Her Name Was December

Day 16

Greyson awoke very early on January 3rd, greeted by the twisting of excitement and nervousness in his gut. He practically jumped out of bed, slipping into his desk chair and turning on his laptop. He cringed at the brightness, for the light from the screen was nearly blinding in comparison to his dark room. In a sleepy haze, he opened his email for the first time in months. It was filled with with spam messages from social networking sites and random coupons for online stores he once shopped at forever ago. He started a new message, entering the email address he had set carefully next to his computer the night before.

<5:34am: greykaye95@yahoo.com>

Hi. I know it’s kinda early, but hi.

Greyson watched his screen for a while, anxiously awaiting a reply from December. After over five minutes of blankly staring at his laptop, half asleep, he decided to make himself a cup of coffee. He stumbled drowsily into his kitchen, slumping over in front of his coffee pot as he waited for his mug to fill to the brim. With a clumsy and careless hand, he carried the brew back to his bedroom, trickling drops of it down the hallway. He stood in his doorway and took a sip, squinting over at his computer screen from across the room as coffee dribbled down his chin. He could see a ribbon of a message highlighted on his screen.

He nearly spat his coffee in excitement as he lept across the room. He jumped into his chair, holding onto the desk counter to keep it from swiveling at his force. Anxiously, he sat down his mug. Less than half of what had occupied its empty space had even touched his lips. He didn’t mind the spills, though; the click of his mouse on December’s message gave him enough energy to last a lifetime.

<5:42am: dhadden@gmail.com>

I’m guessing this is Greyson.

<5:46am: greykaye95@yahoo.com>

Yeah! Hi.

Greyson anxiously refreshed the page again and again, sitting back in his chair and downing his coffee swiftly. It didn’t take long for him to realize that December wasn’t the fastest at messaging.

<5:58am: dhadden@gmail.com>

Hi.

<5:59am: greykaye95@yahoo.com>

What’s up?

<6:03am: dhadden@gmail.com>

I’m at the library.

<6:06am: greykaye95@yahoo.com>

Really? I didn’t think it opened this early.

<6:13am: dhadden@gmail.com>

Yep.

Greyson scratched the back of his neck and rubbed his eyes, sighing deeply. All he wanted was to have a conversation with December, but he could clearly see that her interest was fading fast.

<6:17am: greykaye95@yahoo.com>

Have you ever played the question game?

<6:24am: dhadden@gmail.com>

The question game? I can’t say I have.

<6:26am: greykaye95@yahoo.com>

It’s kinda like 20 questions. We go back and forth asking each other questions for as long as we’d like. Wanna play?

<6:33am: dhadden@gmail.com>

Sure.

<6:34am: greykaye95@yahoo.com>

Okay. What’s your favorite color?

<6:40am: dhadden@gmail.com>

Oh, too easy. I like yellow. Very very light yellow, to be specific.

<6:41am: greykaye95@yahoo.com>

Hmm. Why is that?

<6:50am: dhadden@gmail.com>

Sorry, can’t answer that. You broke the rules! It’s my turn to ask a question.

Greyson chuckled softly as he read December’s message. He could almost hear her voice in his head, scornful but as soft as the breeze.

<6:52am: greykaye95@yahoo.com>

Okay. Go ahead.

<6:57am: dhadden@gmail.com>

Favorite animal?

<7:00am: greykaye95@yahoo.com>

Um.. Dogs are cool.

<7:12am: dhadden@gmail.com>

Square.

<7:13am: greykaye95@yahoo.com>

What! Everyone likes dogs!

<7:27am: dhadden@gmail.com>

I guess. I’ve got to go.

<7:29am: greykaye95@yahoo.com>

Oh, okay! I’ll see you later, at the shop. Have a good day.

Greyson shut his laptop gently, grinning uncontrollably as his room faded into darkness. He brought his mug to the kitchen for a refill that he could sip from while he cleaned the hardening coffee stains from the floor. As the sun rose and the sky twisted into shades of orange and purple, he smiled at the thought of December and welcomed broken rays of sun into his home.