Writing Contest Entry

[climbing{the}world]

It was autumn. I usually love autumns. The leaves, and the pumpkins. It just smells like happy, if happy had a scent. I don’t like this autumn. This autumn my Mother got in a car crash, and she has been in the hospital for the entire season. She told me, in the hoarse voice she as now adapted; I should go live with my father out in the country for a while. Rural Wyoming. Gee, that’s new. This fear, though. I just have this fear tugging at me. I think there may be a reason why my Dad doesn’t live with us. He has an online job, working for a petty insurance company. The only thing they can insure now is that he is my Dad, and not some stranger, and that I won’t be here forever. It feels like I will, though. Everything looks the same here, there is no real life. Everyone is boring. My Mom just told me to settle down, and ignore the fear. She said the trouble could just drown my head, and then…. Then she said to know I’m not alone. She said he would make this place my home.

I’m unpacking now. My Dad is letting me sleep in the guest bedroom. Its small, with plain grey walls and dark, wooden floors. When I look out the window, the only one in the room of course, I see the weather matches my feelings. Its grey outside, even darker then the bedroom walls. The clouds are going as slow as ever thought possible across the sky. The clouds were my Dad, and the sun was my Mother. This was awful. I hate to admit it, but I will say... last night I cried. I cried so hard. I cried a waterfall of nothingness, that meant nothing to anybody but me. I am so horribly alone.

I am taking off school for my little ‘vacation’ so I have a crap-load of free time. I mean, it’s not like my Dad is going to take off work to be with his only daughter. I would hardly expect that, now wouldn’t I? My Mom said to stay here for at least a month. It’s the second day here. 29 more days of restlessness to go. So I think I need to burn off some fuel. I’m heading into town today, and by town I mean Salt Lake City, Wyoming. It’s small, as you would expect from a place in Wyoming, but I’m used to the rural mountains and fields that frequent the state. I would find it comforting on a normal day. But it’s not a normal day, so ho hey, let’s stroll into town. My Mom can barely text, but she texted me last night. She said ‘Don’t let the demons fill you with fear. I will make that place your home.’ With a heart. Now I’m selfish, don’t know if you noticed.

Salt Lake City was actually slightly interesting. It had more shops then what we had been to in Riverton. After all, it was technically a city. I spent around 20 dollars on a shirt, and some snacks. I just walked around until I got lost, then I called a taxi and came back to the house. Yeah, the house. Not home. This? This is not home.

I spent the next day in town. I was at a little restaurant for lunch, and when I walked outside, I saw this shop. Not a Gap. Not Aeropostale. It was a pet store. My first thought was how much I would bother my Dad if I got a pet. Then I remembered how lonely I was, and walked in with my hand in my pocket clenched around a 40 dollar bill.

The clerk at the pet shop had been very nice. It did not look like the place got business too often. I had a cat back when I lived with my Mom, but he died when I was 11. Now I’m 16, and lonely. I need something to be lonely with me, or something along the lines of being there as I cry. Yeah. That sounds nice.
“Hi. Is there anything I can help you with?” The employee did not have a western accent, as one would think, but she sounded more like she came from New York. At least, that my guess, since it says Cindy from New York on her nametag.
“I’m staying in town for a month, and… I guess I need a pal to hang out with. What kind of animals do you have here?” My gaze wandered around the store as I spoke. There was a dark room with a lot of dim lights coming out of it to my right, and a big glass pen on my left. I didn’t have time to look behind me, because she started to talk again.
“Well, in the dark room over there,” She nodded her head towards my right. “We have reptiles and a few amphibians. Over there, in that glass pen, we have about 5 puppies at the moment.” Cindy looked almost too happy to be working at a pet store. The weak smile on her face told me she was trying too hard. The flickering lights, white checkered floors, and obscene yellow walls gave me the same thought.
“I’ll just take a look around, thanks.” The dark room really was not for me. The turtles were cool, but the snakes and lizards crept me out a lot. The puppies were really cute. Apparently they were boxer mixes, but I was not too interested in having a happy-go-lucky companion. I need something quiet.
“What else do you guys have here?” I called from the kennel. I did not want to see Cindy’s fake smile any more then I already have. It was too happy, it made me said. Sort of hard to explain, but still.
“We have 3 cats on the left of the dogs, and we have a few small animals to the right of the dark room!” Cindy was a little too enthusiastic about her job, if you must know. I went immediately to the cats. I had a cat before, I figured I could take care of one again. I mean, I was 7 then, but still. I could muster up something from my memory, if I tried hard enough. But the cats they had were just okay. Not the kind of cat that would keep my tears away. I nearly died when I saw the small animals, they were so adorable. All animals are quite cute to me, but I am not the kind of person that gets all mushy gushy around babies and unicorns and stuff. I just wasn’t. My Mother used to call me tough, like nails. I think I’m less like nails, more like metal. Nails have dents. Metal is smooth, cold, and boring. Yep, that’s me. Over here! Miss Boring, of course.

I ended up getting a large grey rabbit with floppy white ears. Her name was Flo. Yeah, like from the insurance commercials, but it was cute on her. Again, not the mushy gushy type. Yet I have to admit, she was pretty darn cute. I got her cage free when I bought her, and 20% off her supplies. I must say, that Pet Shop isn’t as bad as I thought it was. I’m keeping her in my room, and I seriously doubt my Dad will notice. I mean, if he is so absorbed in his own life that he doesn’t notice that his only daughter brought a rabbit into his house and will now permanently stay in my room. Gee, I would never notice. Yeah, right!

I stayed home for the third, fourth and fifth day. I mostly sat with Flo. She was really friendly, and I could, like, talk to her. It’s not like she replied, but even so, I could speak to someone. Because when you speak to yourself about something negative, something you think is bad, you’re going to get a negative opinion back. ‘Cause you’re talking to yourself. My Mother said I was a deep thinker. And that my second language was sarcasm. Yeah… woah. What just happened? I think… yeah, I think so. I think I just laughed. I think I just had a happy moment.

Flo is doing really good. On my sixth day here I spent the entire day with her. I was surprised with her calm nature. It was very assuring. Because as of right now, even my Mother could not ensure my sanity. I think both Flo and I felt trapped in my old room, so I ran out to the Pet Store, bought a little travel cage for Flo’s safety, and strapped her inside. Flo was pretty big, but she fit with room to spare. I went into town that day. I think some people actually noticed me, but probably only because I was carrying a rabbit around like a Tiffany purse. I was practically flaunting Flo around,. I just felt so good. It felt like I was in pre-school and I had just made a friend. Who would not want to show off the fact that they had made a friend? Exactly.

While I am away from my Mother my head is like a journal. I am literally telling oyu everything, whoever ‘you’ happens to be. You don’t even know my name. If you were curious, which I doubt you were, my name is Tralene. I don’t think my last name is any of oyur business, but my first name is Tralene. Kind of odd, yeah, but my Mother said I’m odd. So I needed an odd name. I suppose she was correct, and I like being able to write my name on my papers and stuff. It makes me feel like somebody. Today is my seventh day with my Dad. Believe it or not, he came back to the house last night. Something about quality family time and stuff, but all he did was play Angry Birds on his phone. Not even two player games, which upset me quite a bit. After a while I just crept up to my room. He, of course, notice but did not come in to say goodnight until much later. When he saw Flo sitting in her cage, he went quiet for a moment. Then he just nodded his head, and said g’night. He also said something else, something I was not expecting to hear. He said he loved me. Then I heard something else I was not expecting to hear. I said I loved him, too.

I woke up and nearly had a heart attack. Flo was not in my room. I slammed my door shut as I flew down the steps, jumping down the last four. My dad was sitting the den, and glanced at me as I came downstairs. I gave him the evil eye, but he just sat there. In this gloomy room. In this gloomy place. I started talking, but I am so numb right now I… wow… this is all jumbled up! This is crazy! I don’t even know who I am talking to you, if you are reading this, who you are… this is awful! My Mother was in a freaking car crash, and I was sent to this horrible place where your Father ignores you then takes away the things you love most! Just… Just, dang it, give me some time! Half a minute, please!

I’ve sorted things out. A lot. I know what I want to tell you, and what I don’t think is too important. Last month, in June, my Mother Teresa got in a car accident driving home from work. She was on a back road, and the car in front of her stepped on the brakes for a deer. My Mom, at least, didn’t get the worst part of it. The man in the first car was killed. He just hit his head before the air-bags shot out, and he was just gone. IT was like a pencil snapping in two. One moment it was whole, and then it was broken. My Mom was saved by the airbag, but her seat-belt snapped, and her arm was caught in it. I mean, that is what the doctors said. But I think (even if I am 17 years old) they didn’t tell me something. My Mom did more than simply break an arm, or I wouldn’t even be here right now. So I’ll just pretend she is fine, right? No. Never.

Okay, so now that Flo is gone, I’m giving him the silent treatment. No good-nights. No ‘I love you’ or anything like that. He told me not to go to the Pet Store and buy him, but I went anyway. Cindy took her fake smile off for me, and gave me a real sympathetic look.
“Sorry, ma’am. You can still visit Flo, but he is no longer for sale.” Her voice was like knives on in my ears. It was hard to listen to. She could’ve kept going on about the responsibility of pets, but I walked back to where the rabbits were and marveled at him. I seriously doubt Flo recognized me, but I sure did recognize him. He was my saving grace, my angel, now caged and alone. I have no angel now.

This is absolutely crazy. Last night I got in a huge argument with my Dad. He says I should get off my butt; he didn’t word it like that, but still, and get a job. I don’t really think I should find a job. I mean, I’m living in this town for 20 more days, so why burden an employment with my hastiness? Exactly. I told my Dad those words exactly, and he said the only burden there was had been me.

I have a couple things cleared up. I was angry at my Dad, so I rented- and I still had money to spare, believe it or not- a room in a hotel, and then I bought Flo. It is something my Mother would not have been proud of, but I did it anyway. This is the kind of anger that does not wear off with an ‘I’m sorry’ hug. It is the kind that wears off with defiance. The hotel is pretty nice, and much nicer then my Dad’s guest room. It had a small queen sized bed, flat-screen TV, a dark wooden table for Flo and a nice mini-kitchen. I only stayed there part of my time. The entire other part of my time was spent on pretending to be on another planet where Dads don’t hate you, Mother’s never get hurt, and rabbits are required pets. Yeah. That sounds like perfection.

[climbing{the}world]

Oh my goodness, I love choo for third place, I never dreamed that much! <3