𝚍𝚒𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞 ➪ 𝚙. 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚔𝚎𝚛

𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚗𝚎

𝚠𝚊𝚕𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚜𝚞𝚌𝚔𝚜
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The sun hung low in the sky and I started to get nervous.

It was about 7pm, Saturday night, and I still hadn't made it home yet. I went to the library earlier that day with five textbooks stashed in my backpack to study for an upcoming history exam and fell asleep.

The night previous I decided to attend a party that I had no business attending with all my 'uncoolness' and ended up staying late.

Anyway, I was extremely thankful when one of the kinder librarians woke me up and explained to me that they were closing soon. I wasn't so happy about missing three hours of study time, though.

My books felt like they weighed one hundred pounds in my bag and my shoulders sagged with each step I took. It felt like I was in one of those action movies where the helpless damsel gets mugged or kidnapped in a dark alleyway. Unfortunately for those pesky street villains, I did karate for eleven years back in my old city so I am well protected. I still steered clear of dark alleyways though.

As if the universe read my thoughts, something darted behind me and chuckled in a raspy voice. He sounded like he needed a cough drop.

"Hey, pretty lady." I could hear the smirk in his voice and glanced briefly over my shoulder. He was definitely taller than me and his arms were awfully lumpy with either fat or muscles—I couldn't tell. He didn't look much older than me which gave me some hope.

"Hey dude." I responded coolly, turning to face him. My fingers curled around the half-full bottle of pepper-spray in my pocket.

"What do you say we get out of here?" He suggested as if he'd known me for years. I would've scoffed at his attempted 'sexy voice' but I was too scared.

"No, get lost, weirdo." I scowled, clenching my fist around the can of pepper spray even tighter. His sly smirk dropped to a look of seriousness and he approached me. Out of instinct, I took a step back.

I could tell my golden skin was free of the pink brought on by the brisk air and replaced with a ghastly paleness.

"Come on, beautiful. I won't hurt you." He continued to walk towards me. I wanted to run but my legs wouldn't allow me. I was frozen in fear. I noticed now how much he towered over me. So, I did the first thing I could think of.

I spun the metal rings on my fingers and made a fist, punching him between the nose and his top lip. He flinched, his head swinging back in pain and surprise. I took this as my time to run.

I sprinted along the sidewalk, my breaths shaky. My apartment wasn't far from where I was just attacked, thank the Lord.

Finally, I reached my building and could walk again without my legs turning to lead. I climbed the rickety stairs rather than taking the elevator so I could take some more time to catch my breath. My mom didn't need to know about this. She already had enough on her plate—what with my little sister getting kicked out of the first grade and her boss making her work extra hours. She didn't need me to worry about.

I stood at my door and smoothed out my short brown hair before I entered the small apartment. The clock on the wall read 7:30, now.

"Mom, I'm home!" I called out, kicking off my shoes and hanging my jacket on the coat rack. Toys littered the ground so I gently placed them in the small toy box tucked into the corner of the room.

"Hey, Sunshine," Mom came rushing out of my sister, Hazel's room. Her own brown hair flowed gracefully down her back in a cascade of beautiful curls. The colours blended from chocolate brown to a dull red and back to brown again. The opposite of my limp brown hair that fell plainly against my shoulders. I cut it a few months ago in hopes of taking away some of the blandness but it didn't really work. The only difference is that now the tips rested just past my shoulder rather than at the small of my back.

"Any luck with schools for Hazel?" I asked, taking a seat at the marble kitchen island while my mom pulled a wine glass from the cupboard behind her.

"Unfortunately, no," She sighed as the blood red liquid trickled from the bottle and into the glass.

"I'm sure you'll figure something out. You always do," I stood up from my seat to wrap my arms around my mom who set down her wine glass and hugged me back.

"Thank you, Sunshine." Mom muttered, leaning her head on mine, "You go now, I know you're tired."

"Okay, Mom." I untangled myself from her grasp and sauntered down the small hallway and into my bedroom.

My bed was small, just a twin, but it worked just fine.

Sitting on my bed was The Outsiders, courtesy of my mom's box of dusty old books. Reading was my escape, it's always been.  I'm sure you people would understand.

I picked up the small book and flipped to the page where my bookmark sat.  It was the scene when Ponyboy and Johnny were up at the old church watching the sunset.  This iconic scene had always been my favourite.  Mainly because the line 'nothing gold can stay' reminded me of those bitches in my class who probably peaked in high school.  It's also a beautiful scene.

I read for a few hours before I had to put the book down and go to sleep.  Though it was only nine, I couldn't keep my eyes open.  It must've been the party last night or maybe the excessive worrying from earlier this evening.  Who knows?

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