The Kids Aren't Alright

Chapter 15: Finn

It's five in the morning, and I can't fall back asleep— probably because Ronan opened the curtains, and the sunlight is blazing through my eyelids. I sit up and raise a hand to block out the sunlight. Ronan is sitting on his bed, flipping through the same comic book he's always reading.

I squint over at the clock. It's five-thirty A.M.

I'm actually going to murder him.

It's too early in the morning to be polite, so I demand, "Why the hell did you open the curtain? The counselors don't come for another hour."

"I couldn't sleep," Ronan says, as if this is a perfect explanation. "And I got bored. So I opened the curtains."

My mouth falls open. I can practically taste my morning breath; I forgot to brush my teeth last night. "What is wrong with you?"

"As if I'd tell you."

I slam my face into the pillow and squeeze my eyes shut so tightly that my temple starts to hurt. Maybe if I pretend hard enough like this isn't happening, I'll wake up in Indiana, at home, in my own bed.

I crack an eyelid open. Nope, still in Alaska.

"Ah, fuck." I push myself up on my elbows and shoot Ronan my meanest glare. "I'm awake now. Are you happy? You've officially ruined my night's sleep."

Ronan starts to hum something— I think it's the theme from Star Wars.

"Great. Real mature."

He switches to the Imperial March.

"It's too early for this bullshit," I grumble.

Ronan stops humming. He sets his comic book aside and swings his legs towards me, pushing his thin fingers together to form a steeple. He looks like he's trying to pose as one of the people on my mom's self-help books for single women. "What would you like me to do, Fish? I don't sleep at night. I can't. Also, I'm not just going to lay in this bed for ten hours and stare at the ceiling— not while you get your beauty rest and wake up all happy and refreshed. That's not fair. The sun is up, so I'm up. And if you want to keep the curtains closed, then come over here and close them."

"Is that a challenge?"

"Yes, because that's how I want to spend my morning— fighting with my roommate over a pair of curtains."

"It's not even the morning yet— five-thirty A.M is still an ungodly hour to be waking up at."

"If you never go to sleep, you never have to wake up," Ronan advises.

I groan and flop onto my back, dragging a pillow across my face to block out the sunlight. I lay there for a few minutes before finally giving up. There's no way I'm going to be able to fall asleep now— I'm way too annoyed at my roommate, and there's too much agitated energy vibrating in my bones. I can't lie in this bed until seven. I need to get up and do something else.

I fling my pillow to the side and tumble out of bed. My whole body feels like shit— the mattress didn't show any mercy to my back or neck last night. I stretch my arms and legs out in front of me, trying to shake some of the tightness out.

Maybe I'll go for a run. At least then I wouldn't have to be stuck sitting around with Ronan for the next two hours.

I kneel in front of my drawers and start rummaging through my clothes, trying to find a pair of clean shorts and matching socks. I end up dumping half of my clothes on the floor before I finally manage to scrape together a real outfit.

I turn away from Ronan while I change out of my PJ's. "So, what issue are you reading?" I ask him over my shoulder. I've been curious about the meaning of the comic book ever since I met Ronan while he was reading it. There has to be something important about it; he wouldn't be skimming through it constantly if there wasn't. Seriously, what comic could be that good?