11Mitch:
We enter this world with four words and we leave this world with three words.
I entered the world with "It is a boy" and I will leave this world with "He is dead."
Yes, I know that it varies depending on your gender, but you get the point.
Keep that in mind.
[ † ]
I read my short grocery list.
Get a new pack of cigarettes ✔
Buy more Hot Pockets
"But, I forgot the most important thing…"
I scribble the last thing on the list.
Get a Life!
For some reason that should have been funny, but isn't. I need a life. I'm an empty shell of what I used to be. I am a walking zombie; a pathetic human. I take a puff of my cigarette as I lean back on the concrete steps of my dead girlfriend's house.
Today is the day that the poor middle class house is going to be demolished because the stupid rich people of Ventura are planning to make more businesses. It's the last time that I will have one concrete thing that will remind me of her of my dear Annabelle.
I fish through my overly-sized jeans to find my empty wallet. It might be empty of money, but full of memories. I flip to the flaps to find her picture and I stare at her bright emerald eyes and her long black hair. It's sad knowing that an angel like her is gone from this world.
Every time I stare at her picture it makes me smile. I take a final intake of smoke from my cigarette as I throw it to the ground. I feel it course through my nostrils as I exhale. I notice the approaching vehicles and I know it's time. Goodbye Annabelle.
I walk out of there without being seen as I make my way down First Street cutting off into smaller streets. I finally approach the corner of Chestnut Drive and First Street. I take out another cigarette and light it up with my lighter inhaling its disease.
I stare down Chestnut Drive and all I see are people rushing through the street.
People storming through stores with like a dozen bags in each arm. Everyone is in a rush after all it's almost Christmas, two more days. Seeing everyone going about their lives for some reason it makes me sick. I inhale another round from my cigarette as I flicker my cigarette ash on the snowy pavement sidewalk. I stare at the people not looking at anyone in particular, but just the groups of people in and out of stores, I stare like a stalker with a cigarette.
The wind is picking up; another wind storm seems to be approaching. It's easy to notice that kind of stuff when all the birds are gone. No freaken bird in sight, there should be like during spring or summer, hand full of them. Some kids find it fun to sling shot them with rocks, many birds die and yet next season more come. I wouldn't want to come back, if I had wings I would use them to get away from this miserable place. I continue walking down First Street, everything is deserted. All the standing homes are empty just waiting to be demolished like Annabelle's house. To make space for more freaken stores and businesses. More freaken rich people. It's no surprise how much they piss me off. People were taken out of their homes last year, everyone. All of First Street belonged to the middle class people, now it belongs to the rich as they will shape it into another wealthy street full of elegant shopping centers and anything they god dam want. I make my way down the abandon street; everything is silent besides the rush of wind whispering in the air.
It's a depressing walk; I've walked down this street since I was a boy. I used to live in one of the houses back when I was a youngest, way before the people were taken out. My whole family lived in house number 476; my mother says it's our family's lucky number. I personally favorite the so called unlucky thirteen, but I never dare mention it in front of her. What makes this walk so depressing is that for years I walked down this street with Annabelle. Every speck of this street has some memory of my beloved Annabelle. I met her on this street when I was thirteen hence why it's my favorite number. I asked her to be my girlfriend on this street and she jokingly asked me to be her boyfriend on Third Street.
"One and Three put together side by side make thirteen" she quoted that day.
It's just freaken depressing walking down this street; I try to avoid the sudden tight grip on my throat. I've cried enough, this is pathetic. Crying like some kind of baby. I tell myself every time I walk down this street. I make it through into other streets until I find the train tracks and follow them all the way down until I reach my apartment.
Calling it my apartment isn't correctly said at all more like the place I rent. A small one room apartment in an apartment building, filled with hopeless people like myself. I make it to the street that will take me right to the front of the building making it easier to get to my apartment. I hate crossing through the other side because I get the motherfucking stare in the face. Not of a person, but a stupid billboard. Stupid rich people, stupid, stupid, STUPID!
"Coming soon…" is written underneath the enormous picture of some fancy hotel that the rich folks are planning to build on top of my home. The rich have given the owner of the property a year to evacuate the people. So in this year, old Gregory has raised everybody's rent obviously to get some more money before he gives the property away.
I get into the building and make my way up the stairs, old Gregory is too cheap to get the only two elevators fixed. They broke down the second day I moved in, it was just my luck. I had to prepare to walk up five flights of stairs just to get to my apartment every day. It sucks when I forget something like my lighter and I have to go all the way up to get it. I finally make it to my floor and walk down the hall to my one room apartment number 476. Yeah I know family lucky number. Shut up, the number tends to follow me around. My favorite cigarettes are always $4.76 tax included; I just say coincidence. The pack has thirteen cigarettes that is all that my mind cares about, thirteen.
Just my freaken luck.
Anger is flowing through my veins right as I come face to face with my door and its wonderfully taped notice.
"Evicted!" I yell.
"Come on" I shout as I kick the door. I hear my next door neighbor open her door a bit as she snoops to see my reaction.
"Yes Irene evicted" I turn slightly to her side as I give her the eye.
"About time" she huffs as she slams her door. I would swear, but I was taught to respect my elders even if she's a pain in the ass. Irene, she hates me since I moved in.
The story is the apartment that was mine before I saw the freaken notice was supposedly going to be her daughter's, but like old Gregory picked me instead of the daughter; she's all up in my case for it. Blames me for getting her daughter pregnant; it's not what it seems! No, I didn't have sex with her, but because she didn't get the apartment she went to rent at this cheap motel apartment for a week. I guess she was into drugs or something like that, seriously I have no idea and don't really care, but she ends up hitting it with some random guy and ends up pregnant. And the old hag - I mean Irene blames me for it. I believe her daughter is at fault, but anyway the case being Irene is the enemy.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" I spout as I bang on the door with my fist.
"NO!" I shout as I bang my forehead on the door and leave it up against the door as I stare down at the wooden floor.
I close my eyes hoping it's a freaken nightmare and that I overslept. I feel like choking someone right now. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
"Mitch?" I hear my name, but I ignore it.
I start banging my forehead on the door.
"Mitch?!" the girl's voice repeats.
Doesn't she see what I am going through right now? Really now, can it get more embarrassing?
"Mitch, stop acting like a baby. What did you expect Greg to do; you hadn't paid rent for months!" She says evenly.
I give up my head banging and just start to bang the door with my fist, my freaken apartment, my freaken door, my freaken fist, my freaken pain.
"Mitch, you better stop that. You know Irene…"
"She's had her share" I add before she is able to continue.
Respect my elders, well Irene makes it god dam hard to. I mean how can I not curse out a hag that sends the cops over to my apartment every other day that she hears me playing music. I mean it's not even that freaken loud, also isn't she suppose to be almost going deaf or something, really now.
After a long pause and that sort of awkward silence arises; I turn to face her as I stand up against my apartment door.
First thing I notice; why is she only wearing a long t-shirt barely covering her underwear? The things women do in their free time is way out of my brain capacity.
I let out an awkward sigh and rub the back of my neck with my hand, awkward.
"Ahem" I voice, Stop staring at her legs, stop staring -
"Mitch, you really look like shit right now you know that? Having that stupid look on your face doesn't make it any better."
"Sorry Janis that's just my face" I comment smugly.
I stare at her legs without really thinking, "So, what are you up to this early in the morning?"
"Cooking" she answers shortly as she rubs her brow.
"…wearing only a t-shirt and underwear" I note as I plaster a thinking grin.
"So, I was in my apartment before I heard someone going at it outside, sounded like someone was hitting it hard, but NO turns out to be your sorry ass."
"Your attire makes it seem like you'd just had sex, you know that? Well that wouldn't matter because no one would sleep with you!" I state childish as I stick out my tongue at her. Yes, childish, but it takes me away a bit from my current disaster.
It's the Janis glare, deadly. Oh please…
"You know what, Mitch grow up!" she snaps quickly.
"I'll grow up once you grow boobs" I counter as I turn around facing my door again. Face to face with my door! Janis stomps her foot on the wooden floor behind me like a little girl and stays quiet. I can hear her hasty breathing, she wants to counter back, but she knows nothing can beat my statement. It's not my fault mother-nature didn't give her nature's fruits.
"Aaaaaaa, I still have my stuff in there! He can't just evict me like that without any warning!" I spat as I turn to face Janis.
"Stuff, really? All you had in there were empty packs of cigarettes, a guitar, and a backpack full of whatever it has inside. No Warning? You hadn't paid rent for months. Greg was generous enough to let you stay this long" Janis huffs into the air in front of me.
"How do you know all this?" I question. Worst case scenario old Gregory was throwing my belongings out the door for all the people to see. Everyone looking into my bag…
"Cuz Greg dropped them off at my place earlier today; told me that you hadn't paid rent in months. He was fed up with your freeloading sorry ass."
"Oh isn't he generous?" I snap sarcastically.
"Better than having him throw all your stuff in the trash, I'd say he was being generous enough" Janis defends, clearly not understanding sarcasm.
"Didn't you learn in school the term sarcasm? I was being sarcastic, he wasn't generous. He throws me out in the worst time, I mean come on give me a break, it's almost Christmas." I voice as I take a look at my apartment door.
Janis whispers something under her breath clearly an insult directed at me, but I blow it off.
My apartment; was my apartment.
"Dam it, he threw out my new pack of cigarettes and my freaken money" I remember as I recall the other items in Janis's possession.
She tries to contain a laugh, I stare at her blankly.
"Mitch, I got the ciggs. About the money, I really hope you're saying you have some money stashed somewhere in the apartment. You better not be talking about the twenty four cents we found on the coffee table?" She looks at me waiting to hear the answer to her question.
"That money is for the children!" I sigh.
"Twenty four cents for the children? Mitch you really are a -"
"I give those twenty-four cents to the Santa Clause on the corner of Willons and Chestnut Drive every week day as I come back home from seeing Annabelle. It's the change from the pack of cigarettes I buy every other day." I answer honestly.
"Oh your miserable thirteen pack. You really should cut back some, it's not good for your health."
"Please not now and not here, when I am officially been horse shitted!"
"Well hurry up and get over your shitting. So, you can pick up your stuff because it's starting to make my living room stink. What do you have in that backpack?"
"Just men stuff" I answer shortly knowing very well that it's dirty, dirty clothes from like a year ago.
"Well get your men stuff out of my apartment before I end up throwing it away" she threatens.
We make a move to head to her apartment which in fact isn't that far away from mine just down the hall number 469.
"Just for the heck of it" I whisper as I turn around and take my keys out of my pocket.
I insert the key in the keyhole and before I can twist it a bit, Janis inserts "He changed the lock" as she walks back to her apartment.
I try to twist it, she's right. Dam you, Gregory! Dam you to hell!
I kick the door again just for the heck of it.
Irene opens her door again a bit, "Are you happy now, Huh?" I growl at her.
I walk away from my apartment and go stand at Janis's door. I see how she's bringing over my beauty, my lovely guitar. I walk in and notice the nice touches to the apartment, way more modern then the last time I was here, which was like months ago. Plasma TV, a whole entertainment system, way more upgraded than the last time I was here for sure.
I throw my smelly backpack on my back, grab my guitar to one side and extend my hand in front of Janis's face.
She puts on a puzzled look, "I'm not giving you money Mitch!" She immediately insults me, but I let it pass.
"My ciggs!" I snap.
"Oh right, sorry" she notes as she goes over to a cabinet and gets my pack.
She hands me the pack and my money as she drops every single coin in my palm slowly.
"Just so you don't blame me for stealing your twenty four cents" she says with a hint of laughter behind her voice.
"Because of the children" I answer.
"Right the children" she agrees with a smile as she stands crossing her arms in front of her flat chest.
"Well then" she adds clearly trying to get rid of me. What kind of friend are you? My mind seems to want to scream at her.
"Where you gonna go?"
"I don't know" I answer shortly as I move my guitar to my other arm.
"Well you can always go to your brother's house."
She just had to throw the Craig card in this mess didn't she?
"I'd never go to Craig's. I'd have to be freaken desperate to stoop that low to have to ask my older brother for help. I'd have to be fucken stupid, really" I fume.
She stares at me with some weird eyebrow raising female look of surprise or dam her…
- One Hour Later -
"Charity events are held at the church" the annoying lady spats into the intercom at the gate.
"I'm Mitch, I'm here to see my brother" I voice into the speaker even though I'll regret it later.
"Oh" the annoying lady lightly gasps.
Yeah, surprised much? Don't worry I'm morbidly surprise that I'm standing here too.
[ † ]
Any type of criticism is welcomed.
- static mind