand a month you'd think we would get a view of some grass or a tree! Even an ugly tree! But no. Kent Lawson's chest jungle was as close as we got.
Scratching at the falling ponytail on the back of my head, I found my way to the door and walked down the short hallway. Before even getting to the other end which was just a few feet I heard my roommate having a heated 'discussion' with Jezebel.
"Don't look at me like that you ugly little rat," she hissed. A few pans clanged before she said, "No! Off the counter! You'll get diseases on it." Jezebel meowed a few loud sounds in response.
"Don't even try to defend yourself!"
I walked into the small kitchen, "I've told you a thousand times, Lucy. Jez doesn't have a disease!" Plunking down on a red bar stool, I reached for the steaming mug that Lucy always had waiting for me. Hot chocolate, because coffee made me feel old.
"Then why is she bald?" Lucy yelled, eyeing Jez with a murderous look. Jezebel licked a paw lazily and made herself comfortable on the forbidden counter.
"It's a breed. Sphynx. Google it," I yawned again before taking a tentative sip. The flavors exploded on my taste buds, automatically making me more alert. Was there really anything better than chocolate? It could fix anything. Maybe I would like people better if they were made of chocolate - at least then they would serve a purpose.
Lucy waved a wooden spatula at me, "I have and it's all a conspiracy!"
"Oh?" Lucy had a theory about everything. Nothing was black and white in her eyes - it was more like neon orange and electric purple. "Is it aliens this time?"
She cut her hazel eyes at me before poking Jez with the tip of the spatula in a vain attempt to get her off the counter. "It's a whole industry to sell idiots like you, cats with mange!" Jez took this time to yawn revealing her sharp teeth which caused Lucy to take a step back.
I stared at her over the oversized mug, "I paid over a thousand dollars for Jezebel. She's worth more than you!"
"And you're an idiot, Drew. I believe I already said that." Lucy finally gave up on getting Jez down and took a seat far enough away with her plate of eggs. It was then that I paid attention to what she was wearing. Lucy had a dream of being a costume director for movies and for some reason she had begun morphing her wardrobe 'for practice.' It wasn't usually that bad - except for that time she had worn a spandex suit, legwarmers and sweatbands in an attempt at 80's. Even after I had informed her that she looked like a glorified Richard Simmons, it took watching The Breakfast Club three times before Lucy realized what the 80's really looked like.
"Nice Flannel," I pointed out. "Looks really familiar."
Lucy grinned, "Sorry, I didn't think you'd mind." Her pastel pink hair was crimped and pulled back from her face. A septum piercing decorated her nose. Smudged make-up, boyfriend jeans, and one of those black choker things. She oozed wannabe 90's.
I had to admit she pulled it off pretty well. "What time do classes start for you?"
"7," she replied. Lucy was in school to be a hair dresser for the simple fact that her mother forced her. She didn't believe in Lucy's costume dream and wanted her to have an actual career. I pitied the person who let my roommate do their hair. She was scatter brained and that added to not caring in the first place, well - let's just say it's a miracle no one has lost an ear yet. "You better get going," Lucy said, nodding towards the clock.
I sighed and downed the rest of my hot chocolate. "Maybe I don't feel like being around sick people all day," I whined.
Lucy faked a gasp, "You're in a very inconsiderate mood."
"God forbid." I went over to the tiny sink that was filled with yesterday's dishes. Slashing some water on the mug, I stuck it between two lasagna encrusted plates. "You could do these while I'm gone."
She tilted her head back and looked at me upside down, "Or you could do them when you get back."
I picked up the item closest to me - a dish rag - and threw it at her before walking back to my room. Waiting until Jez was inside, I shut the door and sat on the corner of my desk. It was a strange place to sit considering the point of the desk wasn't at all comfortable on my bare leg, but it was a habit that I had always had- sitting on the corner of things. Couches, tables. etc. I liked having my legs propped against the floor where I could just push off whenever I wanted. "I'm stalling," I told Jezebel.
She looked up at me with those green eyes that I had fallen in love with. They had made that price tag a bit more swallowable. Who could really put a price on years of love and adoration? Or years of kitty litter on the bed and being demoted to slave under the kitty's rule?
As I pulled out the simple black nurse uniform, I found myself wishing that I had enough vacation day to not go in. I was saving those though so that Lucy and I could drive to California in a few weeks. It was the only thing that had kept me sane since the plans were made 6 months earlier. I clipped on the 'nurse's assistant' badge to the black lanyard and grabbed my purse. "I wish I could take you, Jez," I mumbled, rubbing her soft head. "Maybe I could sneak you in."
Jezebel escaped my affection and went to the bed, kneading a pillow before plopping down on top of it and turning away from me. "Fine then! But remember, I'm the only one who's around to defend you from Lucy." I cast one more look around the room before returning to the kitchen. Lucy was sitting in the same seat, an empty plate in front of her and her laptop open beside it. The colorful web page was filled with pictures of bikini clad bodies and six packs. There may have been a little bit of sand and ocean noticeable behind them though. "Still planning?" I asked with a laugh.
Lucy grinned, "I don't know how we're going to fit everything into a week! And I still have to find that vacation romance somewhere on day one."
I rolled my eyes, pulling a water bottle from the fridge and casting a quick glance at the clock. "Look, I know it's on your bucket list to have a vacation romance and everything but don't forget that it's our vacation! I want us to hang out a little bit."
"Don't worry," Lucy replied, leaning her chin on her arm. "I think this guy will do just fine."
"If you're referring to the spray tanned Greek god, I'm guessing he doesn't hang around the beach much. Or anywhere, for that matter."
"Are you implying my love of that week is fake?" she asked, her voice shrill in joking.
I shrugged, throwing my back over my shoulder. "He looks kind of photo shopped to me."
"Oh and what do you know?" Lucy shut the laptop and pushed her hair back with a huff. "Just get to work. And bring home chinese, would you? I'm craving it."
"Finally got pregnant, huh." I stated, dodging the quick punch. "Kidding, kidding. I'll get your stupid takeout. Pregnant women these days!" I gave her a quick grin as she reached for something to throw at me and made it to the front door before she could loose it. "Be nice to Jezebel!" I shouted through the cracked door before shutting it all the way. I heard her muffled curse and a thump as the object meant for me hit the door.
The dimly lit corridor was that led to our room always gave me the creeps. I would bolt from the check in station downstairs and typically wouldn't stop running until I was in the room. The faded wallpaper and dingy carpet screamed haunted hotel or something of the sort. It wasn't so bad in the morning, but a chill still ran down my spine when a door behind me opened with a creak. A little squeal escaped my throat and I hightailed it to the staircase.
Taking the steps two at a time, I reached the last step and tried to compose myself before I walked into the lobby. My heart was still racing and my chest heaving because, let's be honest, I get winded walking most of the time. The security guard on duty was nursing one of the biggest cups of coffee I had ever seen and from the way his head was bobbing, it wasn't working. Slipping past the station, I stepped out into the chilly morning air.
It was April and that meant the weather was inclined to be bipolar. One minute it was sweltering, the next there was a blizzard warning. On days like today, the morning were cold but the afternoons were warm. I hated carrying a jacket so I always froze my butt off in the morning. Sprinting to my beat up jeep, I stuck the key in the ignition and blasted the heat. Of course, when it first came out it was basically the temperature of Satan's heart. My teeth were clacking as I pulled out of the parking lot and merged into traffic.
I was just beginning to thaw when my phone decided to ring. Groaning, I leaned over and began blindly fishing with my arm. "Why do I always throw my purse down here? And why that ringtone?"
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