for a good eight hours. I normally wouldn't condone that type of behavior in myself, taking cold medicine when I didn't have a cold, but tomorrow would be complicated enough without me being loopy from sleep deprivation on top of everything else. It felt justified, in the end.
While I waited for my illegal use of drugs to kick in, I dried my clean hair 'til it was shimmering under the fluorescent bathroom bulb, each strand a twisting string of light. I walked over to my closet and fussed over what I would wear tomorrow, laying out my favorite paisley top and stretch-tight lycra pants. Fredward would be helpless to my wiles in these.
With everything ready for the morning, I finally lay in my bed. I felt hyper; my body wouldn't stop twitching. I got up and rifled through my shoe box of Compact Discs until I found a collection of Chopin's nocturnes. I put that on very quietly, afraid the noise would frighten Charlie and cause him to bust into my room, where he would discover that I was strung out on illicit substances. Lying down, I concentrated on relaxing individual parts of my body. Somewhere in the middle of that exercise, I fell asleep.
I woke early, having slept soundly and dreamlessly thanks to my gratuitous drug use. Though I was well rested, I slipped right back into the same strung-out frenzy from the night before. I struggled to get my arms into my favorite paisley top, unable to find the right holes, and stretched out my tan sweater until it hung right over my jeans. A swift look out the window told me that Charlie was already gone, cruising. A thin, cottony layer of clouds veiled the sky. They didn't look very lasting.
I ate breakfast without tasting it, hurrying to clean up when I was done. I peeked out the window again, but nothing had changed. I had just finished brushing my teeth when a quiet knock vibrated throughout the house and into my heart, sending it careening against my rib cage.
I flew to the door; I had a little trouble with the simple dead bolt, but yanked the door open at last, revealing

253

Chapter 12

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