"Man there's a star,
bound to a body inside of me
20 million degrees,
burn a man to his knees "
outfit; x
bound to a body inside of me
20 million degrees,
burn a man to his knees "
outfit; x
I REMEMBER MY FIRST LOVE ──────────────────
YESTERDAY MORNING.
This is his home.
Everything is perfect and clean and nothing is broken. Curled upon the couch under a sea of blankets, life seemed gentler. And In a velveteen world, it’s almost an escape from reality. Levi Schultz had been awake for the past two hours, surrounded by warmth of every caliber and watching cartoons on the room's single television. He sipped camomile tea and watched the steam coil around his mouth and spiral into his lungs as he blew on to the surface, sending tidal waves of boiling liquid to his face and making him throw his head back abruptly in momentary pain. He writhed himself free from his blanket-home, placing the tea carefully on the coffee table and wiping himself with a tissue. The nostalgia was warming his soul in waves as he watched Tom chase Jerry in a hundred billion million different ways. He could almost feel his step-mother's warm touch, his sister's laugh, the smell of the bakery...
"Stupido gatto, non otterrete mai Jerry!" He giggled lyrically to himself, not noticing the exact lingustics of his speech, not caring. It's the hours a lunatic such as him would be watching cartoons aimed at children, it's just half past seven and his morning ritual of incessant cleaning was all but done, so he decided the first day of his senior year was cause for- childish, yes- celebration. Of the Hanna Barbera kind.
---
THIS MORNING.
London bridge is falling down. Footsteps fall, a constant heartbeat breaking the silence of the morning. Levi is racing the sunrise. A million child-like voices ring in his ears, a haunting melody. The children from his little home-town, all together, calling out in a song they do not understand. None of them ask 'what is London?' they simply sing. London bridge is falling down. Naivety concealed within the words they blindly call. They are defiant, honestly, carelessly opposing the life they have known. Forever isn't so long when you're small.
He spent his time tracing the ground with a single fingertip, drawing words- words he doesn't even conciously care about, drawing love-hearts, drawing his own name over and over and over again, his legs crossing and uncrossing in an attempt to be comfortable without touching the damp grass, laced with dewdrops that reflected prismatic against his hands. He sees things in the landscape- a patch of bluebells, swaying in the breeze, a bird in the distance- it's song shrill and tuneless, an archway covered with ivy- and he thinks of people, friends or otherwise. He has countless memories in these gardens, made friends, lost friends, laughter- and often he'll pass by a spot where he remembers his freshman year- the so-called "brutto anno".
He gets up to walk, tired of the bird-song silence and the wind raking through his hair, and he decides to find someone to talk to.
The ghost of a smile lingers on his lips as Levi Schultz ventures nearer to the school, the courtyard. He aches to call out to friends, but there is something about the way the wind is whispering softly against his ear that keeps him from doing so. A long time ago, he used to worry that nobody truly wanted him. When they passed him on the stairs, he would ask his self if inside their heads they were wishing he had never arrived. Of course he had mostly grown out of silly talk, but the voice in his head repeats "what if? what if? what if? what if?"
"Breath Levi, breath deep" that what Mama used to say, "If you get a little bit anxious just focus on the things your lungs do" He closed his eyes, breathing softly, the sound of air rushing in to his mouth was audible but he didn't particularly mind. "Silly talk, Levi, silly talk. Your friends like you. If they didn't, they would talk to you." Is what Mama said when you were six, her voice lilting as she stroked your hair and whispered goodnight. Every night you'd sing yourself lullabies and nothing could hurt you, not even monsters under the bed and inside the cupboard. Not even the monsters inside your head. The courtyard is sparse- each student talking in their own clique of which Levi was not a part of. He magnetizes to the bulletin board, footsteps rythmnic against the ground- his eyes scanning for any information.
"All students report to the Dining Hall at 9:30th for the introductory ceremony. This year we'll be having a special guest speaking at the ceremony, so please attend and be timely about it."
The special guest part was midly intruging for the boy to spend a few minutes pondering the outcomes, or identity of this mysterious 'guest'. However, he settles into a bench near a wall and slides his hand over his phone.
TO: Briar
FROM: Levi
Hey meet me in the courtyard when you get here... Also, mysterious 'guest' at the ceremony! The suspense is killing me ;)