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Shannon's house looked different from the other homes on our street. While all of the other houses had new white or gray siding and black asphalt roofs, Shan's house looked like it was made from old wood. It was warped in places and the white paint that covered the wood was chipped in chunks and scattered across the entire yard. The roof was red, rust colored like Shannon's hair. The door was the same color and had no screen door behind it. It creaked and moaned as she pushed it open and stepped inside.

The air was the first thing that I noticed; it was so thick and cloudy with cigarette smoke that I coughed loudly when I took my first breath. My eyes stung and squinted as I looked around the living room. The walls were what I am pretty sure was once white, but now had the appearance of an almost peach color. The sofa was covered with a black sheet and two rickety looking rocking chairs sat in front of an old television set- the kind that had one little knob for both power and volume, equipped with bunny-ear antennae sitting on the top of it. It was on, showing a news program, but with no sound. Shannon's mother, who I had only been introduced to once outside in the driveway, emerged from a dark hallway.

"Hello, Laura," she said.

"Hi, Ruth. Thanks for letting me sleep over."

Her hair had the same fire-red shade as Shannon's, but hers was thin, wispy and wavy. If it was all pulled back into a ponytail, it would probably only be the girth of a pipe cleaner. Her face looked worn, wrinkled and tired, her skin like the melting wax of a candle that someone had let burn too long. She had bright red lipstick on that made her lips look like a bloody sore that was torn into the white mask of her face. She pressed a cigarette to her lips and sucked, staining the filter with lipstick and the imprint of her lips. She was wearing a black robe with big red roses all over it. It was lace and completely see-through. She didn't have anything on underneath.

"Oh, I didn't know I had," she said, slowly walking away from us and toward the kitchen. Her voice was slight as her hair.