Housekeeping | Open

[Japanator]

My clothes were dripping wet as I walked into the ballroom of the hotel, where they kept tables of various foods. My hair was curly from being wet and I shivered a little as I walked into the fan-cooled room. Kyle was with me, a new friend I'd met only hours ago in this very room. I smiled when I thought about our meeting. He had sat down at my table out of nowhere and pointed out how unoriginal we were for having the exact same meal. It was better than what I had expected him to say.

I looked at our trays and for some reason, maybe relief, maybe nervousness, I laughed. "Right. Well, I think having a meal sort of beats wanting to be unique with your meals." I raised an eyebrow and smiled politely. Then I took a bite of my yogurt. When I'd swallowed, I stuck my hand out over the table. "I'm Skylar Taylor."

He'd been nothing like I'd expected. Kyle was continuosly surprising me. But most of all, he was a gentleman. I looked down at the shirt I was wearing, a black t-shirt that didn't exactly suit me, but was what Kyle had been wearing. I had already brought him a towel so he wouldn't just be walking in all abs and chest hair. But we were getting some odd looks regardless, probably because no one had swam since the attacks. I wouldn't have either if Kyle hadn't given me puppy dog eyes and begged me to swim in the tide pool. And it had been a blast.

We headed for the food, and on the way I grabbed a sheet of paper and a pencil from the bulletin area. I filled my tray with an individual bag of crunchy cheetos, a scoop of pork-n-beans someone had heated up, and a roll. The choices were random and few things at the table actually went together. I passed the selection of drinks that had been here in the hotel to begin with and poured a small cup of apple juice, then headed for the table Kyle and I had met at in the first place.

I sat down and waited a second so Kyle could settle in, and pulled out the sheet of paper. "So, how does 'Skylar Taylor and Kyle Hyssop would like to invite anyone at Coastal Camp who would like to see the beach restored to join us in cleaning it up. We will be meeting outside at the edge of the beach after breakfast each day if you'd like to help,' sound?" I asked him. I scribbled it down as I spoke and then showed it to him.


Tagged- Kyle Hyssop (nouveauchevall)
Charater - Skylar Taylor
Words: ~470

[nouveauchevall]

After we'd swam in the tide pool, Skylar and I laid out in the sun, soaked up some rays, and then decided it was time for lunch. Since Skylar was wearing my shirt, she'd been kind enough to get me a dry towel to wrap around my shoulder before I came inside. I thanked her quietly, and followed her into the chilly building, shivering slightly.

We walked over to get some lunch, filling our plates with whatever we found appetizing. I smiled, thinking of when we met, but I put it out my mind, and took my seat at the table that she had sat at. I sat down with my plate, and cup, and folded my hands, peering pointedly at the paper she held in her hands.

So, how does 'Skylar Taylor and Kyle Hyssop would like to invite anyone at Coastal Camp who would like to see the beach restored to join us in cleaning it up. We will be meeting outside at the edge of the beach after breakfast each day if you'd like to help,' sound? She asked, jotting it down and then flipping the paper over to show me. I nodded, taking a bite of food. After I swallowed, I smiled and said, "That sounds great. So we're starting tomorrow? That's good, because I'm worn out from swimming," I said, adding a yawn for effect.

[Japanator]

I lifted my cup to my lips and savored the crisp, cool juice as Kyle expressed how he felt about the paragraph I'd written. I set my cup back on the table as he explained how tired he was from swimming. "Oh, I know. I think I got out of shape sitting around after...you know." I shrugged and popped a cheeto in my mouth. I chewed it slowly as I thought about the last few weeks. I'd been in a state of depression; I had yet to dance, something I'd done quite often before the attacks. I wondered if I was still any good. Of course, I had no reason to prior to today. And besides, I was surely going to die soon, not that I'd tell Kyle. How could I hope to live when I should have died in that plane coming back from Paris?

I swallowed, forcing my thoughts back to the present. 'We'll wait until tomorrow, and then hopefully we'll have a few volunteers to help us. Regardless, I'm sure we could do fine on our own. But it will get done sooner with more help." I ate another cheeto and then thought back on the day. I folded my hands on the table in front of me and looked at them for a moment before I turned my eyes back up to Kyle. "I, um, I want to say thanks, by the way. Today was a lot of fun, and I really needed that. If it weren't for you coming to sit with me this morning, I'd probably be hiding out in my room now, still in a bad mood. So..thank you." I smiled at him then. The past few weeks had been tough, trying to force the memories of what I'd seen from the plane out of my head. It had been nice to have the distraction today.

I looked back at my hands and then laughed awkardly before taking a bite of the baked beans on my plate. Then I nibbled on the roll while I waited for his response.

[nouveauchevall]

Skylar sipped on her apple juice and then murmured something about getting out of shape after "the incident", as I liked to call it. Everybody else just didn't call it anything. In fact, they didn't even want to talk about it. I figured, talk about it! How is everyone going to deal with what they saw, or experienced, if they didn't talk about it? "You mean the attack?" I said, a bit forcefully. I felt bad immediately about what I said, but I also felt like I should justify it. "Sorry," I said, "but I just feel like people should shelter themselves, or others. We went through a tragedy, but we shouldn't just forget about it, and not bring it up anymore!" I huffed and leaned back in my chair, setting my fork down on my plate.

Skylar slowly started to tell me she was thankful that I'd talked to her. That I'd spent time with her, and got her to take her mind off of things.

I bit my lip, a little ashamed of my outburst. However, I wasn't sorry that I'd said it. I wanted to talk about it! I took a deep breath. "I saw some things. Things I'll probably never be able to un-see. Things I need to talk about. I saw cannibalism when there was no food. I saw people being taken away by those aliens. I..." I could feel my face heat up, and tears well in my eyes. I blinked through it, and took a deep breath. "I saw my baby sister die."

[Japanator]

"You mean the attack? I flinched, partly at the mention of it, partly at Kyle's tone. So he wasn't one to mince words... He explained that he was tired of no one wanting to talk about it. I felt somewhat guilty, because I was one of those people. I didn't want to constantly hear about families being ripped apart, loved ones dying, homes destroyed. At the same time, though, I had felt the opposite of Kyle. In my mind, everyone wanted to bring it up, and I was tired of that. I saw his point, though. Many of the people who were talking about the attacks were complaining or upset. No one was stepping up to help them deal with it. Everyone needed help, but no one was outside of the situation. The only thing we could do was push aside our own needs for a little while and help out someone else.

I went from quilty to annoyed to guilty again. I took a deep breath. Kyle did the same, so I waited before throwing in my own opinion. Then he started talking about what he'd seen. So many terrible things had happened around him. I wondered then if being on the ground during the attack wasn't worse than what I'd seen from the plane. Sure, I'd seen it on a bigger scale, but I was at a distance. Kyle, and most of the others, had seen it up close.

Kyle finished with his sister's death and I closed my eyes, fighting tears. Why was I so afraid to face talking about it? Would it make my death come sooner if I mentioned the attacks? And why would that matter anyway? I took another breath and opened my eyes to look at the table. When I was sure I could speak without my voice breaking, I said, "I can't imagine...I'm sorry you saw all of that, Kyle." I touched his hand briefly and then pulled mine back to rest on my lap. "I was in a plane, flying to Colorado from a connecting flight from Paris. I was looking out through my window, at clouds...then they cleared and I saw...well, it was the States, but they weren't all there... the east coast was gone, Canada... I remember the gasps in the plane when everyone saw it. We all cried." I reached up and poked at my food. I closed my eyes, remembering what it was like in that moment. "We stayed in the air until we ran out of fuel and finally landed in Colorado. It was such chaos...I didn't even...I didn't go home to my parents..." I sucked in a breath and shook my head slightly. I wouldn't cry now.

I looked up at Kyle. "I'm so sorry about your sister...I don't know if my parents died or not, but I can't imagine seeing it happen." How did this happen? Things had been so light just a moment ago. Then, like the attacks, things changed in an instant. But oddly, if felt kind of good to finally tell someone what I'd seen.

[nouveauchevall]

Kyle

I'll admit, I was a little ashamed of the way I had behaved.

I mean, this was a touchy subject for people. Especially those who had seen more than I did. I saw some horrible stuff, but either I was taking it much better than a lot of these people, or the young man sitting with, whom I could only assume was his sister, or mother, being fed his lunch with a spoon while he stared blankly into space had seen one worse than I did.

I repressed a sigh after Skylar had finished talking. So, she'd seen more than I had. Well, not as up-close-and-personal as I had seen, but on a larger scale. She saw the big picture. I was honestly surprised that she hadn't been shot out of the sky. Maybe will all the screaming little humans on the ground, they didn't see or hear the passenger jet buzzing around the sky.

She said she didn't go home to her parents. I'll admit, my first thought was, What kind of person leaves their parents behind? but I kept that tidbit to myself. I realized, I hadn't bother to look for my dad after the attacks. He didn't even cross my mind. I wrote him off as dead, more for my own benefit, so I didn't have to look for him. Now that I think about it, maybe it was just so I didn't have to find him. Alive, or otherwise.

I'm so sorry about your sister...I don't know if my parents died or not, but I can't imagine seeing it happen. I nodded, forcing the image of her small, broken form in my arms, head rolling on her small shoulders, out of my mind.

"Did you try to find them?" I asked, trying to seek words that wouldn't hurt. Or, wouldn't hurt me.

[Japanator]

Did you try to find them? My thoughts returned to those days after we landed, the memory fresh in my mind. Landing was strange. Everyone was silent as we touched down. The glazed looks in people's eyes had stayed with me. I remembered leaving the plane with the tears I'd cried in the air still fresh on my face. I hadn't stopped, I guess. When we stepped into the airport, people were frantic. The news was on every screen and it was immediately apparent that the east coast had been hit. Suddenly everything came screaming back into focus. The world was brighter and louder. I ran from the airport, thinking only of myself as I got on the bus and headed west. The next few days were a blur of switching buses and sleeping in kind strangers' homes at night, because hotel rooms were harder to come by the further west I got. By the time I made it to California, the attacks had stopped.

I felt the tear roll down my cheek before I could stop it. My hand went to my face to rub it away and I glanced down as I shook my head. "I could have. It's not like Colorado was under attack when I landed...but I heard about the east coast before I made it out of the airport and I just...I ran away. They didn't even cross my mind until I was halfway to the west coast." I kept myself together as I spoke, not wanting to cry anymore. What would it help? "Since then, I haven't had the courage to look. I don't even know where to start anyway. Everything is so chaotic right now...they could be anywhere." If they're even alive, I thought. But I wouldn't say it. Then I might really start to freak out.

I sucked in a breath and then met his eyes. "I'm sorry, I just...I know you feel like we should talk about the attacks, and I get it, but I just...I don't really want to talk about it anymore. Today at least." I attempted a smile. I wouldn't ignore it anymore, he did help me get to the point where I could face it. But at the moment, I was exhausted. I wasn't sure if I could talk about it much more today. I hoped he understood that. I really didn't want to offend him. He was the only person in my life right now, and I liked to think we'd become friends today.

[nouveauchevall]

Kyle

I nodded hastily after she said she didn't want to talk about it anymore. She seemed like she was on the verge of crying, and I really didn't want to deal with that. Crying people made me uncomfortable.

All of our talking, swimming, and eating had wasted the day away, and now it was nearing sunset. I ate in silence for the rest of my time at the table. When I was done, I wiped my face with a napkin, placed it on my plate, and then stood. "I think I'm going to go back up to my room. I'll meet you on the beach tomorrow to clean, okay? I guess, if I don't see you at breakfast," I added as an afterthought.

I turned on my heel without waiting for her to say something, placed my trash in a can, and then headed back to my room.

My own version of the attacks was now paired with a second view. An aerial. I sat hard on my bed, nearly bouncing back off again. I was glad no one was here to see that.

I decided to lay on my back and stare at the ceiling. The blazing orange sunset caught my eye from the window, and I got up and crossed to it. The sun was visibly sinking lower and lower, until only a snip of light was above the horizon. Then, that too had gone. I sighed, and crossed back to my bed. I laid back down on my back, staring at the ceiling. It seemed to be no time at all, and I started to feel more and more drowsy, making shapes out of the popcorn ceiling. Soon, I was asleep.

[Japanator]

Kyle responded with a nod. I felt relief, because I had been trying to avoid this conversation since arriving in California. Not that I resented him for bringing it up. I was oddly conflicted; glad that I knew I could face it, but sick at the thought of discussing it more. But Kyle was respecting my need to stop and I was grateful for it. I felt closer to him now, as well. Strangers didn't just discuss personal things like that. I must have been right about us being friends now. That made me happy.

My happiness was short lived, however. Because Kyle was standing. He explained that he was going to bed. Suddenly I was filled with a feeling that I'd offended him. He'd wanted to badly to talk it out, and I'd ended the conversation. How rude must he think I am now? He said he'd meet me on the beach if we didn't see each other at breakfast. Was he going to avoid me now? It's not like you've planned to eat breakfast everyday, I reminded myself. Right. Kyle disappeared before I could say 'okay, see you tomorrow.'

I waited a moment, staring at my still half-full plate. I debated finishing it, but my appetite was gone. I stood and walked my platter to the trash can and tossed it. I did finish my juice, though. I wandered through the hotel until I found myself outside, on the beach. The sun was dipping below the horizon as I sat down. It set the sky on fire and I watched, deep in thought about nothing at all. When I could finally see the stars overhead, I leaned back on my elbows and listened to the waves as I stared upward. Finally my gaze went back to the hotel, eyeing each window, wondering idly which room Kyle was in, whether he was asleep, and whether he was angry.

After about an hour, I stood and went back inside. I went in autopilot mode as I found my room, dressed in my pajamas and sank into the comfort of my bed. The last thing that crossed my mind before sleep took me was a memory of this afternoon, of swimming and laughing with my friend Kyle.

[nouveauchevall]

Kyle

I woke up; not suddenly like normal, but rather, I just slowly became aware of my surroundings. I was aware of the rushing of the sea that drifted lazily through my partially open window. I was aware of the beam of sunlight coming in, and when I opened my eyes, I saw the tiny dust particles swirling in the ocean breeze. I breathed in very slowly, and held it. I remembered my... not really date with Skylar, but more... outing? I didn't know. Maybe it was a date.

I glanced at the clock on the bedside table. I had nothing to worry about. It was barely seven o'clock. I let out my breath, and sat up.

Looking in the mirror, I noticed what a mess my hair was. I attempted to flatten it with my hands, but it did nothing. I undressed, and got in the shower, savoring the hot water as it flowed over my tense shoulders. I washed my hair quickly, and got out, glad to see that my intense case of bed-head was gone. I dried, combed, and styled my hair after dressing in my beach cleaning clothes; a white cotton button up shirt, and a different pair of khaki cargo shorts, and went back to my room.

I was a little ashamed of my sudden disappearance yesterday, but I was uncomfortable, tired, and wracked with emotion from recalling the attacks from my view. I didn't regret talking about it; I felt better; like I could breath again. I'd been holding everything in for fear of upsetting someone, or even myself. But now, letting it out and getting it in the open, I felt better. I felt like I'd released this huge secret, and now I didn't have to feel self-conscious, or set apart from everyone. I felt normal again.

I decided I couldn't put off going to breakfast any longer. Besides, I was hungry.

I walked to the elevator, after looking out my window for a brief moment, thankful not to see anyone on the way. I wondered absently what floor Skylar was staying on. I hadn't seen her before, so I guessed it wasn't my floor. The elevator slowed to a stop at the ground floor, and I got off, searching without thinking for her. I didn't see her, so I walked to the buffet line, filling my plate. I smiled to myself, getting the same exact breakfast as yesterday. I guess I really wasn't that original.

I sat at our table, still gazing around for a hint of Skylar. Her light blonde hair, thin frame, anything. I sighed through my nose, and turned to my breakfast, scooping a spoon of yogurt into my mouth, and washing it down with some cold apple juice. The juice made me shiver, but for what reason, I didn't know. I wasn't cold, at least.

[Japanator]

The angry buzzing sound that erupted from my alarm clock at 7 o'clock was a rude awakening, and one that I suddenly wished I hadn't set up. It wasn't like I had a job to go to after all. I sat up and pushed my hair back from my face and looked around. I no longer woke wondering where I was and what happened to bring me here. Today, I woke knowing exactly where I was and why. Was this my new normal? I did suddenly remember my plans for the day; cleaning the beach with Kyle. I pulled away my covers and stood, and made my way to the dresser to find an outfit. I settled on jean shorts, a green top, and green flip flops. It was the beach after all.

I took a quick shower and curled my hair with scrunching gel, blow-dried it and pulled it into a ponytail. Right- breakfast. No doubt Kyle would be down there already. It was seven thirty, and I finally left my room and headed downstairs. In the elevator ride down, I became nervous. I'd only really know Kyle a day, but it felt like so much longer. And so much had happened by now. I'd learned a lot about him, and I hoped I wasn't wrong in thinking that we'd bonded. I wondered if he planned to stay friends after all this.

The doors opened into the lobby and I once again regretted not coming the back way. There were fewer people on stretchers today, but it was still just as saddening and gruesome. I rushed to the ballroom without another glance. I peeked inside and scanned the room for Kyle. He was at what was becoming our table. I chided myself for thinking that way, my romantic side fighting to come out. I shot a smile his way and waved and then went to the buffet line and picked a few random things. A yogurt, banana, a half a bagel with cream cheese, and an apple juice.

I walked to our table without looking at him. It felt awkward suddenly. Thinking of last night, I wondered again if he hadn't been mad at me. It was so sudden, and now I wasn't sure where we stood. I sat down next to him and finally looked at him. "Morning," I said with a half smile. I peeled my banana and opened the yogurt, settling in for my meal. I had a feeling I was going to need this energy today.

[nouveauchevall]

I bit my lip as Skylar came to sit down at our table. Er, the table.
Morning, she said quietly, and I gave her a quick smile before spooning more yogurt in my mouth. Honestly, after the way I'd left the table last night, I was surprised she was even sitting with me. I kept my eyes on my plate, shooting quick glances at her every half a minute. Soon I was done with my food, and I turned in my seat to face her.
"So," I said, lamely. I tried again. "How did you sleep?" Again, a little lame, but it was all I had.

I felt like I could have done without my sleep, seeing how little I got anyways, but I wanted to try to be normal. My dreams last night were glimpses of the... attacks, I forced myself to think. I kept my brain from pulling them back to the surface, but I still got a few looks. I woke up many times in a cold sweat, tangled in bed sheets and beating up my pillow.
I wondered if I'd screamed.
It crossed my mind that maybe that's where the bed-head had come from. I'd rolled in my sleep before the attacks, but now it was for a different reason than just vivid dreams, or stiff springs. It was nightmares. Vivid nightmares. It was running from the alien invaders, trying to save my sister and failing every time. It was peeling the dead hands of the attackers from my legs after I'd shoved a hunting knife through it's head.
But we don't talk about that anymore.

[Japanator]

I pulled a piece of my bagel and nibbled on it. He'd smiled, so that was a good sign. I had worried that he'd been angry with me the night before. The fact that he didn't get up and leave when he finished his breakfast was another good sign. He was actually turning to speak to me. So, he started. I wondered what he wanted to say, and whether it would have anything to do with his reasons for leaving so hastily the night before. But Kyle went in a different direction and asked how I slept. I shrugged casually. "Better than usual..." I said, remembering the dreams that had seemed to focus around Kyle himself. Or, rather, the two of us. I looked down at my yogurt briefly to hide a blush, and took a bite.

I looked back up at him. "What about you?" I asked before continuing to eat my yogurt. Now that I was looking at him, I could see the lack of sleep around his eyes. He looked tired. I wondered if it was nightmares that kept him up, or interupted his sleep. He had more reason than most to have nightmares. I felt guilty for saying I'd slept well when he clearly hadn't.

It didn't take long to finish the yogurt so I went back to nibbling on the bagel as I thought about Kyle's lack of sleep, my own dreams, and the cleaning that would happen later on the beach. I wished we'd had more people sign on to help, but my hope was that people would be interested or inspired when they saw our progress. I didn't know anyone else here anyway, aside from Kyle, so maybe I'd make some more friends as well. It would be nice to be able to talk to a girl about this attraction I was starting to feel for a guy I'd only know for 24 hours.

[nouveauchevall]

Kyle

Better than usual, Skylar said, blushing at the table like she was hiding something. I decided that if there was something she wanted to talk about, she'd tell me.
Ha! Yeah right. "What is it?" I chuckled. I kind of regretted it, because what if it was something really personal, or embarrassing, and nothing I wanted to hear about?
I still wanted to know.

Skylar asked about how I slept, and my first reaction was to say, Oh, I slept great. Yeah, out like a light all night, but if I wanted her to answer honestly, I supposed that I should, too. I mean, we were friends. We'd only known each other a whole day, but we were close. And she was the only person in the world right now who I was even talking to, much less trusting. I'd opened my mouth in anticipation of lying, and I hesitated.

"Actually," I started, "I slept pretty terribly. Yeah, I woke up this morning... well, actually I woke up a bunch of times, but this last time I woke up tangled up in sheets, with pretty bad bedhead. Nightmares," I said. She looked guilty for a moment. "It's not your fault," I said, touching her arm. "I would have had those nightmares no matter who I talked to that about. No matter if I even talked about it. Plus, it was me who brought it up anyways," I said, leaning back into my chair, feeling kind of sour. I hadn't thought about that until now. I kind of was kicking myself now about it. I could have used the sleep before this big beach-cleaning thing.

[Japanator]

Kyle seemed to know there was something on my mind the way I looked at the table and he smiled and asked me what I was thinking. I returned the smile, feeling somewhat enchanted as I shrugged coyly and shook my head. "It's nothing..." I released a short laugh and pulled another piece off the bagel and popped it in my mouth. What was I supposed to say? Oh, yes, Kyle, I had wonderful dreams about you all night and I've never slept better! Yeah. Right.

Kyle went on to tell me how terrible a night he'd had. I could feel my eyebrows come together in a look of sad sympathy. I didn't like the idea that my friend was suffering from nightmares. He hinted that maybe forcing me to talk about the attacks the day before had been a bad idea. I was about to argue that it had been necessary, that I would have gone on running from the memories if he hadn't opened that door, but I could tell Kyle was regretting it because of the nightmares, not because of me. He'd opened a floodgate of memories that were tormenting him in his sleep. I honestly felt sorry for him.

He had said it wasn't my fault. I figured I must have looked guilty before, when I'd thought about my good night's sleep. "I just feel bad. I was just saying what a good night I had when your's was terrible..." I paused for a moment, thinking about the upcoming day. "Are you feeling up to today? If we need to postpone it we can...it doesn't look like anyone else was planning to join us..." I hesitated. "But I'd still like to hang out...with you, I mean. I've had fun the last couple days. Probably why I'm sleeing better."