Prompt #2 | Mamaparri | 1,216 words (according to
this website)!
(There is a bit of a mystery in this one too, let me know if you solved them!)
Good luck to all who enter ! ( o v o )/
- - - - - - - -
Looking in the mirror,
I barely recognised the
person
staring back.
The happy go-lucky gleam
of my eyes,
the smile that my mother
always told me would
scare away even the fiercest
of storms,
both replaced by
a broken stare.
My eyes snap away
from my reflection,
and I bury
my head in my hands.
I'd like to say
that I felt scared,
mortified,
sad even,
but the truth is,
I felt
nothing
at all.
It's as if
I've developed
a disease
that I couldn't
cure.
A disease
that I didn't
know how
to cure.
Day 1
I know it's weird,
but I've been documenting
nearly every moment
of my life
on this tape recorder.
Every moment,
except for
that night.
...
The car ride to school
used to be light, and
filled with laughter and
jokes.
The radio would be
blaring,
The windows would be
down,
and the wind would
be slapping my face.
But after what happened
last week,
it would never be
the same.
The driver up front glanced
at me from his
rearview mirror,
and offers a sympathetic
smile,
"Are you nervous
for your first day, lad?"
My eyes don't
meet his
and
I shrug.
I didn't feel nervous,
how could I,
if I am
so
numb?
Day 2
Hey, tape recorder,
I couldn't focus in school,
my mind would
keep wandering back
to that
horrific night.
It all seemed so real,
the blood,
the denial,
the emotions that
poured out of
me
until I
ran
dry.
I snap back
to reality
and my
breakfast
lurches out.
Day 3
Hey, tape recorder,
I wasn't surprised
when everyone
avoided me
after I had barfed
all over my desk.
So I was particularly
stunned
when a girl plopped her
lunch tray
next to mine.
She took a large
bite off her apple
and didn't seem to
notice
the eyes and whispers
behind her back.
Instead, she asks me
what I ate
to make myself sick.
Day 10
Hey, tape recorder,
the girl I told you about
a week ago,
sat next
to me
every
single
day.
Her conversations
would take my mind
off of that
gloomy night.
And I somehow
find myself
relieved.
Day 13
Hey, tape recorder,
The cab ride
to school was heavier
than usual.
The driver was quiet,
his expression was
grim,
and his
whisper was
soft and sad,
"Lad, yesterday night,
I've lost someone dear
to me,"
...
So have I.
Day 23
Hey, tape recorder,
The girl had given me
a small doodle
of me battling
a dragon.
I taped it to my locker.
And
whenever I
see it,
a small smile
would play on
my lips.
Day 26
Hey, tape recorder,
I can't sleep.
I had woken up
with a start,
soaked in cold shivers
and sweat.
My head was pounding
with my thumping heart,
and my throat was
parched and dry.
I had gotten out of
bed and splashed
my face with cold water
in hopes of washing
away the images
of my
parents.
Now, I lay on
my bed, talking to my
tape recorder,
and for some
reason,
thinking about
the girl.
Day 30
Hey, tape recorder,
the girl bought a
giant textbook
with her to lunch.
She asked me if I had
studied for the Algebra
test next week,
and when I
shook my head,
she grinned and turned
to page
a hundred and sixty-four.
Day 37
Hey, tape recorder,
The cab driver
would always try
to get me
to talk
by asking questions
like,
"How was your
day today,
lad?"
And I would always
reply with shrugs
and nods.
So imagine the
look on his face
when I had answered,
"I got an A on my
algebra test today,"
Day 43
Hey, tape recorder,
the girl was not
at lunch today.
I tried to smother
my disappointment
as I dumped my tray
and headed
to the library
to study for my
history test.
As I rounded
the hallway,
I heard footsteps,
then her voice,
"I've done what you've
asked, Principal B.
I've befriended him,
I've hung out with him,
and I helped him
bring his scores up,"
I knew
I shouldn't be
eavesdropping,
but
my feet
were glued.
The principal replied,
clearly pleased,
"Great, I'll reward
you ten extra
credit points for
each month you're
willing to stay his friend."
There was silence
as their footsteps
got closer.
The floor
somehow seemed
as if it were
spinning.
"But I don't
want
the points,
I don't
want
to be his friend
anymore."
The words
were like
bullets.
Kinda like
the
bullets
that had
taken
the life
of
my parents.
My hands balled
into fists
and I lean on
the wall to steady
myself.
I can't
believe
I had really
thought
that she
wanted
anything
to do
with
a freak
like
me.
Day 47
Hey, tape recorder,
I am
empty.
I am still sick
with a disease
that I cannot cure.
The cab driver
came to check up
on me,
he asked me if I
was taking
a separate cab
to school now.
I just shook my
head.
He asked me if
I was alright,
and I replied,
"I thought I was."
Then I slammed
the door
on his
confused face.
Day 48
Hey, tape recorder,
I decided to go out
for a walk.
I wasn't helping
myself if I just
stayed at the
house all day long.
But again,
I wasn't helping
myself by
excluding school.
That's different though.
I slipped on my jacket
and out the front
door.
The air was chilly,
and I inhaled
a sharp breath.
I hadn't even walked
from my porch
when I spot
the girl
with the cab-driver
staring at me.
I quickly pivot
and fumble with
my keys,
I'll take a walk
tomorrow.
"Wait!"
She yells,
running up to me.
I stick the key
into the hole,
and twist.
She grabs my
arm as the door
gives in,
and
asks
a single word,
"Why?"
I freeze.
That was
the same question
I had asked
when
my parents
were murdered.
I look up at
her face,
and suddenly
exploded
into tears.
I couldn't stop
them,
it was as if the
weight of
my parents' death
and a friend's
betrayal had
finally crushed
my fragile shell
of a body.
"I already know
that we were
never friends."
I told her, wiping furiously
at my tears,
embarrassed.
"I already know
that you never
thought of me
as one."
She watched me
as I collected myself.
Her eyes
never left
my face as
she replied,
"I never wanted
those extra credit points,
and
I never thought of
you as a friend,
I thought
of you
as something more."
I...
I didn't know
what else
to say,
so I
barely
choke
out a whisper,
"Prove it,"
She grinned,
I thought
she was going
to laugh,
to tell me that
I was an idiot,
to tell me that
I meant
nothing to her.
But no,
she leaned in
and kissed me.
I felt something
blossoming
in my chest.
And I knew,
that I
found
the cure
to my disease,
the cure
to the numbness
and the emptiness
that had
slowly been
eating me away.
For the first
time in so long,
I felt emotions,
and not
the empty void
that had eaten them up.
- - - - - - - - - -
<3 <3 <3