laughs

 Austin West Campus, affectionately called Wampus, is probably not a great place for children at night. There's frat houses all about, sidewalks in various states of disrepair, construction blocking off roads everywhere. There's homeless people all along Guadalupe, and even though nothing's ever happened to me, I feel scared to walk outside at night. I'm always up at ungodly hours, facing my window that looks out over Rio Grande. I always hear drunk people, construction, and skateboarders. But when I hear kids laughing or crying or screaming, I feel a little better about being awake in Wampus. They're so full of life, and they're in the same place as I am-maybe I still have that same helium inside me. But eventually, it gets too late, and even the kids are gone. Who's left awake but me? Does anyone notice that my life is on all night, powered by self hatred and a stubborn refusal to acknowledge my exhaustion?