Battle of The Night


I blink myself awake unsure of where I am or what is going on around me. A single light dangling by a thin wire flickers in the room. A chair sits against the wall looking dusty. Me, the chair, the light, the only things in this room. I'm not sure what comes next, I'm not restrained or anything like that. Still, I've seen movies like this before. The killer asks if you want to play a game. Then you have to cut off your foot to escape or they make Shaq shoot free throws to get rid of a bomb. There's no TV screen to be overlooked, I don’t expect them to feed me instructions and I don't think this is an escape room either.

I pull myself to my feet, a little wobbly. The room starts to spin a little and is bigger than I remember. My head pounds and I realize I might be suffering the effects of a hangover. I stumble towards the door at on the other side of the room and slowly regain my composure. I open the door expecting the worst and it's just stairs.

I make the climb only to reach another door. I take a deep breath and open the door. I see my father and mother having breakfast. They look at me in disgust and for the first time today I realize I'm only wearing briefs.

Suddenly I remember what happened. I had gone out last night and gotten drunk. But, I was hot in my room, so I took my clothes off. I was still hot, and since the basement is the coolest place in the house, I went there to sleep. Am I an idiot? I pull up a seat for breakfast. Mom slides a plate in disgust while dad does his best to look angry, but wants to laugh. She knew who I was long before this. I don't know why she's shocked.

"Pass the waffles,” I ask dad.