Whatever
Prompt: Write about Valentine's Day from the point of view of an emotion.
Title: Whatever
Word count: 1200
I opened my eyes, and immediately regretted it. The sun was shining directly in my face, forcing me wake up and get on with my day. I had once again awakened before my alarm. Why do I even bother? I reached over and pushed the alarm button to “off,” and rolled onto my back, staring at the ceiling.
“Just another day,” I said through a cleansing exhale. I laid there wondering how much energy it would truly take for me to get out of the bed. It didn’t feel like I’d ever be able to generate it. And my mood darkened even more at the sound of my roommate bounding down the hallway. I knew she was going to run into my room. She did every morning.
And sure enough, I saw her in my doorway. Despite it being 6:30 in the morning, she looked like she’d been up for hours soaking all the joy from anyone in vicinity and calling it her own. She was just too bouncy for me in the mornings like this. Like she provided the caffeine for energy drinks. She was an untapped source. She was dressed in pink, even more pink than usual, and that was saying something.
“Good morning!” she squealed.
“Yea,” I sighed, trying not to make eye contact.
“Guess what? Guess what today is?” I could hear her bouncing on the floorboards.
“It’s Thursday.”
And there she was, bouncing up and down on the edge of my bed. “Nooo!!! Come on, guess!”
I rolled my eyes. “The suspense is killing me. Why don’t you just tell me?” I monotoned.
“VALENTINE’S DAY!!!!!!” she shrieked in a voice I was sure only dogs could hear.
I closed my eyes.
She didn’t wait long. “Valentine’s Day! You know, the day of love, and romance, and sweetness, and red and pink, and cards, and flowers, and candy hearts, and chocolates, and going out to dinner, and kissing that special someone, and little kids giving out their valentines in classes, and secret admirers, and stuffed animals, and…” she prattled on.
I had lost her at romance and had begun counting the tiles on my ceiling as I did every morning she burst into my room like an annoying Chihuahua. And wondered for the millionth time why I didn’t sleep with my door shut and locked.
“Hey!”
“What?”
“Didn’t you hear anything I just said?” she asked and I could almost hear her bottom lip sticking out in her pouty way.
“Yea, yea. Love and commercialism. Got it.” I rolled over to the side of my bed and slowly got up.
“You are no fun!” she said, still with a smile plastered on her face.
“Ok.”
“Doesn’t it bother you that everyone else is going to be celebrating today and you’re just going to go about your day as always without any mirth?”
“Nope.”
“Don’t you want to join in on the fun?”
“You’re assuming I think those activities are fun,” I said as I put toothpaste on my brush and stuck it in my mouth, scrubbing back and forth, hoping the noise would drown her out. No such luck, she just spoke up.
“But, but love should be celebrated!”
I shrugged.
“Come on!!!! Please, please, please, please come and do something with me. Come…frost the heart-shaped cookies I made last night!” She had skipped from one foot to the other with each “please.”
I spit into the sink. “Can’t. Just brushed my teeth.” I brushed past her and went to my closet, looking for something to wear. Which took no time at all since everything in the closet was the same. I started getting dressed with her in the room, what difference did it make? She wasn’t paying attention anyway.
“You could help me write a poem! Oh, I would love to get a poem! Can you imagine? And flowers!? Oh, I can’t wait to see if I have a Valentine!!!”
My ears were going to start bleeding at her pitch. “Then you should definitely go and get on that.”
“Come with me!”
“No thanks. Really.” I ran a brush through my plain straight hair. I wondered what I would do with the rest of the day, but knew I needed a plan, or she’d never leave me alone.
“Come on…you know you want to,” she was tickling me under the chin like I was a cat.
“Can’t. I have other plans.”
Her eyes lit up. “Really!? With who!?”
My eyes were going to get lost in the back of my head if I rolled them anymore. “Not with anyone. I just have stuff to do.”
“I would LOVE to come with you! Please, please, please?” Again with the bouncing. It was like she never stopped moving.
“It’s just the same old stuff I do everyday. So, I don’t think you’d be interested.” I moved out of my room and walked down the hall way with her practically jogging behind me.
“Nothing makes me happier than spending time with you! Or frosting cookies! Or Valentine’s Day! Or waking up in the morning! Or smiling! Or pink! Or-“
“Hey.”
“What?”
“Do whatever you want. It isn’t like it matters to me.” I plopped down on the couch and flipped on the TV.
She hurdled over the couch and landed on the couch. “Ok! What are we gonna do!”
I tried to come up with something that would dissuade her from spending anymore time with me. “I’m going to watch the History Channel.”
“I LOVE the History Channel!!!!!!!!!!” The couch started bouncing.
“I meant the Home Shopping Network.”
“I LOVE the Home Shopping Network!!!!!!!!” It felt like an earthquake.
This was getting me no where. “Why don’t you go and do something you want to do?”
“Like what!” she chirped.
“Anything you want. As long as it isn’t here.”
She sprang up from the couch! “Ok!” And she ran off in the direction of her room.
I looked blankly at the TV. I couldn’t decide what to watch, but decided it didn’t really matter anyway, so just stopped on some random channel and continued to stare at, but not see, the TV. Maybe I zoned out because it seemed too soon when I felt the all too familiar bouncing beside me on the couch.
“Guess what!?”
“What? I don’t know.”
“I made you something!” Her voice raised to a Mickey Mouse tenor.
“Ok.”
“Don’t you want to see it!”
“If you want me to see it. Sure. Whatever,” I said without turning my face away from whatever it was I was watching on the TV.
“Close your eyes!!!” she squealed.
“I don’t want to.”
“Please!?”
“No.”
“I LOVE when you’re like this!”
“Listen, I’m kinda busy here. Why don’t ya, ya know, go and do something outside? Do whatever. Out there.”
“Ok, I LOVE outside!” She jumped over the couch and ran out of the apartment, slamming the door behind her.
I glanced down at the couch beside me and saw a card. I opened it, just to see what kind of Crayola mess she had made. Inside the card said, “To Indifference, From Giddy, I hope you LOVE this card!”
I let the card fall onto the floor and picked up the remote and began flipping through channels again. “Whatever,” I muttered.
Title: Whatever
Word count: 1200
I opened my eyes, and immediately regretted it. The sun was shining directly in my face, forcing me wake up and get on with my day. I had once again awakened before my alarm. Why do I even bother? I reached over and pushed the alarm button to “off,” and rolled onto my back, staring at the ceiling.
“Just another day,” I said through a cleansing exhale. I laid there wondering how much energy it would truly take for me to get out of the bed. It didn’t feel like I’d ever be able to generate it. And my mood darkened even more at the sound of my roommate bounding down the hallway. I knew she was going to run into my room. She did every morning.
And sure enough, I saw her in my doorway. Despite it being 6:30 in the morning, she looked like she’d been up for hours soaking all the joy from anyone in vicinity and calling it her own. She was just too bouncy for me in the mornings like this. Like she provided the caffeine for energy drinks. She was an untapped source. She was dressed in pink, even more pink than usual, and that was saying something.
“Good morning!” she squealed.
“Yea,” I sighed, trying not to make eye contact.
“Guess what? Guess what today is?” I could hear her bouncing on the floorboards.
“It’s Thursday.”
And there she was, bouncing up and down on the edge of my bed. “Nooo!!! Come on, guess!”
I rolled my eyes. “The suspense is killing me. Why don’t you just tell me?” I monotoned.
“VALENTINE’S DAY!!!!!!” she shrieked in a voice I was sure only dogs could hear.
I closed my eyes.
She didn’t wait long. “Valentine’s Day! You know, the day of love, and romance, and sweetness, and red and pink, and cards, and flowers, and candy hearts, and chocolates, and going out to dinner, and kissing that special someone, and little kids giving out their valentines in classes, and secret admirers, and stuffed animals, and…” she prattled on.
I had lost her at romance and had begun counting the tiles on my ceiling as I did every morning she burst into my room like an annoying Chihuahua. And wondered for the millionth time why I didn’t sleep with my door shut and locked.
“Hey!”
“What?”
“Didn’t you hear anything I just said?” she asked and I could almost hear her bottom lip sticking out in her pouty way.
“Yea, yea. Love and commercialism. Got it.” I rolled over to the side of my bed and slowly got up.
“You are no fun!” she said, still with a smile plastered on her face.
“Ok.”
“Doesn’t it bother you that everyone else is going to be celebrating today and you’re just going to go about your day as always without any mirth?”
“Nope.”
“Don’t you want to join in on the fun?”
“You’re assuming I think those activities are fun,” I said as I put toothpaste on my brush and stuck it in my mouth, scrubbing back and forth, hoping the noise would drown her out. No such luck, she just spoke up.
“But, but love should be celebrated!”
I shrugged.
“Come on!!!! Please, please, please, please come and do something with me. Come…frost the heart-shaped cookies I made last night!” She had skipped from one foot to the other with each “please.”
I spit into the sink. “Can’t. Just brushed my teeth.” I brushed past her and went to my closet, looking for something to wear. Which took no time at all since everything in the closet was the same. I started getting dressed with her in the room, what difference did it make? She wasn’t paying attention anyway.
“You could help me write a poem! Oh, I would love to get a poem! Can you imagine? And flowers!? Oh, I can’t wait to see if I have a Valentine!!!”
My ears were going to start bleeding at her pitch. “Then you should definitely go and get on that.”
“Come with me!”
“No thanks. Really.” I ran a brush through my plain straight hair. I wondered what I would do with the rest of the day, but knew I needed a plan, or she’d never leave me alone.
“Come on…you know you want to,” she was tickling me under the chin like I was a cat.
“Can’t. I have other plans.”
Her eyes lit up. “Really!? With who!?”
My eyes were going to get lost in the back of my head if I rolled them anymore. “Not with anyone. I just have stuff to do.”
“I would LOVE to come with you! Please, please, please?” Again with the bouncing. It was like she never stopped moving.
“It’s just the same old stuff I do everyday. So, I don’t think you’d be interested.” I moved out of my room and walked down the hall way with her practically jogging behind me.
“Nothing makes me happier than spending time with you! Or frosting cookies! Or Valentine’s Day! Or waking up in the morning! Or smiling! Or pink! Or-“
“Hey.”
“What?”
“Do whatever you want. It isn’t like it matters to me.” I plopped down on the couch and flipped on the TV.
She hurdled over the couch and landed on the couch. “Ok! What are we gonna do!”
I tried to come up with something that would dissuade her from spending anymore time with me. “I’m going to watch the History Channel.”
“I LOVE the History Channel!!!!!!!!!!” The couch started bouncing.
“I meant the Home Shopping Network.”
“I LOVE the Home Shopping Network!!!!!!!!” It felt like an earthquake.
This was getting me no where. “Why don’t you go and do something you want to do?”
“Like what!” she chirped.
“Anything you want. As long as it isn’t here.”
She sprang up from the couch! “Ok!” And she ran off in the direction of her room.
I looked blankly at the TV. I couldn’t decide what to watch, but decided it didn’t really matter anyway, so just stopped on some random channel and continued to stare at, but not see, the TV. Maybe I zoned out because it seemed too soon when I felt the all too familiar bouncing beside me on the couch.
“Guess what!?”
“What? I don’t know.”
“I made you something!” Her voice raised to a Mickey Mouse tenor.
“Ok.”
“Don’t you want to see it!”
“If you want me to see it. Sure. Whatever,” I said without turning my face away from whatever it was I was watching on the TV.
“Close your eyes!!!” she squealed.
“I don’t want to.”
“Please!?”
“No.”
“I LOVE when you’re like this!”
“Listen, I’m kinda busy here. Why don’t ya, ya know, go and do something outside? Do whatever. Out there.”
“Ok, I LOVE outside!” She jumped over the couch and ran out of the apartment, slamming the door behind her.
I glanced down at the couch beside me and saw a card. I opened it, just to see what kind of Crayola mess she had made. Inside the card said, “To Indifference, From Giddy, I hope you LOVE this card!”
I let the card fall onto the floor and picked up the remote and began flipping through channels again. “Whatever,” I muttered.