Signs from the City
The walls of the small room were plastered with many posters of various sorts; rock bands, anime, celebrities. The sun crept through the broken blinds as it rose that morning, just like any other morning, eventually hitting the right spot in her room to hit her directly in the eyes as she slept. She would simply roll over to avoid the beams, but no amount of turning could help her avoid the heat as her room slowly began to feel like a sauna, or at least it did for her under the mounds of blankets she was under.
It was only 7:00 and there was no school. This was the time she should take advantage of sleeping in late. However, until they could afford to fix the shutters and the air conditioning it didn't seem possible. All she could do now was throw off her blankets and move to the cooler part of the house, the living room.
Her mother had already been awake and was eagerly watching the TV, still in her pajamas, which was out of the ordinary for her. It was almost as if she had an obsessive-compulsive disorder to take a shower within the first five minutes of awaking.
"I'd kill for a bedroom facing west. The apartments across the yard are so lucky," she said as she groggily sat down on the couch. "I don't see why we don't just move-"
"Glory, be quiet for a moment," her mother said, raising her finger to Glory's lips without even looking to her. Then she cups her daughter's face in her hands and turned her face to the TV.
The news reporter spoke in a worrisome tone, unlike the usual "calm-under- every-circumstance" attitude they all had. "Report of crop signs are coming in from all over the globe; India, England, Australia, and even here in the US. Farm land near Philadelphia, Austin, and even here in California's farm land have been affected."
"What is this?"
"I don't know. At first I thought it was one of those weird TV specials, but then I realized how early in the day it was." She fell silent unsure of what else to say.
Glory rushed to the phone and called up the one person that she always called in times of crisis, whether it was an argument at home, stress from college, the end of the world, or simply a lack of food in the house.
"Hello?" a woman answered on the other end.
"Is Lee there?" "He's asleep. Sorry."
"Wake him!" There was a short pause and then, "please? It's important."
The phone fell silent and then a male's voice came on the line, very groggy and hoarse. "Who is it?"
"It's Glory. You still have your camcorder?"
"Yeah."
"And your car?"
"Yeah."
"Pick me up in an hour," she said and then hung up the phone.
The walls of the small room were plastered with many posters of various sorts; rock bands, anime, celebrities. The sun crept through the broken blinds as it rose that morning, just like any other morning, eventually hitting the right spot in her room to hit her directly in the eyes as she slept. She would simply roll over to avoid the beams, but no amount of turning could help her avoid the heat as her room slowly began to feel like a sauna, or at least it did for her under the mounds of blankets she was under.
It was only 7:00 and there was no school. This was the time she should take advantage of sleeping in late. However, until they could afford to fix the shutters and the air conditioning it didn't seem possible. All she could do now was throw off her blankets and move to the cooler part of the house, the living room.
Her mother had already been awake and was eagerly watching the TV, still in her pajamas, which was out of the ordinary for her. It was almost as if she had an obsessive-compulsive disorder to take a shower within the first five minutes of awaking.
"I'd kill for a bedroom facing west. The apartments across the yard are so lucky," she said as she groggily sat down on the couch. "I don't see why we don't just move-"
"Glory, be quiet for a moment," her mother said, raising her finger to Glory's lips without even looking to her. Then she cups her daughter's face in her hands and turned her face to the TV.
The news reporter spoke in a worrisome tone, unlike the usual "calm-under- every-circumstance" attitude they all had. "Report of crop signs are coming in from all over the globe; India, England, Australia, and even here in the US. Farm land near Philadelphia, Austin, and even here in California's farm land have been affected."
"What is this?"
"I don't know. At first I thought it was one of those weird TV specials, but then I realized how early in the day it was." She fell silent unsure of what else to say.
Glory rushed to the phone and called up the one person that she always called in times of crisis, whether it was an argument at home, stress from college, the end of the world, or simply a lack of food in the house.
"Hello?" a woman answered on the other end.
"Is Lee there?" "He's asleep. Sorry."
"Wake him!" There was a short pause and then, "please? It's important."
The phone fell silent and then a male's voice came on the line, very groggy and hoarse. "Who is it?"
"It's Glory. You still have your camcorder?"
"Yeah."
"And your car?"
"Yeah."
"Pick me up in an hour," she said and then hung up the phone.