Shiny White Plastic

A Story by Sheridan Kunde

This isn't my favorite story and I will work on it further if I get the time.

beep beep beep

An alarm clock going off but it’s not my alarm clock.It’s coming from further away and sounds different.

Beep Beep Beep

It’s my brother’s alarm clock. There’s a thump in the bathroom, the water isn’t running yet.

BEEP BEEP BEEP

The alarm is getting louder.

Before it can go off again I get out of bed. I make my way around the cat. She is sleeping on my bed between me and the door.

I make as much noise as I can even though I know he won’t hear. It is pointless really but I can’t help it. His stupid alarm has woken me and I want him to know it. My steps are disappointingly muffled by the carpet.

I bang my hand down on the many small silver buttons atop the shiny white alarm in my half blind effort to stop the frustrating beeping.All I want is for the beeping to stop so that I can go back to bed and sleep.

My hand hurts but actually opening my eyes would make me further awake than I already am.

Having silenced the alarm clock l I turn back to go to my room knowing I have only one hour of sleep left. One hour of sleep which will, now, be spent lying in bed with my eyes closed with no real sleep able to happen before my own alarm goes off.

On my way past the bathroom, which is conveniently close to my room, I yell at my brother.‘Your bloody snooze button went off, don’t worry I turned it off for you.’

My words don’t make it through the door and running water.

I settle back into bed arranging the sheets around me. I’m ready to get as much rest as possible.

Beep Beep Beep

S**t...

My brother’s alarm has gone off like this before but never has it ever gone off after I’ve turned it off. I want to demolish that little silver button.

This time I jerk out of bed, I storm to the alarm clock. There is no thought of stomping and showing my frustration this time but rather turning the damn thing off.

I seriously consider unplugging it and throwing it out the window or over the stairs this time. I’m torn between my desire for violence and my desire for sleep. In the end sleep wins out and I go back to bed.

Going back to bed is not as satisfying as destroying the alarm clock but does however guarantee further sleep will be uninterrupted and peaceful.

Though now I’m beginning to wonder if there is any point. I’m definitely awake and angry with no hope of going back to sleep. This just makes me even more angry and frustrated.

On my way back I nearly run into my brother who is on his way to shut the alarm off. I can’t even form words. It’s all I can do to send a sleepy glare in his direction.

He walks into his room and sees the blank grey screen of his alarm clock.

I settle back into bed. It is seven and I am getting up at eight. I hope that he gets the bus so I don’t have to take him to school. He’d be doing the dishes for a week.

My thoughts are then filled with the destruction of that shiny white alarm clock. These images fuel my frustration and distract me from my sleep.

The internal, and only, stairs spring first into my mind. They are temptingly right across my brother’s room. However, there would be none of the crunch and explosion of parts that my anger craves.

From the front deck I could drop it onto the cement of the entryway below. The cement would create that satisfying crunch I desire. In fact I can envision lots of small silver parts and electrical wire scattered amongst the larger pieces of shiny white plastic casing. It is also close to my brother’s room. This brings a smile to my face.

Still I envision more destruction.

The back deck has timber at the bottom. The timber would make a similarly appeasing crunch as the cement. However, this would destroy the timber more than the alarm clock

Disappointing.

But I could throw it into the empty blocks behind us. I would get the joy of throwing it as far as I could which let’s face it isn’t going to be far. If they weren’t so close I would be worried about missing them altogether.

There are so many options and I’m itching to try them all.

I look at my own alarm clock. It’s 7:57. Deciding to take the unfortunate opportunity I get up three minutes before my alarm is due to go off and turn it off before going downstairs for breakfast.

Why am I the only one he does this to?

Once I’m on the bus to uni I text mum. On the bus, revoking dum dum’s snooze privelleges.

The bus pulls up the local shopping centre and mum still hasn’t sent me a reply. I look out the window as usual. I’m hoping one of my old school friends who I have seen little of in the two years since I have left school will hop on. This time I’m in luck and I see one of my friends in line waiting for the bus. Excited I move over on my seat to make room for her. She gets on and I wave. Alice smiles too and sits down next to me

‘Hey.’

‘Hey, how are you?’

‘Good. My brother left his snooze button on this morning and then goes and has a shower.’

'That would be so annoying, siblings.’ She agrees probably thinking of her own younger sister.

‘I know, it’s not even the first time he’s done this either.’ Suddenly the memory of an internet meme jumps into my head. ‘I’m gonna put thumbtacks on the snooze button.’ Alice laughs but agrees.

“Are you going to tell him?’

‘I’m not that mean.’ I say with a grin

‘Is he still going to do animation?’

Alice does animation so we’ve been talking to her about courses my brother could do and what they involve so we can figure out if it is something he will actually be interested in.

‘Who knows, if mum has her way he will.’ As if he could do anything on his own.

‘Where is he thinking of going?’

‘I don’t know. Mum wants him to go to tafe first and make sure he’s interested. She’s debating between the one in the city and one he could drive to.’

It’s an hour into the city so we talk some more. Alice brings up this public transport survey she’s done.

‘Oh yeah, the amount of times I’ve been stuck there for an hour.’ I agree to her suggestion of an hourly return bus becoming a half-hourly return bus.

‘I get there at ten past and then have to wait.

'The bus arrives at ten to.

‘That would suck.’ I say, thinking of the forty minute wait.

‘Are you going to do the survey?’

‘Definitely’

I’m caught up in thoughts and a book as I almost miss my bus stop but this is not unusual. It’s an obscure stop right around the corner from my house.

It’s ten to five and my brother will be the only one home. He’s upstairs in his room and I come up to say hello.

He’s in his usual position on the floor lying against the bean bag and pillow. His laptop and new screen mum and dad got him for his birthday is in front of him. I told them not to encourage him but it’s hard to get him anything else when his computer is all he is interested in.

He sees me and says hi.

‘How was your day?’ I ask and I swear I could almost see annoyance cross his face as he takes off the headphones, always replaced the instant they break. And they break frequently from what I think is over use.

The only time he ever gets vocal is when he wants something, usually to do with his computer.

‘How was your day?’ I repeat.

‘Good.’ He goes to put his headphones back on.

‘Nothing interesting happen at school?’ I ask before he can put his headphones back on.

He shrugs and puts his headphones on.

I flop back on his bed and the dog jumps up. The sound of her excited yaps and the hum of my brother’s computer are the only sounds that fill the room.

The alarm clock is still turned off and I look at it.

Why does he have to use the snooze button? What is the purpose of a snooze button? An alarm goes off and you get up. Having my sleep interrupted once by an alarm is enough for me.

‘How was your day?’ Mum asks me sitting down to dinner.

I look at my brother. ‘Idiot hit the snooze button and his alarm went off while he was in the shower.’ He doesn’t say anything.

Mum looks amused. ‘So I heard.’