Procrastination at its Finest

So this is a short excerpt from the bit of NaNoWriMo that I did do. I should be doing my homework instead of posting this, but this is of course, procrastination at its finest. Plus I'm still feeling a tad sick, so homework can suck it. Also, please understand this is completely unedited, and thus, completely sucks.


The subway station is warmer, but not nearly warm enough. My eyes dart around. They all probably think I'm on drugs. It's not like it hasn't happened before. I didn't even develop this habit until I was six years old...

The numbers had always been there, so I gave them no notice. I thought everyone saw them, and just didn't talk about it. No one had ever said anything about the numbers, so it was probably an older person thing. Nothing to worry about.

After about a month of begging my mom to "please, please, please, let me get a hamster!" I was finally given my wish. We were going to go to the pet store right after she got home from work. I'd already decided on names. Rockstar for a boy, or Amy for a girl. I practically ran all the way home, key around my neck, pulsing with my steps. Badum, Badum, Badum... The clock moved terribly slow, yet I continued to stare as the second hand continued its circle.

At 5:30 she was home, and I cried out, "C'mon, you took forever. Let's go." She may have laughed, but I took no notice. I was getting my hamster!

I was determined to run straight to the hamsters, but mom directed me to the cages. "He'll want to know a nice home is waiting for him before he comes home with us." I, of course trusted her. It was a modest cage, with a water bottle attached. We also got him a little house, and a hamster wheel. I attempted to run over to the hamsters again, but she reminded me that he needed food. So I begrudgingly stomped along.

Finally, I was free to run to the hamsters. Immediately, I saw my Rockstar. He was honey brown, with the cutest beady eyes, and a little nose sniffing tentatively in the air. My mother found an employee, who explained to me how I needed to take extremely good care of my pet, because animals need love and attention. I promised I would, and was presented with my little Rockstar.

One thing I immediately noticed about Rockstar was that his numbers were lower than any other person or animal I'd seen. 000:00:1:2:03:24. But I didn't think it was too big of a deal. The numbers changed all the time.

For the first couple of days, Rockstar was the only recipient of my love and attention. Then I got distracted, but remembered to feed him. Then one day, I didn't remember to feed him anymore.

His last day alive, I noticed his numbers were almost all zero. 000:00:0:0:07:42. I went to my friend's apartment to play for a bit. When I came back, Rockstar's numbers read 000:00:0:0:00:28. It occurred to me that I hadn't fed him in a while, and gave him some food. It was too late though, because I watched him crawl into the corner as his numbers hit 000:00:0:0:00:01, before disappearing altogether. I prodded him, hopelessly confused, before I realized he had died.

The numbers were counting down to death.


So I just want to know what you think, so feel free to leave a comment with telling me what was good, what needs some work, ect.

Oh, and since it might not be completely obvious, that scene is not the first in the book. It's about seven pages into what I hand wrote. I chose it because it makes enough sense on its own without any background.
~Jess the Nerdfighting BandGeek