Looking Out the Window

He climbed the wall like one of those stupid spiders, complete with hairy legs and all the after images of a nightmare. I shivered watching Spike, our three year old monkey make his way along the naked water pipes. I could almost imagine him as King Kong, but the King never went through a mass of metal tubes... "Stupid Spike you have to come down sometime", I raised my eye brows at him. He just glanced at me, then twisted his head and hissed at the window. The sun barely lit the dank recesses of our bug invested window well. I remember playing in those searching for rare spider species or hoping I would find some creature never seen before. It was the hope of a child and the fear. I looked into those secret dirt holes and peered in the gravel crevices with the greatest anticipation only to come out empty handed except with a little more fear of the unknown. I wanted to know. But what would it help if I did. I would only be scared out of my mind and never return there again. I peered down at the sticky pop cans littered at my feet and felt sick. I knew drinking so much soda wasn't healthy, but that was what I called a good Saturday night. Your most boring laziness beneath a bunch of sticks with a hairy creature to ignore you. Loneliness. I listened once more for the groaning noise of the garage door that would announce the return of my parents from their weekend trip to the Coast. They were both busy with work all the time, leaving early and arriving home late. They used the weekend to escape and leave me trapped. I often made my own dinners. I even stayed home from school some days when I didn't feel like going, who was there to make me go anyways. It was a privilege most teenagers don't get. But how would I know, maybe they liked school because it was better than home. I rolled my eyes once again and sighed as I sunk my body heavily against the folding metal chair. I sent the cans clanking away as I pushed my feet out. Why was I wearing sandals with socks? I wish she would call me. Man! I wish Jack would call me. Boring Jack, hanging with his girlfriend seemed to be all he did these days, ever since the summer. She said she would call me. Leaning my head back I looked at an upside down monkey still staring into the window well. "Spikyy", he continued to stare out the window, "Spike!". He look at me, rubbed his hands and looked back out the window. I frowned at him. Am I looking at a depressed monkey? He looked even more depressed as there was barely any light coming through the window. It was all turning into a blue cold evening. I sighed again and got up pulling lightly at the lamp string over my head. Yellow light illuminated the concrete floor and boxes teetering against the wall. There really was no door to the basement, only a small wooden latter lead up to an opening that lead right to our back entrance. This place was so empty. I knew my parents weren't coming home. I would have friends over, but seeing as I only had one, I guess he would be busy. I thought of Jane again. Why did I think of her? I asked myself again what was wrong with me. I started to kick one of the cans up against the wall. Looked out the window, without even noticing Spike... In my memory I kicked a can across the road and I heard Jane's voice as it rang through the hot summer air of August."You stay in your house a lot". She said this and went quiet again and looked back down the white sidewalk. I could only say one thing, "Its my house". I walked over to her as she stared down the lane of cookie-cutter houses. I stared down at her hair as it shone in the high-noon sun. She continued to stare, I sat next to her. Why was she here, in front of my house? "Did you enjoy your summer", I asked. She responded quickly, "Yeah, I guess". I frowned at her, then smiled, "What did you do?". "Not much". I frowned again. "Well, I will tell you about the most exciting summer ever". She turned her head to me, "Yeah, what did you do?" I lied, "I went to the Coast, spent almost two months there actually. But we wanted to spend the rest of the summer home, that is why I am in my house a lot. Plus, I guess the neighbor was sick of taking care of Spike" Jane laughed, "I still cannot get over that you have a pet monkey, I thought only people in India that sorta of thing and celebrities". I smiled, "We're pretty exotic! Love doing all sorts of strange things together". "I am glad your family does things together, my parents just fight all the time".