I am Amy Clavis. I love to read and write. I daydream by the window in math class. I am sentimental. I am afraid of the dark. I hate bugs. Those are some things about me. Not very important but things that you wouldn't know if you didn't ask. Other things that can be noticed are somewhat important, like my dark brown hair, my green eyes, my light rosy complexion and my hideous nose. People say my nose is cute, but I don't think so. I'm not to tall and I am not to short. I guess I am very much the average girl. Normal in every way you would think. Except for the fact that I hear voices every night when I fall asleep. You know, those voices that want you to follow them into the very deepest of dangerous pits, the ones that want you to walk into the fire, the ones that make you look insane.
Ever since I moved to this stupid city, I haven't been able to talk to my friends. Well, at least I still think they are my friends. I haven't spoke with them in two months! It's like this place in which I live is a barrier keeping me away from who and what I was familiar with. People here act like they are zombies. Not the kids though. Mostly the adults. They walk around with their briefcases and their cells phones staring into space. If you were to greet them as you walk by, they wouldn't even notice you at all. It's complicated here. School is complicated, and all the people here as well. Even going to the store is complicated. They never have anything that I want there. I guess this just sounds like complaining from a 16 year old girl. If you were to live here, maybe you would notice it too. This place is like a chorus of lost dreams, lost lives, and workaholics. The bleak, gray, mysterious smoke that covers the sun, the sky and tops of the skyscrapers seems like a god of captivity. It won't let you out until you give it your sacrifice: What you used to love. Memories.
"So, how do you like it here so far?" Says Jordan with a soft voice.
"I hate it." Amy retaliates that answer, "well, to me it's bad. Well, I don't mean to be offensive but-"
Jordan breaks through the rambling,"No worries Amy. I hate it here too. My dad moved here because of some business promotion. They sent him here because they thought it would be a better place to make more business." He thinks to himself, "that is why I don't do so well here. I am pissed.
Amy laughs, "Wow! My mom came here because if a business promotion too!" She thinks to herself 'Wow, if only I knew Jordan felt this way about this city! I could have started a petition to parents to not move here when they get lame business promotions!' She looked up at the sky. Once again, no sun to be seen through the clouds and dust. "so, where is this arcade? Is it fun?" Are there a lot if nerds there?
"well, actually, my best friend Brian owns the arcade. Well, his parents do of course but he sorta owns it too you know? He hooks me up with free food at least." he smiles and points ahead of him. "It's right there!"
The Arcade looked old and worn down. Like years of rain, heat and pollution started to break the foundation that used to look like red brick now turned brown and maroon. The old building is wedged between a laundromat and an old antique store. People sit outside the laundromat with blank stares out into the street waiting for the rinse cycle to hurry up and stop so they can dry their clothes and return to their lives. This makes me shiver. So boring this city is!
Jordan and Amy enter the arcade quickly. The arcade was only filled with six bodies. Jordan, Amy, Brian who was talking to his father, a boy and his date who looked bored out of her mind. As soon as Brian finished talking to his father he looked over and waved at Jordan and walks over to him and Amy.
"Hey!" Brian says with excitement. Brian looks young for only 16. He is short and has blond-brown hair. He wears glasses with black frames and square lenses. He has a friendly smile and is very tall. "so, who is this pretty lady?" He says with sweetness.
"Oh! This is Amy. Amy, this is Brian." he introduces both of them together. "I have known Brian ever since I moved here with my dad."
Amy looks at Brian and smiles. There is always a nerd somewhere in an srcade. "It's nice to meet you." She smiles and looks around. There are a couple of shooting games, two claw machines and other miscellaneous games around. There is an air hockey and pool table in the other parts of the room as well. In the back part of the room there is a couple of tables and a counter where you would buy food and beverages. "It's pretty cool here. Is this where you both hang out after school or something?"
Jordan looks at Amy, "Actually it's really the only place we can hang out at." Thunder begins to rumble outside and rain starts to drizzle outside. "When people built this city they mus have forgotten that there are gonna be other people living here other than working adults."
"Yeah, my parents opened this place up because they knew that kids like to play games or whatever. I like it though." He smiles at Amy. "So are you two friends or something?"
Jordan looks at Amy and then outside, "well, I seen her sitting on a bench outside and it was beginning to rain so, I thought I would ask her to come along. She was alone." He smiles and holds his stomach, "a man, I am hungry! You got some food?"
Brian starts walking over to the the restaurant part of the arcade. "You want anything to eat Amy? It's on me?" He steps behind the counter and puts a pizza in the oven.
"uh-sure! Thank you Brian." She smiles. So does this place get a lot of business?"
"Actually yes. Mostly on the weekends and usually around Summer time." Brian looks around, "but this past month, things have been going pretty slow."
The rain begins to pour and the clouds cover the city with depressing shadows. Amy stares out the door and watches the rain hit the streets carrying away the caked dirt and litter from the sidewalks. She thinks to herself about how the rain in cleansing away in vain. Nothing could clean the filth that grew on the ground here. Not even if it rained soap suds! Even when it isn't raining, the sun still is subservient to the grime and pollution that fills the air.
A few hours later, "I have to go home now." Amy looks at the clock on the wall. Five o' clock it reads. "it was really nice to have somewhere to hang out!" She looks outside. The sun's dull light was beginning to disperse completely behind the tall buildings once again so everyone can sleep through the restless nights of the city.
Jordan looks over at Brian. "I will walk her home." He looks at Amy, "is that okay?"
Amy looks back and replies, "It's okay. I can walk myself. I need some time to think anyway. That's the whole reason why I went outside in the first place. Thank you though. See you tomorrow at school Jordan. Oh and you too Brian. It was nice meeting you!" She hurries out of the arcade and begins her walk home.
"Oh goodness! I haven't thought about a thing about those voices. What am I gonna do? Who in the hell am I going to talk to about this?" She walks past a few stores and comes across an ally way and looks down the dark passage. "well, that is not a place I would like to go down!" She resumes her walk.
How am I going to get rid of these voices? Sleeping pills? A shrink? Anti-depressants? What am I gonna tell my- "WHAT IN THE!!!!" A girl slams herself into Amy and starts to apologize by her clumsiness.
"I'm sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, So SORRY!" She shouts, "Please, please, forgive forgive me. Me. Me. ME!!!!! SO SORRY!" She starts to shake herself around and walks with staggering steps down the side-walk into the ally ways. Amy can still here here shouting to herself "So SORRY! OH SO SORRY! Please No! Forgive me SO SORRY!"
Amy looked shocked for a moment and stood there holding her hands. The girl that just slammed into her looked like a nut case. She had bright pink hair in pig tails, a short skirt over top ripped up dirty jeans, combat boots that looked worn to the point of destruction, and a shirt that was so old the seams were coming undone. The girl smelled foul like a dumpster. Amy looked at the ally way. "where did that girl come from? Does she live in there?" Amy starts walking down the sidewalk in a much more efficient pace until she reaches her house which isn't very far, opens the door, enters, closes the door and sits down. "Wow."
A knock at the door startles Amy. She looks up and opens the door. The girl from the ally is standing there and shouts "AH! AH! AH! AH! SO SORRY! LOOK COME TO ME! LOOK! LOOK! LOOK!" Amy screams and slams the door and locks it. "What the hell?!" She looks out the window and the girl is gone. "Was that just a hallucination? Oh my god!"
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You know, where you go. Feel us, touch us, see us. We are brighter than the sun. Closed behind locked doors. Let us free and show us where to go? Sing with us and hold us. We will find you and you will find us. It is we who make you move and think. We belong to you and you belong to us. Unified into one. Our voices will reach full harmony and dance forever in the light that will no longer penetrate your body and burn. You must know where to go. The direction from your feelings will navigate your soul.
