![]() I stepped from one end of the light and into the darkness the fluorescents behind me sparkled until they shattered, sending flickers of light to the floor and disappearing into the darkness. The werewolf got on all fours and told me to come with him into the dark corridor. The hairs on his body stood up as if he had just been struck by an electrical current. “I’ll help you real quick, but I gotta finish my laundry. Especially when the siren calls for me to help her. It was uncomfortable for me to be in the same room but I stood still, trying to feel the back of pants for my iPhone. When Peter the werewolf laughed, it sounded like a snake’s hiss. “Help? You look like you can take care of yourself on your own. “Wala akong pakialam! You’re just a boy,” Peter hissed. When the lights went back to a normal state, the werewolf was still there. I held onto my khaki’s as the lights flickered. The werewolf turned his head into the corridor and the laundry room’s lights flicked on and off in a flash of seconds. “I don’t listen to anything, except the siren’s call. “I don’t listen to radios,” The werewolf coughed out a gray hairball the size of a jawbreaker. “What are you listening to?” The beast said as it cracked its back. The werewolf purred and got on all fours to stretch. Drake was still spittin’, so I paused my iPod. Like fresh off the boat in Newark kind of Tagalog. “Kamusta po kayo,” the werewolf said in Tagalog. I stood there, staring at it, and the thing stared at me back. The thing noticed me once I took my headphones off. The werewolf walked towards the other end of the laundry room, to a small corridor where the storage room closet was. Without any clothes on, he looked like a giant overfed rat with a werewolf’s head. It was his chest that was the biggest feature about him. His legs were bony and jagged like a goat living in in the Alps, and his arms were thin but hairy with hands as big as webbed chicken’s feet. He had a twisted, lanky body, like a boy in fifth grade who grew up too fast. It was after the second verse when Drake started talking about the Hooters waitress in Atlanta that a pale werewolf walked into the room. I sorted colors and whites while the lyrics took me out of the present. While I loaded the washer, I fiddled with my iPod until I stumbled upon a Drake and Jhene Aiko collab. I liked to listen to music whenever I did this and since I was in a breakup mood I listened to one of Drake’s older albums. Bright colors stayed together, whites stayed together, and you couldn’t mix, because if you did it would mess everything up. She told me that all clothes have a purpose. Before the heart attack took her away, my mother taught me this. If I don’t do any of this right, a shirt could be covered in different colors or a pair of gym shorts would be tied up in knots. I have to watch the timer and add just the right amount of detergent for the washer and fabric sheets for the dryer. I have to keep the type of clothing separate, whether they’re towels, cotton sheets, or just a big ole pile of white socks. Once they were on for good, the washing began. The lights crackled for a good minute before they kicked into gear and stayed together as one. The neighborhood kids used to call it the murder basement but those dudes grew up and weren’t around anymore so it’s just a dirty, creepy, place to wash your pants. When I flicked the fluorescent lights on, they sputtered on and off. I took my hamper and made my way for the Laundromat, a two-minute walk in a basement underneath the landlord’s room. The Philippines was as far from New Jersey as my love life was away from reality. I knew nothing about my father’s home beyond a few hamstrung pictures of farmhouses and beaches. I nodded to let him know I understood, but I didn’t. “Ay jusko po! The country’s going to hell! We have a crazy man running for President.” As I made my way out the door, Pops cursed in Tagalog and I asked him what was wrong. It contained a mix of dirty gym clothes, crusty socks, and shirts that were overdue for a clean. When I said no, he nodded, and I went into my room to get the hamper. When I came home, Pops didn’t ask why I showed up from school three hours early. On the drive home, I Googled it, but nothing came up. The hell does that mean, ‘ We should take some time alone.’ I thought it was a line she took from a band. “We’re growing up and we’re growing apart,” she began, “I don’t know how to feel about you anymore. The same way the ER doctor did when he delivered the news that my mother said sayonara to the world. She stood in front of me, hands folded over her stomach. On the drive back to Pop’s apartment, I replayed the morning so I could get the memory right. Whenever something bad happens and I get anxious, I fold my shirts. ![]() It was two days overdue and it had to be done. When Bonnie dumped me after gym class, I skipped the rest of school and went home to do my laundry. ![]()
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