Status: Active! Two more chapters left...
Elena.
You Are What You Drink-04
I spent the rest of the day watching TV as it started to darken. The park was a couple blocks away, so I decided to change into some clothes (I was still wearing my PJ's) and head out. We lived in a quiet neighborhood, and I'd walked this late to the park before, so I knew I was safe.
It was nice outside. The clouds were purple with a hint of pink cast over them as the sun set. It wasn't cold outside, but I needed a light sweater to stay warm. I was surprised to find a couple of people still at the park, finishing their walk and playing basketball under a couple of bright lights that illuminated the court, as well as most of the park the other half of the park was poorly lit. I blamed the kids that broke some of the lights. I walked around the park in circles until it bored me. Instead of walking, I got on one of the creaking swings after checking if it was sticky. I kicked myself off the ground and kept my legs in a steady rhythm which made a small creaking sound each time; back and forth, back and forth. As I started to get higher and higher, I could see over the trees and towards the now-multi-color city.
It was in such a peaceful state that I lost track of time, but I returned to my senses when the lights at the basketball court shut down. The park was almost pitch black if it wasn't for the moon and some lights here and there. I knew that must have meant it was around 10pm. I looked around to watch the remaining people which started to gather their things and leave. The one and only thing that confused me was that even though most of the lights were off, I could see everything clearly...it was as if someone had turned the light off in a room in the daytime, yet everything was as clear as before but you just knew the light wasn't on.
The walk back home was short and uneventful. I walked upstairs reluctantly because I knew it was extremely late, and I knew what was going to happen as soon as I walked through that door.
"Where where you? You know I don't like you being out this late, especially alone!" Mom fumed. I told her that I'd lost track of time, and when she finally calmed down she advised me not to do it again if I didn't want to be punished. After some time without either one of us talking to one another, Mom spoke up.
"You look better..." She said casually as she made her way to her bedroom. I was watching television, so i turned the volume down.
"So...can I go to school tomorrow?" I asked. She stopped whatever she was doing in the other room and walked over to our garage and came back with what I recognized as the orange bottle of...something she had given me before. She told me that if I wanted to go to school tomorrow, that I would have to take that with me or else I was going to get sick again like I was before.
"What is it?" I asked staring at the plastic bottle. "Its medicine," she replied, "It'll make you feel better, just take it whenever you get hungry."
"Can't I eat anything else?" She shrugged and sat down by me on the couch.
"You could...but it won't satisfy your hunger."
"But this is just water...right?" I said tapping the bottle. I smirked then, thinking how funny this conversation was, as well as the reddish black liquid, the sun sensitivity, the white skin, the Liquid "satisfying my hunger"...It was as if i was a vampire. How funny is this? She still hadn't replied my question. I was losing my patience so I continued.
"Alright...well i have to wait for Friday, don't I?" She nodded. She patted my lap before she went back to the garage with another bottle, but this time, it was clear. I looked at it closely in the light and saw that it was really red, blood red. She told me to drink it if I was hungry, took the orange bottle from me and put it in the fridge (where I would take it home to school tomorrow), bid me goodnight and went to bed. I was going to reject the liquid after I'd looked at it, but after I opened the cap, the scent of it-would be impossible and pointless to describe how amazingly delicious it smelled. I was almost done drinking it when my mom came back.
"I almost forgot. Both of us know you aren't allowed to take medication unless you're at a nurses office at school, so just make sure no one sees you when you drink that."
"Okay then I guess," I finished my drink and walked back into the kitchen to throw the bottle away.
"And another thing," she said, "Whatever you do-please listen honey this is important-after you drink this, please wait a couple minutes before you go out in public again. I'll tell you why tomorrow, it's late." After that, I tried asking her all of the pressing questions I had (not about what happened at the park though, I shrugged it off thinking it was because of whatever she was having me drink that did that), so I asked her about my "sickness", The Liquid, and the visitors that just so happened to know about everything that was happening to me, but the only thing she said before getting in bed was: "You'll find out Friday." This was in three days, and I was grateful that they weren't going to go by as slow since I was going to go back to school tomorrow.
It was nice outside. The clouds were purple with a hint of pink cast over them as the sun set. It wasn't cold outside, but I needed a light sweater to stay warm. I was surprised to find a couple of people still at the park, finishing their walk and playing basketball under a couple of bright lights that illuminated the court, as well as most of the park the other half of the park was poorly lit. I blamed the kids that broke some of the lights. I walked around the park in circles until it bored me. Instead of walking, I got on one of the creaking swings after checking if it was sticky. I kicked myself off the ground and kept my legs in a steady rhythm which made a small creaking sound each time; back and forth, back and forth. As I started to get higher and higher, I could see over the trees and towards the now-multi-color city.
It was in such a peaceful state that I lost track of time, but I returned to my senses when the lights at the basketball court shut down. The park was almost pitch black if it wasn't for the moon and some lights here and there. I knew that must have meant it was around 10pm. I looked around to watch the remaining people which started to gather their things and leave. The one and only thing that confused me was that even though most of the lights were off, I could see everything clearly...it was as if someone had turned the light off in a room in the daytime, yet everything was as clear as before but you just knew the light wasn't on.
The walk back home was short and uneventful. I walked upstairs reluctantly because I knew it was extremely late, and I knew what was going to happen as soon as I walked through that door.
"Where where you? You know I don't like you being out this late, especially alone!" Mom fumed. I told her that I'd lost track of time, and when she finally calmed down she advised me not to do it again if I didn't want to be punished. After some time without either one of us talking to one another, Mom spoke up.
"You look better..." She said casually as she made her way to her bedroom. I was watching television, so i turned the volume down.
"So...can I go to school tomorrow?" I asked. She stopped whatever she was doing in the other room and walked over to our garage and came back with what I recognized as the orange bottle of...something she had given me before. She told me that if I wanted to go to school tomorrow, that I would have to take that with me or else I was going to get sick again like I was before.
"What is it?" I asked staring at the plastic bottle. "Its medicine," she replied, "It'll make you feel better, just take it whenever you get hungry."
"Can't I eat anything else?" She shrugged and sat down by me on the couch.
"You could...but it won't satisfy your hunger."
"But this is just water...right?" I said tapping the bottle. I smirked then, thinking how funny this conversation was, as well as the reddish black liquid, the sun sensitivity, the white skin, the Liquid "satisfying my hunger"...It was as if i was a vampire. How funny is this? She still hadn't replied my question. I was losing my patience so I continued.
"Alright...well i have to wait for Friday, don't I?" She nodded. She patted my lap before she went back to the garage with another bottle, but this time, it was clear. I looked at it closely in the light and saw that it was really red, blood red. She told me to drink it if I was hungry, took the orange bottle from me and put it in the fridge (where I would take it home to school tomorrow), bid me goodnight and went to bed. I was going to reject the liquid after I'd looked at it, but after I opened the cap, the scent of it-would be impossible and pointless to describe how amazingly delicious it smelled. I was almost done drinking it when my mom came back.
"I almost forgot. Both of us know you aren't allowed to take medication unless you're at a nurses office at school, so just make sure no one sees you when you drink that."
"Okay then I guess," I finished my drink and walked back into the kitchen to throw the bottle away.
"And another thing," she said, "Whatever you do-please listen honey this is important-after you drink this, please wait a couple minutes before you go out in public again. I'll tell you why tomorrow, it's late." After that, I tried asking her all of the pressing questions I had (not about what happened at the park though, I shrugged it off thinking it was because of whatever she was having me drink that did that), so I asked her about my "sickness", The Liquid, and the visitors that just so happened to know about everything that was happening to me, but the only thing she said before getting in bed was: "You'll find out Friday." This was in three days, and I was grateful that they weren't going to go by as slow since I was going to go back to school tomorrow.