I

~~~

Amaya

Shit. I woke up today thinking that I'll be able to have a full day of relaxation but that's unfortunately not the case. When I opened my phone to check the notifications I got during the night. I saw the reminder that the due date to send in my book to my editor was today. Dammit, I'm not even close to finishing this book.

I suddenly regret the choice I made to use up a whole night's worth of work only to rewatch the whole Hunger Games series even though I've already watched it.

I'm really not the one to respect due dates or be on time for anything. If you ask all of my teachers from high school, they would confirm it in a heartbeat.

It's just this time is more serious. It's the first book that I would've been publishing. I've had this passion for writing ever since I was a young teenager. I only got the idea of actually publishing my work recently. This book could've been a success because I personally think that my plot is great and original but I totally blew it.

Great job Amaya.

It's not too late though. My due date is not until 7 p.m. and it is now nine in the morning. If I work my fingers fast enough, I could maybe finish by then. Okay, but for that to happen, I need zero distractions. God knows how easily distracted I get.

I quickly hopped out of my bed to fetch my laptop which was silently resting on my desk beside me.

Okay Amaya you got this.

As soon as I opened my laptop my phone rang. The caller ID indicated that it was my best friend Destiny calling. Of course, I picked up.

"Hey, bestie what's up," I answered.

"Nothing much, just calling to ask if you got plans for tonight. I was thinking we could go to the club."

"Nope, no plans whatsoever." There was dead silence after what I said. I figured that Destiny saw through my lie. She knows how much of a procrastinator I am.

"I'm gonna take that for a no. Never mind I asked. We can go another time." It was worth I try.

"Yeah sure." We said our goodbyes and hung up. Well, I guess I'm stuck with finishing my book again.

***

It's now lunchtime and my tummy has been grumbling nonstop for a couple of minutes. I think it's time for a well-deserved meal.

I made sure to save my work before logging off of my laptop. I then made my way down to the kitchen. Both of my parents were sitting already eating.

"Jeez, thanks for inviting me to have lunch with you guys," I grumbled. How rude of them to serve themselves and not even ask me if I wanted anything.

"Sorry honey, I passed by your room and saw you were so focused and I didn't want to bother you." I know it's kinda weird that I'm twenty-five and still living with my parents but it's not my fault. I don't really want to live on my own. I don't know what's the excitement of living on your own and being independent. To me, it just means more responsibility. Like who the fuck would want to pay bills and all. The way I see it is that leaving with my parents for the longest while possible would save me more money since my parents are the ones who are paying the bills in this house.

"Mhm," I opened the fridge and scanned its contents. I got frustrated when I didn't see anything I felt like eating. I'm craving something with a huge amount of calories.

"Mom I'm going to McDonald's"

"Okay but your dad and I might not be here when you come back because we need to go shopping for some furniture."

"Got it." I grabbed my keys and was out the door. The McDonald's is just a few turns away from my house. I felt like eating a Double Big Mack. I wasn't kidding when I said I wanted to eat a lot of calories.

I pulled up at the fast-food restaurant and went through the drive-through. Shit, this is gonna take an eternity.

***

I was so relieved when I made it back to my house. I could finally eat. As told, my parents weren't home. Perfect.

"Hey G****e, play Jalebi Baby by Tesher." The music started blasting through the speaker making me sway my hips a little while climbing the stairs.

As I placed my food on my desk, I spotted my laptop in the corner.

"Shit," I murmured to myself while glancing at the time. My procrastination really goes far.

Only when I was seated and ready to eat, I spotted an unfamiliar object laying on my bed. Taking a closer look at it I noticed it was an old-looking book. A brown plain cover with old crispy paper that looks like it could break with one touch.

Why the hell is this on my bed? It isn't mine. Assuming it must belong to my mother, I placed it on my shelf next to my other books and made a mental note to give it back to her.

***

I finished my food and now I was bloated. Maybe going full-on with calories wasn't a smart idea.

I was now trying to finish my book in order to send it to my editor but I really don't see that happening.

Finally accepting my fate, I grabbed my phone and dialed Giselle's number. She picked up right away probably thinking I was calling to tell her that I finished my book.

"Hey Amaya, how are you?"

"I'm great Giselle thanks. Look I'm calling to inform you that I won't be able to send you my book for today. I'm really sorry." A long silence followed after. Shit, I hate disappointing people, the guilt I have right now.

"Okay, I'm gonna make a proposition just for this time. I'll give you three extra months to finish whatever the fuck you need to do but no more chances after this. Do you get me, Amaya?"

"Y-yes ma'am."

"I'm only giving you this chance because I know the potential you have."

"Yes, ma'am I really appreciate that," I said while smiling widely not able to contain my excitement. I'm really grateful for this second chance I having. I'll make sure to not mess this up again.

We said our goodbyes and I returned to my laptop. I took a good look at it and then I deleted all of my work.

I feel like a second chance needs a second start. I'll rewrite the whole thing. A complete new plot and storyline and everything. She gave me three months so I have enough time for this.

As I was starting to organize my story I heard this strange noise. As if something was shaking furiously. I turned my head to the sound trying to see if something was shaking. Something was indeed shaking. It was the old book that was on my bed minutes ago.

The longer I was staring at the object that was moving on its own, the more frightened I was getting. I then heard the sound of glass breaking coming from downstairs.

That was my cue to go hide under my blanket. There's no way in hell that I was going to check out what the hell is going on. I wasn't like those people in horror movies. I was just going to hide here until my mom and dad come back.

~~~