Power Out

Rain. It tumbles out of the pregnant clouds that hover calmly over our lands and each drop hits the ground, the cement, the grass, the roof with a singular thud that sends waves through the air and reaches my ears as I sit in my room reading Rebel Angels by Libba Bray, a story about a witch who is trying to bind the magic that she has set loose. I look up and out the window to see a my neighborhood as if it is a bath tub and someone has just turned on the shower. Water poors down the sky and tumbles down the streets in a raging stream. I mark my book and run to the study room where my mom sits at the edge of a black leather chair, staring at the computer screen typing words into the keyboard swiftly.

"It's raining!" I say, stating the obvious with excitment in my eyes. Here in Texas, rain does not come in a surplus. My eyes glow as I run to open the front door and look through the frame. The smell of the rain tumbles into the house, the humidity of the air follows it. I close the door in a few seconds and run to the living room.

A few minutes of this excitement seems to be enough for me because I am soon bored and in the office room not listening while my parents talk about... something. I mumble, "I'm gonna watch TV." and walk out of the room and to the living room. I get in about an hour of television.

Suddenly, I hear a spark and the power goes out. Another spark. The power is back on. Another spark. No power. Spark. Power. Spark. No power. Spark? No. No more sparks reach my ears and the power stays off. I run to get the flashlight and unplug the television, our computer, and our two laptops to make sure none of them are hit by lightning. Mom is in the kitchen getting the candles. I help her light them but it isn't enough. We have to eat dinner in the dark. But nobody except for me is hungry. So correction: I have to eat dinner in the dark. I take a candle and put it a few inches from my plate and eat dinner, barely being able to see the food that I am putting into my mouth. Afterwards, my father gets on the phone with his sister (my aunt) and talks away. I sit and listen. I say "I'm bored" a few times but that doesn't bring the power back.

I have an idea! I run to get the flashlight. "I'm going to read a book!" I say, proud that I had thought of such a simple thing. But, of course, mother contradicts me.
"No. Your eyes will go bad, you can't read in the dark." She explains.
"But, I have a flashlight!" I say holding the small blue source of light up in the air.
"No." She says and I know I can't go against what she says.
"Fine..." I grumble and go back to the couch and say: "I'm bored."

Soon, (well not really soon, but later) my dad finished his conversation and asks me what I read today about Probability and what did I learn. We talk about this as my mom eats dinner. And by the time that conversation is done, the power is back on, so my dad eats dinner. I run to my room and read Rebel Angels for another one and a half hours or so and fall asleep at 2 AM.

What a life.