***Sage’s POV***
THE GPS CALLED OUT in its automated voice, “Arrived.”
I cut the engine and unbuckled my seat belt, grabbing my backpack from beside me. I slung it over my shoulder and got out of the car, taking my keys out of my pocket. I studied my house, which I was renting from a nice lady who was living with her son. She just kept the house to rent it out.
The house was an ugly shade of brown with a black roof. There was a window in the front and a screen door with a rusty latch. It wasn’t on the best street in town and the crime rate was high.I opened the back door of my 2012 Toyota and grabbed out my duffel bag. I had two boxes in the trunk and that was it.
I pressed a hand to my forehead and my other hand rested on my hip. I let out and angry sigh and massaged my temples. It was stressful, living on your own. I only had a few thousand dollars in my account, but that was for college. And it would only get me three months worth of rent. Not only did I have to get a job but it would have to be part-time, seeing as I was starting my last year in high school in a week. And it was at a new school.
To say I was nervous was an understatement. It wasn’t my fault that my bitch of an aunt left as soon as I turned eighteen, forcing me to sell the house I had grown up in and making me move out with no job and only seven thousand dollars, plus the money from the house. But my house was very cheap and only sold for ten thousand. In all I had eight months of rent.
I lifted the latch to the door and entered my house. The smell of mold hit my nose and I immediately plugged it. Note to self: get Febreze. The living room, an extremely tiny space, had an old ratty couch and a nightstand as a coffee table. Beside it was the kitchen. It had a mini-fridge, a dirty oven, and a microwave. The dining table, in between the kitchen and living room, was caked in dust and was about the size of a coffee table. It had two lawn chairs on either side. I wished I had looked at this place before I bought it. This was nothing like how it looked online.
There was a door that I assumed led to the bedroom. As I opened it, it squeaked loudly. The bedroom had one window. I could see directly into the neighbor’s house. Through an identical window I saw a giant bed and dresser. Oh god. I didn’t want the neighbor looking at me while I changed. I pulled down the blinds, which were coated in dust. I wiped my hand on my jeans. The sole piece of furniture in the room was a bare mattress, tucked away in the corner. There was a tiny bathroom with a grimy shower and a yellow toilet. The sink had some sort of brown sludge on the faucet, and the mirror was coated in dirt. I caught my reflection in it and studied my tired features. My blue eyes were half-closed, I hadn’t gotten a good night’s sleep since my dad died. My brown hair was a bit frizzy. It tumbled over the fabric of my jean jacket.
I turned away from the mirror and set my duffel bag and backpack down beside the mattress. As I headed to my car to get my boxes, I heard a loud whistle.
“Damn, you lookin’ fine, girl!” a male, raspy voice called. I turned to see a middle-aged Hispanic man openly checking me out. He raised his eyebrows as his eyes passed over my chest and I folded my arms in front of me. I tried not to look at him as I grabbed one of the boxes out of the trunk. He continued to whistle and call out things like, “damn, look at that ass!”
I hurried into my house and closed the latch, setting the box down on the couch. I locked my car from inside the house and looked out the window, deciding not to go out until the man was gone. To pass time I pulled out my phone. The lock screen was a picture of a book character that I was a big fan of. I pressed down on the Home button and it unlocked. My fingerprint was the password. I scrolled through social media. I went to the Follows list on my profile and unfollowed everyone from my old school. I wouldn’t be talking to them anymore and looking at their posts from football games or dances would just make me depressed. By that time I was only following about ten people, a few celebrities and quote accounts.
I never posted my face on social media, a cyber safety rule I had followed even though it was safe to show your face on the pages I used. I only posted about what story I was working on, I did writing as a side hobby, or the scenery from where I was. I checked my follower count and it had risen another hundred. Apparently people liked to read poorly-written chapters and see whatever I saw. I had to admit, I used to travel a lot. Never with my dad, he was always too busy, but my former best friend was decently rich and her family always invited me on their vacations. It was hard to say goodbye, I had grown up with her after all.
My hand hovered over the delete account button in Settings. I wouldn’t be traveling anymore and all my recent stories were about death and depression. Instead of getting rid of my account and disappointing my nine thousand followers, I exited out of social media and shut my phone off. I looked out the window in the front and saw that the man was gone. not missing my chance, I hurriedly unlocked my car and popped the trunk. I practically ran there and back. The box was heavy so it slowed me down a bit.
I set the box down next to the other one. I didn’t feel like unpacking, and I had other things to do. I took the stained mattress outside, it took me a few minutes to fit it through the small door frame, and hosed it off. I leaned it against the outer wall to dry. I then grabbed my keys and backpack from inside. If I was going to get this place cleaned up, I needed supplies. I got in the car, started the engine, and programmed the GPS to take me to the nearest Target.
****
I collapsed on the still-damp lawn chair. I had hosed all four of the lawn chairs off and they were mostly dry. The mattress was inside in my freshly-mopped bedroom with sheets, a comforter, and a pillow on it. I took my phone out of my pocket. No missed calls, no texts. Not that I expected Aunt Leelee to care. I shut my phone off and set it on the dead grass beside me. It was about five o’clock and the sun was directly in front of me. I closed my eyes to block it out and leaned back. But, of course, I couldn’t get a single moment of peace.
“Hey!” a voice called. My eyes flicked open and I groaned. Could I not get any rest? I looked over in the direction of the voice and saw a tall boy about my age with brown hair and brown eyes.
I raised an eyebrow that asked, “what?”
The boy raised his eyebrows before smirking and pointing at one of the lawn chairs. “Your chair is on our lawn!”
I was not in the mood for dealing with teenage boys, or any boys, or people in general. I picked up the chair and through it onto my own property. It fell flat on its side in front of the door.
“Hey, asshole!” I called as he unlocked his door. “Mind closing your blinds? I can see your granny panties!”
A smirk appeared on my face as he shot me the bird and slammed the screen door behind him. I set the chair upright and reentered my house. It looked a lot better than it did when I first entered. The wooden floors were mopped and vacuumed. I had scrubbed the microwave and oven and fridge until they shined. The couch cushions were also outside drying, having been hosed. I was tired but I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep. I lay down on the springy, uncomfortable mattress and plugged my phone in to the charger.
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Hope you enjoyed chapter one! I know there wasn’t much going on, but I promise you the next chapter will be more interesting.
Be sure to like, and comment what you suspect will happen next!
-YoungWriter
Realistic Fiction
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