We start our tale face-on with Charlotte.
The desk she’s at looks similar to any you’d find in a call centre or a marketing office—faint surface scratches across it, legs that look like they should buckle under any considerable weight. A grey tone was unaided by the light from the high windows, an overcast sky making it all the more gloomy.
Charlotte stares straight at you, her eyes pale green and focused but not on anything in particular. Her mind was void-like.
The person she’s looking toward making noises like they should be essential and valuable to remember, is her art lecturer. None of this is important. Nothing’s going in her head. The notebook at an angle on the table in front of Charlotte has a few scribbles on a corner, spiralised into a charming & slightly offset pattern. The rest is blank. She’s not followed along with the theory falling out of her lecturer’s mouth. We’re not at Bauhaus, and this isn’t Black Mountain College. They are filled to the brim with hopefuls and dire hopefuls. Everyone has a grand aim and some picture in their head of what they want, where they’re going and who will be there with them.
Not Charlotte, though. Seemingly laidback, quiet and showing no visible general interest. Her vibrant red hair would make you think the opposite. She just isn’t awake. She doesn’t have a want.
Well, she does; she doesn’t honestly believe she does. A pair laughed behind her, giggling away at some video or meme on their phones. They were close. They shared.
“I remember when I was growing up. Friends came easy.”
“We’d run around the playground, laugh at nothing, and everything seemed bright.”
She believed that now and in this time, she didn’t have anything close to that or them, nothing like the steadfast buddies that you thought were going to stay around forever when you were in the age of whimsy. This thought wasn’t always there, mind you. It usually sprung out of nowhere, regardless of her state of aloneness.
The lecturer closed her hands together quickly, clapping, signifying that the class was over and she had finished with her complete expulsion of words. People started to stand, and Charlotte did the same. She rose to her unaverage height, taller than you’d expect and gangly to match. Charlotte grabbed her blazer, throwing it on herself along with her backpack in a couple of swift motions. She was off.
Now this all seems doom and gloom. Some of it is, it can't be helped. How much of your life is all sparkly kittens with upside down rainbows. I guess it depends on how many tabs you've had.
The sun started peering through the clouds as she waited for her bus. Some glimmers coming through the top of the bus shelter almost seemed like tiny god rays, marking the spot for something mystical. These just pointed to the rough pavement, pieces missing and the odd sprout of a weed on the edges.
When the bus pulled up with a hiss, Charlotte stepped on and was whisked away. As long as you’re not paying attention, it only takes moments to reach your destination. Exactly that happened.
Off the bus, she pushed through the door into her apartment complex. Her phone rang. It was her mother. Better to take it.
“Probably best I do.”
The winding walk up the stairs wasn’t on the cards a moment ago, but it’s okay; it’s only a few flights. It was just a minor niggle today.
“Hi, how are you doing? How’s school?” her mother had a cheerful rattle to go with her monotone voice. It’s an “all is well, but please, I just need to communicate” tone with a dash of worry.
“I’m doing fine. Just getting back in. To be honest, today was a bit of a drag…”
“Oh dear, that’s the worst…” she also dragged. “I’ve had a pretty terrible one today too. Next door, they got a dog. It’s not stopped making noise, and you should hear it. It cries like a baby but in such an annoying way. How are you and that boy? You still going?”
Oh yeah, there was a boy. He's gone now, another unimportant piece that you don't really need to know about. If it becomes important at any point we'll cover it.
The top of the stairs and the front door to the apartment came into view. Charlotte was just waiting for the end of the call now. “Well, I won’t keep you any longer. You’ve probably got homework and, yeah. I’ll come to see you in a week or two. Just let me know when works best.”
“Thanks, that’d be nice”. Charlotte means it. She does love her mother, even with any faults that have been conjured and encountered over the years.
She jiggled her key in the lock and creaked the door open using more might than you’d think would be required—damn heavy doors.
“Speak soon. Take care of yourself, little mouse.”
She stepped inside and flicked the switch on the wall. It was illuminating everything with a stark glow. A tiny sound enters her left ear. It came from the ground. Maybe the wall?
“Same to you. See you soon.”