Also, there are two scenes that are extremely similar to each other here. I want to know if that was a good choice, or if it was way too obvious (it was, but I was sort of going for that). As always, honesty is the best policy here.
I won't be posting a fourth draft here, but if you want to keep up with it or get any more excerpts once I have them ready, just ask me.
So, thoughts?It's 11: 36, and in a few moments I'll be dead.
I can't wait. This is what I've been wanting to do since I was a little kid, stuck in my bedroom praying to God that things would get better.
Heh. That bastard... in fifteen years, he never did do a thing for me.
Well here's a little something for him!
I stand up from under the bus shelter and look up towards the sky with a smirk.
"Hey there, asshole. Remember that kid who cried to you every night? Well that kid was me. Levi!" I point a finger towards myself.
"You never did a damn thing for me. It was always just me. I was the one that got those bastards, and you didn't help one bit! ... Fuck you. Fuck my life, fuck my parents, and fuck everybody else!"
I flip him off, panting. Yeah, fuck you... fuck you...
"You s-shouldn't say things like that."
The hell? I swerve my head towards the sound, only to see a little girl in baggy overalls standing a few yards away.
She notices my eyes on her and immediately shifts her gaze.
"Why do you care what I say?" She some kind of religious nut?
The girl steps a bit closer, looking at the bench I'm standing next to warily. "M-may I sit down?"
I snort. This isn't the 1800's. "Whatever." I hear the wood creak as she sits down.
She seems pretty young. Why would a person like her take a bus at this time of night? My first thought would be that she's prostituting herself, but seeing as how she flipped out over what I said earlier, that can't be it. Either way... she's annoying.
I guess I'll just have to say it. "... Hey, you."
She glances over, noticing my stare. "W-what?"
"Stop grinding your teeth like that. It sounds like a lawn mower." Her hands fly to her mouth, her face pink with embarrassment.
"Dammit..." I can't stand it any longer! I slip off my coat and throw it at her. She catches it, looking confused. "Well? Put it on!"
"Why are you-"
"Do I need to force it on you?" She squeaks, and pushes her arms into the puffy blue sleeves before I can touch her. That's better.
"Um, thanks..." She peeks at me from under her bangs and smiles.
"Don't mention it." Her smile... it reminds me of someone I know. Have I met her before?
Might as well ask. "Your name?"
"Huh?"
"What's your name?" I say it slowly, practically spelling it out for her.
"Oh! My name is Sarra." Huh. Doesn't sound familiar.
"I'm Levi." She smiles again, her cheeks red.
"So where are you going at this time of night?"
Her face points down at her shoes, a pair of once-white sneakers. "I don't know."
I sigh and lean back against the glass. "You don't even have a place in mind?"
"Not really..."
"Than go home. You'll only get mugged staying out this late." To my surprise, she nods.
"I know. But I just..." Her head whips towards me suddenly. "Um, may I tell you something? A-and promise not to laugh?"
Sounds serious. "... I'm listening."
"Tonight... tonight I'm going to... run away!" Run away? This girl, with the cross hanging from her neck? Who woulda thought!
I don't know what to say. "Uh..."
She stands up before I can spit it out, a strange grin on her face. "F-forget it! I-it was a joke! Funny, right? Ahahahaha! Well, g-... good night!"
Sarra jerks away, and dashes down the sidewalk.
Well now that she's gone, it's certainly a lot quieter. I guess she looked a little familiar, but...
Wait. My coat. She's got my damn coat!
"Wait, Sarra!" I start running, following her path. She's only a blue blur on the horizon.
"Sarra!" She looks behind her, still going. "Stop, dammit!"
I end up chasing her for two blocks until I catch up. She looks ready to pass out, tripping over herself and panting like a dog. "G-give it... up. I got... you now!"
She stumbles, but tries to keep moving until I grab her shoulder. "Give me back... my coat you... damn..." I start coughing before I can finish. Man... I must be out of shape, if even a girl can outrun me.
"Why did you... d-do that?" Her voice is nothing but a wheeze.
"That's what I've been... trying a' say. You got my... coat." I walk over to her front, only to see her face scrunched up. Shit, time for the waterworks!
"I... I'm sorry! I didn't even realize...! Uh..." Her voice breaks and the tears start falling. She tries to wipe them away, but it's futile.
"Ugh, here!" I lean down and lift her bangs out of her eyes. "Just let it out." She wails, snot bubbling from her nose. I put my arm up and force my sleeve to act as tissue, catching every sticky drop.
She keeps at it for a minute or two before finally pushing my arm aside, sniffling. "T-thank you. I don't know... why I ran, I just..." I shush her before she can start up again.
"Let's sit down. I'll get you a drink." I lead her towards the grassy area beside the cement, and we settle ourselves.
"H-how are you going to get a-"
"Well, with you runnin' all over the place, we landed ourselves near a park. There's a vending machine right over there." I point towards it and she gasps, astonished.
"Wait, um... take this." She digs through the pocket of her overalls, producing a very crumpled dollar bill. "I'll have juice... or water, if they don't have it..." I nod, and walk over to the machine.
Damn. Tonight just isn't going the way I planned. Having to comfort some runaway... she really is annoying. But at least I know who she reminds me of now...
Sighing, I slip the dollar bill into the lip of the machine and press the button for apple juice. It whirs around a little before finally dumping the can at the very bottom opening. I grab it and walk over to Sarra, who smiles as I draw near.
"Thank you for doing this... you're very kind." She gazes up at me, her big brown eyes finally visible after having her hair slicked back. They make her look kind of... cute.
"It's not that big a deal..." I sit back down and give her the hot can. She places it between her palms and gently breathes in the steam.
"Huh... you know who you remind me of?" I lean back into the grass, crossing my arms behind my head.
"Who?"
"My little sister, Kim. She's about eight years old and looks just like you... maybe a little shorter." Sarra doesn't get it, so I keep going. "Anyway, when I saw you crying, I finally noticed the resemblance."
Sarra blushes.
"So... guess what I'm saying is... don't run away. It's like thinking of my little sister going out there and being all alone. I don't want to think about that."
"... Tell me about her. Your sister. What's she like?"
"Eh, she's like any other kid. Cute, damn smart, easy to like. There's nothin' bad to say about her. But..." I trail off.
"What?" She's completely curious. Looking like that... I can't help but want to tell her.
I heave a sigh. If I'm gonna tell her, I ought to tell her everything. Starting with me.
"You know... I have a knife with me."
She gasps, a little frightened, but listening.
"If you hadn't run out like that, I would of taken the bus over to the middle of town. I would've killed myself with this little thing, right in front of everyone..." I pull out the knife, switching the blade up. I feel like laughing.
"I used to live out in the midwest with my little sister. My whole family was a fucking mess except for her. She's only eight and she has scars all up and down her back... I've got a number of them myself. All I ever wanted was to leave, and back then there was no way to do it." Sarra is silently watching me as I play with the blade, lifting the edge to meet the light of the street lamps.
"Me and my sis moved up here to Washington two weeks ago, to live with my older sister Lynne. She's been up here for a few years, with college and whatnot... so I thought now that Kim has someone else to take care of her, she wouldn't need me anymore. I'd finally be able to leave, a free conscience... but I think I've realized something." I put down the knife, and meet Sarra's eyes. "Lynne won't know what to fucking do when my sister cries."
Sarra sits there, stunned. Her whole body is rigid, until a small laugh breaks through.
Now I'm the one that's confused. "What?"
In an instant, she has the knife in her hand. She throws it across the street and laughs some more.
"Levi..." She cries out and jumps on top of me, strangling me with the force of her hug.
"What the fuck are you doing? Get off!" She just shakes her head.
"I won't, until you promise me something!" The fuck? Well, if it'll get her off of me...
"What do you want?"
"Promise me..."
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It's 12:30 by the time I get back to my apartment. The apartment is composed of two rooms, one bath, and is on the second floor of the complex. Block C, apartment A. Coming up the stairs I can already tell I'm in a shit load of trouble, mainly because Lynne has been watching me from the front window since I entered the parking lot.
As soon as I reach the door it opens, revealing the monster inside.
"Levi, where the hell have you be-"
"Good night." I walk past her, shred my sweater right there, and proceed down the hall towards my bedroom.
"L-E-V-I~!" Her shriek is monstrous, but right now, I don't give a shit. If I have to stay alive, I met as well live the way I want.
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BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP
What the hell? That's my alarm... why the fuck is it going off?
"Dammit..." I turn it off quickly, and read the time.
It's only 6:30.
"Who set this...?" Of course, nobody answers. I sigh and heave myself up, slowly realizing that I fell asleep in my jeans.
I get up off the bed and fumble with my pants until they fall to the floor. As I'm grabbing some a change of clothes, it hits me.
Today is not Sunday, November 30th, my last day of break. That was yesterday. Meaning that today is...
"SHIIIIIIITTT!"
Thinking back on it, I came to this apartment with my little sister to live with my older sister two weeks ago. The beginning of that same week, my older sister enrolled me in the local public high school since 'I still need to go to school'. She said that the first of December was my first day, whether I liked it or not.
And it's now December fucking 1st.
Pulling my clothes on, I run out to the kitchen where that same older sister sits, drinking coffee in a pink bath robe. "Oh, Lynne..." Fuck.
She places her coffee mug down carefully on the table and stands up. Time for a talk about last night.
She walks up to me, looks straight into my eyes and...
"What do you want for breakfast?"
I blink. "Huh? Oh... cereal?"
"Alright, I'll get it for you."
She goes to the cupboard and snatches up a box of Rainbow Cocoa Flakes, the most sugary cereal in the world, as well as the only cereal my younger sister will touch.
"Um... aren't you going to...?"
"Not worth it. If I went out at 11 at night, I'd get mugged by a gangster, but then I remembered that you aren't a girl and that you are the equivalent of a gangster, and decided that you can take care of yourself." She sets the box down on the table.
"Also, it's your first day at a new high school. That's punishment enough."
She's right. I seat myself at the table, and pour myself some Flakes.
"Oh, and Levi? Kim cried when you were gone, but told me not to tell you. So don't mention it, okay?" She smiles over at me from the kitchen sink.
"If she didn't want me to know, why'd you even tell me?"
Lynne rolls her eyes and points a dish scrubber at me. "She cried over you. Do you need another reason?"
Kim, my little sister, in tears because of a dumbass like me... I take a few last bites of cereal and dash out of the kitchen to my sister's room.
"Kim...?" I open the door slightly to see a dark room with an empty bed. "Where is she-"
Suddenly, I feel two arms around my waist. "Levi..."
She buries her head into my stomach. I can feel her tears.
"Hey, don't cry. I'm fine." I pat her hair, but it only makes her cry harder.
"Kim..." I kneel down onto the carpet and look into her puppy-like eyes. "I'm here. You don't have to worry anymore."
"L-Levi... I... I...!" She tries to talk, but only ends up wailing, large tears streaming down her cheeks. I stroke her back, waiting for her to speak.
"Lynne d-doesn't know... I didn't... tell her! B-but I knew! Y-you weren't gonna come back again...!" What!? How would she know that?
"Why would you think that?" I try to smile at her, but she shakes her head furiously.
"Don't lie! Don't lie!" She beats her hands against my chest and falls to the floor, shaking.
She continues to cry, and all I want to do is take her up in my arms and swing her around, saying it's all going to be okay.
"Kim... I'm gonna tell you something." She sniffs, and lifts her reddening eyes up at me. "You were right. I was going to... disappear. But then I met someone."
"W-who?" She wipes her nose against her sleeve.
"It was a girl, probably as small as you. You won't believe this, but she was outside without a coat!"
"Wasn't she cold!?" Heh.
"Yeah, she was really shivering! So I went up to her and gave her mine. And then... she looked up at me and I saw her face for the first time." I wait.
"Well? What happened!?" Kim stares at me indignantly, her tears drying.
"Well, it took me awhile but... I finally realized that she looked just like you." Kim gasps.
"Seeing that, I just wanted to run back home and hug you. So I made a promise to that girl... that I'd never leave your side again." Kim smiles wide and pounces on me, her little brown pigtails bobbing with the force.
"Levi!" She hugs me with all of her strength.
"Hahaha, let go!"
"No way! Not until you make a promise to me!"
"And what would that be?" She pulls out of the hug and touches her nose to mine.
"You gotta promise - pinky promise! - that you won't ever make me worry about you again, okay?" She stares at me with her cheeks puffed out.
"I promise!" I hold out my pinky finger, and she hooks her own on to it, sealing the deal.
"Alright... I'll let you off this time. Now go get ready for school!" She stands and crosses her arms, acting like my commanding officer.
"Will do!" I salute her, and dash towards the bathroom for a morning shower.
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"Hey, Levi." I'm lacing up my shoes, about to walk out the door when Lynne appears behind me.
"What, Lynne?" I only have twenty minutes to get to school and I can't afford to be late.
"I heard what you said... to Kim." She knows!? I look away, feeling myself blush.
"Keep your promise... It means everything to her." I wait until I can hear her footsteps trailing away until I answer, whispering.
"She really is... like Kim..."
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