Rain fell down outside, with only the occasional sound of thunder to interrupt the peaceful sound of the raindrops. I stared out at the dreary woods that surrounded my house, hoping I could lose myself in the quietness of the sleeping woods to avoid listening to the angry shouts coming from downstairs.
A loud smack of a hand on a table-top reached my ears, making me flinch. My brother had gotten in trouble again for forgetting to do his chores, which inevitably led to the weekly scream-fest I was starting to know and hate.
"Do you think you can just slack off around here and get away with it? Do I have to do everything around here?" shouted my mother. I snorted. She worked most of the day at the local restaurant, Billy's Bar and Grill, and wasn't home much as it is. And since dad was off in the Middle East fighting ISIS, a terrorist group that had been striking fear into the hearts of men and women around the world, there was no-one at home to keep an eye on us kids. Even if she wanted to take care of everything around here, she couldn't manage it with her hectic schedule.
Dad, I thought, picking up the picture of him I had sitting on my nightstand. It had been over a year since I had seen him last, and besides the occasional letter, I never heard from him. When he was here, my brother never did dumb stuff to get in trouble, and my mother never got into fights with my brother. Dad always was the peacemaker, always keeping things sane. But now with him gone, the arguments between my mom and my brother raged, leaving me to deal with it.
I sighed, staring at his image behind the glass. His brown hair was cut in the typical army buzz-cut, and his hazel eyes smiled in the picture. I had the same color hair he did, and the same wish for peace. I missed him every day, and hoped that he would be able to come home soon and help fix the rift between my mom and my brother.
Suddenly, my mother let out a stream of angry words that only she could hear or understand, pulling me out of my thought. My brother replied in a dangerous low tone, and I winced. This argument was one of the longer ones they'd had in a while, and pretty soon no distraction would be enough. I would soon have to resort to finding my MP3 player and headphones and losing myself in a book for a while.
Thunder rolled outside my window, and a flash of lightening brightened the sky for a couple seconds. Hopefully the power wouldn't go out; that would mean I wouldn't have the sound of the furnace to cover up part of their conversation.
Ping. My phone alerted me of a new message, and I scrambled to get it, thankful for the distraction. It was probably my friend Tara, who probably was sitting bored at home, and wanting to hear about how my day went.
Hey, wassup Mad Hatter? she texted me. We were both in the spring production of Alice in Wonderland, with me as the Mad Hatter and her being the Queen of Hearts, hence the nicknames.
Nothing good Queenie. I shot back. Another shout came from downstairs, this time from my brother. In a couple minutes he'd abandon the conversation, storm up the steps, and lock himself in his bedroom for the rest of the day. Mom would probably hole up in her art studio, leaving me to create some semblance of food for myself for dinner
Tara texted me back, Need to talk? She asked. I smiled, brushing a stray curl out of my face. Tara was one of my closest friends, one that I told almost everything to. But family was a touchy subject for me, so I simply texted back, Nah. I'll live.
U sure?
Yup. How r u? I asked, changing the subject. It was a minute before she got back.
Hoping u r free this wkend. Brian & Kevin r coming, and I need u 4 backup.
I grinned. Brian and Kevin were two of her closest childhood friends. I myself was new to town, only having met her this year in acting class. We hit it off, and became best friends by the start of second semester.
Am free. Need a ride, though. I texted back. Outside my door came an angry roar from my brother as he stormed up the steps, and the inevitable slam of his door. I heard another door close in the basement, thanks to the vents, and felt a pang of anger that I knew how these arguments between my mom and brother played out. The normal person didn't have that memorized.
The boys can pick u up on their way through. Txt them. Tara shot back. I almost broke out laughing. Like I would have any boys number, even if I was technically friends with them.
Don't have their #s. Can u do it 4 me? I asked.
Srsly? I'll txt u their numbers. She told me. A couple seconds went by, before the numbers appeared on my screen.
~Elaine, The Epic Turtle~
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