Writing Prompt: Write about a character who’s stuck inside. How do they feel about it? Why are they there?
She brushed her hair back behind her ears and watched the T.V. anxiously. The government official kept saying its name over and over again, with new measures, new rules for everyone to follow. Her father yelled obscenities at the screen, his hand raising suddenly as if the government man could see the eff you. Her mother poked her head in from the kitchen, yelling at her father to stop yelling. Her brother swiveled on his stomach to laugh at his father for getting in trouble. The girl tried to turn the T.V. up to hear the man on the screen, but it was no good now. Her sister and brother-in-law emerged from their basement apartment looking for food.
“Agh!” she threw the remote down. Nobody heard her over their own arguments. Huffing, she stomped upstairs, making as much racket as she could, knowing nobody would hear her anyways.
She desperately wanted quiet, a moment just to herself, away from the explosion of her family. Somewhere downstairs, her sister roared with laughter. Her brother yelled. Her dad slammed his fist. How would she survive endless days with these people?
The girl flopped onto her bed and stuffed her face under her pillow. The world was muffled but still very much there. She sighed in frustration and laid on her back. Sun was streaming into the room. She turned her head to the little window. If only she could crawl out of that little window…
But wait! Yes! The bathroom window was much bigger! She leapt off of her bed and bounced into the bathroom. She moved the bathroom ornaments off the ledge, pulled the window dressing back and– sigh. She forgot the screen. Maybe she could unhinge the screen? Surely nobody would notice if she just cut through it? Shrugging, she cranked the window open–
“Ahem.” Her brother stood smirking in the doorway, hands on his hips. She rolled her eyes as he moved to the toilet, not caring whether she left or not. The girl slid the window closed and slammed the door on her way out. Her brother whistled happily, knowing he’d won this round. She balled her fists in rage.
Teeth grinding, the girl wandered into her parents room. It faced the street, a perfect view of the neighborhoods comings and goings, although now the street was just eerie and empty. She rested her forehead on the window pane, the hot sun beating down on her. Eyes closed, she tried to drown out the whistling, the yelling, the thumping and shouts.
“Ah!” The window had given way slightly under her pressure. She looked for a lever and pulled, pushing the window out with all of her might. The crack was just big enough for her to slide through. She slid a trunk over and stepped up, squishing her head, her torso, her leg, her other leg! She did it! She was out! She was free! She let out a cry of relief. She shifted her weight down to sit on the tiny warm edge, breathing in fresh crisp air. The breeze lifted strands of hair from her forehead. Yes, this is it. This is silence. She grinned from ear to ear. Then–
THUMP.
“HAHA!”
She whipped around– her brother, dying of laughter, pointing at her. He turned and bolted out of the room. He was yelling something to her parents.
But she couldn’t hear him,
The window was sealed shut.