Turn Back Time

Three hours had passed since I'd walked into Alex's new house, and in that time, all I had done was count the number of times I heard barking from the neighbors' yard. I was up to 176. I was half-expecting this dog to have keeled over from lack of oxygen to the brain, but apparently, it had more tolerance for this shit than I though.

Alex had disappeared in his bedroom, probably handling some kind of conference call, having taken the day to pick me up from the airport, and show me around town. So much for that.

I took a quick glance at the clock, seeing that it was nearly seven-thirty, and all sorts of people would be arriving soon for this terribly organized, make-shift barbeque and welcome party in my honor. Excuse me if I'm a bit less than enthused.

I'd never been good at meeting new people. I was always over-analzying every word said, and every motion made by these strangers, and could never be expected to give that put that kind of energy into actually holding conversation with them. I was much better off eavesdropping-- a terrible, and addictive habit I'd picked up from my mother while out in public places.

"The bathroom upstairs is free if you want to freshen up, or powder your nose... or something."

The sudden voice nearly giving me a heart attack, I whirled around from the spot I'd taken by the window. "Oh, thanks." I said awkwardly, before scooting around Alex to get my bags. I meandered up the stairs, and down the hallway. There were four rooms on the top floor, other than the bathrooms, and I wondered how out of all of these, there was no guest bedroom. For most people, that'd be considered completely ridiculous, and poorly planned, but knowing my brother and his girlfriend, they were either completely maxed out with his computer equipment, or the astounding amount of art supplies Elise owned.

She had yet to reach 30, and was almost completely opposite of my brother. She loved adventure, and being spontaneous. She was an art major, with a knack for playing the bongos. She was really kind of amazing to me, and I couldn't help but wonder why someone that cool would ever choose Alex, the conservative engineer, over all of the hipsters and beatniks she hung out with.

I looked at the walls, and flooring, deciding that there was no possible way she had any say in the decor. White walls, wooden floors with no rugs whatsoever, and black and white photography of plants in plain photo frames. My eyes were practically drying out just looking at the normality of it all.

I closed the bathroom door behind me, and stared at the shower. There were three knobs, all perfectly spaced in a row, above the bath faucet. Three knobs, I thought, was just over-zealous manufacturing. Ignoring the fact that I had no idea what I was doing, I turned on all three at once, and casually side-stepped into the shower after removing my clothes. I could feel the hot water burning my skin to the point where it was going numb.

"Holy fucking shit mother of pearl!" I shouted, slamming my hands down on the faucet. I turned them all in different directions, hoping the searing heat would change from tear-inducing, to something that wouldn't result in me needing skin grafts.

The water then switched to glacial temperatures. I pursed my lips, clenching my fists, and giving the knobs the most devilish glare I could muster up. There was a knock on the door, followed by the expected, "Everything all right in there, Maddie?"

"I'm just peachy. Thanks for the concern." I shouted back, my teeth chattering as I resumed working on the temperature crisis.

"I probably should've warned you sooner, but we're having problems with the water heater. I'd suggest waiting a few minutes for the heat to go down before stepping in."

I could feel my face going blank. My eyes were burning a hole through the shower curtain, through the door, and directly into my oblivious brother's face. If only I could blow things up with my mind.

"Anything else you want to inform me with, about five minutes too late?"

Alex was laughing at me now, "Yeah. It's going to get pretty fucking icy in there right about now... Turn the middle knob off. It doesn't do anything but make the water hotter than hell."

I let out a frustrated scream, and jumped out of the shower. "I'm so not dealing with this right now!" I grabbed my towl, and furiously dried my hair to the best of my ability. I threw on a change of clothes, and opened the door to Alex doubled over, reveling in every fucking second of my misfortune.

I narrowed my eyes, "Now is there anything you want to let me know about the blow dryer? It's not going to shoot out flames, or anything, is it? No acidic spray you want to warn me about?"

He shook his head, biting his lip, and I quickly closed the door before he could say anything. I dug through the cabinets under the sink, and pulled out the blow dryer. As soon as it was plugged in, and turned on, I heard my brother's voice once again.

"Uh, you might want to hurry up. People are starting to show up.." I heard him jogging down to the front door, probably trying to get a running start before I attempted to kill him. I quickly combed out my hair, slipped on a pair of shoes, and threw my clothes into the hamper near the linen closet.

"Fuck my life." I muttered, tossing my hair over my shoulder, and heading down the stairs.