Sleepless nights and 70 hour weeks

Lethargic air conditioning and a bed that causes back pain

Too hot to walk outside

Too stressed to stay at home

The sight of the sunlight means it's time to call it a night

"can you cover today?" They ask half an hoer before opening

I rub my eyes and yawn, debating while I check my phone

"I'll be right there...what's in it for me?" I respond

Knowing I won't get more then my twelve dollars an hour

I can't afford the subway

Nor my health insurance

Not even the coffee that keeps me standing up

“Do I have to go to Church with you guys this week? Can't I just stay at home and sleep a bit more? I have enough homework to do later as it is!” seventeen year old Kyrelia Morimoto whined with a yawn to her parents as she emerged from her second floor bedroom into a brightly lit hallway. Between the shining August sun shining through the two windows above the staircase, and the makeup style light glowing from the open bathroom door, Kyrelia felt vampiric having to shade her eyes and hiss. In the bathroom, her mother stood in a baby green and light yellow sundress and applied matching makeup. Unsure of whether or not she'd been heard over the bubblegum J-Pop playing from the bathroom radio, Kyrelia shambled to the bathroom door to repeat her question.

“Why would you have homework Kyrei-chan? Doesn't college start in two weeks for you? Your dad and I only ever ask that you go to Church with us on Sundays. Can't you just indulge us until you start school?” Kyrelia's mother asked in a light, preppy voice before the question could be repeated. Her natural beach blonde hair hung feathery below her shoulders while she finished applying the glittering green eye shadow. After returning her cosmetic brush to its container, she grabbed a tube of shimmering pink lip gloss and turned to lay bright green eyes upon her daughter. “You look more like you just came from a concert then rolled out of bed.”

Kyrelia by contrast had longer jet black hair with hot pink streaks, dark eyes, and stood several inches below her mother. The black Anthrax shirt she wore was just long enough to conceal her black panties that read “Choke on 'em” in gorey blood red lettering. “You practically go to Church in cosplay so it doesn't matter what I wear to bed. And you've been saying that since before I can remember even WHEN I had school the next day and had projects to finish...besides, you're not even Christian. You're a Russian Jew who married a Japanese Catholic. Do you dress up like a magical girl for dad too?” Kyrelia snorted playfully, but with just enough aggression for her father open the bedroom door to her left.

“Big talk coming from the metal head who used to pretend she was a chibi princess,” Kyrelia's father chuckled while he stood adjusting his emerald tie. “You can stay home from Church this weekend Kyrie hime-chan. After this week we're going to start looking for another church to go to. With the election coming up, one too many people are beginning to say things that are troubling in church. Even the Father has begun to lace the psalms with his political rhetoric.”

An awkward silence fell with both mother and daughter staring in wait for an explanation. The music stopped for a newsbreak before the family came back to reality.

“Seven Fifteen A.M. On a beautiful Sunday morning. Last night one of our Presidential candidates, I bet you can guess who, proudly declared that he believes both atomic bombs during World War Two were necessary, and that he would gladly drop as many as necessary if it meant obtaining peace for the United States. You know everybody at home, I don't know what's more shocking to me: that this man managed to receive the presidential candidacy for his party, or that anyone is supporting him at all. Before I ruin anybody's Sunday further, let's get back to the music.”

“That's why we're finding a new church. That's exactly why...” Kyrellia's father began to walk down the stairs with a sigh and a shrug. Now mother and daughter were left to stare at each other in silence, the cheery pop music now out of place with the thoughts crossing each family member's minds.

The man believed he possessed everything

His house, his wife, his kids

Blinded by fear and greed

His iron grip left bruises inside and out

Pleas for understanding

Cries for deaf ears

Blind eyes can see no tears

A lie took the stage on opening night

A hospital stay led to a courtroom play

The show was a flop

The man's script was flawed

He returned to a broken home

One son roamed the streets

The other wandered with his mother

The players would be possessions no longer

Now the man lives alone

And hordes his money and food

His family lives broken

Their cries and tears are still met with blind eyes and deaf ears

They starve outside the theater, cold and beaten

The man lives in theater

The owner sneaks him food and money through the back door

So he doesn't have to share his possessions