Untitled
an excerpt

I looked at the clock. 4:00 AM. I sighed.
'Still not tired.'
I really didn't want to experiment with over-the-counter medication that had a side effect of drowsiness. The twitching that inevitably followed always freaked me out. The sleeping was nice, but I like waking up, too.
I settled back on the pillow, returning my gaze to the TV.
'Ooh, mineral makeup. I love this one.'
Laura, as we only knew her by her first name, appeared on the screen. Really, really white teeth.
'I wonder if she'll still be smiling when I break her neck.'
Wait.
'Goddamnit. Got to stop doing that.'
'Why? It's not like anyone can hear it.'
'It can't be healthy.'
'F**k health. You think about health, next thing you know you're calling white bread "White Death" and only drinking tap water because the government has higher standards of filtering than private companies.'
‘Tap water is gross.’
‘Exactly!’
‘Fine. But if I get arrested for conspiracy to commit murder, I’m blaming you.’
‘You mean yourself?’
I decided to stop thinking. Thinking never turned out well for me.
I blankly stared at the television for a while longer, before the infomercial ended and a new one began. George Foreman was flipping a steak on a tiny grill.
“Oh, hello there,” he said. I sighed. George Foreman was my least favorite infomercial personality.
‘I’ll chop off his head, cook it on his grill, and serve it to his family.’
I turned my head for no particular reason. The brochure was still there. I had been studying it all summer. I don’t like being unprepared.
I picked it up yet again.
“Juvenex Academy,” it read, “An exciting alternative high school.”