The light is off and I roll over in bed.

Are you awake?

There is almost a voice there, but not quite. Just my thoughts in the empty, dark room. My arm hairs prickle and I smother them with a blanket.

Why have the light off…if you aren’t going to sleep?

I tuck my knees into my chest with a pillow in between my legs, making sure to smash it against my stomach so that I can’t feel gravity sagging my tummy skin downward at an angle likely to be terribly unflattering.

I wonder if someone is hiding under you bed? Or in the closet?

How old are we? I think to myself, flipping over, taking the pillow between my legs with me.

Wow, that’s a super bright clock light. Look at that, its 11:37. Really it’s almost 11:45. I’ll bet you don’t sleep ‘till 12.

I haul the comforter over my eyes and lay there in a ball, not uncomfortable though not settled in the least.

I wonder if that Taco Bell worker thought you were patronizing her in the drive-through at lunch? Remember? You said, “Thanks so much,” almost with entitlement. I’ll be she thought the same. I bet you ruined her day.

I faintly hear my hamster Toothpaste’s wheel rolling somewhere in the dark as he runs in place.

Remember that song on the radio earlier? “I knew you were trouble when you walked i-in!” “I knew you were trouble when you walked i-in!”

I focus on the hum of the fan.

I knew you were trouble when you walked i-in!

I start to drift off; the pillow grows softer and it’s not so bad having a blanket cover 90 percent of my head. I am almost at a place where I can shed my thoughts for dreams…

I knew you were trouble when you walked i-in!

It is 12:05 now, and I take it thoughts don’t need much sleep.

Luciana, 25