Pulse
First Words
“Never again” Ivy sung softly to herself, scratching out line after line of lyrics in her decrepit spiral notebook. “Never again!” She smiled. Writing always made her feel better.
It was a cold October night, and Ivy was lying on her bed, writing by the light of a flashlight, singing in a whisper. That was the only time she could write nowadays, was at night. Her songs always felt too personal to share with the general public. She yawned, and rolled over, her bedsprings squeaking with the slight movement. She groaned and shut her notebook, tucking her pen inside to hold her spot amongst the tattered pages.
It was late. Again. And she had school tomorrow. Again. Ivy’s head pounded at the thought of another day in the hellish nightmare continuously referred to as the educational system. She took a glance at her digital alarm clock, and her mouth formed an “O” when she read the clear digital print. She had to read it several times to make sure her green eyes weren’t playing tricks on her. They weren’t.
5:37 AM. Wow. Had that much time really passed? It felt like just minutes. Time sure flies when you’re having fun.
Ivy groaned and pulled her weary body off of the mattress. “DAMMIT!” She cursed loudly, regretting it as she instantly remembered her already tainted karma. After all, what was the point in being angry over the past? At least that was what she was trying to tell herself.
“Elaine, honey?” she heard her mother coo from the hallway. “Are you awake?”
“Yes, Momma!” Ivy called out, rolling her eyes. Her mother was an amazing woman, but sometimes she forgot her daughter was sixteen, and not six. “I’m getting ready for school.”
“Alright, dear. I just heard you cry out and I thought something was wrong.”
“No, I’m OK.” Ivy rolled her eyes again, this time more out of pity than out of irritation. Again, her mother sometimes forgot she was a teenager. Who cursed. A lot.
Ivy pulled her sleepwear off and stepped into the warm water of her shower, letting the musky scent of her shampoo soothe her and wake her up.
“And you don’t even care...” she started to absentmindedly sing as she scrubbed her body clean.
“What I do to myself...” She rinsed her hair.
“Please stop and stare...” She stepped from the shower, wrapping a blue towel around herself as she hunted for her clothes.
“Look at the damage you have done.” She pulled her clothes over her slightly damp body, combed her hair, and walked over to the kitchen, where her mother was serving a full plate of waffles to her little brother, Randy. Lucky him. He got a normal name. And she was stuck with Elaine? That sounds like someone’s grandmother’s least popular bingo buddy.
“Oh, baby, I’m running a little late, so if-” you cut your mother off. She was always running late.
“It’s alright. I need to get to school early anyway. I’ll just drop off Randy at the elementary school, grab some breakfast, and go.”
“Thank you so much darling. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” She flashed her only daughter the million dollar smile that had brought home food to the table for years.
Her mother was the only parent that Ivy had ever known. Her father left before she was born, and her brother had been left on her porch in a basket. But that was fine with Ivy. Her mother was a wonderful woman who would do anything for her family.
Ivy took the shortest route to the elementary school, and then drove right to the high school. With gasoline at four dollars per gallon, she couldn’t afford to go anywhere else. And she always felt vaguely guilty asking her mother for money for anything, as if doing so would somehow deny her little brother of something important in his life.
This was partially why Ivy had gotten a job the day she turned sixteen. She was now the proud owner of the title “fry cook” at the local Yumm Burger. The job payed her peanuts, but at least it was a source of income other than her mother, or her deadbeat dad who didn’t even pay the $100 child support every other month.
Oh well. Let the past stay in the past, Ivy always said. She pulled into the parking lot at 6:04 AM. Perfect. Classes didn’t start until 7:30. Ivy didn’t trust herself to sit in the cozy little cab of her car on absolutely no sleep. Instead, she quickly leaped out of the vehicle, before fatigue had time to set in, grabbed her cheap guitar and some blank sheet music, and stalked off into a secluded alcove in the trees.
She started to play, so absorbed in the sound of her guitar and the pencil scratching on the paper that she didn’t even see the crowd forming.
It was a cold October night, and Ivy was lying on her bed, writing by the light of a flashlight, singing in a whisper. That was the only time she could write nowadays, was at night. Her songs always felt too personal to share with the general public. She yawned, and rolled over, her bedsprings squeaking with the slight movement. She groaned and shut her notebook, tucking her pen inside to hold her spot amongst the tattered pages.
It was late. Again. And she had school tomorrow. Again. Ivy’s head pounded at the thought of another day in the hellish nightmare continuously referred to as the educational system. She took a glance at her digital alarm clock, and her mouth formed an “O” when she read the clear digital print. She had to read it several times to make sure her green eyes weren’t playing tricks on her. They weren’t.
5:37 AM. Wow. Had that much time really passed? It felt like just minutes. Time sure flies when you’re having fun.
Ivy groaned and pulled her weary body off of the mattress. “DAMMIT!” She cursed loudly, regretting it as she instantly remembered her already tainted karma. After all, what was the point in being angry over the past? At least that was what she was trying to tell herself.
“Elaine, honey?” she heard her mother coo from the hallway. “Are you awake?”
“Yes, Momma!” Ivy called out, rolling her eyes. Her mother was an amazing woman, but sometimes she forgot her daughter was sixteen, and not six. “I’m getting ready for school.”
“Alright, dear. I just heard you cry out and I thought something was wrong.”
“No, I’m OK.” Ivy rolled her eyes again, this time more out of pity than out of irritation. Again, her mother sometimes forgot she was a teenager. Who cursed. A lot.
Ivy pulled her sleepwear off and stepped into the warm water of her shower, letting the musky scent of her shampoo soothe her and wake her up.
“And you don’t even care...” she started to absentmindedly sing as she scrubbed her body clean.
“What I do to myself...” She rinsed her hair.
“Please stop and stare...” She stepped from the shower, wrapping a blue towel around herself as she hunted for her clothes.
“Look at the damage you have done.” She pulled her clothes over her slightly damp body, combed her hair, and walked over to the kitchen, where her mother was serving a full plate of waffles to her little brother, Randy. Lucky him. He got a normal name. And she was stuck with Elaine? That sounds like someone’s grandmother’s least popular bingo buddy.
“Oh, baby, I’m running a little late, so if-” you cut your mother off. She was always running late.
“It’s alright. I need to get to school early anyway. I’ll just drop off Randy at the elementary school, grab some breakfast, and go.”
“Thank you so much darling. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” She flashed her only daughter the million dollar smile that had brought home food to the table for years.
Her mother was the only parent that Ivy had ever known. Her father left before she was born, and her brother had been left on her porch in a basket. But that was fine with Ivy. Her mother was a wonderful woman who would do anything for her family.
Ivy took the shortest route to the elementary school, and then drove right to the high school. With gasoline at four dollars per gallon, she couldn’t afford to go anywhere else. And she always felt vaguely guilty asking her mother for money for anything, as if doing so would somehow deny her little brother of something important in his life.
This was partially why Ivy had gotten a job the day she turned sixteen. She was now the proud owner of the title “fry cook” at the local Yumm Burger. The job payed her peanuts, but at least it was a source of income other than her mother, or her deadbeat dad who didn’t even pay the $100 child support every other month.
Oh well. Let the past stay in the past, Ivy always said. She pulled into the parking lot at 6:04 AM. Perfect. Classes didn’t start until 7:30. Ivy didn’t trust herself to sit in the cozy little cab of her car on absolutely no sleep. Instead, she quickly leaped out of the vehicle, before fatigue had time to set in, grabbed her cheap guitar and some blank sheet music, and stalked off into a secluded alcove in the trees.
She started to play, so absorbed in the sound of her guitar and the pencil scratching on the paper that she didn’t even see the crowd forming.
♠ ♠ ♠
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