The Waltz (Jotakak)

Chapter 25: Tuesday Nights

March 25, 1989
6:15am
Kujo Residence

Throbbing, all I can hear is throbbing. Scratch that, I can feel it too.

I groaned as I slowly opened my eyes. The second I tried lifting my head I saw black then found myself against my pillow again. Let me try again. I went to lift my head off the pillow and propel myself out of bed once more, only to have a sharp pain course through my head like electricity.

Dizziness swept through me and I made contact with my pillow once more. I laid there for a few seconds, the throbbing pain in my head never ceasing. This is one killer headache.

I got up from my bed, much slower this time, and made my way to my bathroom. Without hesitating I turned on the faucet and began washing my face. I reached for a towel and dried my face off. When I finished drying my face off I made eye contact with an almost unrecognizable face. I had massive bags under my eyes, and I look like I just got back up after being hit by a train.

Then a sudden realization hit me as hard as a train would. I went out with the old man last night a little after dinner since he felt like going out. We went to go get ramen and got drunk after I decided that after dealing with the shit I've gone though in the past week and a half I deserved a drink to relax, but then one drink turned into multiple. The old man and I got drunk.

I am incredibly hungover.

I ran a hand through my hair grimacing at the greasy feel. I need to clean myself up. I turned on the shower and got in not bothering to wait for the water to heat up. Once I finished cleaning myself, I wrapped a towel around my waist and used another to dry my hair.

I walked back over to my sink and grabbed the shaving cream applying it to my face, I then grabbed my straight razor and began shaving the stubble off. I rinsed and dried my face off when finished, making my way out of the bathroom immediately after. I sluggishly got dressed, which took me longer than I had hoped after I put my shirt on backwards, and started heading to the kitchen.

When I reached the kitchen I saw a sight I normally would've used as an opportunity to tease, but I couldn't bring myself to care. The old man was sitting lazily in a chair, swallowing two pills with water. He looked as shitty as me.

I went to the faucet, grabbing a cup from the cabinet, and turned it on filling the glass with water. I walked to the table and sat down across from the old man, placing down my school bag.

"Pass the pills." I could barely recognize my own voice, it was heavy with fatigue and was raspier than ever. He groaned and nudged the bottle across the table, the pills inside jumping around. I popped the lid open and poured two pills into my hand, swiftly swallowing them along with some water. I then sealed the bottle pushing it away from me.

We both sat there in silence, staring at the table our heads empty voids.

"I didn't know you got so talkative when you're drunk." The old man said, his eyes not leaving the surface of the table. His voice had dropped a couple octaves, but he has been awake longer than me so he didn't sound as bad as I did. I looked at him confused. "Don't tell me you don't remember anything."

I stayed silent.

"I'll help you remember." The old man's sentence gave me chills, it sounded too mischievous for my liking. "I don't understand why he is so hot," the sentence caught me off guard, "Why can't I just kiss him without having to explain myself?", this time the old man put more emotion behind his sentence, "Don't even get me started on when he starts eating cherries like that."