Sarah Vartan
Cadet
*Yeah, this was going to be a novel, but I'm not sure if I can make it that long,
so I'm just going to post it here, and see what you all think, and maybe enter it for a contest
or something.
The Office Post
Chapter 1
Kara closed her eyes as the rushing water poured over her head. The water just kept
on pounding down at her, until it covered her. She could hear nothing, only the constant
thumping of the water. She rubbed her sore eyes, and the tears escaped again. She looked
up at the shower nozzle, and turned it towards the warm end again. This time, she movied
her glance to her feet. The warm water spun perpetually down the holes of the drain. She
pounded her fist against the edge of the shower. How could mom do this? She thought.
She didn't understand it, any of it. her dad had been the healthiest, happiest guy
in all of Chaney Avenue. How he could have gotten sick, so sick that the doctors didn't even
know what to make of the disease was just insane. She heard her mom knock on the door
and yelled, "You've been in there for too long, you're wasing our water bill!" Kara couldn't stand
this and without realizing it said, "In Chicago we didn't have to pay a freaking water bill!"
You've gone too far this time, Kara thought to herslef, and without hesitation pulled
the shower handle to off.She stood there, naked, water dripping from every part of her body.
She waited, waited for what seemed like forever. She stood naked in the shower shicvering,
until she finally stepped out onto the soft mat beneath her. She pressed her ear to the old wodden
door, and on the other side could hear her mother crying softly. Kara was covered with dread as
she quickly slipped on her night gown, and turned the cold, brass handle of the bathroom door.
She saw something she will never forget. Her own mother crying. There are times,
when you're a child, and you think of how you never see your mother cry, and you admire her
for that, for never crying, and always being strong. Not once in her entire life had Kara's mother
cried. But now, at this moment, Dawn's black hair was swept over her face, and her hands were
on her head. There were tears, real tears, pouring from her soft green eyes. There was a kleenex
clenced firmly in her right hand, and the mascara on her eyes was running. Kara tried to speak
but nothing came out. She cleared her throat and said, "Mom, I-I'm sorry."
For a moment, she wanted nothing more than to curl up next to her mother, to lay
her head on her shoulder, and cry with her, to feel her warmth, her comfort. But she didn't.
As much as she wanted to, she knew that it would feel to awkward, that she had never gained
her relationship back with her mother, after her father has left them. She turned around, her bare
feet cold against the wooden floor, and opened the door to her room.
---
Her room floor didn't even look like a floor anymore. It looked more like a badly made
collage. There were pictures, so many pictures surrounding her. Pictures of her and her parents
when she was only 3 years old, to pictures of her and her family at the beach only a couple
of years ago. She smiled, remembering the fun time she had had that summer. Back when
her life was so normal, so care-free, with not a worry in the world. Back when she actually
had conversations with her mother, back when her father was healthy. The thing she loved
so much about her family was that they were always busy, but somehow, they always
seemed to find time for eachother.
Her father worked at a Post Office, he was one of the people that took the letters
across the country, so he was rarely home, but he loved his job, and as long as he was happy,
Kara was. Her mother was a hairdresser, that is, until her beauty shop was closed down.
Her mother used to love doing hair and giving manicures and peticures to all kinds of people.
All of her mother's friends worked there, and they'd chat about everything and anything.
But now that was gone. Now her mother, had turned into a drunk, and a prostitute.
She hated her mother, ever since her husband had died, Dawn would go out to local
bars and night clubs, and entertain all the guys. She'd go out and have sex with all
kinds of drunk, ugly, bad smelling people, and she'd do it for pay. Kara couldn't stand
her job choice, the way her clothes smelled of old cigarette butts, the way she'd come
back all drunk and out of it, and then finally pass out after throwing up for hours.
That wasn't even close to what she hated most about her mother. She couldn't
stand when Dawn would bring back guys. She would hear them in the living room, and
Kara would just listen to her music as loud as she could to drone out their moans
and noises. The worst part was, this had only happened for a month, and Kara
didn't have anywhere to go. If this was Chicago, where they had lived a couple
of months ago, Kara would have just gone over to her best friend, Jordana's house.
But now, now she lived in the middle of California, and she didn't have
any friends, So she didn't have anywhere to go or anything to do.
She lived in the crummiest, house you could find. It was down a cold, dark alleyway. It was one of those places where the sun just never seemed to shine. The houses were all so shabby looking, the only sign of life or color around them were the red flowers that hung out of the houses. Kara had always thought of them as a sign of blood and death.
Kara stared at the pictures on her room floor, and picked them all
up one-by-one. She then, put them in the last drawer of her dresser, where
she kept all of her private things, and got out her walkman. She listened
to the radio for awhile, and finally, drifted off into a deep sleep.
--
The steady beating of rain pounded against the window pains as
Kara lifted her eyelids the next morning. Great, the world is in the same
bad mood as I am she thought as she heard a roar of the thunder. She looked
at the red numbers on her alarm clock, by the side of her bed and read 9:42.
Wow, I slept good last night she thought. It was the first week
of summer vacation, and Kara was already bored out of her mind. She
wanted to find a job, desperately. Perhaps, she could meet new people,
have fun, and get paid while doing it. As she popped two pieces of
bread into the toaster, she decided that she would go out looking
for a job if it ever cleared up today.
Her mom had left a note on the kitchen table for her that
read:
Kara,
Gone into town, be back around 4
Mom.
It infuriated her when her mom signed it as mom. She is
no mother to me, Kara thought. Not until she finds a better job
and starts caring about me. Kara wished she would have just
signed the letter as Dawn, to make things simpler.
As she ate her toast, she thought about what kind of job
she could get. After all, she was only 15. A lot of places didn't hire
until you were 16, but she finally decided she would be able to find
something. As long as it paid good and didn't require her showing
any of her body parts, she decided that she'd take the job.
Kara quickly went into her room, and put on the nices T-shirt that she
could find, and a jean skirt. She combed back her dark brown hair, and put
on some make up. She looked into the mirror, and practiced her smile. Something
she hadn't done for a long time. Smile. It felt weird to smile and seem happy on
the inside, when really you were putting on an act, because, truth be told, Kara
felt miserable inside. She was depressed, and didn't know how to make herself happy
again.
---
Kara stared out the window as the lightening flashed once again, lighting up
everything underneath the dark gray skies. Kara was patiently waiting for
the storm to come to an end, so that she could go find a job before her mom returned home
at 4:00. She sighed, as there was a huge BOOM, and all of the lights in the house went off.
For a moment, Kara just stood there, staring into the dark rooms of the house.
It was really dark for being 10:30 in the morning, but she could still find her way
around the house. The wind howled against the siding of the house, and knowing how
old and beat-up it was, Kara wouldn't have been surprised if it would have just fallen
over.
The wind blew hard against the glass of the window, and it shattered.
Rain poured inside the house, making the carpet wet. Kara screamed at the
sudden break, and ran into the kitchen to get a bag to cover up the window.
She realized it would never, work and then decided to get one of the cardboard
boxes that were downstairs.
As she ran down the steps, she thought of how silly Dawn was
to have never unpacked half of the stuff from their home in Chicago, insisting,
that once she got enough money they would move out and find a better place
to stay. Kara reached the bottom, and found a big one with old books
in it. She dumped out the books, ripped open the box, so that it was flat,
and got duct tape. She ran upstairs and taped it around the window.
That was a hard task in itself, because there was so much
wind and rain pounding in her face, and when the rain hit her face, it
stung her cheeks. Luckily, she finally managed to tape it up. With tears
streaming down her face, which Kara wasn't sure if it was from her despression
or the wind stinging her eyes, Kara carefully picked up the glass on the carpet,
and through it into the wastebasket. As she picked up the last piece, her finger
hit a sharp edge, and blood trickled off her finger.
She watched the crimson blood fall down into the wasebasket,
and put the last piece in. She walked to the bathroom, and washed
her hand under the faucet, and then put the wasebasket back. As she
did this, she put a bandage around her finger, and looked out the window.
The storm was beginning to die down a bit, and she thought she
saw a glimpse of sun peeking through one of the clouds in the distance.
so I'm just going to post it here, and see what you all think, and maybe enter it for a contest
or something.
The Office Post
Chapter 1
Kara closed her eyes as the rushing water poured over her head. The water just kept
on pounding down at her, until it covered her. She could hear nothing, only the constant
thumping of the water. She rubbed her sore eyes, and the tears escaped again. She looked
up at the shower nozzle, and turned it towards the warm end again. This time, she movied
her glance to her feet. The warm water spun perpetually down the holes of the drain. She
pounded her fist against the edge of the shower. How could mom do this? She thought.
She didn't understand it, any of it. her dad had been the healthiest, happiest guy
in all of Chaney Avenue. How he could have gotten sick, so sick that the doctors didn't even
know what to make of the disease was just insane. She heard her mom knock on the door
and yelled, "You've been in there for too long, you're wasing our water bill!" Kara couldn't stand
this and without realizing it said, "In Chicago we didn't have to pay a freaking water bill!"
You've gone too far this time, Kara thought to herslef, and without hesitation pulled
the shower handle to off.She stood there, naked, water dripping from every part of her body.
She waited, waited for what seemed like forever. She stood naked in the shower shicvering,
until she finally stepped out onto the soft mat beneath her. She pressed her ear to the old wodden
door, and on the other side could hear her mother crying softly. Kara was covered with dread as
she quickly slipped on her night gown, and turned the cold, brass handle of the bathroom door.
She saw something she will never forget. Her own mother crying. There are times,
when you're a child, and you think of how you never see your mother cry, and you admire her
for that, for never crying, and always being strong. Not once in her entire life had Kara's mother
cried. But now, at this moment, Dawn's black hair was swept over her face, and her hands were
on her head. There were tears, real tears, pouring from her soft green eyes. There was a kleenex
clenced firmly in her right hand, and the mascara on her eyes was running. Kara tried to speak
but nothing came out. She cleared her throat and said, "Mom, I-I'm sorry."
For a moment, she wanted nothing more than to curl up next to her mother, to lay
her head on her shoulder, and cry with her, to feel her warmth, her comfort. But she didn't.
As much as she wanted to, she knew that it would feel to awkward, that she had never gained
her relationship back with her mother, after her father has left them. She turned around, her bare
feet cold against the wooden floor, and opened the door to her room.
---
Her room floor didn't even look like a floor anymore. It looked more like a badly made
collage. There were pictures, so many pictures surrounding her. Pictures of her and her parents
when she was only 3 years old, to pictures of her and her family at the beach only a couple
of years ago. She smiled, remembering the fun time she had had that summer. Back when
her life was so normal, so care-free, with not a worry in the world. Back when she actually
had conversations with her mother, back when her father was healthy. The thing she loved
so much about her family was that they were always busy, but somehow, they always
seemed to find time for eachother.
Her father worked at a Post Office, he was one of the people that took the letters
across the country, so he was rarely home, but he loved his job, and as long as he was happy,
Kara was. Her mother was a hairdresser, that is, until her beauty shop was closed down.
Her mother used to love doing hair and giving manicures and peticures to all kinds of people.
All of her mother's friends worked there, and they'd chat about everything and anything.
But now that was gone. Now her mother, had turned into a drunk, and a prostitute.
She hated her mother, ever since her husband had died, Dawn would go out to local
bars and night clubs, and entertain all the guys. She'd go out and have sex with all
kinds of drunk, ugly, bad smelling people, and she'd do it for pay. Kara couldn't stand
her job choice, the way her clothes smelled of old cigarette butts, the way she'd come
back all drunk and out of it, and then finally pass out after throwing up for hours.
That wasn't even close to what she hated most about her mother. She couldn't
stand when Dawn would bring back guys. She would hear them in the living room, and
Kara would just listen to her music as loud as she could to drone out their moans
and noises. The worst part was, this had only happened for a month, and Kara
didn't have anywhere to go. If this was Chicago, where they had lived a couple
of months ago, Kara would have just gone over to her best friend, Jordana's house.
But now, now she lived in the middle of California, and she didn't have
any friends, So she didn't have anywhere to go or anything to do.
She lived in the crummiest, house you could find. It was down a cold, dark alleyway. It was one of those places where the sun just never seemed to shine. The houses were all so shabby looking, the only sign of life or color around them were the red flowers that hung out of the houses. Kara had always thought of them as a sign of blood and death.
Kara stared at the pictures on her room floor, and picked them all
up one-by-one. She then, put them in the last drawer of her dresser, where
she kept all of her private things, and got out her walkman. She listened
to the radio for awhile, and finally, drifted off into a deep sleep.
--
The steady beating of rain pounded against the window pains as
Kara lifted her eyelids the next morning. Great, the world is in the same
bad mood as I am she thought as she heard a roar of the thunder. She looked
at the red numbers on her alarm clock, by the side of her bed and read 9:42.
Wow, I slept good last night she thought. It was the first week
of summer vacation, and Kara was already bored out of her mind. She
wanted to find a job, desperately. Perhaps, she could meet new people,
have fun, and get paid while doing it. As she popped two pieces of
bread into the toaster, she decided that she would go out looking
for a job if it ever cleared up today.
Her mom had left a note on the kitchen table for her that
read:
Kara,
Gone into town, be back around 4
Mom.
It infuriated her when her mom signed it as mom. She is
no mother to me, Kara thought. Not until she finds a better job
and starts caring about me. Kara wished she would have just
signed the letter as Dawn, to make things simpler.
As she ate her toast, she thought about what kind of job
she could get. After all, she was only 15. A lot of places didn't hire
until you were 16, but she finally decided she would be able to find
something. As long as it paid good and didn't require her showing
any of her body parts, she decided that she'd take the job.
Kara quickly went into her room, and put on the nices T-shirt that she
could find, and a jean skirt. She combed back her dark brown hair, and put
on some make up. She looked into the mirror, and practiced her smile. Something
she hadn't done for a long time. Smile. It felt weird to smile and seem happy on
the inside, when really you were putting on an act, because, truth be told, Kara
felt miserable inside. She was depressed, and didn't know how to make herself happy
again.
---
Kara stared out the window as the lightening flashed once again, lighting up
everything underneath the dark gray skies. Kara was patiently waiting for
the storm to come to an end, so that she could go find a job before her mom returned home
at 4:00. She sighed, as there was a huge BOOM, and all of the lights in the house went off.
For a moment, Kara just stood there, staring into the dark rooms of the house.
It was really dark for being 10:30 in the morning, but she could still find her way
around the house. The wind howled against the siding of the house, and knowing how
old and beat-up it was, Kara wouldn't have been surprised if it would have just fallen
over.
The wind blew hard against the glass of the window, and it shattered.
Rain poured inside the house, making the carpet wet. Kara screamed at the
sudden break, and ran into the kitchen to get a bag to cover up the window.
She realized it would never, work and then decided to get one of the cardboard
boxes that were downstairs.
As she ran down the steps, she thought of how silly Dawn was
to have never unpacked half of the stuff from their home in Chicago, insisting,
that once she got enough money they would move out and find a better place
to stay. Kara reached the bottom, and found a big one with old books
in it. She dumped out the books, ripped open the box, so that it was flat,
and got duct tape. She ran upstairs and taped it around the window.
That was a hard task in itself, because there was so much
wind and rain pounding in her face, and when the rain hit her face, it
stung her cheeks. Luckily, she finally managed to tape it up. With tears
streaming down her face, which Kara wasn't sure if it was from her despression
or the wind stinging her eyes, Kara carefully picked up the glass on the carpet,
and through it into the wastebasket. As she picked up the last piece, her finger
hit a sharp edge, and blood trickled off her finger.
She watched the crimson blood fall down into the wasebasket,
and put the last piece in. She walked to the bathroom, and washed
her hand under the faucet, and then put the wasebasket back. As she
did this, she put a bandage around her finger, and looked out the window.
The storm was beginning to die down a bit, and she thought she
saw a glimpse of sun peeking through one of the clouds in the distance.
