The Hint of a Spark

“Meow.”

Archibald was awake again and meowing loudly, his paws scratching against the bed. Kelsi had been trying to ignore the black and white cat, but when several minutes had gone by, she groaned and threw the blankets off of her body. She narrowed her hazel eyes at the animal, never having been a huge fan of the feline, and began walking out of her room, making her way towards the rear of the house.

“I am going to kill Alaska,” Kelsi muttered as she slid the porch door open, allowing the cat to run outside to his litter box.

Before having bought the house she and her best friend Alaska now lived in, they had started off living in a small, two bedroom apartment. After begging for nearly two weeks, Kelsi gave in to Alaska’s request to bring home the stray cat that had been hovering near her workplace. For some unknown reason, and much to Kelsi’s amusement, she had chosen to name the cat Archibald and within a short matter of time, they were able to train him to use the litter box that was kept in Alaska’s room. However, with their small space, the smell began to become overwhelming and running out of ideas, Alaska suggested placing his litter box on their balcony. It took a little while, but Archibald eventually learned to tap the glass when he had to use the restroom. Of course, the smell wasn’t a problem in their new home, but apparently, old habits are hard to break because Archibald still insisted on going outside to do his business.

The overweight cat came running back into the house and Kelsi slid the door shut, locking it once more. She let out a yawn and her orbs traveled to the clock on the kitchen stove, reading 4:30 AM. She dragged a hand down her face, realizing that she only had another two hours to sleep, and that was if she would even be able to. The sound of a door creaking open caught her attention, and she turned to the hallway, seeing her best friend emerge from its darkness. Her dark hair was wild with volume and with the way she was holding onto the hem of the much-too-big shirt on her frame, it was clear she didn’t have on any underwear.

Kelsi couldn’t help but to laugh, despite her irritation. “I’m guessing Matt’s still here?”

Alaska’s cheeks reddened with a blush and she nodded her head. “Yeah, he’s asleep. Did Archie wake you up?” she questioned and Kelsi nodded her head. “Fuck. I’m so sorry, Kels. I told Matt to make sure he was in the room before we fell asleep, but of course, he forgot.”

Kelsi shrugged, another yawn escaping past her lips. “I would’ve ignored him, but he had to use the bathroom. I’m gonna try and fall back asleep. I’ll see you in the morning, ‘Laska.”

“Night, Kelsi,” her friend smiled before collecting Archibald in her arms and returning to her bedroom.

Kelsi walked down the opposite hallway, slipping into her own room. She fell onto her mattress, snuggling back into her blankets and using one of her many extra pillows to wrap her arms around and pull into her chest. She stared at the wall in front of her for a moment, her eyes scanning over the many pinned up pictures. There seemed to be a pattern, she noticed, as in nearly every picture, Alaska was photographed with a boyfriend whilst she was only pictured amongst their other friends.

At twenty-five-years old, Kelsi could say without arrogance, that she was beautiful and felt it - most of the time. She had a good and wide range of taste in music and followed sports as much as any man she had ever met. She had been raised with manners and knew when to act like a ‘lady’, but she could also hold her liquor and curse like a sailor when she felt the need to do so. In Alaska’s words, she was ‘the total package’.

But, at twenty-five-years old, Kelsi could also say that she had never been in a relationship that had lasted longer than a year. And, really, she was tired of only having her pillow to hug at night. Hell, even Archibald had Alaska and Matt to cuddle in-between. Letting out a sigh, Kelsi closed her eyes and willed for sleep to come to her.