Sometimes I wonder whether the events of the past few days actually happened, I only need look at my injuries to see that they did.
My life used to be simple, it simmered down to the basic mundane routine. Get up, shower, breakfast, college, home, dinner, facebook, go out with friends, return late, brush teeth, sleep. Not bad for the average human, it was simplistic but kept me happy. Weekends could vary, yet somehow the routine remained. Sunday was by far my favourite though. The average college-bound teen cannot party on sunday, for fear of a hangover stretching into monday. This was my day to relax, lie in late amd watch crappy sunday afternoon television.
But one particular sunday will stay with me forever. I will never be able to tell another soul, they will think me mad, stuck on the wrong side of sanity. I don't care, this memory and the days that unfurled after it changed my life. I just can't work out if it was for the better.
A few days earlier...
"Clara...Oswin...Oswald. Watch me run!" A girl was staring intently a the last moments of the doctor who christmas special. She sighed elaborately and brought her knees up to her chest as the familiar credits rolled down the screen. Not a sound could be heard throughtout the house, even the clock that sat on the lone speaker seemed silent; waiting until the girl officially declared her favourite show over. She leaned back on the red cotton sofa and mewed, stretching her arms, legs and arching her back. After a moment she sighed again and collasped in heap, legs dangling off the edge of the seat. The clock got louder, the fridge through the open door to her kitchen seemed to let out a long electrical buzz. Everything could breathe again.
The girl continued to watch the television screen, silently thanking her mother for replacing their haggard old boxmonster for the new flatscreen. In her slumped position she couldnt see the mirror that hung high opposite the sofa, another sigh. She was meeting her friend in less than an hour and was still in her disney pyjamas, her brown curly hair was immitating a birds nest, and managing to do a better copy. The girl twisted onto her stomach and let her slim body hang over the arm of the couch. She stole a glance around the room. Two red sofas, arranged along the walls in an L shape both partly facing the tv, which sat in the furtherest corner of the room, diagonal across the wall intersect. The bland white paint that covered the wall wickedly contrasted the 42inch black tv set.
She would like nothing more than to stare mindlessly at it all day, watching reruns of doctor who and eating icecream. To lose herself in the fantastical adventures and entirely forget her recent failed relationship. But life moves on and she had a promise to keep. After one final stretch she jumped to her feet and made busy collecting this mornings breakfast bowls. After unceremoniously dumping them on the plastic kitchen counter in her oblong, slightly damp kitchen, she walked back through the front room and out of the other door. Still riding the wave of newfound energy she took the stairs two by two, using the banister to pull herself up.
"...under my umbrella...ella...ella. Eh eh eh" she sang softly as she vaulted the stairs. She smirked slightly as she passed the entourage of family photos lining the stairway. At the top step she paused, one image that always stood out was the fat baby with no neck. The blue eyed bundle of joy beamed out of the aged photo frame. A sparkle in her eyes. The girl had always admired the brightness of those eyes, she smirked again and stroked the picture.
"I was so cute, where did it all go wrong?" she murmured to herself, a smile still playing around the corners of her mouth. Her hand fondly traced the photo frame as memories of childhood scurried through her mind, one particular memory made her grimace and she flung an anxious look to the ceiling. There was the entrance to the attic, positioned right at the top of the stairs. It made it impossible to get up there, so nothing had ever been done to convert it. No one wanted to make use of a room that you could break your neck trying to get to. She rounded the corner and left the photo. She hurried to the bathroom past the attic door at the top of the stairs. Once in, she slammed the door shut and bolted it. Only then could she let out the breath she didn't realise she had been holding. The attic did not hold nice memories, but they would stay with her none the less.
She slumped down the door and tried to relax. The sudden movement caused a towel hanging off the nearby radiator to become dislodged. It fell on her knees and caused her to jump backwards. Seeing as the door was locked the back of her head crashed into it with a resounding thud.
"Aw man...fu..fiddlesticks!" She cradled her head on her knees, arms protectively encircling it. After the intial fright subsided she continued to curse. She decided the attic was officially the root of all evil and the causer of bad luck, quite possibly a portal to hell itself. She couldnt help but smile a little, it was going to be one of those days. This time the smirk did not quite reach her eyes though, the path blocked by temporary pain and memories. But no one would be able to even tell whether she was smiling, due to her knees smothering her mouth. Not that there was anyone there even to enquire as to whether she was smiling, and surely a rational person would not think her to be smiling after such a thump on the head. She giggled at the thought. To undermine and argue with oneself suggests a rather loose grip on sanity and could very easily be taken in the wrong way. Yet she thoroughly enjoyed the conversation.
"I am bonkers. And I should really be getting ready..."She mumbled through her kneecap. With a heavy laden sigh she drew up her head and stood up with a jump. Too fast a movement for a head injury. The world around span momomentarily.
She groaned.
After her head finally stopped spinning she stripped, and stepped into the shower. Once on, the hot water immediately soothed all aches and pains. It lulled her mind into a dreamlike state, her muscles relaxed as the power of the water washed away all her previous fears. She forgot about the attic. Her eyes remainded closed as she stood there, not bothering to move, just enjoying the massage provided by the pins of water on her back. The shower curtain rippled slightly. Life couldn't get any simpler.
"ALICE! Stop wasting the water, you know we're on a meter now!" a voice yelled up the stairs. The girl in the shower sighed, grabbed the shampoo and started working on her hair.