Condensation

By Alex M. Costa

Camden woke up with a start, looking around his room frantically. All he saw was the G.I Joe figures on his shelf, a bunch of boxes, and a chair. Camden’s family had just moved in, and he had procrastinated on unpacking. He rested his head on his pillow, trying to remember the dream he had been having. He remembered vaguely a bright purple figure, with a type of yellow sword-shaped weapon. He tried to look back into that dream again, but his energy seemed to have run out. Camden rolled back into his covers and just as he was about to drift off again his mom called “Camden, honey take out the trash and come and eat some breakfast!” “Coming mom!” Camden hoarsely yelled back. His throat was dry since he had not had a drink of water yet. Camden unwillingly rolled out of bed, and just as he was about to get up from the floor, where he had rolled, he felt a pressure on his back. Camden fell to the floor once more, slightly unnerved by the sudden collapse. However, his room had carpet flooring, so he was not harmed. “Camden, are you coming? Come now before the food gets cold!” hollered Camden’s mom. “Ok, yes, yes, I am coming mom!”, shouted Camden in response.

He decided to check quickly in the mirror to see the state of his hair, so he trudged over to the bathroom across the hall, and sleepily yanked open the door. Camden gazed at the mirror and saw his face, brown hair, green eyes, that was him alright. He looked passable, but still had a bad case of bed head. He ran downstairs as fast as he could go because he knew his mom did not like him to be late for anything. He finally got to the kitchen, and his mom gave him a plate of pancakes with syrup and strawberries. “Be grateful you have something to eat kiddo!” Camden's mom exclaimed, she knew Camden was never hungry in the morning.”Of course, I am Mom!” Camden replied with a small smile, he knew she liked to hear that. Only Camden and his mom were in the kitchen since his brother and father were at their respective jobs. Camden nibbled away at his pancakes, while his mom cleaned up the kitchen.

Camden wanted to eat with his mother because he knew she worked hard hours, and cleaning up the house was a burden to her. Spending time with her kids was one of her top priorities, and she always gave everything she had to ensure her kids' happiness. Camden's mom finished tidying up the kitchen and sat down. She started eating small bites of her food, Camden could see a small smile on her face, and his cheeks warmed with the thought of making his mother happy, even for just a minute. Camden now finished his pancakes, even though he wanted to spend time with his mom, he had to finish up a project that's due tomorrow. He had procrastinated, and played games instead of working on his project, he was ashamed but also filled with a spontaneous burst of energy. He was determined to finish this project!

Camden put his plate away and grabbed a glass of water. He chugged the whole thing in 30 seconds, which was a specialty of his in second grade. His mom called out “Good luck with that project Camden!”. “Ok mom!” he answered enthusiastically. He went back upstairs but then decided he should brush his hair to help that case of bedhead to dissipate. He looked in the mirror with a confused expression on his face. There was some type of writing on the mirror, and it was quite prominent. The message on the mirror, written with condensation said, “You talk in your sleep”. Camden curiously walked up to the mirror and touched the writing, it disappeared with a tap, as if it had never been there.” That’s….odd” Camden said with a smirk, he normally does not communicate with me, must be feeling courageous or something.