Greg Veder vs The World

A noise from outside his door snapped Greg's attention from the message he was about to send, the hallway light suddenly shining from underneath his door another warning. Eyes wide, Greg snapped his phone shut and pulled the covers over his head. A moment later, he heard the gentle creak of the door hinge as his door opened, the wide beam of light from the hallway visible even from under his comforter.

Footsteps, calm and steady, were audible as they plodded closer to his bed.

Stilling his breathing, Greg shut his eyes and waited.

Like he expected, the covers were lifted from his body and allowed to fall, pooling near his feet and exposing his half-naked body to the cold.

For a moment, there was silence as Greg pretended to be asleep even as he could feel his mom staring down at him. "Greg."

He let out a breath, slowly simulating what he assumed he sounded like when he slept.

"I know you're awake, Greg."

Greg winced internally, still keeping up the facade of his slumber.

Susan sighed. "Just hand over your phone and I'll go back to bed."

Deciding to let it go, Greg opened a single eye to glance at his mom and spotted her standing at the foot of his bed, one hand on her face as she stood there. Her hair was tied back in a knot, secured with a scrunchie, and she wore a long nightgown.

"Hey, mom." Greg tried to give her a smile, but found his grin fading when his mother's blank expression didn't even twitch.

"Phone. Now."

A single hand dove under his pillow and Greg pulled out his cell, the flip phone still somewhat warm in his hands from a recent charging. Greg sat up in his bed, dropping an arm over his upraised knees. "Okay, here."

As Greg stretched his arm out to hand the phone over, it was quickly palmed by his mother. With a sigh, she glanced down at the candy blue device before giving her son a look that he couldn't quite parse.

"I was just texting Sparky, you know." Greg offered as a means of explanation. "Nothing else."

"Mmmhmm." Susan hummed in response, turning her back to Greg and walking back the way she came from. As she reached the door, she paused to glance over her shoulder at her son and cast him another odd look, one eyebrow raised as if in thought.

For a moment, Greg had hope that she would change her mind. She had already taken away his game consoles, his desktop and his laptop before they even sat down for dinner. Without his phone, all he had left was a television in his room, a television that he never even bothered watching anyway.

Maybe she changed her mind or maybe she saw the hopeful look on Greg's face, he wasn't really sure which. All Greg knew was her eyebrow fell and her mouth thinned as her hands closed around the doorknob. "Good night, Greg."

And with that, she shut the door, leaving Greg in the dark.

A moment later, the hallway light clicked off and her footsteps faded away.

Greg fell back onto his pillow, staring up at the ceiling through what little light his window provided.

"Well, damn."