Bottle

What’s your favorite word?

Bottle. I like the word bottle. When I say it, I can hear change being knocked around inside a glass. I can hear it begin when you get to the ‘T’ in ‘bot’, and it finishes when you say ‘tlle’. Bottle. Bottle bottle bottle bottle. It’s such a nice sound, even though it’s only in my head.

It reminds me of when I used to save change in a jar as a child. I still save change in a jar, though now I never keep the pennies. I collect them until my roommate locks himself away, unresponsive to my calls and knocks against his door.

I take a cup and I place the pennies inside, covering my hand over the mouth before I shake it. I shake it obnoxiously and right up against his door so I know he’ll hear it. If he doesn’t respond then I pour the cup out onto the floor, listening as the pennies clatter and roll away from me. I get down on the floor and begin to send the coins under the crack and into his room, one by one. I make sure they hit against each other when I do it, so he knows it's happening, even when he looks out the window on the other side of the room like he always does when he’s in a mood.

He opens the door for that. He’ll stare down at me and I’ll stare up at him, neither one of us speaking while I push the remaining pennies up against his feet with the side of my palm. I’ll stand and he’ll try to close the door but I won’t let him, and silently I’ll pull him in for a hug.

We never really talk when he gets like this, we simply stand in his doorway with his hands shaking against his sides. I can never tell if it’s because he’s afraid to hug me back or because he wants to hit me. He never does either, though, so I don’t really think it matters much.

I pull away first because I’m the only one hugging and I close the door to his room for him. I always walk away to the sound of him putting pennies, one by one, into a bottle.

Reviews

[CarlyFlower]

Aww, I really liked this. It was funny and sweet. I'm sure even though he doesn't show it, it means something to him too.