It was a normal Monday, the worst day of the week, at 4:47 p.m. My shift was almost over, finally. I'd clocked in at nine and spent the entire day trying my best not to watch the clock.

  "A watched pot boils." Wait. Is it, "A watched never boils" or ...whatever. I don't know. Maybe its, "Boiled is a watched pot... no. That's not it. Hmm.

  My dad was coming home tomorrow from a long work trip, which meant I actually had to clean the house. And I had a 1,500-word essay due by midnight, that I hadn't even started. Perfect.

  "Kaden!" My manager, Tylie, screeched my name from across the kitchen. I jumped, startled. "The cheese!"

  The cheese...huh? Oh. Shiz.

  I looked down at the pizza I was supposed to be lightly sprinkling with cheddar. Somehow, I'd piled it so high that it toppled over, smearing the uncooked crust across the counter. Great. It happened...again.

  "Oh. Uh, sorry Tylie..." My cheeks began to fill with color. Tylie was staring at me with a beyond disappointed face. It said, "make one more mistake and your dead." She could say literally anything, and no words needed to leave her mouth. She perched her hands on her hips, and rolled her eyes before turning around, and going back to one of her many jobs.

  I sighed, rolled up the sleeves of my red hoodie, and stared at the stack of cheese, wondering how to get rid of it, and what to do with that much cheese.

  "Clean that up, and maybe I'll let you keep your job." I could tell she was very annoyed.

  "Yes ma'am!" I got to work, destroying the orange tower.

  I really needed this job.

  "Bruh, Kaden, what's your deal, yo?" TJ, my coworker, laid out some dough, and was splashing tomato sauce all over the counter, and his already crusty apron. It had colors on it that I didn't know existed.

  "You've been trippy all day, man." He looked at me with a lifted brow. I sighed.

  "It's just...nothing." I looked down at the cheese, avoiding eye contact.

  "Nut'in huh? Na, no lying tah me brother. You think 'in 'bout a girl?" TJ always used weird slang.

  I snorted. "Right." I moved here a couple months ago, and no girl had ever, even talked to me.

  "Oh. So, the big man is moving back in?" I turned to him in confusion. Was I that easy to read?

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  "Oh um...yea." Yea, my dad was moving back in after having had me live on my own for how long?

  "T'marrow then?"

  "Yep." I tried to insert excitement in my voice, but it came out, dull, and sarcastic.

  I whipped off a piece of cheese from my cheek and tossed it in the bin, along with the mess of a pizza. Then I pulled off my apron, crumpled it into a ball, and walked towards the back door of the kitchens. What a great day.

  I pulled out my keys and walked towards my purple jeep. I threw my apron into the passenger seat and slumped into my seat.

  I need music right now.

  Music always changes my mood. Especially after a crappy day. I turned on the car and pulled out my phone. Now to connect to Bluetooth. As I was connecting to the car, the radio played in the background.

  "A crazy storm has been seen from the Indian Ocean and is spreading across the world. Nothing like we have ever seen, some people say it's-" The reporter's words were silenced as my pop rock songs boomed on the speakers.

  I started the engine, or my purple jeep, and pulled out of the parking lot of "Ezra's Pizza Palace". It was practically empty.

  I stifled a yawn, and a couple minutes went by before I pulled into my driveway.

  I need a nap. Maybe English could wait. I could always finish that essay in a couple hours, right? And cleaning...well, I'll do that later.

  I opened my front door, and the next thing I remember was the feeling of my head, sinking into a soft, white pillow, with a thick blanket resting on my shoulders.

  Finally...peace.

  ***

  My head ached. The pain was vivid, colorful, and sharp, like my head had been cracked open. It felt paralyzing, and I was afraid to move. I tried to open my eyes, but when I did, I only saw a blur of black and white swirls.

  I could feel the thump of my heartbeat banging against my skull, like it was trying to break away, and I felt my eyes begin to become hot, and fill with salty tears. How did I end up here, and why did I feel, so totally...helpless?

  I tried to picture my surroundings and where I was, but I could only feel...tile. Cold, wet, tiles. I tried slowly to lead my hand towards the liquid, but every little movement hurt. It felt like needles were being hammered into the right side of my skull.

  When my hand reached the liquid, the texture was unlike water, and it felt a bit like paint. It was cold, sticky, and unlike anything I had ever felt. I tried once more to pry open my eyelids, and when I finally managed to look at my hand, it was white. Black and white. The liquid that was on the floor pooled into black circles, with white reflections, and my hand dripped with it. How odd. It was... slightly jarring.

  Before I could even attempt to get up, the muffled, yet blaring sound of an alarm rang through my ears, and I cried in pain.

  The alarm was sharp, mechanical, and very annoying.

  My breathing became fast, and when I opened my eyes again, I saw...my couch?

  I let my breathing slow as I took in my familiar surroundings.

  It was just a dream, I guess. That blaring alarm? My phone reminded me it was almost nine. Right.

  I took a deep breath, sat up, and stretched my arms above my head. Time to get to work. I stood up and walked to the counter, reaching for my laptop and opened it to a blank document.

  Time to get started, yet, for some reason, I felt like I needed more sleep. After all, I still had a pounding headache.