The Perfect Distraction

It was 9 p.m. I went to my tiny room, turned on the light, and sat down on the wooden chair. It was time to finish my research on phone addiction.

I chose this specific time to avoid distraction; Nobody would interfere.

On my right were three books. In the middle stood the flickering screen of my laptop. And to my left was my towering "special weapon", though I didn't expect to use it.

I opened the draft and read what I'd done up until then and realized it wasn't enough. I wasn't satisfied with the literature review, most of the sample consisted of people aged 20–25, and my sentences were poorly written. My situation got worse when I checked my calendar: The deadline is… 30 October!!! Meaning I had only three days!! I slapped my left cheek, leaving it warm and red. I was about to scream but quickly covered my mouth, remembering that my sick mother was sleeping. I stood still for a moment, haunted by a single thought: I should've done it with Mickey.

But no… Anything but that. Why should I even bother socializing? Nah… No need… After all, that's obviously how society flourished!

I had no time for whining, so I started drafting an urgent plan, prioritizing the form over the content. I believed that I might pass if I did at least the bare minimum.

And just when I cooled down, a bigger problem arose: It was a sound I didn't expect:

BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!

I stood up abruptly, knocking the chair over. I immediately began to scan the corners of the room: right, left, up, and down. I spent four minutes searching for any sign of movement, but I didn't find anything.

It was not the first time this kind of fake alarm had occurred. It might've been a sound from the outside, probably a struggling insect trying to enter through the window.

I sat down again, took a deep breath, and returned to the matter at hand.

Only a few minutes had passed when the same disgusting sound blasted into my right ear:

BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!

I stood up abruptly, again, holding my special weapon with my right hand. It seemed that I wasn't hallucinating!

After fifteen minutes of rigorous search, nothing was found, again!!!

At that moment, I considered the possibility that it was actually in my room.

Did I forget to close the windows and the main door before 5. p.m.? No.

Didn't I get rid of all of them before coming here? Also no.

Did Sam, Linda, Yara, or Mom open anything tonight without me knowing?? Sam would never dare. Linda was outside and arrived home at nearly 7.p.m, but I was 100% sure nothing went through the door. Yara was with my mom, taking care of her.

Thus, I concluded that there was no chance of anything being inside my room, and all of these sounds were just in my head, nothing more.

I scrutinized my room one last time and then sat down. I wasn't entirely comfortable, as my right ear was still red from being smacked.

I spent ten minutes pondering which task to do first, since I didn't have much time before the deadline. I decided to start by improving the grammar, but as soon as I scrolled down, my eyes confirmed it: Yes, it was in this room!! A green one!!!

I extended my left hand, panicky, grabbing my special weapon, and pressed the button.

I realized that I had failed because it flew normally.

The poisonous odor filled the room, and I felt reassured. In fact, I had grown used to it, since I knew that this disgusting creature might suffer from it. Despite that, I scratched my head and paced in the room — a green one is the worst: It's faster, smarter, and doesn't care much about light, so it's harder to trick.

I couldn't sit unless I confirmed it was killed. So, I spent about thirty minutes searching the room, over and over. There was no way I could verify, since it might've been dead on the top of the closet. Knowing that, I returned once again to finish the assignment.

And just when I was finally immersed, it started all over again:

BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!

However, this time I was more prepared: I quickly gripped the special weapon, turned 180 degrees, and shot —

Direct hit!!!

That was when I knew I had succeeded!!

Almost instantly, it bounced all over the room, until it landed on the ground, rotating, and buzzing. I delivered the final touch, the climax, by grabbing the slipper and

BAAAAMMMMM!!

My sweating finally subsided. It was finally over! I did it! It was time to focus!

However, as I glanced at the clock, the time showed:

11.p.m!!!

I was baffled! How did 2 hours pass without me noticing??

And so, I decided to shut down my laptop, and called it a day.

"Tomorrow will be better. There will be no distraction, " I said as I headed to the bathroom before bed.

Hello, hope you enjoyed my short story!

Feel free to share your thoughts and ideas in the comments!