NOVEMBER 23rd, 11:49 PM - ALMOST 6 DAYS UNTIL THE EARTH EXPLODES.
"But it gets hot in the summer, so you'll need to find a good place to cool down."
Julie is only eight years old, and she ran away from home a week ago. That's all she'll really tell me about her home life, not that I really care though.
"Oh, and don't drink the river water, just because it's flowing, that doesn't make it safe to drink."
The clothes she's wearing, raggedy and coated in white Bella fur, are likely older than she is. Her over sized sleeve was the color of a long neglected street, complete with cigarette potholes and small tears.
"Um... What else... Oh, don't eat out of garbage cans unless you're absolutely sure that it's sanitary,"
*AACHOO!*
When she sneezes, she violently shakes her whole head like a dog, and then stares into nothing for half a second like a war hero.
And when she smiles, she shows a gap where her left front tooth should be, and her chubby cheeks are pushed up, and her hazel green eyes squint like it's golden hour.
"And uh... Don't beg near wealthy people, they usually don't like it very much."
Her hair, if she washed it, might look orange, her cheeks peeked rosy red past the dirt.
She's cute, but like, the kind of cute that makes me wanna take care of her. Like a stray dog you can't help but like, even though your mom said he's not allowed in the house.
"Um... and... Use the public bathrooms, that one took me a while to figure out."
"No duh, I could've guessed that..." She scrunched her face and lifted her right first up, resting her chin on her knuckles, "this feels like pretty basic advice..."
"The basics are by far the most necessary!" Shoot, she found me out. I was just trying to stall so she doesn't leave on her own, "If you want fancy lessons, then you're gonna have to find a fancy hobo, just try to see how far that takes you!"
"Maybe I will... I've always wanted a fancy hobo friend, always! Some might say it's my dream!" Bella groaned and turned her big white, sleepy head up to Julie, "and not just some smelly, disabled dude lying on a bench in the middle of the dog park!"
- Smelly?! Look who's talking!
"Look who's talking!"
Bella's big white head turned to mine, and then back to Julie's, before stretching out with a big groan.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Hazel green blinked twice in their confusion, "are you calling me a cripple?" Her toothy mouth spoke more curious than angry.
"Maybe I am? Cripple."
"I'll have you know," she lifted her right leg up in fierce determination, "my legs work completely normal!" And fiercely shook it around, "see?!"
"Listen, all I'm saying is," her face focused back on me, but her foot stayed shaking, "even a fancy house needs a solid foundation,"
She slowly slowed her shaking foot, and scrunched her face, confused about what I said,
"it's a metaphor, the foundation is like the basics-
"-How could you know that..." She let her foot down into a resting position, "if you don't even have a house..."
*Bu-bum Bu-bum*
"No, seriously, I am homeless!" A look of stark betrayal washed over her face, "I mean, I'm not anymore, but like,"
Why am I so scared? I can feel my heart bouncing as I stumbled over my words.
"I- I was, I swear! I ran away from home, just like you-"
"SHUT UP!!!"
The dark thicket behind us called after her deafening shout, 'up, up, up,' sleepy birds darted from their nests and sleepily rose up into the dark, starry sky.
"Jeez dude, someone might hear you," she leaned over and whispered hear into my ear, "I'm pretty sure it's illegal to..." she leaned over and put her mouth to my ear again, "run away."
"What? Did you say run awa-"
"SHHHHHHHHHH!" She shot her finger over her toothy mouth and spit flew out of her missing tooth, "there could be police guys around. If you wanna talk about it, we have to go..."
She rose up and turned her head over her right and left shoulders, "over... There."
She pointed her left hand with Bella's leash to a small, square building with a blue roof about a five minute walk away, "that's where I have all of my important meetings... well, most."
"The... Police station?" I grew a second chin when I lifted my head up to see.
"Yep, exactly where they'd least expect it..."
---
-
"Nrrgh, aarg, huff huff puff, arrgh!," Julie made many grunts as she slowly dragged me across the smooth pavement, "Jeez... dude," "you're... a... fatty."
-Fatty?!? Where have I heard that before...
"You're the one who chose the furthest possible building," Bella slowly tailed us as we moved, taking time to lay down in between each step.
"Yeah, huff puff, huff puff, why did I do huff puff, huff, that?" She looked up to wipe the sweat off her brow, "Can't we just YAWN! Talk... here?"
She stretched her arms out and rolled over the grass off the main pavement path,
"You can go YAWWWN! first... okay?"
Tired Bella slowly started bouncing over to Julie...
I turned my head to the shining stars, and tucked my knees to my chest. The air cut through my bloody red pullover.
- Jeez, it's friggin cold, how didn't I notice it before?
I lifted and turned my head to face Julie's, her hazel green eyes were stuck to the starry sky.
I let my head fall into the ground, facing the dark night sky.
I watch an almost invisible grey cloud float past the sky, and feel a slight tinge in my throat, but I can't quite place it...
The twinkling white stars are strangely beautiful tonight... They're begging for my gaze, I can feel it; I can't look away if I tried.
"The stars are really beautiful, huh," I took a second long blink, "do you like beautiful things, Julie?"
"*ZZzzz* *ZZzzz*...fatty... *ZZzzz* ... lose some weight..."
Julie was conked out, her body spread across the hay colored grass, her open mouth was shaped like a rounded crescent moon.
Tired Bella slowly treaded her big body over the sleeping girl, and dropped,
"ugh,"
Her big body across Julie's sprawling body.
"Get offa me... *ZZzz*ya dumb dog..."
I turned my head back to the twinkling stars. I wonder if there are any other planets out there with people like me.
If there are, I hope they've got a summer, too...
Because I like Summer a lot, *YAAWWN* and I'd hate to see it...
...
- Damn, I totally forgot... I've gotta save the world...
NOVEMBER 24th, 12:01 AM - 6 DAYS UNTIL THE EARTH EXPLODES.