Word Vomit
Chapter 01
The piercing silence in the dead of night as I'm laying in my bed, tossing, turning; unable to comfort myself. The soft buzz of the air is the only sound penetrating through my ear drums as I stare into my cold, dark surroundings.
My chest is tight, and I consume sharp intakes of air to calm myself, the rattling of my ribcage subsiding as the cool oxygen filled my empty lungs, and as I sit up in the lonely bed I turn to stare out the window.
Maybe it was the light of the moon that kept me up at night. Maybe it was the stars that refused to shine through the clouds down on the small east coast town, blocked by the smog of factory machines, and decades of pollutants escaping into the thinning atmosphere.
Knowing that I wasn't going to be able to get sleep tonight, I climbed drowsily out of bed, dragging my body over to my computer that sat on the wobbly, oak desk in the corner of my room. I turned the monitor on. Following suite, I switch the lamp on next to me, allowing the dim light to fill my room, leaving dark shadows free to dance across my walls in tune with the branches that swayed outside my window.
A small ping sounded, making me jump slightly at the unexpected noise.
FrankieFURY says: Hey Gee, you up?
GeeGORE says: Of course.
There was nothing for a few, long moments and I considered going back to my bed to try and get at least an hour of long awaited sleep. I reached over the keyboard for the off button of the monitor when I received another ping.
FrankieFURY says: I can't sleep.
GeeGORE says: Yeah, me either. You want to come over?
FrankieFURY says: Sure. I'll be there in a couple of minutes.
GeeGORE says: OK, see you.
FrankieFURY has signed off.
A feeling of regret washed over me instantly as I turned my monitor off, making the silhouettes of my dancing companions darker than before. I was in for another long night of nothing, and suddenly felt very tired.
I stood up wearily from my chair and plopped onto my bed, bending my arms behind my head, and closing my scratchy, heavy eyes.
My body was in a semi-conscious sleep mode when I heard a near silent tapping on my bedroom window which startled me. I groaned, rolling over to pull the cracked, dirty blinds up, revealing a shivering, red faced Frank at my window.
“O-open u-up, I'm f-freezing!” his voice was mumbled against the frosted glass. I smirked at him, prolonging his wait at my window, and Frank glared at me, mouthing incomprehensible cursings.
I rolled my eyes and unlocked the window, pulling it up. Frank pushed back the thin mesh screen, and crawled through.
“You been watching Mr. Norton tonight?” Frank asked, sitting down on my bed to remove his snow-soaked boots.
“No, why?”
“Well look,” he said, pointing out of my open window. I moved closer and looked across the street, seeing a precarious Mr. Norton sitting in a lawn chair at the edge of the sidewalk. Frank and I stayed silent for a while, as curiosity took over. Every few minutes Mr. Norton would look down at the ground, and mumble something.
“What's he looking at, Frank?”
“I think he's looking at a smaller chair that's next to him.” Frank pulled the screen back to the latch and slammed the window shut, bringing together the dusty black curtains to block out the blackness of the early morning.
“Dude, he's creepy,” I said walking over to my dresser drawer and pulling out a pack of red Marlboro's. I pulled out one and stuck it between my lips, and then tossed another to Frank.
“Creepy is an understatement,” Frank said while trying to hold onto the carcinogen laced stick with his lips. “Anyone who sits outside with an empty lawn chair is far beyond creepy. They belong in the nut hous-”
I droned Frank out as he continued to mumble about the weird doings of my neighbor. Focusing my thoughts on Mr. Norton as I watched silently from my place on the bed, and looked out the semi parted curtains hanging in the window.
He stood up, cautiously folding the little yard chair and tucking it under his arm, then doing the same to his own. The garage door was already open, and he stepped into the darkness for a moment to put the chairs away before steeping back into the natural light of the moon. He stood there for a moment, soaking in his surroundings of early morning before disappearing into the darkness again.
I turned away and heard the faint slam of a door, and knew he finally went into his house.
I shuddered, “Jeez. I don't know what he was doing, but he finally went inside. ”
Frank took a long drag off of his cigarette and stared at me.
“Let's go find out, Nancy Drew,” he said, as he rolled his eyes and put out his cigarette in an empty soda can.
My chest is tight, and I consume sharp intakes of air to calm myself, the rattling of my ribcage subsiding as the cool oxygen filled my empty lungs, and as I sit up in the lonely bed I turn to stare out the window.
Maybe it was the light of the moon that kept me up at night. Maybe it was the stars that refused to shine through the clouds down on the small east coast town, blocked by the smog of factory machines, and decades of pollutants escaping into the thinning atmosphere.
Knowing that I wasn't going to be able to get sleep tonight, I climbed drowsily out of bed, dragging my body over to my computer that sat on the wobbly, oak desk in the corner of my room. I turned the monitor on. Following suite, I switch the lamp on next to me, allowing the dim light to fill my room, leaving dark shadows free to dance across my walls in tune with the branches that swayed outside my window.
A small ping sounded, making me jump slightly at the unexpected noise.
FrankieFURY says: Hey Gee, you up?
GeeGORE says: Of course.
There was nothing for a few, long moments and I considered going back to my bed to try and get at least an hour of long awaited sleep. I reached over the keyboard for the off button of the monitor when I received another ping.
FrankieFURY says: I can't sleep.
GeeGORE says: Yeah, me either. You want to come over?
FrankieFURY says: Sure. I'll be there in a couple of minutes.
GeeGORE says: OK, see you.
FrankieFURY has signed off.
A feeling of regret washed over me instantly as I turned my monitor off, making the silhouettes of my dancing companions darker than before. I was in for another long night of nothing, and suddenly felt very tired.
I stood up wearily from my chair and plopped onto my bed, bending my arms behind my head, and closing my scratchy, heavy eyes.
My body was in a semi-conscious sleep mode when I heard a near silent tapping on my bedroom window which startled me. I groaned, rolling over to pull the cracked, dirty blinds up, revealing a shivering, red faced Frank at my window.
“O-open u-up, I'm f-freezing!” his voice was mumbled against the frosted glass. I smirked at him, prolonging his wait at my window, and Frank glared at me, mouthing incomprehensible cursings.
I rolled my eyes and unlocked the window, pulling it up. Frank pushed back the thin mesh screen, and crawled through.
“You been watching Mr. Norton tonight?” Frank asked, sitting down on my bed to remove his snow-soaked boots.
“No, why?”
“Well look,” he said, pointing out of my open window. I moved closer and looked across the street, seeing a precarious Mr. Norton sitting in a lawn chair at the edge of the sidewalk. Frank and I stayed silent for a while, as curiosity took over. Every few minutes Mr. Norton would look down at the ground, and mumble something.
“What's he looking at, Frank?”
“I think he's looking at a smaller chair that's next to him.” Frank pulled the screen back to the latch and slammed the window shut, bringing together the dusty black curtains to block out the blackness of the early morning.
“Dude, he's creepy,” I said walking over to my dresser drawer and pulling out a pack of red Marlboro's. I pulled out one and stuck it between my lips, and then tossed another to Frank.
“Creepy is an understatement,” Frank said while trying to hold onto the carcinogen laced stick with his lips. “Anyone who sits outside with an empty lawn chair is far beyond creepy. They belong in the nut hous-”
I droned Frank out as he continued to mumble about the weird doings of my neighbor. Focusing my thoughts on Mr. Norton as I watched silently from my place on the bed, and looked out the semi parted curtains hanging in the window.
He stood up, cautiously folding the little yard chair and tucking it under his arm, then doing the same to his own. The garage door was already open, and he stepped into the darkness for a moment to put the chairs away before steeping back into the natural light of the moon. He stood there for a moment, soaking in his surroundings of early morning before disappearing into the darkness again.
I turned away and heard the faint slam of a door, and knew he finally went into his house.
I shuddered, “Jeez. I don't know what he was doing, but he finally went inside. ”
Frank took a long drag off of his cigarette and stared at me.
“Let's go find out, Nancy Drew,” he said, as he rolled his eyes and put out his cigarette in an empty soda can.