The Late Night Musings of a Troubled Teenager
Good lord, I was concerned. Horribly, horribly concerned. I was so concerned it was positively wretched. I have always hated being concerned, and now I was pacing with concern. My sister Columbia had been missing for two months, then I found her. My friends, Judith, Mark, Jonathan, Crista, myself, and my darling Richard had gone to the Denton Drive-Thru Movies, to see the science-fiction/horror double feature. On the way home, Jonathan, as always, got lost on a back road he insisted would get us home twenty minutes faster. Only this time, instead of stopping at a gas station, or a pub, or school, or church, or any of the dozens of other places we've asked for directions at before, we stopped at a castle. It was quite beautiful really. An old Gothic revival, with towers and spires and creepy statuary leering down from balconies. After the movies no one wanted to go to the door. So I, being the oddball that I am, hopped out of the car and skipped up to the door. After all, movies were movies, nothing more. When a pale, blonde, hunchback, with one of the most disturbing faces I've ever seen answered the door, I was a bit taken aback. "Hello," said the fellow answering the door. He wore a butler's uniform, but his eyes said he was something more. As I was explaining our plight, I heard a familiar high-pitched giggle. Her laugh used to always annoy me. But now after two months of worry, two months of crying by myself in our bedroom and two months of watching our parents fall apart. I was euphoric to hear Columbia make any sound alive. I pushed past the fellow at the door and ran down a hall, then I saw her, in one of her tap dance costumes, sitting on a chair and laughing with a very strange man. "Columbia!" I cried, running to her. "Britannia? Is it really you?" she said, shocked. "Yes, yes it's me. And it's you, and you're alright. Oh, thank God, you're alright." "How on Earth did you find me?" she seemed quite puzzled. After explaining how I found her, she happily turned and introduced me to the weirdo sitting beside her. "Frankie, this is my little sister, Britannia, Britannia, this is Frank," "How do you do?" he asked nonchalantly, extending his hand. I shook it, a bit disturbed by hi apparent boredom. "I'm fine, I suppose," was all I could muster. After all, it's not everyday you meet an open transvestite. After that, I paid little attention to him; all I wanted to know was what Columbia was doing with this bunch and how soon she would come home. She told me, and now I can tell no one else. My older sister had completely lost her marbles. She was in love with a man named Eddie, who lived here with them, and she loved Frank, and she cared deeply for a woman named Magenta, the sister to Riff Raff, the guy who answered the door. It appeared he was the only one she wasn't in love with or cared very much for here. She told me that she doesn't know when she'll be going home. Or if she even will. No matter how much I pleaded, she refused. After a while, I figured my friends would be concerned soon, so I wrote down the directions home, and the address of this place on two pieces of paper. I kissed my sister good-bye, then began to walk out of the house. On my way out the door, I apologized to Riff Raff for shoving him out of the way like that. He smiled, "It's alright. I love my sister very much, if she had gone missing then I found her. Well, I would have done the exact same thing," he smiled more broadly, heavens he was creepy, "I'm sure I'll see you again. Goo-bye Britannia." My friends asked what kept me, I told them they took a while to find a map. I snuggled close to Richard, he kissed my head and I happily leaned against him the whole way home. My house is the first one on the way into town, I kissed Richard good-bye and couldn't help but think of my sister, in a castle, not so far away. I waved to my friends, then went inside and went to bed. I could hear Mom crying in her sleep, she did fairly often. But I knew in my heart that it was better for her to think Columbia dead, than as a brainwashed, bisexual groupie in a castle somewhere. So I have made up my mind. Tomorrow after school I will go back to the castle, I'll bring some of the family albums, maybe seeing them she'll decide to write a suicide note, or something. So Mom can move on, and Dad will stop living in bar after bar. I don't know what will happen, all I can do is pray.
Good lord, I was concerned. Horribly, horribly concerned. I was so concerned it was positively wretched. I have always hated being concerned, and now I was pacing with concern. My sister Columbia had been missing for two months, then I found her. My friends, Judith, Mark, Jonathan, Crista, myself, and my darling Richard had gone to the Denton Drive-Thru Movies, to see the science-fiction/horror double feature. On the way home, Jonathan, as always, got lost on a back road he insisted would get us home twenty minutes faster. Only this time, instead of stopping at a gas station, or a pub, or school, or church, or any of the dozens of other places we've asked for directions at before, we stopped at a castle. It was quite beautiful really. An old Gothic revival, with towers and spires and creepy statuary leering down from balconies. After the movies no one wanted to go to the door. So I, being the oddball that I am, hopped out of the car and skipped up to the door. After all, movies were movies, nothing more. When a pale, blonde, hunchback, with one of the most disturbing faces I've ever seen answered the door, I was a bit taken aback. "Hello," said the fellow answering the door. He wore a butler's uniform, but his eyes said he was something more. As I was explaining our plight, I heard a familiar high-pitched giggle. Her laugh used to always annoy me. But now after two months of worry, two months of crying by myself in our bedroom and two months of watching our parents fall apart. I was euphoric to hear Columbia make any sound alive. I pushed past the fellow at the door and ran down a hall, then I saw her, in one of her tap dance costumes, sitting on a chair and laughing with a very strange man. "Columbia!" I cried, running to her. "Britannia? Is it really you?" she said, shocked. "Yes, yes it's me. And it's you, and you're alright. Oh, thank God, you're alright." "How on Earth did you find me?" she seemed quite puzzled. After explaining how I found her, she happily turned and introduced me to the weirdo sitting beside her. "Frankie, this is my little sister, Britannia, Britannia, this is Frank," "How do you do?" he asked nonchalantly, extending his hand. I shook it, a bit disturbed by hi apparent boredom. "I'm fine, I suppose," was all I could muster. After all, it's not everyday you meet an open transvestite. After that, I paid little attention to him; all I wanted to know was what Columbia was doing with this bunch and how soon she would come home. She told me, and now I can tell no one else. My older sister had completely lost her marbles. She was in love with a man named Eddie, who lived here with them, and she loved Frank, and she cared deeply for a woman named Magenta, the sister to Riff Raff, the guy who answered the door. It appeared he was the only one she wasn't in love with or cared very much for here. She told me that she doesn't know when she'll be going home. Or if she even will. No matter how much I pleaded, she refused. After a while, I figured my friends would be concerned soon, so I wrote down the directions home, and the address of this place on two pieces of paper. I kissed my sister good-bye, then began to walk out of the house. On my way out the door, I apologized to Riff Raff for shoving him out of the way like that. He smiled, "It's alright. I love my sister very much, if she had gone missing then I found her. Well, I would have done the exact same thing," he smiled more broadly, heavens he was creepy, "I'm sure I'll see you again. Goo-bye Britannia." My friends asked what kept me, I told them they took a while to find a map. I snuggled close to Richard, he kissed my head and I happily leaned against him the whole way home. My house is the first one on the way into town, I kissed Richard good-bye and couldn't help but think of my sister, in a castle, not so far away. I waved to my friends, then went inside and went to bed. I could hear Mom crying in her sleep, she did fairly often. But I knew in my heart that it was better for her to think Columbia dead, than as a brainwashed, bisexual groupie in a castle somewhere. So I have made up my mind. Tomorrow after school I will go back to the castle, I'll bring some of the family albums, maybe seeing them she'll decide to write a suicide note, or something. So Mom can move on, and Dad will stop living in bar after bar. I don't know what will happen, all I can do is pray.