April 31-Doomsday

Today is April 31. That’s weird to say! There’s never been an April 31 in history! Well, until today. I don’t know what time it is today or what day it is. The sun stopped rising and falling—that’s a lie. The sun didn’t stop moving; the Earth did.

It all started on April 30, but no one knows what caused it: the Earth stopped orbiting, and a ton happened. I’m one of the few people who survived. Most of the city’s buildings collapsed, even the ones people said were indestructible. Dad calls it the Great Collapse. Dad says I should be happy that I’m alive, but almost everyone else is dead: my friends, my family, teachers…

I’m sitting across from a mirror, head in my hand, and staring at my reflection. I want to be in school with my friends, like I would on a normal day. Who knows how long it’s been since the Great Collapse, minutes, hours, days…

“Alexandra!” a voice calls from outside the door, causing me to jump in surprise. I glance in the mirror and take a breath to calm myself. I locked myself in my bedroom so no one could bother me, especially him! I don’t want to talk to Dad!

“I told you to call me Alex!” I groan, voice rising in anger. I fold my arms even though Dad can’t see me. He always insists on calling me Alexandra, my birth name, but that’s too fancy. All my friends call me by my nickname, except my own dad.

I stand up, moving away from the mirror and to my bed, but it isn’t my bed, and this isn’t my bedroom. It’s a bunker, hidden underground for whatever reason! Dad never told me! He still treats me like a child! But I’m in tenth grade! He shouldn’t be allowed to boss me around anymore! Dad used to work at a military base. I don’t know what his position was, but it had something to do with science. One day, the other scientists called Dad mad, and he was fired. When he lost his job, Mom left him shortly after. Dad spent all his time building this bunker, apparently for this event.

Carefully, I rip my phone from my pocket and dial the number again, my nails tapping on the glass screen as I wait for it to load. Please pick up, please! After a moment of static, my heart drops, and I let the phone slip from my hands, cracking as it hits the floor. Dang it! No service!

“Alexandra…” Dad chimes quietly, with a soft knock on the door. “Please open the door. There’s something I want to talk to you about…”

His words may sound sweet, but they hold no meaning to me. The only thing I can think of as Dad speaks is how betrayed I feel. Why didn’t he bring Mom to the bunker? Why didn’t he save her, too? I know Dad hates her, and I know they’re divorced, but I still love her! Did he hate Mom that much? Does he hate me that much?

“Alexandra… I want to spend time with you, but I’ll give you space. If you need me, I’ll be in the kitchen,” Dad murmurs as his voice fades away.

Sighing, I readjust on my bed and stretch my arms upward. I glance around the room, my eyes landing on the books neatly stacked on my dresser. I choose a book from the top of the pile and turn to the first page. Flipping page after page, I try to read, but the words don’t hold my attention, and my mind wanders.

Setting down the book, I try to pretend that everything is fine, that the world is still spinning, that I’m at my real home, that Mom is right outside my room cooking eggs and bacon. Too bad it’s a lie. So much is going on, and I have no control over anything!

After a moment of frustration, it hits me: I don’t know much about what’s happening in the world, but Dad does. Dad’s a scientist; he has to tell me exactly what’s going on! I’ll make him tell me!

I march from my room with my arms folded and a smirk plastered on my lips. I hear Dad’s whistling in the kitchen, and I’m assured he’s making breakfast. Pausing, I take a step back and consider something. Should I wait until after breakfast to demand answers? Maybe a wholesome meal would make him more likely to tell me?

I freeze in place as I notice an open space in the corner of my eye. Dad’s office door is open! Normally, it’s locked, but today it’s open, just a sliver, but it’s open enough! Creeping closer to the forbidden room, I slip inside and silently shut the door behind me. My hand hovers above the lock, and I try locking it as quietly as possible.

I have no idea what I’m looking for, but there must be something! Something I can use to learn what’s going on with the world! Maybe a working phone? I could use that to call Mom! She has to be alive! I know it!

The office is a mess, papers scattered on desks and lamps left on from days before. I move closer to a desk that still has a light on and run my finger along the dusty surface.

As I’m shuffling through papers on the desk, something stands out to me. It’s an old, wrinkled paper, but it’s highlighted in bright pink. That’s my favorite color! I gently take the paper in my hands and start reading.

“Extreme radiation, lack of oxygen, mantle becomes too hot…” I quietly mutter aloud.

It’s a list of problems, and each one seems worse than the last. I force myself to stop reading to save my own sanity. The radiation explains why Dad built the bunker, but what will happen when the mantle becomes too hot? Will something happen to the Earth’s water? I try to think back to science class, but I don’t come up with much. Unlike my dad, I’ve never been that into science. Now I regret it.

Another paper is highlighted in multiple colors and is circled as if it’s the most important thing in the world.

“65 days until the Earth falls into the Sun and is ripped apart.” My eyes widen, and my hands tremble as I read each word, praying I’ve read it wrong.

65 days… that’s not a lot of time, and since the sun doesn’t rise and set, I have no idea what day it is! Dad just kept calling it April 31; does that mean he doesn’t know what day it is either? Why didn’t Dad tell me about this? I’m going to die! Everyone will!

When I leave Dad’s office, everything feels different; everything feels fake. 65 days left of my short life.

Entering the kitchen, Dad’s still whistling as he works. He’s poured himself a simple bowl of cereal and is slowly eating with a pathetic look on his face. Maybe I shouldn't have been so mean to him earlier. I take the seat across the table from him and make myself a bowl of cereal. Dad smiles as I join him, and milk has formed a silly mustache above his lip.

I take the first bite of my breakfast and choke it down, but I can’t really eat at a time like this. I force myself to swallow the next few bites before I push the bowl away.

“Dad… after this, do you want to play a game?” I murmur, embarrassed about the way I acted earlier.

“Only if you do. What game do you want to play?” Dad responds, standing up. He throws his bowl in the trash, then moves towards mine. “Are you done with yours?”

I nod, and he takes the bowl away with a smile, then he heads to a closet where he reveals some playing cards. He carefully divides them up and lets me choose a pile.

Our game started, but I have no idea how long it lasted. If I know these are my last days, I might as well spend them with someone I love, and with someone who loves me too.