Ring. Ring. Eyes still shut, the body jolted up. Shivering. The alarm. The fucking alarm. Usually, I would have been up by now but this morning was different. Lethargy soaked my mind. The long night vividly allured me to the warmth of the cushion. 'Monday,' I said to myself in contempt as the eyelids opened.
The laser light, peaking through the windows, struck my round face. My eyes shuttered against the steely rays as I glanced the frost steeping in the warm sunlight. The frost glistened the windows. Hazy crystals marked the glass pale yellow. It crackled. Popping ever so often, bothering the quiet. Crunchy streaks of lemon snow piled on the window, intimately stroking the grey sky. Dog piss. "Not again," I sighed.
Beyond the Great wall of piss laid the jungle of wooden homes and asphalt road. The roads, caked in ice crushed by the waves of 6-ton vehicles zooming to work, smothered the windows with grime and ice dust, obstructing the final beam of light. Ring. Ring. "Fucking shut up already," I grabbed my phone and shut the alarm.
Winter coat. Winter boots. Blue jeans with inner thermal wear. Winter gloves. Touque. Ready for shovelling. Out of the musky basement and into the shivering, I went. Knee deep, crushing the fluff, wading through the jelly of white. Squuesh. Squuesh. The shovel scrapped against the pavement as I pushed the snow aside. The snow slumped against the dead tree in the lawn.
"Hey, how are you?" my neighbour shouted from his preheated car.
"Hey, I'm good. How are you?" I shouted back, not remembering his name.
"I'm good. Good. Well, got to go. See ya later."
"See you later," I replied hastily. He rolled up his automatic windows, reversed onto the frozen road and disappeared into the horizon. "Should have told him about the dog," I cursed myself. "Haa, next time."
I descended into my basement. The chill air overpowered the heaters, the cold seeping to every crevices of the home. My school bag, resting in a corner, lying empty, soaked with frost. Or was it dust. I couldn't tell from the blood-drained hands stiffened by the winter. I took the bag to the fridge, dumping the leftover Mac-and-cheese box into it. Thud. A novel fell from my bed. 'Rebirth Into the New World'. I walked to the novel, picked it up, and flipped to the end page.
"A gift to my dear son. Happy birthday. - Mom."
"Birthday…," a whisper bubbled from my breath.
I took the book and carefully placed it in my bag. Separate from the food. Separate from my stack of porn. A smile creeped on my face.
Out of the house and into the Honda Civic 1999. A beauty with no bullshit power windows, no frustrating power locks. Simple and elegant. A workhorse of old days. Served a decade and will serve another if taken care of. "Fucking cold though," my shivering teeth muttered. Twisted the key. Turned the heater on. Turned up the music. Gangster rap—old school but pure gold.
"Now we are playing 'All eyes of me' by 2Pac. A classic to enjoy your wonderful morning," the radio lady announced.
The engine sputtered as I snailed through the sand and gravel laced roads. 20 Km/hour in a 60 Km/hour road. Icy roads. Traffic. Traffic accidents on the side. A classic morning experience. "Another fucking wonderful day," I spat to the radio, looking out the window. Children played in the snow. Fighting, arguing, throwing snowballs, running. Smiling.
Beeep. The asshat honked behind me.
Dray
roiled