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.


ellierox said...
on May. 20 2010 at 2:21 pm
this is soo beautiful. I read it... and I couldn't help but come back again. It's so realistic. I can't believe the parents are being like that! Don't you think if he's your perfect, that they should be happy for you? That's what I hope.

on May. 20 2010 at 11:21 am
NonsensicalMuse PLATINUM, San Anotnio, Texas
22 articles 0 photos 87 comments

Favorite Quote:
"There is nothing wrong with having your head in the clouds as long as you don't get altitude sickness"

"Perhaps you are right,perhaps not. I don't know 110% either way.All I know is that Im in search of truth. If you are too, let us be friends."

really powerful message-love the concept!

And i'm gonna agree w/ everyone else- the quote made the story!


on May. 17 2010 at 2:57 pm
dancingirl BRONZE, Snohomish, Washington
4 articles 0 photos 12 comments

Favorite Quote:
“To love is to risk not being loved in return. To hope is to risk pain. To try is to risk failure, but risk must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.”

This is a wonderful piece of writing. I loved how you ended it. The love between them is so strong that love cant seperate it. Its how it's ment to be. I'd love to hear more(:

on May. 17 2010 at 1:51 pm
treegirl93 BRONZE, San Antonio, Texas
1 article 0 photos 37 comments

Favorite Quote:
Be nice to trees- they'll become books someday.

Amazing! It's so sad that this situation still occurs. Our society should be more evolved. The mom in the story reminds me of what my dad would do in this situation and I too would disobey orders.   

thechlo BRONZE said...
on May. 14 2010 at 6:10 pm
thechlo BRONZE, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
3 articles 0 photos 7 comments
love it! As i always say, support love, no matter who it is between. When trying to rate it, I accidentally gave it a 2...I wanted to clarify...I believe this deserves 5 stars. sorry for the mistake!

on May. 14 2010 at 3:42 pm
xoxotiffylovexoxo BRONZE, New York, New York
1 article 0 photos 1 comment
this is an amazing piece of writing which i strongly agree with great job! keep writing more pieces of writing

on May. 14 2010 at 9:59 am
HoplessRomantic BRONZE, Detroit, Michigan
3 articles 0 photos 3 comments

Favorite Quote:
It is a curious sensation: the sort of pain that goes mercifully beyond our powers of feeling. When your heart is broken, your boats are burned: nothing matters any more. It is the end of happiness and the beginning of peace. --George Bernard Shaw

Extremley cute

on May. 11 2010 at 9:49 am

You're really good at writing.

I encourage you to keep at it!

The quote, all though I sound like a broken record saying this, I love the quote.

:]

x.


ElisaH BRONZE said...
on May. 6 2010 at 2:00 am
ElisaH BRONZE, Los Angeles, California
1 article 0 photos 5 comments
Just amazing! The last quote just stole everything. 

on May. 4 2010 at 11:38 am
a7xangel SILVER, East Hampton, New York
5 articles 0 photos 11 comments

Favorite Quote:
My heart still aches in sadness, and secret tears still flow. What it meant to lose you, no one will ever know.

wow! this is so true! i can relate to this so much.

on Apr. 30 2010 at 1:30 pm
Elle_phant SILVER, Barnsley, Other
7 articles 0 photos 15 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I love you more today, than yesterday but less than tomorrow." <3
"Lifes a climb, but the veiws great." :)
"Laundry is the only thing that should be seperated by colour." <3
"Age shouldn't matter if the pair truly love each other." :)

Oh-My-Gosh ! Thats just incredible.

kimmicub said...
on Apr. 29 2010 at 10:12 pm

Absolutely amazing

plz email me


on Apr. 25 2010 at 3:45 pm
MorrighanPoe SILVER, Crystal, Minnesota
6 articles 0 photos 10 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Of course you are...I understand perfectly [that you're in love with me], because I'm in love with myself.The fact that I'm not transfixed in front of the nearest mirror takes a great deal of self-control." -Lestat de Lioncourt

I like that she didn't use dialogue. Just telling the story made it flow at the same rate. Adding dialogue to a short story like this can be like fast-forwarding through a movie at some points and pausing at others: sometimes, it just doesn't work.

on Apr. 24 2010 at 8:30 pm
Shannon_Bananon, Loveland, Ohio
0 articles 0 photos 49 comments

Favorite Quote:
About talking; why don't people ever think before they talk? It would save so much trouble; it would also save me from wanting to slap about half of the world's population.
~Fictional Character (Brilliant, but, sadly, fake.)

Hm... Well, I see what you mean, but I still think this piece is fine without dialogue. I have to admit, I haven't looked at it that way.

on Apr. 24 2010 at 8:04 pm
writergirl13 GOLD, Cherry Hill, New Jersey
11 articles 8 photos 261 comments

Favorite Quote:
All are lunatics, but he who can analyze his delusions is called a philosopher.
Ambrose Bierce

Even dialogue can have different meanings for everyone. I'm not saying put the whole story in dialogue, that's absurd. I'm saying add a few lines of dialogue to show relationship between chracters. The writer can add the dialogue as a flashback or just remembering something that has been said to help the reader understand what influences the main character's decision to leave.

on Apr. 24 2010 at 7:07 pm
Shannon_Bananon, Loveland, Ohio
0 articles 0 photos 49 comments

Favorite Quote:
About talking; why don't people ever think before they talk? It would save so much trouble; it would also save me from wanting to slap about half of the world's population.
~Fictional Character (Brilliant, but, sadly, fake.)

The writer leaves out dialogue and detail for a reason. We each fill in the events, the unspoken words, differently, and that's what makes it so touching. The story's meaning is unique to each person.

on Apr. 22 2010 at 10:00 pm
EmmaTaylor SILVER, Fort Collins, Colorado
6 articles 1 photo 25 comments

Favorite Quote:
Before you judge me why don't you let me tell you about my life?
Sometimes it's best to forget how you feel and remember what you deserve.

Well my dear,

I'm going to tell you the truth I hated it until I got to the last line. That was when I fell in love with it. I may be good as poetry my dear but you are good at stories.


on Apr. 22 2010 at 2:34 pm
thatotherguygirl GOLD, Sherman Oaks, California
11 articles 0 photos 4 comments

Favorite Quote:
“I will bring you flowers from the mountains, bluebells,
dark hazels, and rustic baskets of kisses.
I want to do with you
what spring does with the cherry trees.”
-Pablo Neruda

As so many others have already said, the last line totally made the poem. Totally. It made everything worth reading.

OFFICIALLY my new favorite quote. :D


on Apr. 22 2010 at 10:12 am
AllysenBursex3 SILVER, Gibsonton, Florida
6 articles 0 photos 9 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I don't listen to the radio." <3

The last line KILLED the poem! (In a good way) Lol, this story was dope (:

Hawaii5-0 said...
on Apr. 14 2010 at 3:48 pm
So beautifully written  :)  how did this story come to you?