//------------------------------// // An ordinary day... // Story: Curse of the Siren // by Nephilinae //------------------------------// It was an ordinary day like every other. Now that didn't mean it was boring... Quite the opposite in fact. I liked my days predictable. It made everything neat and tidy... While some of my more "out-going" friends would call me something along the lines of "a boring wind bag"... I couldn't care less. I found it most enjoyable to just sit in the corner with my iPod, humming and singing softly along with it. Ah... Music... The one thing I didn't like to be predictable... I always took my iPod with me. No matter where I went. And I mean EVERYWHERE. In fact, my day always went like this... I wake up to some random song as an alarm clock, listening to the entire song before I turned it off... I got dressed, did all of those hygene things... Like brushing my teeth like any normal person... Then I would make a breakfast comprising of whatever cereal sounded good that day... Annnd then miss the school bus (Totally not on purpose...) and then walk to school while listening to my iPod. After that I would get my school stuff ready and report to home room... And then promptly ignore the school announcements by listening to music. And then generally repeat that pattern of ignoring the unimportant bits by only taking out the ear-buds out when class started. When school finally let out I would, TOTALLY not on purpose, miss the bus and walk home, all the while humming and singing along with the iPod. When I got home I would say "Fine" to my Mother as she was opening her mouth to ask how school was, head up stairs to my room, transfer the ear-buds to my laptop, plug my poor iPod into the wall, and continue listening to my music library on my computer while I browsed the internet. Then I would pass out around one... ish... in the morning to only rinse and repeat the whole cycle. I almost never deviated from this schedule. So, like in that weird movie about that short fellow, I never did anything unexpected nor had any adventures... You know... Looking back, that was an oddly similar situation... I'll get to that part later though... So! Today was like every other day... Except the bus was late... Which meant that I didn't have an excuse to walk to school... "Mom! I don't want to take the bus!" I argued with my mother. "How are you gonna meet new friends if you don't interact with new people?" she asked. "Those 'people' aren't new Mom!" I reasoned. "I know you've had problems with them in the past sweetie... But people DO change..." she stated. Ugh... Here we go... Again... "People don't change in a few weeks Mom..." I dead-panned. She face palmed and sighed. Finally she held out her hand. "IPod... NOW." she commanded. Ugh... It was always the same... Do this arbitrary thing that will only make your life unnecessarily harder! You don't want to? Hand over the only device separating you from sanity, and going completely freaking bonkers! There was no way I was going on that yellow prison bus without my iPod. "FINE." I stated, pulling my school bag onto a better position on my shoulder, and turning towards the door. "Don't be surprised when I say how much things have CHANGED." I called back towards her. I didn't hear her reply as I had quickly stuffed the ear-buds into my ears as I walked down the walkway towards the sidewalk. I would've ignored waiting for the bus... But I knew from experience that Mom was watching me out from inside. And if I didn't get on the bus she would steal my iPod's cord... So... I was once AGAIN forced to deal with the losers that were now jeering at me from the smudged windows. Annnd... Ouch time... The bus was I expected it to be. the front filled with screaming little kids and the back filled with larger screaming little kids... Did I mention I was the oldest student on the bus by two years? The next oldest being an idiot sophomore that knew nothing of hygene? No? Well there ya go... Thankfully, most of the chaotic noise was drowned out by a glaring electric guitar. Unfortunately however, I saw several heads perk up as they noticed the senior girl getting on board... Me. I tried sitting down in the empty middle area, not too close to hear screaming children... And far enough away I missed the worst of the body odor. But predictably... The sources moved closer as the bus stopped again. I turned up the rockin' violin that was now playing in my ear so I didn't have to hear their crude conversations... The ones that would probably be about me. Suddenly the bus tilted slightly to the right. Annnd there's the jerk of the hour... Remember the idiot sophomore that knew nothing of hygene? Lo and behold... There he was now, making the bus sway with every step. His eyes lit up as he saw me sitting alone. None of the others ever DARED trying to get close to me... On account of me turning on the "bad" songs and turning up the volume, forcing them to listen to violins and french horns... But he always tried to get his stench into my nostrils as much as possible. What was his name again? I just refered to him as jerkwad... Dungbreath... Worm-brain... But I digress... Jerkwad then plopped down on the fake leather next to me and said something. It was something that was probably "witty" in his ears. It was thankfully lost on me however as the current song reached a crescendo. I suddenly felt his face get closer as he leaned in so his ear was listening to the song. I could then FEEL the air vibrate as he grunted and ripped the ear-bud out of my ear. Ugh... HERE WE GO A-FUCKING-GAIN... "WOW! What is this trash yer listening to?!" Jerkwad exclaimed. "Vesuvius by Frank Tich..." "Don't care." he stated as his fist closed around the ear-bud, crushing it beyond repair. I turned my heads slowly towards him. He had just destroyed a day that could've passed off as "acceptable". I felt my eyes narrow, all Jerkwad did was look at me as if he hadn't just destroyed a good pair of ear phones. "What?" he asked nonchalantly. "THIS." I hissed at him, holding up the crunched ear-bud in front of his chubby face. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING?!" His eyes tried to focus on the broken speaker, and failed miserably. "Nuttin' wrong with that..." He stated. ... For the life of me... I never understood how so many people got by with broken screens and ear phones... "So!" Jerkwad continued as if I wasn't angry. "When yer gonna put yer iPod down and listen to us?" Urgh! This idiot made me so angry with his very presence! Unfortunately I couldn't touch him as his "mommy" (I swear I heard him call her that IN A PUBLIC GROCERY STORE) was on the school board... Yeah... One of THOSE dim-wits. The most I could do was toy with his poorly constructed brain. "Not here... Nor there... Or anywhere! Sam-I-am." I quoted. His face seemed to get even more vacant. "My name isn't Sam..." he mumbled. "Of course it isn't..." I half whispered as I scrolled through my playlists looking for something to distract myself from the idiot beside me. "It's Sal!" His name was still Jerkwad to me. "So! You never answered my question Cer..." He pronounced it like "Seer" Ugh... Quite calling me by your definition of a "cool" nickname... "Not here... Nor there... Or any where SALLY." I stated, stressing his real name seeing as he hated it with a burning passion. His face drained of color... Which apparently was quit a lot... He wouldn't be affected very long though, his brain just didn't seem suited to remembering long lasting memories... So he'd probably forget in five minutes that he hates the name until that sludge of a brain resets itself. Until then, I was going to milk it for all it's worth. "My. Name. Isn't. SALLY!" he raged. "Tell you what Sally... I'll probably start calling you by your nickname if you start calling me by my real name..." "But your name isn't cool!" he exclaimed, his fists began to ball up. I knew he hated my name and he HAS tried to get me to change it in the past. "Kay Sally." I stated with a smirk. "Fine! Circe..." he mumbled angrily. "Didn't catch that..." I said holding up a hand to my ear that was ear-budless thanks to him. I then began to notice the other idiots starting to mumble behind us. "Circe..." he grumbled. "One more time..." "CIRCE GOD DAMN IT!" he yelled as he stood up in rage... Which was funny because the bus decided to stop at the school right THEN. I would've posted that video on as many sites as I could lay hands on if I was taking a video... Jerkwad did a SIDEWAYS flip through the air! Landing in the narrow aisle with a comical THUD. The situation was made even more amusing as his eyes focused to find the bus driver standing above him. "What did you say?" she asked silently. Quick story time... The bus driver was VERY religious... Went to church EVERY day... Rigorously followed those stone tablet things... and tolerated NO ONE saying "God" as a swear word. Heck... I once saw her chew out an OLD LADY for saying "Oh god..." when one of her grand kids got away. True story... So... Yelling "God damn it" WASN'T the best move on his part... The bus driver soon had Jerkwad held up by the ear. Literally. She could've gotten fired for that... But she probably used the religion card to get out of it. But I found her free hand pointing towards me. "WHAT DID YOU DO?!" she ordered. OH YEAH... Fuck... Jerkwad did yell my name too... Ew... Speaking of my name, yes... It is indeed Circe. Even though it was normally laughed at, until I reminded the laughee about the names origins that is... I loved my name. When some one said it, I didn't have to ask "Which one?" All because Dad was unorthodox and awesome... Mom just liked how it sounded. But I digress... "I called him by his given name..." I stated calmly. I thought I saw a quick smile on the bus drivers face... But I couldn't tell for sure... "Also, he did disrespect some of my personal property..." I said as I held up my unfortunate set of miniature speakers. Okay... This time I AM CERTAIN that she smiled... I figured as much as she always loved flaunting her faith in others' face. And this was another excuse. Not going by a given name AND not respecting the property of others? No this wasn't just AN excuse... This was THE excuse. I've never been one for religion... But it was nice seeing it in action on the side of justice. "Can I see them?" she asked. Ah... Evidence... I see where you're going with this... I won't like it though. "S...Sure. Here you go." I stuttered. It was like willingly giving up a lifeline out in the middle of the ocean. She saw my hesitation. "I'll make sure you get them back..." she reassured me as she dragged Jerkwad off the bus. The look of utter hatred on his face was priceless. The rest of the bus was silent... Including Jerkwad's croonies behind me. Nearly all of them had hanging jaws. Even though I was bummed about losing my ear phones, I smiled cheerfully to spite them. "Cheerio mates!" I laughed as I skipped off the bus. They just stood there with vacant faces. Heck, I can still see their faces and giggle to myself... Ah... Good times... Anyway! I soon found myself sitting in home room with all of my books... And listening to the morning announcements over the school intercom by a VERY bored office person... Seriously... What is that job position? I just referred to them as office people... Anywho... I almost fell asleep without my earphones. Eventually the honking noises stopped and the first bell rang, making every one go to first hour. Man, the noise while walking without ear protection was awful... Constant murmurings of: "OMG she said that he said that she ALSO said that THEY said about that thing that she did when he said..." Thankfully it wasn't a long trek through the ocean of bodies. When I got to first hour, Ms Van (Pronounced vaun) the senior English teacher, was on the phone. When she saw me she put a hand over the mouthpiece. "Circe... They've got something of yours in the office..." she stated to me. I then nodded and turned on my heel. It was a long walk across the school to the office, but I hurried as fast as I could. When I opened the door the first thing I saw was the VERY pissed off face of Jerkwad's mother. After a moment or two I realized she was glaring at ME... Hey man... Er... Lady... It was your stupid son that crushed my earphones... I didn't say that out loud however... I just ignored the death glare and walked to the office counter. All I had to do was hold out my hand. The office person... Still don't know what the right term was... Knew me well enough to not question what I was wanting, and gave me my broken earphones. Hey, half the music was still better than none at all... "Think que." I slurred as I pocketed the small speakers. She smiled. "You're welcome Circe..." Never knew why the teachers always seem relieved when they see I have my iPod stuff... I guess they're happy that I'm out of their hair... Anyway, I smiled back and walked past the glaring mother of Jerkwad, happily whistling "The Final Countdown" I don't know why that song happened to pop into my head... But in retrospect, it was oddly fitting. But as I walked past her, I could've sworn I saw a smirk streak across her face... I didn't pay it much attention though. I soon was walking down the quiet halls, ear bud already in and whispering with a ominous Gregorian chant. Don't judge me... I just happen to like almost all kinds of music... Except that Bieber chick... I still shudder when I hear one of those verses... Anyway, an open locker caught my eye as I was walking back to class. Eh... I'll be nice and close it so an asshole doesn't... My thoughts were suddenly interrupted when a hand appeared from behind the door and slammed the locker. Revealing a very angry Jerkwad. Unfortunately I was close enough for him to push me. I landed on my ass to only realize why he had pushed me. In his hands was my precious iPod, dangling from the cord. I could feel my eyes widen. "You never did answer my question Cir... When are you gonna put this thing down and listen to me?" he asked mockingly. "Or... Am I going to have to make you put it down?" I couldn't say anything... I was catatonic... He had my only stable link to sanity that I had... Even though I had every song in there memorized by heart... I couldn't ignore the droning of pointless noise that made me anxious without it... Anxiety had a reputation of making people second guess them selves... Making wrong decisions when they knew the answer, causing mind breaking failure and... Damn it it was already happening... "Well?" Jerkwad asked, breaking my train of thought. "Put... It... Down... Sal..." I whispered. "Okay... I'll put it down..." he smiled. Jerkwad then took off the protective casing and raised the unprotected device into the air. "DON'T!" I yelled, extending a hand towards my iPod... Too late... He threw my iPod onto the ground as hard as he could and then stomped on it... I couldn't move a muscle. Jerkwad eventually stopped smashing my sanity with his foot, and picked up the remains of my iPod... He snapped it in half with an almost half-hearted twist of the wrist. "So! Dinner, me, you, Friday, 6-ish?" he stated as he dropped what was left. I was ignoring him as my eyes tunnel visioned at the destroyed music player... It was obviosyl broken beyond repair... important parts and shards of glass littered the area around it... My vision began to blur as tears stormed my eyes. I heard something mumble, but my ears must've stopped functioning, all I could hear clearly was my own heartbeat. I... I couldn't take it. I turned tail and ran. I didn't care about any rules anymore. Materialistic of me I know, but the only thing of mine that I did treasure and cherish beyond all else, the thing that had kept me sane and healthy for YEARS... Was just destroyed on a whim... I ran outside. There was only one place I could go... Home... You know... Now that I think back on this, I vaguely recall Jerkwad's mother standing next to her car, watching proudly... So I went home. When I entered the house I heard someone yell my name, but I didn't care. I slammed my door closed and put a chair in front of it... After that I fell onto the bed. I don't know how long I laid there crying. It was just an iPod I know... But I didn't have any money... any job... It would've been months until I could buy another iPod, months of listening to the bickering and gloating of stupid people... And Mom wouldn't have gotten me a new one... She claimed that if I got my own things I would take better care of them... Which was true I guess... Not that I ever willingly damaged my own things... I was depressed... Depressed that something of mine was destroyed just because... Before I knew it, it was night time. I had cried the day away. Finally my depression allowed my thoughts to wander. Why? Why did Jerkwad HAVE to wreak my very near future? Why couldn't he HAVE JUST LEFT ME THE FUCK ALONE?! Why am I being forced to listen to things that I just DIDN'T CARE ABOUT... I don't care what Jimmy said to Alice... I don't care what Alice then said to Sue... I don't care about how "You can't find Germany" on a fucking map... What must I do to teach others that I just want to be left alone? Wasn't it obvious I just don't want to get involved in the stupid teenage politics? Especially with HIM... HIM... GOD DAMN MOTHERFUCKING HIM... HE WAS THE CAUSE OF ALL THIS... I began to feel a slight itching around my neck. THAT ASSHOLE WHO JUST COULDN'T GET THE HINT TO GET LOST! Child of the muses... I felt fabric brush against the skin on my neck. BUT NOOOO! HE JUST HAD TO BAG "THAT SENIOR GIRL" Found and bound... The fabric gently sealed itself around my neck. HE JUST HAD TO GET INTO THE PANTS OF THE ONE THAT JUST WANTED TO BE LEFT ALONE! Forever forced, to dine on hate and greed... A weight dropped itself over my throat. DAMN HIM! DAMN HIM TO TARTARUS! Forever made to create the fabric of Unsound... Something glowed around my throat. I WILL END HIM! Til ye be freed from our Curse... So saith We who damn thee to live and prowl the lands of mortals. For all TIME.