Paint My Skies Black, I Never Wanna See The Sun Again

“Sunday! Do you ever stop taking pictures!?” my best friend Lynne said in exasperation.

“Of course I do,” I said impatiently, putting the camera down on the table. I pushed my bangs out of my face and turned my camera off. “I just wanna finish up the video I’m making, and I need pictures for that.”

She made a face.

Looking around Denny’s she wondered aloud, “Where are our smoothies?”

I sighed and took another picture. This time, a close-up of a salt-shaker.

Rolling her eyes, Lynne said, “Now, what’s so interesting about a salt-shaker?”

“It’ll all make sense when you see the video.” I replied with a smile.

“And even if it doesn’t, it’ll look pretty.”

I stuck my tongue out at her.

Just then a guy walked through the swinging doors in a Denny’s apron. With a smile plastered on his face, he served us our smoothies.

“Thank-“she began, but her sentence drifted off when she looked at him. Now, if you’ve ever seen those cheesy cartoons where the people – or sometimes even animals – look at each other for the first time, and then there are fireworks and mini cupids flying all over the place, then you’ll be able to picture what happened next.

I turned my attention back to my camera, looking at the pictures I’d already taken. I was used to Lynne by now. She was so prone to liking new guys – which made her vulnerable to getting her heart broken. I just hoped that this wouldn’t be the same.

After we finished our smoothies and after Lynne was done flirting, we paid the bill and got into her car; me with $3.56 less, and Lynne with the guy’s number.

~~

Back at my house, I was downloading the picture onto my laptop and photoshopping them. Lynne was right. I did take my camera everywhere, and was always taking pictures. But that’s because I never wanted to let an important moment pass by without documenting it and have it be forgotten forever.

Also, it was fun taking pictures.

I was listening to a new band that Lynne had told me about: All Time Low. They had recently gotten signed to a record company and was currently wrapping up their first tour. I tapped my foot along with the beat. Glancing at the screen on my iPod, I saw that the song I was listening to was We Say Summer.
Hmm. Good song.

I couldn’t wait for summer to come. The end of the school year was fast approaching and everyone – especially the seniors - were buzzing with excitement.

Finally, after years of studying and time that I could have spent doing other things, I would be free. I wasn’t so sure if college was the right path for me. I was considering taking a year or two off before I decided to do anything. But for now, I would have to stick with living with my mom.

I wanted to move out as soon as possible though. I lived in a tiny town. Population: even too small for me to care. There weren’t any hotels, or even motels around, with the next gas station being one town away.

A few hours later, I went downstairs to fix myself something to eat for dinner. My mother worked long hours, and I didn’t mind. It gave me freedom to do whatever the hell I liked. I just had to put up with making most of my own food.

As I was sticking a frozen pizza in the oven, I heard the groaning of an engine outside. Deciding to check what the noise was, I wiped my hands on a dish towel and made my way to the door. As I was about to open it, someone on the other side rang the doorbell and knocked.