Present Day (Thursday)
"Mike, get your ass down stairs," I hear Adelaide yell from the... I couldn't tell where she was. I'm not as familiar with the new place as I was with the old one.
That kid may be eleven, but she has the voice of a lieutenant during an attack.
"Hold on Laide, Jesus," I make my way down the stairs then take a wrong turn into the bathroom before getting to the living room where Nora is sitting in the couch.
"It's broken," she explains pressing the 'on' button on the remote pointing it to the TV.
"Throw it here," I clap, catching it on the full. I open the back of the remote, then sign. "Batteries. Did you even look?" She just gives a small smile in reply and I throw the remote back to her.
"I've got to continue unpacking, you okay here," I ask. Carrying all these boxes up the stairs is probably the equivalent to a whole weeks' worth of chin ups.
The rest of the week I just rearrange the furniture till it looked right. Saturday I spent staying inside. The shivering wind was too cold to stand outside.
I don't know how Nora can do swimming lessons right now, she may as well jump into our freezer.
I would text my friends, but I doubt they would reply. I don't get close to people. Sure I talk to them, but none of them care enough to ask. Not like I'd tell them.
It's early Monday morning and I'm woken by a crashing noise in the kitchen.
I take caution as I walk down the stairs in pitch black. I have to feel for before I keep walking as I don't know how many may be ahead of me.
When I feel the cool tiles I realise I'm off the stairs now.
"Maggie?" I ask.
"Michael, what the fuck man," she relies and turns on the lights making me squint.
"What are you doing?"
"Just got back," she starts unpacking her backpack and putting a jacket on the bench.
"You scared the shit out of me."
I'm made a mental note that I should spend some of today memorising the house layout.
"Go back to bed," she comes up to me and rubs my hair.
"You're drunk, aren't you?"
Maggie's just finished her course at uni, I'm not blaming her. But really? It's like 4am.
Dad was here at the beginning of the week. Helped us settle into the new place. But we came here for a new job opportunity for dad.
I head back to bed, I mean... I do start school today.
They love to tell you
Stay inside the lines
But something's better
On the other side- John Mayer
