"I'm home!" was the high-pitched cry of eleven year-old Carl Grimes when he stepped through the front door of his house, despite the fact that his house was empty. Today, his mother had needed to run errands, and instead of having a friend's mom pick him up after school, she had relented to letting him walk home and stay alone. Overjoyed at being home alone, he kicked off his sneakers, leaving them at the entrance with little care. His backpack soon followed suit, falling from his shoulders to the floor with a soft thump. He then strode into the kitchen for a snack, his socked feet creating surprisingly loud footsteps as he went.
After he had grabbed a plate of Oreos and a glass of milk, he made his way to the living room and set down his snack on the end table, before grabbing the remote and flopping down on the couch in the spot his father usually sat. The TV turned on with a click, and Carl began to flip through the channels, settling on one of the many cartoon channels. A grin on his face broadened as the characters of one of his favorite shows popped up on screen. He rarely ever got to watch this show, because his mother would always watch her soap operas after she picked him up from school. Plopping a cookie in his mouth, he settled in to watch the show.
Sophia Peletier crept into her house, quietly closing the door behind her as she tried to make as little noise as possible. The house was silent, and she had no idea if her father was home or not, so she was playing it safe. She slid of her shoes and held them in her hand as she walked over to the stairs, making almost no noise whatsoever as she tip-toed across the carpet. With her free hand, she grabbed the railing as she ascended the stairs, wincing every time a floorboard creaked beneath her.
She made it to the top without hearing anything to alert her to anyone's presence, so she took that to mean that she was home alone. Still, she stayed quiet as walked to her room, just in case her father was sleeping. Once inside her bedroom, she sat down her shoes and placed her bag on the ground, before unzipping it and retrieving a library book. Carefully, she climbed into her bed and began reading, her only escaped from the hell she called her life.