May These Noises Startle You at Night
Spencer
We finally find my door and I make a mental note that it’s room 7A. Then I make another mental note to make an actual note somewhere because my mental note board is completely useless and I always forget things pinned up there. I say thanks to Keaton for helping me with the laundry and finding my room and he says no problem and then leaves. I close my door and bite my lip, wondering what the hell I’m supposed to do next. I look at my watch, but the screen is cracked from when I was booted onto the grass last night. I sigh and tug out my cellphone to check the time. 7:37 pm. My stomach rumbles and I’m reminded that I haven’t eaten since about…21 hours ago. Before I do anything, I snatch a sharpie from the desk. I scribble a little on my hand to make sure it still works then, on my palm, I write 7A in giant letters. I drop the marker on my desk and walk out of my room to do some wandering, making a mental note that I won’t remember of every hall I turn down so I can find my way back. Which means, I’m going to end up lost and this time, I won’t have Keaton to guide me back. Oh well.
The place, though it’s filled with hallways that curl off in millions of different directs, isn’t so hard to navigate. Each wing has a different colour accented to it. The one hall way has a blue floral boarder, the other has yellow daisies printed at the top of the wall. It’s like the freaking rainbow in here but it’s so subtle. I’m walking down the green hall when I hear “Incoming!” again and shove myself against the wall to let the moppy haired boy go by.
“See. You’re learning.” He laughs as he skates off. I shake my head and continue walking. I’ve passed a few people on my journey; a girl with pink streaks in her black hair and a steel hoop through her lip, a boy with spiked, blonde hair and a two cent Florida tan and two girls walking with their pinkies linked together. I nibble on my lip as I turn and step into a large room that looks like a high school cafeteria, except the cafeteria that every kid dreams of. It’s more of a lobby or seriously relaxed restaurant. There are a few red couches situated into a semicircle and one of those egg chairs at the end. I didn’t think those things actually existed. There are eight dining tables behind them and each seats about six people. There’s a master chandelier hanging from the ceiling over the tables and a few kids are sitting there under the dim light, working on something. The left, long wall is all windows, but the curtains are drawn. I spot Kai along the far wall and he’s carrying his board in his hand and snatching an apple from a girl with blonde hair. He looks a lot different when he’s not flying past you. In the very back, it looks like a buffet or bar or something and everyone is coming back with plates of food.
My stomach growls. Food. I make my way over but stop half way there, realizing I don’t have any money. Wait a minute, what refuge house if going to make you pay for food? It’s because you can’t pay for things that any of us are even here anyway. Duh. I shake my head and continue walking. I step behind a girl with long blonde hair and it isn’t until she turns to scoop some macaroni and cheese onto her plate that I realize it’s the girl that Kai was talking to. I grab a plate and don’t hesitate to shovel a bit of everything onto my plate. It’s set up like a buffet at a restaurant and it’s all free and I swear this is my new favourite place. They are serving almost everything I like: mac ’n’ cheese, breaded chicken strips, curly fries, and there’s even the desserts like Jello and pie. Deciding to be healthy, I scoop a spoonful of mixed vegetables onto my plate and to be fair, the spoons are about the size of my head so that’s a lot of vegetables. As I turn around, a few people stare at me and it takes me a moment to realize why. I have Mount Everest of food on my plate meanwhile everyone else has a little bit of everything spread evenly around the plate. I shrug and almost lose my balance, trip and toss my food but I steady myself quickly before that catastrophe can happen and hurry to the closest empty seat.
I pull the chair out with my foot and gently, like it was a newborn child, place the plate of food down on the table then promptly sit down. I go to dig in and realize I am without a fork, spoon or even a knife. Or a drink. Or a napkin. Not that I ever use them. I sigh and look back at the line by the food then at my feast then at the line again. I really don’t want to get up to get a fork but I really can’t eat with my hands. That stopped being cute when I turned like…five. I huff and consider my options.
A) Get up to go get a fork and napkin and risk someone stealing my food and spot
B) Get up to go get a fork and napkin, take my plate with me and risk dropping it and someone stealing my spot
C) Eat with my hands and look like a street child
D) Wait for Keaton to come in and ask him to get me a fork but who the hell knows how long it’d be until he’d come in here, if he even comes in here and my food could get cold.
Decisions, decisions and none of them sound appealing. As I’m thinking hard about this, a silver fork clinks onto the table beside me.
“Don’t go with option 4. If you eat with your hands, people are going to think you’re mentally ill and not want to be friends with you. Trust me. People still ask me if I’m slow or just naturally disgusting with no manners.” Says a boyish voice. The kid sits down beside me with a plate and fork of his own and his hair blocks his face while he takes a bite of his food but then I realize it is Kai.
“That was option C.” I correct and take the fork to scoop up a cheesy noodle into my mouth.
“Close enough.” He shrugs and continues to eat. He pauses for a moment and in the middle of a bite of curly fries, he asks “so, you’re slim?”
I stop chewing for a second and look at him. He’s staring at me like I should know exactly what he means. First I look down at my stomach because, well, slim means small doesn’t it? But then I realize that’s not something you’d ask someone it’s more of an observation that most people don’t voice. I raise an eyebrow and shake my head once, slowly. “…No I’m Spencer.”
Kai barks out a laugh and shakes his head. “Nah, I meant you’re new around here, yeah? I haven’t seen you before.”
Because slim and new totally mean the same thing…? “Oh, right. Yeah. I just got here yesterday.”
“What’s your poison?” He asks then clears his throat. “Your story.” He corrects quickly.
I pause and wonder about things. Well, I’m always wondering about things but my mind flickers to Kai’s story and then everyone around us’ stories. If that was number three in the interview questions, maybe everyone’s story around here isn’t so grave. Maybe I’m in the wrong place, and maybe I just need therapy. Maybe I should stop making myself paranoid and answer the kid. “Parental issues.” I sum it up. I finish eating the bit of macaroni that has now turned to mush in my mouth.
“I hear that.” He nods. “Sort of. I didn’t tell mine I was leaving. They probably think I’m just ‘moping in my room like teenagers do’ or whatever.” He brings his fingers up to air quote the moping part and I can only assume that his parents have said that to him before. “What did they do?” He asks and pops a pea into his mouth.
“Um. Just stuff.” I shrug and stuff my mouth again. Maybe if I’m eating and my mouth is full, I won’t have to answer any more questions.
“You don’t say much, do you?” He asks, tilting his head as he chews on –I think– the same pea thoughtfully. I shake my head and chew. “You should meet Alex then. She doesn’t talk, like, at all. Seriously.” He says, shaking his head with wide eyes as if to emphasize his point. What crazy wide eyes could add to that statement, I really don’t know, but that’s what he does apparently? He twists in his seat and looks around the room for a moment before pointing at the blonde he was talking to earlier and she’s sitting on the red couch. “That’s her. She’s kind of my best friend here.” He says, adding the last part as he’s turning back around. Suddenly, he erupts into a coughing fit. He pushes the chair back from the table and pulls his arm to cover his mouth. He hunches over in his seat and keeps coughing. The coughs aren’t just normal, choked-on-air or food-went-down-the-wrong-hole coughs either. I swear he’s coughing up a lung because I think I can hear it coming up his throat.
“Are you okay?” I ask, leaning over. He nods and coughs a few more times. He sits in the same position for a moment before sitting back up straight and giving me two thumbs up.
“I’m peachy.” He says and continues to eat, but I notice he isn’t eating as quickly anymore. Maybe he was choking on a pea.
I nod and go back to eating my food. Kai keeps looking over at his friend on the couch, but when I look up to follow his gaze, she’s gone. I look back at Kai and he’s eating again; his plate is nearly empty. I look down at mine and I’ve still got next to another full meal waiting. I sigh and tilt my head slightly. To eat, or not to eat – that is the real question at hand right now. I’m starting to get full, but the last thing I want to do is look rude and throw all this food. I take a few more bites before I realize that if I take anymore, I’m going to burst. Literally; there will be guts and macaroni and cheese all over the place. It’d be gross. So I push my plate away and lean back in my chair.
Kai chuckles. “Done?”
I nod.
“Yeah, you look just about done. C’mon, let’s go see Lexi.” He says and stands up. He leaves his plate at the table, so I do the same and follow up behind him. He leads me down a few hallways, zigzagging in multiple directions and if I thought it was easy to navigate, well he just proved me wrong. I fall behind slightly but I manage to spot Kai turning down a green hall and I follow the sound of him knocking on a door.
The place, though it’s filled with hallways that curl off in millions of different directs, isn’t so hard to navigate. Each wing has a different colour accented to it. The one hall way has a blue floral boarder, the other has yellow daisies printed at the top of the wall. It’s like the freaking rainbow in here but it’s so subtle. I’m walking down the green hall when I hear “Incoming!” again and shove myself against the wall to let the moppy haired boy go by.
“See. You’re learning.” He laughs as he skates off. I shake my head and continue walking. I’ve passed a few people on my journey; a girl with pink streaks in her black hair and a steel hoop through her lip, a boy with spiked, blonde hair and a two cent Florida tan and two girls walking with their pinkies linked together. I nibble on my lip as I turn and step into a large room that looks like a high school cafeteria, except the cafeteria that every kid dreams of. It’s more of a lobby or seriously relaxed restaurant. There are a few red couches situated into a semicircle and one of those egg chairs at the end. I didn’t think those things actually existed. There are eight dining tables behind them and each seats about six people. There’s a master chandelier hanging from the ceiling over the tables and a few kids are sitting there under the dim light, working on something. The left, long wall is all windows, but the curtains are drawn. I spot Kai along the far wall and he’s carrying his board in his hand and snatching an apple from a girl with blonde hair. He looks a lot different when he’s not flying past you. In the very back, it looks like a buffet or bar or something and everyone is coming back with plates of food.
My stomach growls. Food. I make my way over but stop half way there, realizing I don’t have any money. Wait a minute, what refuge house if going to make you pay for food? It’s because you can’t pay for things that any of us are even here anyway. Duh. I shake my head and continue walking. I step behind a girl with long blonde hair and it isn’t until she turns to scoop some macaroni and cheese onto her plate that I realize it’s the girl that Kai was talking to. I grab a plate and don’t hesitate to shovel a bit of everything onto my plate. It’s set up like a buffet at a restaurant and it’s all free and I swear this is my new favourite place. They are serving almost everything I like: mac ’n’ cheese, breaded chicken strips, curly fries, and there’s even the desserts like Jello and pie. Deciding to be healthy, I scoop a spoonful of mixed vegetables onto my plate and to be fair, the spoons are about the size of my head so that’s a lot of vegetables. As I turn around, a few people stare at me and it takes me a moment to realize why. I have Mount Everest of food on my plate meanwhile everyone else has a little bit of everything spread evenly around the plate. I shrug and almost lose my balance, trip and toss my food but I steady myself quickly before that catastrophe can happen and hurry to the closest empty seat.
I pull the chair out with my foot and gently, like it was a newborn child, place the plate of food down on the table then promptly sit down. I go to dig in and realize I am without a fork, spoon or even a knife. Or a drink. Or a napkin. Not that I ever use them. I sigh and look back at the line by the food then at my feast then at the line again. I really don’t want to get up to get a fork but I really can’t eat with my hands. That stopped being cute when I turned like…five. I huff and consider my options.
A) Get up to go get a fork and napkin and risk someone stealing my food and spot
B) Get up to go get a fork and napkin, take my plate with me and risk dropping it and someone stealing my spot
C) Eat with my hands and look like a street child
D) Wait for Keaton to come in and ask him to get me a fork but who the hell knows how long it’d be until he’d come in here, if he even comes in here and my food could get cold.
Decisions, decisions and none of them sound appealing. As I’m thinking hard about this, a silver fork clinks onto the table beside me.
“Don’t go with option 4. If you eat with your hands, people are going to think you’re mentally ill and not want to be friends with you. Trust me. People still ask me if I’m slow or just naturally disgusting with no manners.” Says a boyish voice. The kid sits down beside me with a plate and fork of his own and his hair blocks his face while he takes a bite of his food but then I realize it is Kai.
“That was option C.” I correct and take the fork to scoop up a cheesy noodle into my mouth.
“Close enough.” He shrugs and continues to eat. He pauses for a moment and in the middle of a bite of curly fries, he asks “so, you’re slim?”
I stop chewing for a second and look at him. He’s staring at me like I should know exactly what he means. First I look down at my stomach because, well, slim means small doesn’t it? But then I realize that’s not something you’d ask someone it’s more of an observation that most people don’t voice. I raise an eyebrow and shake my head once, slowly. “…No I’m Spencer.”
Kai barks out a laugh and shakes his head. “Nah, I meant you’re new around here, yeah? I haven’t seen you before.”
Because slim and new totally mean the same thing…? “Oh, right. Yeah. I just got here yesterday.”
“What’s your poison?” He asks then clears his throat. “Your story.” He corrects quickly.
I pause and wonder about things. Well, I’m always wondering about things but my mind flickers to Kai’s story and then everyone around us’ stories. If that was number three in the interview questions, maybe everyone’s story around here isn’t so grave. Maybe I’m in the wrong place, and maybe I just need therapy. Maybe I should stop making myself paranoid and answer the kid. “Parental issues.” I sum it up. I finish eating the bit of macaroni that has now turned to mush in my mouth.
“I hear that.” He nods. “Sort of. I didn’t tell mine I was leaving. They probably think I’m just ‘moping in my room like teenagers do’ or whatever.” He brings his fingers up to air quote the moping part and I can only assume that his parents have said that to him before. “What did they do?” He asks and pops a pea into his mouth.
“Um. Just stuff.” I shrug and stuff my mouth again. Maybe if I’m eating and my mouth is full, I won’t have to answer any more questions.
“You don’t say much, do you?” He asks, tilting his head as he chews on –I think– the same pea thoughtfully. I shake my head and chew. “You should meet Alex then. She doesn’t talk, like, at all. Seriously.” He says, shaking his head with wide eyes as if to emphasize his point. What crazy wide eyes could add to that statement, I really don’t know, but that’s what he does apparently? He twists in his seat and looks around the room for a moment before pointing at the blonde he was talking to earlier and she’s sitting on the red couch. “That’s her. She’s kind of my best friend here.” He says, adding the last part as he’s turning back around. Suddenly, he erupts into a coughing fit. He pushes the chair back from the table and pulls his arm to cover his mouth. He hunches over in his seat and keeps coughing. The coughs aren’t just normal, choked-on-air or food-went-down-the-wrong-hole coughs either. I swear he’s coughing up a lung because I think I can hear it coming up his throat.
“Are you okay?” I ask, leaning over. He nods and coughs a few more times. He sits in the same position for a moment before sitting back up straight and giving me two thumbs up.
“I’m peachy.” He says and continues to eat, but I notice he isn’t eating as quickly anymore. Maybe he was choking on a pea.
I nod and go back to eating my food. Kai keeps looking over at his friend on the couch, but when I look up to follow his gaze, she’s gone. I look back at Kai and he’s eating again; his plate is nearly empty. I look down at mine and I’ve still got next to another full meal waiting. I sigh and tilt my head slightly. To eat, or not to eat – that is the real question at hand right now. I’m starting to get full, but the last thing I want to do is look rude and throw all this food. I take a few more bites before I realize that if I take anymore, I’m going to burst. Literally; there will be guts and macaroni and cheese all over the place. It’d be gross. So I push my plate away and lean back in my chair.
Kai chuckles. “Done?”
I nod.
“Yeah, you look just about done. C’mon, let’s go see Lexi.” He says and stands up. He leaves his plate at the table, so I do the same and follow up behind him. He leads me down a few hallways, zigzagging in multiple directions and if I thought it was easy to navigate, well he just proved me wrong. I fall behind slightly but I manage to spot Kai turning down a green hall and I follow the sound of him knocking on a door.