Ring!Ring!Ring!

I wake violently to the relentless ringing of my alarm clock. I stumble from my warm bed, only to find my toes greeted by a cold floor. “Seth…it’s time to go!” my moms voice echoes from down the stairs. The burnt dawn creeps through my shades. “Seth…let’s go” again echoes her voice. I pull on my pants. I smush my hair flat and I wearily walk down the stairs.

I step outside and I can hear the world speak and spit from my front stoop. The glow of the rising sun reminds me of how early it is. I get into the car with my mom. The clock reads 7:03. “Are you nervous?” my mom asks me. What do I have to be nervous about? It’s only routine. I reply with a dry “no”.

As I enter the door I am immediately ushered into a back room. They poke holes in my arm. They set me up to machines. Beep. Beep. Beep. The steady beat of my heart amplified for the world to hear. The doctor enters. A mask is placed robotically over my face. “Take deep breathes” the voice of an M.D. says to me. One. Two. Three. Four breathes. I’m out. I escape my current reality with the alternative life that are dreams. A world with vivid landscapes and impossibilities abundant. I awake from a dream I cannot recall. I feel my mouth. I feel where my wisdom has been ripped from my soft gum. It’s not too bad. I stand. I fall. I stand again, this time with the help of my mother. She helps me to the car. As I see the world in a blur, nothing goes through my mind. Nothing of importance anyways.

I get home. Exhausted. I wearily walk up the stairs. I head straight for my bed. Like an anvil, I fall onto my mattress. I’m out. Blink. Blink. Blink. I’m wide awake. I find that the light has been replaced with dark. 11:30 is written all over the face I stare into. I get up and head over to my computer. I turn it on. Immediately I hear the humming and clicking of the machinery within. I plug in. I log onto my profile at The Gay Youth Corner. Whats this? I have a message. “Hey, I checked out your profile. I think we’ll have a lot to talk about. Message me back!!” reads the message. Click! Click! Click! The sound of my fingers typing with vigor to a new friend. One. Two. Three hours go by. Still my fingers clicking away with vigor. At 3 o’clock in the morning we decide to say our goodbyes for the night. I turn off my computer. I flop onto by bed. Excited. My heart is a hummingbird. Once again the beat of my heart is amplified, not by machinery, but my love. This is the first day of my life…

*Author’s Note
This is the story of the day that I first talked to the man that I love. This day stands out in my mind for two reasons: The juxtaposition of my wisdom teeth being removed and finding love. And the fact that I didn’t find love, love found me. As you can tell I am a romantic. I hope I gave an accurate portrait of this wonderful and unprecedented day in my life.

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