Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13

It was a dream. It was all a bad dream. I must have watched a fucked up movie this week. Or maybe ate something weird before I went to bed last night. I should get up. Maybe I’ll give them a call. What day is it? Maybe the concert hasn’t happened yet. Maybe I dreamed that too. I should go see what day it is. Maybe I have class today. It might be a weekday. I’ll go check. In a minute. I do have to piss though. OK, I’ll get up.

I got out of bed and went straight to the bathroom. I could hear the TV on and then my roommate moving around. When I came out of the bathroom, he startled me, because he was right there in the hallway.

“Ah! Hey, what’s up? What time is it?”
“Twelve thirty. How…how are you?”
“Good. I had some fucked up dreams, but I got a lot of sleep. How are you?”
“Um…I’m fine. Listen…”
“Hey, what day is it?”
“Wednesday.”
“Wednesday? Well I guess I’m not going to class then, haha. How come you’re not in class?”
“I told you I’d go with you.”
“Go? Do I have something today? Let me check my planner.”

I run into my room and quickly fish through my bag. When I find my planner, I flip through to this month. By this time my roommate is standing in my doorway.

“Oh, his wake is today. I must’ve dreamed going to that too. You’re coming to the wake with me?”
“No…well yeah, but today we’re going to make the arrangements.”
“Oh no, his family took care of that all ready. I do want to go to his wake though, and that’s cool that you’re coming.”
“What? No, that was last week.”
“No, today. Look, you said it’s Wednesday, here it is in my planner, “wake”.”
“That’s last week. This is today. We’re going to…”
“No, because here’s where my Wind Ensemble concert is and that’s this coming Sunday…”
“No, that was last Sunday.”
“No, that was a dream, which means the concert didn’t happen yet, which means that it is this coming Sunday!”
“You really don’t know what we’re doing today do you?”
“Yes it’s right here: the wake!”
“Tim…we’re going to make funeral arrangements…”
“I told you, his family is doing them.”
“For your family!”
“Fuck you! That’s not fuckin’ cool! How would you like it if after you got up, all disoriented from a nightmare, I tried to trick you into thinking your family was dead and that it was one week into the future!?”
“I’m not trying to trick you. You must’ve blocked it out or something…”
“IT. WAS. A. DREAM!!”
“Tim, it wasn’t.”
“Oh yeah, then how did they die?”
“…The house burned down with everyone in it.”
“…”
“You came home Sunday, after your Wind Ensemble concert and said that they didn’t show up. There was a message from your Grandmother on the answering machine. You called her back and that’s when she told you. Then you passed out. You’ve been mostly just sleeping the past couple of days. That’s probably why you don’t remember much and think it was a dream. You are going today to make all the funeral arrangements and I’m going with you.”

“FUCK YOU!!” I scream and then I start to cry. I stand there sobbing with my head and shoulders slumped. After a while he puts his arm around me.

“Come on man, let’s go do this work.”