Sleep.

I need to sleep, why can’t I get to sleep? Shut my eyes. Don’t open them again, if you open them again you won’t be able to close them again and then you’ll never get to sleep. The rain outside is tapping against my window, tap, tap, tap. It’s annoying and I want it to go away. Why can’t the rain stop? I need to sleep, it’s night, surely the weather men know that. The rain is almost drowning out the clock on my wall, ticking. I glance up, there’s a little patch of light shining through a gap in the curtains – two o’clock. I went to bed hours ago. Why can’t I sleep. I’m worried. I know I’m worried. I didn’t do the work I was supposed to do. I don’t know why I didn’t, maybe I just didn’t want to, I had a week to do it and it needs to be on Mr Dean’s desk in eight hours. Eight hours is enough time, isn’t it? But I’m so tired. I would get up, start it and then fall asleep on my desk. Maybe I should try and do it, that means that at least I’ll get some sleep. Or maybe I could not go to school tomorrow, just go out in the morning, wander around until I know mum will be at work, then go home and leave again before she gets home. No I can’t do that. I know if I skip school once I’ll make it a habit. Sarah did that. I wonder how she is. She got her tongue pierced, I heard her parents tried to make her take it out. I should catch up with her soon. But what am I going to do about this work, or sleeping? Sleep is the most important thing. Go to sleep. My body needs to shut down, I feel like a computer trying to process a million things at once. No. All I need to think about is sleep. It’s still raining. The small light on in the corner of my room is getting annoying. Maybe I’ll turn it off, but that will make my body go straight back into action mode. I need my body in sleep mode. At least I’m relaxed, the light can stay on. I close my eyes. I can feel sleep taking over, nearly grabbing me before shying away again. Sleep.