Maze

19

Saturday, 10:19 AM.

I wanna go to sleep...

After a lukewarm morning shower, I strode and catapulted myself onto my bed, taking in the softness of the mattress. I shoved the thought of tangling my hair to the back of my head; at least I have combed them beforehand. Wrapping my arms around on one of my pillows, I buried myself within its cool comfort. Ah, this is what I need after such a long week... I must cherish every single second of this.

I rolled over to the side and grabbed my phone from the nightstand. Time to watch some YouTube videos...

However, before I could turn on the screen, a blast of music precipitously thundered throughout the vicinity, shaking the entire house. I choked a shriek out of my throat, and if not for me tightening my grip on my phone, it would have fallen flat into my nose.

"We're bored to death in heaven, and all alone in hell, we only want to be ourselves," the song sang.

Ugh, him and his loud music again...

A twinge of annoyance plucked against my nerves as I glared at my lovely brother's room on the other side of the wall. Groaning and combing my disheveled hair, I forced myself—I wish I didn't have to though—to get up from the bed. Mom and Dad would have chastised him out if they were here, but the restaurant had been keeping them busy. I better check what the heck he is up to and what he has to offer...

I knocked on his door, but of course he would not hear them; his prosperous music practically canceled out every noise around him. Huffing, I opened the door without any second thoughts, and almost immediately, the roars of his rock songs busted against me, making me recoil.

Jordan was sprawled out on his bed, accompanied by the blaring speakers Dad got for his birthday beside him. With his eyes shut and his arms on the back of his head, he bobbed along with the beat. How did he manage to cope with the music so loud beside him? He's gonna be deaf soon...

"What? What do you want?" Jordan asked brusquely, shooting daggers at me like I disturbed his peace and snubbed off the fact he was making not just my ears, but our neighbor's as well, to bleed profusely.

Another frustrated groan broke off me. "Lower the volume, Jo. Use your earphones or something," I really tried to keep my voice as firm as possible.

"Tch." Jordan rolled his eyes and kissed his teeth. I thought he was going to disregard me and shove me out, but to my surprise, his body shifted and actually rolled the adjuster until the deafening music was subdued. Despite this, it was quite loud enough to reverberate throughout his quarters.

"Go away," he growled and waved the back of his hand. "Don't bother me."

"No one wants to," I retorted before I closed the door.

Why am I stuck with someone like him? He was pretty much the epitome of an insufferable brother. Not only did he barely listen to what I have to say, but he would always put up with his ill-mannered behavior and ruffled my feathers. Any of our civil discussions would always turn into endless squabbles that Mom had to stop us.

I scampered to my safe space and was about to hurl myself back to the comfort of my bed, but the sudden noise of my phone's ringtone stopped me. Looking briefly at who the caller was, it washed all the annoyance away.

Aly.

Smiling thinly at the name flashing across the screen, I pressed on the green button and held the phone close to my ear.

"Hi Rena!" The moment her cheery voice filled my phone's speaker, it alleviated me further. That upbeat tone of hers could only mean one thing: we were definitely gonna hang out somewhere today. My bed might have so much gravity that it pulled me in, but the time spent being with Aly and having fun defeated such a force.