Same Ceiling

One:

Morning is Orange

"You slept in again."
"Yes, I know."
"Well?"
"I don't know. I wasn't tired at all. I couldn't find a reason to get up." Jen shrugged her shoulders and tossed away her sweaty blanket. Her room smelled terrible. "I feel restless."

"It's hard to imagine why with all the time you spend in bed. Have you found a job yet? You might as well do that if you’re not going to try in school." Sherin was Jen's mother, and she thought of her maternal position as an obligation. If Jen didn't do one thing, she had to do something else. It didn't matter if it was actually worthwhile or interesting. Jen had to do something.

"I'll get up in another hour, then I might go for a walk or read a book." Jen wasn't sure if she was really going to do any of these things. She knew it'd make her mother happy (and get off her back) if she at least pretended to have a plan for the day.
"That's better than nothing. I'll be gone for the day. I might come home around lunchtime," said Sherin.

"I won't be expecting it," mumbled Jen. She made sure her mother wouldn't hear her on her way out. Sherin never showed up for anything. Jen felt used to it. She knew her mother was a busy lady. Still, it bothered her, wasn't it also her duty to watch out for her? She could count the number of times she'd been punished on two hands, and the number of times Sherin's threats actually carried through on one.

It was Saturday. Saturday wasn't different from any other days in a typical week. She couldn’t believe she was already sixteen. In those sixteen years, she rarely spoke and made only a few acquaintances in North Oak High School. She didn’t hate this, and she didn't love it. She didn't feel anything about it. She was bored, and that was the ultimate punishment for her.

"Now what?" sighed Sherin.

Jen, unlike most pretty girls her age, failed to realize her beauty. And even if she did, she wouldn't know what to do with it. She'd been on a few dates, to bland and simple places, like the movies, her house, their house, a football game. She'd let boys kiss her if she felt like it, which she never really did. Kissing was like a chore, and a tedious one at that. She didn't feel anything from kisses, was she supposed to? They were sloppy and grainy. No passion was put into this supposedly sensuous act. It was a lot like her mother's cooking now that she thought of it.

Two

Goodbye to Nothing

Chax was Jen's perverted next-door neighbor. Chax was only thirteen years old, but that didn’t stop him from constantly trying to get in Jen's pants. Jen despised Chax, and was once prompted to hit him in the face with a cake beater. That hurt, but not nearly as much as the time she threw him in the deep end for snapping her bikini at the pool last summer. He couldn't swim, and nearly died as his peers laughed and chucked bits of rock and gum at him.

Chax was never discouraged; regardless of how many times Jen openly displayed her disgust of anything to do with him. Chax watched too much television and mistook her scorn for veiled lust and insecurity.

In a sense, Chax was an important part of Jen's life. He kept her on her toes, in constant suspicion, anywhere, anytime. He was the conflict that continued to invade and provoke emotion in her existence.

Three

Tangerine

"C'mon Jen, try to cheer up a bit. Winter break is tomorrow and that creepy kid’s moved away. Shouldn't you be happy about that?" whined Lexi. She looked pleadingly into Jen's eyes, hoping for a smile or some sort of cordial recognition.

"I'm happy about the second part," said Jen curtly. She took another bite of her hamburger, giving a quick glance to the clock on the ceiling. It was true; Chax’s leave was something to smile about. Winter break wasn't. What was she going to do for the next half month?

"Yes..but what am I going to do?"

"You can come with me and Seth to the movies. Cina might come along too," said Lexi. She sounded sure of herself.
"You know I don't like Seth," retorted Jen. She didn't really mind Seth that much. Seth just made her feel uncomfortable, like most boys in her school. Seth was confident, handsome, and stylish. That bored her.
Lexi didn't say anything. She was tired of arguing with Jen about Seth. Jen always won anyways, she said things that she couldn't understand, and when that happened she got confused. She fiddled around with a few marbles on the floor until Jen decided to talk again.
"Do you want any tangerine?" said Jen. They both liked tangerine, and she made sure to offer it on especially needy occasions, like the silent one they were having now. Lexi shook her head. She wasn't going to excuse Jen's rudeness.

"Well, that's okay. Any other plans that DON'T involve Seth?" inquired Jen.

"I won't be seeing him on Monday, maybe we can go sledding." Lexi wasn't sure she wanted to go sledding with Jen alone. Jen got too quiet around one person. She'd have to find some other girl to bring along so she wouldn't be bored to death. After a while she thought better of the situation.

"I'll tell you what, I'll give you a call sometime," said Lexi dismissively. She wasn't going to call back. Jen knew that too. Lexi left, and Jen was alone again. She lay still on her bed, helping herself to a nice cup of tangerine. "Same Ceiling."

Four

The Iris

The woods around Gren Park were popular with the teenagers. They thought the place was haunted. Everyone was reluctant to visit during the night hours because of the suspected murder, a murder that never happened and never would. You see, Linden City was a pretty boring place, and people would make up anything to arouse curiosity and excitement in the general public. Adults grew to accept the doldrums while the youth attempted to stir up chaos and myths around an otherwise stale environment.

Tonight, Hester and Scuz were testing the legends. They brought pocketknives, an extra skateboard, flash sticks and a camera into Gren Park. They were ready. So far, they were in the thick of the picnic area. "I don't know about this. I don't like those shadows, and I'm hearing a lot of strange noises." Scuz fearfully swiveled his head back and forth, as if expecting death to jump out of the nearest picnic table.

"Those 'noises' might go away if you turned off your damn i-pod," said Hester, thoroughly annoyed with his younger brother, "We're both men, you know. It'd help if you stopped pussyfooting around. We're trying to get to the sandbar."

"Do you know how cold it is out here?" whined Scuz. His bitching came to an abrupt stop when Hester threatened him with a nearby stick. "Umm..soo...?" Scuz paused patiently. His brother knew what he was going to ask and surprised him with a quick answer. "It's about Jen, right?" Hester smiled proudly. He was suddenly a lot happier.

"So, you like her, right?" prodded Scuz. "Yeah, and what's it to you?" Hester snapped at Scuz, daring him to argue. They both liked Jen, hell, everyone wanted a piece of her. In reality, Jen detested them, and would fancy a night with a swift-army knife over either of them.

Overall, Scuz and Hester were both very pathetic. Scuz was the younger of the two. He made do with Victoria's Secret and masturbated with his mother's hand lotion. Hester managed to get a hold of real porn and masturbated with his own hand-made hand lotion. Everyone told him he smelled like mayonnaise.

They arrived at the entrance of the park. The opening bridge glared at them, taunting them to go further with all its surreal magnitude. They took a long deep look at each other. The silence was manic and the night was cold as ever. Hester spoke up first, "You want to, uh, go somewhere else?" "Sure," piped Scuz. And it was a while before they tried again.

Five

Waltz

"No, Dammit, NO!. Why can't you do anything right?" screeched a bobbling little man. He paced back and forth, smoking a cigarrette and grumbling at the floor. "Excuse me sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave." The greeter gave a friendly wave towards the exit. "I'll tell you god damn idiots. I'll tell the world!" The little man stormed out the exit, muttering and cursing under his breath.

"Who was that?" asked Ray. "Oh, I forgot you're new here. Well, it's a short story. For the past ten years that asshole's dropped in. I never know when that asshole comes in, but whenever he does he scares away the customers and pisses me off, and you know why? Cuz he's an asshole!" This was Hazen, he was an asshole. Ray didn't want to upset him, but curiosity go the better of him. "What is that yelling about?" Hazen let out a dry, raspy laugh. "That's the thing. He's never told us what we're doing wrong. He just comes in here swearing and yelling. He's never looked at any one person. It's like, it's like he's yelling at the whole place."

Hazen held up his cigar. He took a long drag. "Yep, he's a strange one. One time he even came in here dressed like Jesus for Thanksgiving. That sure gave us a laugh." Hazen left out the part where the little man shat on his shoe. Ray began to dislike the little man more and more. He didn't want to hear any more about him, so he changed the subject. "Are we getting a lot of people tonight?" Hazen paused to think about it. "Nope, I don't think so. No new movies out today. Those teenagers and their god damn movies. This is a weird place. Oh, that reminds me. We got a letter delivered today for the name Jen Laurel. Maybe they got the wrong address. Do you know anything about this?"

Ray's eyes narrowed immediately. "Maybe." Ray took the letter and tore it to pieces after her shift. It was like a monsoon outside. Huge sheets of rain poured out of the sky, weeping a sad song. The clouds were murky gray. Tomorrow was a million years away.

Six

Tomorrow

It was Sunday. Small threads of light crept out of the blinds. Jen was fast asleep. Her dreams...There was gray marsh. She wasn't herself and she had to get through it. There weren't any entrances or exits here. It was gray. She found an abandoned building, a gem in the wasteland. The stairs were rickety. Each step made harsh creaks that threatened to destroy the entire monument. There was nothing at pinnacle of the building, or anyplace near it. Crestfallen, she went back to the bottom. And found a strange match. She struck it against the coarse wooden floor. Instantly, it burst into a brilliant blue flame that began to light up the entire wasteland. Sunset.

At that moment sound erupted from her radio alarm clock. "-this ain't a scene, it's a-." She didn't give it a chance to continue. She slammed down the snooze at had a quiet little fit. "Shit, Shit Shit SHIT!" screamed Jen. Her dream came to an end, all because of her stupid alarm clock and an even stupider song. She tried to piece her dream together, but it was hopeless. Her dream ran like water through her fingers. It was there, and then it was gone. And all she could remember was the blue light. That big blue light that enveloped the skies themselves.

"What day was it?" she thought to herself. Right, Sunday. It was break. So there wasn't any school to worry about tomorrow. It smelled better today. But something was different. "Mom, are you there?" She shouted for a bit more. Then she gave up. She concluded that her mother was at work a little earlier than usual. "Great. Another day alone."

6.5

Later

It was a while before Jen calmed down, six and a half hours to be exact. She didn't go outside, out of fear of some thing or person reminding her of the dream, the wasteland. God, that place was horrid, but it had an irresistible secret, a secret she needed to know.

In her room, she read old magazines articles and a few books she picked up at the library: Liandria, Sunset Park, Vein and the Bluest Eye. All of them were good reads, except Sunset Park, which confused and annoyed her. When she put her mind to it, she could read for hours and hours....She read and read, as if she were possessed. She read until it was hard to distinguish who she was, what she was. She became more than human; she was the color of words, the thoughts and feelings of great and terrible minds. She stopped when the night was late, passed out on her bed, forgetting whether or not she was still reading...