Dirty Laundry | Teen Ink

Dirty Laundry MAG

April 2, 2009
By Zero_K DIAMOND, Moosic, Pennsylvania
Zero_K DIAMOND, Moosic, Pennsylvania
83 articles 0 photos 435 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Life's no fun if you're not insane, otherwise you grow up to be an accountant." -Moi


He is your world. He is the one you would live and die for. You love the color of his skin – different from yours – the perfect balance between light and dark, day and night. You love the way he tells you he loves you. He says he'll marry you someday.

But your mom does not approve. You wonder every day how anyone can be so bigoted. Has she not felt the way you do at some point in her life? She doesn't understand, just rants and raves about your “taste in men” in that nasally voice you hate – the one she only uses when she's angry.

Later you sit on your bed, and turn up the volume on your iPod. “All the Same” by the Sick Puppies blasts through the ear buds.

Wrong or right … black or white … if I close my eyes … it's all the same.

Your mom has forbidden you from seeing him again, and Dad's taken to keeping a shotgun in the living room.

In my life … the compromise … I'll close my eyes … it's all the same.

You remember telling him you were afraid but that you wouldn't stop seeing him. He asked you to run away with him, just drop everything and run, figure it out as you went. But you said you wanted to wait and see if it would blow over. The look in his eyes was sad, as if he knew your parents would never accept him.

You hop off your bed and start shoving clothes into an duffel bag, making a trip to the bathroom for your toothbrush. You head to your desk and stare blankly at a piece of paper, pencil in hand. You write a quote that has been in your heart from the minute your parents told you that you were making a big mistake. It's short, but it's all you need to say.

You head down the hall to the laundry room. Your mom has piles of clothes on the floor, organized by color. You grab bits from every pile and toss them to the middle, creating a mound no longer separated into lights and darks.

Green, yellow, red, blue, black, white – all heaped into one huge pile. You lay your message on the top. It doesn't say who you're with or where you're going, but it wouldn't be hard to figure out.

“Laundry is the only thing that should be separated by color.”



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This article has 455 comments.


on Oct. 12 2009 at 7:05 pm
MeganAnne PLATINUM, Niskayuna, New York
24 articles 0 photos 157 comments

Favorite Quote:
All my life I've looked at words as if I were seeing them for the first time. ~Ernest Hemingway

Wow. That was very good. I liked it, excellant message.

on Oct. 8 2009 at 8:03 pm
Lost-In-Life GOLD, Whitby, Other
11 articles 0 photos 299 comments

Favorite Quote:
It's never to late, if it weren't for the last minute many things would never get done!

Wow! This is great the message is amazing. Beautifully written! Wow!

on Oct. 6 2009 at 8:26 pm
AquariusSunandMoon SILVER, Sublette, Illinois
8 articles 17 photos 69 comments
Yeah, for some reason clicking on the persons name doesn't do anything :-/ I actually just had my first picture published in the September issue so if you look under this months pics and click on the picture "Jaszy" you can view my work. :)

I'm actually looking at all of your poems and stories and rating them so if your email inbox is filled up with 'someone rated your poem' that would be me ;)

Kit Kat said...
on Oct. 6 2009 at 6:07 pm
Wow that was soo good, i liked the quote!!

windblossom said...
on Oct. 6 2009 at 1:06 pm
windblossom, Hyderabad, Other
0 articles 19 photos 87 comments

Favorite Quote:
"The caterpillar does all the hard work, but the butterfly gets all the publicity"

Wow! its wonderful! it reminds of a folk song which when roughly translated means, god created colour to make things beautiful. like when u look at a rainbow, its made of so many different colours but it is a rainbow because all of them are together! so colour even in the human race was meant to make things beautiful just like the rainbow! :)!

Zero_K DIAMOND said...
on Oct. 6 2009 at 1:00 pm
Zero_K DIAMOND, Moosic, Pennsylvania
83 articles 0 photos 435 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Life's no fun if you're not insane, otherwise you grow up to be an accountant." -Moi

Thank you!!!! <(n.n)> The site won't let me access your page for some reason, but I would love to read something of yours.

-Blessed Be!

+++ZERO+++

on Oct. 6 2009 at 10:18 am
AquariusSunandMoon SILVER, Sublette, Illinois
8 articles 17 photos 69 comments
I love this story so much. Truly beautiful!

on Sep. 28 2009 at 6:53 pm
kookoodood PLATINUM, McGregor, Texas
20 articles 0 photos 43 comments
I'm so proud. This is absolutely beautiful and I couldn't be happier for such a wonderful writer and beautiful person. Hit me up on Facebook!!! XD

on Sep. 23 2009 at 6:38 pm
elvinchangling55 SILVER, Malverne, New York
6 articles 0 photos 50 comments
i love it!! i was in a similar, though not nearly as drastic situation, the emotions felt very real. i love the ending its beautiful.

LaylaViolet said...
on Sep. 23 2009 at 9:51 am
Totally awesome! Congrats on making the mag! :P Check me out; I wanna be in mag 2! :)

Zero_K DIAMOND said...
on Sep. 21 2009 at 6:59 pm
Zero_K DIAMOND, Moosic, Pennsylvania
83 articles 0 photos 435 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Life's no fun if you're not insane, otherwise you grow up to be an accountant." -Moi

Thank you! Thank you! *Takes a bow* I am patiently awaiting your first magazine story! Keep writing!

-Blessed Be!

+++ZERO+++

THeather73 said...
on Sep. 20 2009 at 7:46 pm
What a talented young writer, the world needs more like you!! Love the title

on Sep. 18 2009 at 3:38 pm
Electricity PLATINUM, Bradenton, Florida
30 articles 0 photos 271 comments
OMG I JUST NOTICED IT WAS IN THE MAGAZINE!!!! GREAT JOB YOU DESERVE IT@

on Aug. 7 2009 at 10:13 am
Electricity PLATINUM, Bradenton, Florida
30 articles 0 photos 271 comments
True, some mother's are like that. And it's wrong. I like the title, Dirty Laundry. Makes you think...

Nyx_X SILVER said...
on Apr. 19 2009 at 12:18 pm
Nyx_X SILVER, Moosic, Pennsylvania
8 articles 0 photos 14 comments
I like that song.