The rest of the day went by as usual, spacing out in class, doodling, even an unlikely detention during lunch, which she blamed some girls but mostly the boys for. They were quite rowdy after all. Most of the time during breaks, she plays basketball with the students in the grade below and above her, the grade elevens joining at times as well. She would walk back to class by herself and meet her friends there, who would be discussing something random. This was her personal way of saying; I won't be swayed by other people. But as she says, at least it's a way to pass time which she normally would've had trouble doing.
She waited at the bus stop just outside their school, sitting in the shade of a perfectly positioned tree that protected her from the afternoon heat. Her brother always came after her, tapping the top of her head to indicate his arrival as she fixed her hair with the one-year-old phones camera, making sure it didn't look unruly. The bus primarily arrived around 15 45 or so, meaning she always had twenty to thirty minutes to just spend in the company of her brother and occasionally, a friend as well.
In the mornings, she'd wake up at 6 50, giving herself ten minutes to pre-regret the day coming ahead then get ready to leave by 7 30. When she got back home, she'd wash her face, hands, and then she'd change her clothes. A typical hygienic after-school routine. Afterwards, she would open her laptop, switching between reading, scrolling, and simply just wasting time. Of course, she ate lunch and dinner at their given times. On the weekends, they would go out for either a family outing or meet up with friends. The family would clean the house and go out for groceries. Then the same thing from Monday again. It was the definition of boring
Now that we have gotten to know our main character, it would generally be time for a bang or sudden change of events. Unfortunately, these sorts of magical life-changers only occur in movies. The protagonist may be in despair and have some secret skills they have yet to unlock. But Lila? She had nothing, or at least she believed she did. As a child, she was told she had a talent for absorbing information, no matter how random the fact was. She tried to make the most of it at first, reading articles, watching the news, just trying to feel a spark of passion. It never came, so she gave up.
Lila Adams could never have one ongoing hobby; her longest one lasted for almost two years. Our protagonist has tried out quite a few pass-times, like chess, origami, and you can only guess what else!
***
March 22nd, 2025, 8:04pm,
Did I really do anything wrong? He was fine with the way I lived up until now. Was what he said true? Does having nothing to do, or no real interest to pursue, really mean that I'm lazy and incompetent? I do get good grades; all A's except for Mrs. Allen in HPE, where I mostly get a B. I wonder if studying harder will help. Writing a diary entry is hard, you just write and write with no proper plan, it's a waste of time. Why am I stupid enough to do this? I'm not anyone special; you could run into a person like me any day. My day was going by as usual, the same humdrum (I don't know why, but I find this word cool) routine. I was simply trying to find something to read, sitting on my gray sofa-like chair; my legs crossed, laptop on my lap. Then it was time for dinner; the sun had set a mere 20-ish minutes ago. For some reason I was sleepy, I slept at about 10 though, a good 9 hours. Anyways, getting back to the point, I sat at the table, as usual, then started eating the rice and 'daal' prepared for the family by my mom, (to anyone other than me reading this, my dad is from India and my mom from Australia. Our family adapted to the Desi culture rather than the Aussie culture. My brother and dad have quite strong accents) then LITERALLY OUT OF NOWHERE my father was like, 'Tum park kyu nahi jathi ho ab? Pehlay tho jath hi thi. Tumhara bhai dho ghantay khailkay ata hain.' (Why don't you go to the park anymore? You used to go. Your brother goes for 2 hours then comes back). And then, using my common sense, I didn't reply saying anything but an apology, but OF COURSE he had to keep going on about my laziness. 'It's bad for your health', 'You don't have any friends?', 'Doing nothing other than staring at that screen all day'. It hurts my heart writing what he said. AGHHHHH!!!!!!! Unfortunately, my mum wasn't even at the dining table at the time, on a call with some rude client from work! I just forced myself to eat quickly then locked myself in my room. If I slammed it shut, who knows what would've happened to me? I do sports at school, like, proper basketball and stuff. Ugh, even my handwriting is getting messy now. I get that he cares for my health or whatever, but really? Did you have to say it with that piercing gaze?? HUH!?!? I swear, he's always coming after me for this stuff. You think I'm lazy? Bet. I'll have to get all A's. Full, perfect. Then let's see what you have to say about that.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Lila slammed her book shut, powerfully but not enough for the noise to escape her room. Everyone knew she hated being called boring, even though that is the very word that describes her. Laziness was a close match. She felt like crying. She always felt like it whenever she was mad, not sad.
Sitting on her bed, looking around her room, which was simple, a desk at the corner, decorated with papers, doodles, and stationary. Besides that, a wardrobe that led to the next wall. Then her chair and stool, a long mirror between the two. A poster of a K-pop group she had minimal interest in, beside that, the white door, a lighter shade of that color belonged to the walls. And on the opposite side was her bookshelf and bed, both facing the mirror. Bookshelf in line with the mirror, and her single king-bed (?) in line with half the painting.
Overhead lights flickered, as though sensing her fury and the wrenching of her heart. "Don't care. Doesn't matter," her mumble, silenced by the pillow she laid her head on, was heard by no one. To her despair, she didn't really have any close friends to talk to. She had Ella and Jackie, of course, but she mentally listed them on her good friends list. "This would be the perfect time for some superhero to mend my heart" Adams sighed, lifting her head to stare at the imposing yet comforting off-white wall.
"This has happened before. It can't get any worse than this."
