Beep! Beep! Beep!
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Beep! Beep! Beep!
"Mmm…"
I began to mumble. Who wouldn't? I've never seen anything as torturous as waking up early for school. Especially considering I stayed up until 3 AM preparing for today's test, waking up felt even more unbearable.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Beep! Beep! Beep!
"Daniel, wake up! You're late for class!"
I heard a voice. It was unmistakably Mom. As always, she rose before everyone else to get us ready.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Why did I even set this alarm? It's more harm than help. I bought it thinking I'd wake myself up early, but Mom still has to drag me out of bed.
As I was thinking this, the bedroom door creaked open. I turned my face toward the door, squinting my eyes since I couldn't fully open them yet. Somehow, I knew it was Mom. She approached, first silencing the alarm then placing hands on her hip, standing beside my bed to call me again.
"Danieeeel! Get up. You're late. You still need to eat breakfast."
"Five more minutes,"
I muttered, pulling the blanket over my head.
Just then, I felt a hand yank the blanket off me.
"I said get up! If you hadn't wasted time gaming, you'd have finished your homework on time and wouldn't be this tired. Hurry! You can nap for an hour or two after school."
"Ugh."
"Stop groaning. Move."
With that, Mom left the room, leaving the door slightly ajar. Not close, not open. AJAR. Why? Just close it all the way! Is that so hard?
The sudden loss of the blanket left me shivering, and I didn't even want to pull it back over myself. If I tried, she'd probably hover over me until I got dressed and went to eat.
Reluctantly, I sat up in bed. For a moment, my eyes fixated on the carpet's intricate patterns. Ten seconds later, I heard another voice:
"Daniel, are you awake?"
"Yeah, getting dressed."
"Hurry up. We've already started eating."
Of course, they haven't. The clock was right beside me. I knew exactly when we usually eat breakfast, but for some reason, she insisted on this charade every morning. As if there were any other way to wake me up.
Tearing my gaze from the carpet's "magnificent" patterns, I stood and shuffled toward the chair. I grabbed my clothes from the backrest and got dressed, but one of my socks was missing again.
"Where the heck is it?" I said to myself with a tired morning voice.
First, I bent down to check under the bed. Nothing. Under the chair? Still nothing. I wasn't even fully awake, why do I have to put up with this?
"Mom, have you seen my other sock?" I called out, clinging to hope.
"Wherever you took it off last."
She replied with no delay. What answer did I expect? Classic.
Resigned to sock defeat, I tugged my pants higher and felt something strange against my left leg. When I reached down, I realized what it was. In my exhausted haze last night, I'd left the sock inside my pants leg. How didn't I notice it while getting dressed?
After putting on the rogue sock, I left my room and headed to the bathroom, which is just two steps away.
I washed my hands and face, then squeezed the nearly empty toothpaste tube. Nothing came out. Yep, it's totally empty. I tossed it into the trash bin on the left and grabbed a new tube box from the shelf beside the mirror. I took the tube from the box, threw the box away, unscrewed the cap, and squirted toothpaste onto my toothbrush.
"I look like I've been run over. Gotta comb my hair" I thought.
But as I brushed, a weird sensation hit me. It felt like I wasn't using toothpaste at all. I pulled the brush out of my mouth and realized that I really wasn't using toothpaste.
"What?" I said to myself.
"I definitely used toothpaste."
I reached for the tube on the sink, but it was gone.
"Huh?"
I crouched to check the floor. Nothing was there.
Where'd it go? For a split second, I wondered if I was dreaming. I bit my thumb to check it. Not dreaming, but maybe still half-asleep? I touched my face. Still damp from washing. If I wasn't asleep or dreaming, where was the toothpaste?
I opened the shelf, thinking I'd misplaced it. Inside was the new tube's box that I threw a minute ago.
"Wait, am I hallucinating?"
I opened it and froze. The box was not empty. My toothbrush was inside of it.
For ten solid seconds, I stared in disbelief. How? If the box here and my toothbrush is inside it, what I was brushing my teeth with?
I looked at my other hand to see I am holding the toothpaste tube I threw before.
"Guess the simulation's glitching," I joked to myself, though it explained nothing.
I shrugged it off, reorganized everything, and brushed properly. Then I headed to the kitchen. As expected, no one had started eating yet and my brother wasn't there. He was probably sleeping since he didn't have school today. Mom was setting tea on the table.
"Why aren't you eating? Hurry up," mom told to everyone.
"You too, come and sit."
Dad replied to mom as he was reaching for the bread basket.
"I'm not lazy like you. I've already eaten. I will just have a tea"
After saying this to us, mom turned to my sister.
"Diana, how many classes do you have today?"
"Two. Then I'm going to the movies with the girls," she replied.
Knew it. A movie she was expecting for a long time was airing.
"Go tomorrow. You're coming to the salon with me today," said my mom.
"Fine," Diana said flatly. I doubted she was thrilled, but she'd never admit it.
"There's a football match tomorrow," dad looked at me while talking.
"You know that, right?"
"Yeah, but tickets are pricey." I replied.
"Don't worry about that. I have them already. I'll leave work early to pick you up, and we'll go together."
"Awesome." I said.
I really wanted to see the game. This could be only thing that would made me forget the bathroom incident. It wasn't a big deal but, still weird enough to remember.
"Hurry!" Mom warned again.
"I'm done. Gonna change and head to uni" Diana said.
"Be ready in 15 minutes. We'll leave together," dad told her.
"Sure" she replied as she went to her room.
Diana hated buses and metros, so she jumped at Dad's offer. She'd been begging for a car, but dad promised one only if she aced her exams and got her license. This explained her recent grind.
But I didn't need a car. My school was a 10-minute walk, and I rarely went out—just home, school, and occasionally the PlayStation club. And come on, I am still 16.
"If you're done, get ready" mom told me while taking a frozen chicken out of the fridge. Looks like we are eating chicken at lunch.
Dad stood up, walked to door. Grabbed his shoes from the rack and headed out.
"I'll be downstairs," he announced. This was his typical routine: post-breakfast smoke, then work.
"I'll be there in five" Diana lied. We all knew it'd take longer.
"Bye" dad said, shutting the door.
I finished eating, went to my room, changed into my uniform, and packed my bag. I didn't do it last night because I was too tired.
Suddenly, I found two math books. Must've grabbed my desk partner's by mistake.
"It happens" I thought to myself as I put it in my bag to give it back to him.
I exited my room and as I grabbed my shoes from shoe rack, I froze. Dad's work shoes were still there. But he should have left wearing them.
I went to my room to see him through the window. Yet he was wearing his work shoes.
How? He only owns three pairs: work, formal, casual. All distinct!
I went to the kitchen with a confused expression.
"Mom, did Dad buy a duplicate of his work shoes?"
"When's he ever bought shoes? I buy them." mom said.
True. Dad never shopped. Mom even bought his clothes for him.
"He left but his work shoes. They're still here."
"What? He went out barefoot? Call him back!" said mom with slight panic in her voice.
"No! He's wearing them. I saw him. But these are here too. Did you buy second pair when you went on shopping last week?"
"No! We didn't buy shoes!"
Mom grabbed her phone, dialing dad.
"Arthur, are you wearing your work shoes?" she asked as soon as dad answered.
A second of silence.
"But they're here! Did you buy a pair?"
Again, a silence.
"Okay, I will check again. Maybe it's an old pair." she said before hanging up.
"Maybe it's an old one," mom said.
As she said this, her face expression changed slightly.
"Diana, what happened to your 'five minutes'? Dad's waiting!"
Diana opened her door.
"Coming!"
She went to rack next to door to grab her shoes.
Just then, a hand touched my right shoulder.
Wait, there shouldn't be anyone behind me!