I was manic.
Laughing as though there was nothing funnier to have ever existed. Watching the life drain from his eyes was the funniest thing I had ever seen.
It. Was. So. Funny.
But why…?
Why was watching this man lying here so funny?
Well, let's be honest now, this is no longer a man, just a corpse. Nothing but meat with no emotion.
Yet I laugh.
My sides hurt.
Yet I laugh.
My cheeks burn.
Yet I laugh.
There is nothing left.
Yet I laugh.
Where did it all go wrong?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
I leaned back and fully stretched out my body as I shakily yawned.
“Tss. Ah.” I grabbed my calf.
“Charley horse, huh?” Melonie pushed a steaming cup of green tea towards me. “Here, drink some. It's a sign of dehydration.”
“Says who?” I glared, slowly pulling the tea toward myself.
“Says me. If you weren’t so terrible at taking care of yourself, do you think I’d have to constantly nag you like I’m your mother? I’m younger than you for fuck’s sake!”
“Well, your name is dumb,” I muttered, sulking into my chair.
Melonie rolled her eyes, “complain all you want, but do it after you finish your assignments.” She turned back around, put her headphones on top of her lush red curls, and started scribbling down notes on her tablet.
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Perfect. That word best describes Melonie. She was tall and beautiful. She had gorgeous waist length red curls that bounced with every sway. She walked with confidence and flair, and there was a burning ambition in her bright blue eyes. And when she smiled, her teeth shined through her perfect smile.
Despite her perfection, she decided, for some reason, to become friends with me—a short, choppy-haired, chubby bum. I wore thick glasses, but wasn’t even smart. I had mediocre grades, and even more mediocre social skills. Sometimes I wonder if she’s friends with me to make herself look better in comparison.
I shake the thought out of my head. Shut up, insecurity! Can I have just one good day?
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll get right on that,” I sigh as I pick up my pencil and start answering practice problems.
Midway through a problem Melonie nudges me with her elbow, “ow! What’s your problem? Now I lost my train of thought! I’m gonna…”
“Shut up!” She covers my mouth as a look of worry covers her face. “Do you hear that?”
I listen for a few seconds then shrug. “Everything seems fine to me,” I say slowly moving her arm away from my mouth.
“It’s too quiet. We’re in a library, in the middle of the day, during exam season, yet there isn’t even a peep.”
I look around confused. She’s right, everything around us is still. Everyone is frozen in place. Even the second counter on the digital clock was frozen at 12:34:00. I slowly get up from my chair and take a step towards a frozen person next to me.
Suddenly, a circle of light opens up beneath Melonie, and her chair begins to sink into it, taking her with it. “Rishi!” she screams, reaching out as panic sets in her eyes.
I launch toward her, just barely catching her arm. I slam hard against the floor as I feel my ankle snap, “Aaahhh!” I look back and see my left foot still in the same position as when I stepped away from my chair, while my ankle and the rest of my leg faced the other direction. It was almost as though my foot was stuck inside some invisible cement, preventing it from moving.
The hole kept getting bigger, and I felt like I was going to pass out from pain, as my left foot slowly started to release from the “cement”.
“Rishika, are you okay!” Melonie screamed, horrified from the snapping sound.
“I’m okay, just focus on finding a way out of that hole you’re in,” I grunted through clenched teeth.
Melonie felt around for a bit as the hole continued to get bigger and the circular light shone brighter. Distant chanting slowly started to get louder, and started to sound more and more desperate. Most of the chanting was drowned out by the pain in my ankle and the sound of my heart thumping in my ears.
“My lord, they cannot hold on much longer!” someone yelled from deep within the hole.
“Hold on just a little longer!” a commanding voice called back.
“There’s nothing to grab on to,” Melonie panted as tears started forming in her eyes.
“It’s okay, I got you,” I reassured through pained pants. As long as my foot stays…
Pop.
“Ah, shi…”
My foot popped free as we tumbled down into the hole.