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.”



Similar Articles

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 455 comments.


kat1 said...
on Jan. 2 2011 at 5:48 pm
wow! this was truly an amazing article. i loved every part of it, especially the end. It kept the reader interested. and it also gave a good message.

on Jan. 1 2011 at 8:43 pm
SoftballismylifeBobo5 SILVER, Byron, New York
5 articles 0 photos 27 comments

Favorite Quote:
those who mind dont matter those who matter dont mind; you will always miss 100% of the shots you dont take; forget the risk take the fall if its what you want its worth it all<3

wow. i really love that line "laundry is the only thing that should be seperated by color" it is so true. i dated someone who was another color from me and my parents hated it. the school hates him, teachers, other parents in the district. and its wrong. he is an amazing guy. No we do not date any longer, but i know one thing is that he is like a big brother to me (he is over 6ft) and i believe it is wrong to discrinate him

lollypops GOLD said...
on Dec. 20 2010 at 8:36 pm
lollypops GOLD, Pilot, Virginia
16 articles 5 photos 218 comments

Favorite Quote:
Live

could i kind of agree that if you put it in first person (using i instead of you) it could be better but i love the message she put on top of the laundry so orginal love it

on Dec. 20 2010 at 6:01 pm
Amsterdamsel DIAMOND, Henderson , Nevada
54 articles 2 photos 69 comments
I like it. i think it should've been written in 1st person though...idk maybe its just me but the you..you.you. annoys me in this story

on Dec. 20 2010 at 5:56 pm
writer500 BRONZE, Putnam, New York
1 article 0 photos 11 comments
Hey I think this was great! And look up some of my work writer500.

on Dec. 20 2010 at 4:16 pm
CanNeverHoldMeBack GOLD, Manhattan, Kansas
10 articles 0 photos 37 comments

Favorite Quote:
friendships are like glass. sometimes it's better to leave them broken then hurt yourself trying to put them back together again.

i liked it lots! perfect!

Ms.Dior SILVER said...
on Dec. 17 2010 at 3:16 pm
Ms.Dior SILVER, Tamarac, Florida
9 articles 0 photos 14 comments

Amazing that quote is just so beautiful " Laundry is the only thing that should be seperated by color".

Keep Up your work:)


skisoul96 GOLD said...
on Nov. 28 2010 at 10:06 pm
skisoul96 GOLD, Flushing, New York
13 articles 0 photos 43 comments

Favorite Quote:
Don't worry about the world coming to an end today
its already tomorrow in Australia.

I love the whole laundry thing, never would have thought of that, how'd you do it?! Just loved it, keep writng. Please check some of my stuff out, maybe I'd get some REAL advice!

franc BRONZE said...
on Nov. 28 2010 at 7:58 pm
franc BRONZE, Dexter City, Ohio
2 articles 46 photos 31 comments

Favorite Quote:
it's not peer pressure, it's just your turn!
live from the past live in the present live for the future
you never forget the face of the person who saved your life (not personal but GREAT book)

i loved this!

1. the sick puppies= MY FAV! haha

2. it may not be color, but my parents hate my boyfriend because of his age. it isnt fair but i refuse to give him up.

keep writing. i loved this!
(:


on Nov. 28 2010 at 6:28 pm
D_Beauty BRONZE, Euclid, Ohio
2 articles 1 photo 27 comments

Favorite Quote:
"God didn't promise days without pain, laughter without sorrow, sun without rain, but He did promise strength for the day, comfort for the tears, and light for the way."

Wow! I love this! I can definetly relate to this. The mother is like my father. This was truely cool. Keep writing! 

on Nov. 28 2010 at 6:02 pm
bluebird SILVER, Sandy Hook, Connecticut
8 articles 0 photos 45 comments

I love it and I love your point of view.

 


Trulie GOLD said...
on Nov. 28 2010 at 4:41 pm
Trulie GOLD, Beltsville, Maryland
10 articles 10 photos 51 comments
SO TRUE. loved it. keep writing. =)

on Nov. 28 2010 at 3:56 pm
MissionaryKid BRONZE, Mitchell, Other
4 articles 0 photos 5 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Peace is a sacrifice of Trust"

That is so sad and very romantic! I love it!

bay schell said...
on Nov. 28 2010 at 3:53 pm
bay schell, California
0 articles 0 photos 4 comments
great work- i truly take it to heart

on Nov. 28 2010 at 10:39 am
I really love this story! It's really amazing!

on Nov. 28 2010 at 8:26 am
writerinfinity PLATINUM, Arlington, Texas
35 articles 0 photos 105 comments
Really good! I enjoyed the style of writing you wrote this story with. I really like the quote at the end.

on Nov. 28 2010 at 8:01 am
Eer320 PLATINUM, S. China, Maine
20 articles 4 photos 39 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Life is like a box of crayons. Most people are the 8-color boxes, but what you're really looking for are the 64-color boxes with the sharpeners on the back. I fancy myself to be a 64-color box, though I've got a few missing. It's ok though, because I've got some more vibrant colors like periwinkle at my disposal. I have a bit of a problem though in that I can only meet the 8-color boxes. Does anyone else have that problem? I mean there are so many different colors of life, of feeling, of articulation.. so when I meet someone who's an 8-color type.. I'm like, hey girl, magenta! and she's like, oh, you mean purple! and she goes off on her purple thing, and I'm like, no - I want magenta!"

That was really good!  I had heard that quote before, but now, it makes so much more sense and has so much more meaning.  :D

anne.Brooke said...
on Nov. 28 2010 at 7:32 am
anne.Brooke, Mumbai, Other
0 articles 0 photos 19 comments

Favorite Quote:
I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I'm not.
-Kurt Cobain

thats really really nice...color is not a code for love...

Chanchie GOLD said...
on Nov. 28 2010 at 6:36 am
Chanchie GOLD, Trivandrum, Other
17 articles 4 photos 26 comments

Favorite Quote:
A writer who writes without zest, without gusto, without fun, without love is only half a writer.
-Ray Bradbury

this was really good!! <3

StayInfinite said...
on Nov. 28 2010 at 1:03 am
StayInfinite, Pompton Plains, New Jersey
0 articles 0 photos 4 comments

Favorite Quote:
"You've got to believe. Belive in yourself. Because if you don't, no one else will."
"Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring."

i really loved thiss! it was amazinggg !