One bus ride later, we arrived home. The bus stop was right in front of the duplex. The only problem is that it runs once every hour throughout the day. If not for that, I wouldn't be late to school every now and then.
Mom started humming "Hakuna Matata" as she grabbed her keys and unlocked the door to our side of the duplex.
The living room was the same as how I left it this morning, neat everywhere except the shoe section (I'm very indecisive when it comes to which sneakers I want to wear). Jason and I set Mom's bags down on the couch. The dusk sky light left a red glow through the windows, illuminating the living room with a crimson glow.
Jason turned around, "Alright, I'm heading out, see ya tomorrow, bro. Good night, Mrs. V."
"Goodnight, J, stay safe," I said.
He nodded, "Will do," He smirked and added, "If a bear or a thug comes out and attacks me, call an ambulance, not for me though."
I shook my head, "Just had to throw in one more cringe joke."
Jason shrugged, "Worth a shot."
He walked out and I closed the door.
I turned around and my mom was right next to the shoe section, dead staring at me with her arms folded.
"My bad, Ma," I said as I went over to the shoe section and straightened up the lineup.
She shook her head, "Honestly, I don't understand why you don't pick out your pair of sneakers before you go to sleep. You'd be able to match it with your outfit for that day as well."
I scratched my head, "I overslept, I was gonna be late."
"So? I'd rather you show up dressed up. Your classmates could be talking smack about you behind your back."
"Nahhh, you're right, Mom. I'm gonna go take a quick nap."
"Ay, take these bags upstairs for me."
I grabbed the two bags of her belongings and headed upstairs. I stopped by her room. Mom's room was a mix of blue, red, and green. Her dresser had rows of makeup, lotion, and her work ID and keys. Next to her queen-size bed was a small, three-legged round table. On it was a photo of me and Ma. I was wearing my championship medal for first place from winning the local chess tournament. I used to play chess all the time. It was one of my favorite pastimes, along with Yu-Gi-Oh and Connect 4, one of the many hobbies me and Ma enjoyed.
Those were the good times, up until that happened. I frowned and shook the thoughts of the past out of my head. I set down Mom's bags next to the table and headed back to my room.
My door creaked loudly as I opened it. I glanced across my room, and Mom's words echoed twice as loud. My room was a mess: my sweaters, varsity jackets, pants, and shirts were all over the floor. My dresser drawers were all open in a rushed fashion. I grabbed pants and shirts and stuffed all my clothes in one drawer (yup, I'm that lazy). The drawer refused to give in, which pissed me off. So I brought my shoulder into it. Spoiler alert: big mistake. My mirror on top of my dresser nearly fell onto the floor; I caught it at the nick of time. After gently setting it back up, out-of-nowhere legs nearly gave out on me.
It felt like somebody had grabbed a sledgehammer and slammed it into my legs again and again. I limped over to my bed and nearly lost balance before catching myself on the windowsill, knocking over my deck of Yugioh cards to the floor.
"Kevy, you all right up there?" Ma asked.
"Yeah Ma, I'm good."
"Dinner's ready, wash up and come on down, yo."
The cards would have to wait; my stomach was roaring like a full-grown lion. I took small steps and leaned on the railing on my way down.
When I finally made it downstairs, I could smell a faint scent of bleach and Febreze. Ma must've mopped the floor the minute I went up; it was as glossy as the gym floors at Lyons, and that's a private school. Not only that, but the entire area was immaculate, like she'd never left.
I headed into the kitchen to find my Ma had just finished setting up the table. Ma had made eggs with hamburger and milk on the side. A single banana complemented the bowl. My stomach growled; I'd been eating hospital food and snacks for the past 2 and a half days. For the first time in a while, I knew I was eating good tonight.
"What are you waiting for?" Mom laughed, "Come get this food, foo!"
As I sat down in my chair, I waited for my mom to clasp her hands and do her usual "blessing the food" ritual. But today I was dumbfounded; she was practically inhaling the food.
"No blessing the food?" I asked.
"I already did that while you were upstairs," she replied. "Now dig in!"
I scarfed down my eggs like I was in a speed-eating contest, washing them down with milk. Then I took small bites out of my hamburger and ate slowly. I almost forgot Mom wasn't a fan of the free room service at the hospital. She nitpicked every little detail of the cooked food like she was Gordon Ramsay. That's why I usually ate what she had; she ate snacks and breakfast only.
Ma and I just sat in our seats, full from the feast we'd just had. I grabbed my plate and rinsed it off in the sink.
"All right, Ma, I'm gonna get ready to hit the sack."
She barely pulled out the energy to put up a thumbs up. "All right, brush your teeth and tidy up. Pick your outfit for school tomorrow." She paused then added, "No more late calls, Kevin. It's your last days there anyway."
I nodded, "Okay."
Note to self, get on Mom's phone and block the school number. I walked up the staircase and stopped in the bathroom to shower and brush my teeth.
***
I stepped out of the bathroom and finally returned to my room. I took off my school uniform: pants, shirt, tie, and windbreaker. I tossed on my black polo and my plaid blue and black pajamas. As I made my way to my bed, I quickly remembered what I was doing last in here before Ma announced dinner was ready. The cards were still scattered on the floor. I dropped down to my knees and picked up my cards. Yugioh was my childhood growing up and the one subject I nerd out in. I watched every show and read every manga. I picked up most of them and stacked them back on the window. I was about to hop on my bed and hit the lamp light when I felt one more card caught on my foot.
I glance down and frown, "Number 39 Utopia." How ironic. I snagged it and put it on top of my dresser. I'd had enough thoughts about the past today. I hit the lights, grabbed my MP3 player from my bag, and put on my earbuds. I then took the two heaviest steps to my bed and lay down (my legs are so done). I dozed off to lo-fi music in minutes.