Paradise By The Dashboard Light! • DIU

Staring At The Sun

Wednesday Morning, April 21st, 1999

You didn't sleep well last night as the thought of someone being in your house did manage to scare you. Counting, you find out you really only had about two hours of sleep. Nonetheless, you didn't hear much noise in the night besides the occasional wind, and scrape of a branch as it brushed against your window. Most of the night, you laid, staring up at the dark ceiling, wondering when your father would get home, or even when a stranger would finally come of hiding to attack you. Seeing the clock read 6:47am, you let out a groan before deciding that you might wake up early today.

Heading downstairs, you almost expected your father to finally come home from work, but alas, he was not there. Your father never really stayed out this long at work, but maybe he was doing overtime? You tried your best not to think about it as you just worried about getting yourself a nice, big breakfast since you didn't get to eat yesterday from how tired you had been. Opening the fridge with a light groan from the bright light, you managed to smile as half a gallon of milk stood on the top shelf. You pulled it out, and set it aside on the plaid covered table with a slight creak. You had then pulled out your favorite cereal from the top of the fridge while grabbing the TV remote from the table to watch the news. You grab a plain bowl, and pour your cereal in first because that is the correct way to do it. The TV played in the background as you poured milk into your cereal,

You turned to the sink to wash a spoon before overhearing the TV. The new reporters had been talking about the death of a police officer. This made you feel a little disheartened, but not a whole lot since you didn't know the man personally. Either way, you waited to hear how he got attacked on the job as you took your seat, and started eating your cereal, still crunchy. You paid close attention before your eyes widened. The man wasn't killed on the job, he was killed in his own home! You took another spoonful of your cereal, crying soon after because you had bit your tongue. You grimaced as you tasted the metallic flavor of blood. You finished eating your mouthful of cereal before dabbing your tongue with a paper towel.

Paying attention to the TV again, name you felt you recognized came from the screen. "Higashikata.." You whispered to yourself, knowing someone in your class had that same surname. You finished your cereal, and placed the bowl in the sink, planning to wash it later as you turned the TV off. You went back upstairs to get ready for the day. You ripped off your shorts, and shirt as you grabbed a pair of undergarments, and your ironed school uniform. You thought about that last name again. Yukako? No, her last started with a Y. Tamaki? No, you're pretty sure his surname might've been Suoh. You went down every single name in your homeroom as you slide your black knee high socks on. You then looked for your book bag, making sure you actually had your keys this times.

You set you bag on your bed as you went to the bathroom. The bathroom wasn't anything special as the walls were painted a pale blue, and white tile became cold, even with your thin slippers. You walked to the mirror, opening it and pulling out your tooth brush and tooth paste. You filled a glass with water, and set it down on the sink counter. You then closed the mirror, staring at yourself for a bit. "Bingo." You said to yourself as Josuke Higashikata came to your mind. He was the kid that wore a heavily combed pompadour with lots of gel. He was a pretty nice person, but you didn't get to know him all that much, especially since you were still a fairly new girl, having just moved last year. Now that you thought of it, you were really only friends with Koichi Hirose. Even with that, you didn't get to see him often since you had a different schedule. You finished brushing your teeth, and then washed your mouth out with the glass of water. You rinsed your tooth brush off, and put everything back where it belonged.

You skipped back to your room, chipper that managed to remember who Josuke was. You felt bad about him losing one of his family members. Maybe you would talk to him today? You went back to your room to grab your book bag. "7:51?!" You screamed as you looked at the time. How have you spent so much time getting ready? You let out several curses as you ran down the stairs, your bag, and hair swinging as you did. You nearly tripped on the last step, but caught yourself on the rail. You waste no time catching your breath as you unlocked the door, and ran outside, quickly locking the door again shortly after. You dropped the keys back into the depths of your book bag as you pulled your bike off of the house wall, and quickly got on top of it.