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Chapter Three

I drop the card and run out of the house after grabbing my bag off of the floor; I don't know where I'm going, all I know is I need to get out of here.

 I didn't want his 'Present', things were fine the way they were. I mean, sure, it would be nice if they stopped fighting, but it's better than them being dead. Who is this guy? Whoever he is, he must have something wrong in his head. No one would want this.

I stopped running, out of breath, at a park, then sat myself down at a swing. How does someone process something like this? I place my head in my hands, trying to figure out what to do now. Standing up, I check my watch.  

"6:04," I say to myself in a low voice

 My hair is still damp from the shower and dripping on the back of my shirt, making me feel colder than I already was. I decide to pull out my phone and check if there are any diners open so I can eat.

 Lucky for me, there is a diner near me that opens around 5:30 am that people who work the night shift normally stop at for dinner before going home. It's about two miles away, so I start walking in the direction the GPS app said to go. 

I keep looking behind me as I walk because this whole ordeal has made me paranoid. I walked for another 30 or so minutes before reaching the diner, it was a retro-looking place with a big neon sign that literally said 'Diner' in a fancy font.

As I walked inside, I was greeted by the warm air and smell of fries, there was a sign near the door that read, 

"Seat Yourself! We'll Help You Soon!"

I sat in a corner booth next to the window, I read the menu and decided what I wanted to eat. A tall man with blue eyes and brown hair wearing a red-striped apron came out to take my order,

"Hello, I'll be your waiter. Are you ready to order?"

"Uh... yes, can I have #4 with extra fries?"

"Yep, I'll be right back with your meal!"

He back rushed into the kitchen, and I was alone again. I pull a book out of my bag,  'Wonderland by Zoje  Stage' It's a slow burn kind of horror story, The story centers around the Bennett family. 

Orla has been a professional ballet dancer in New York City for years, but now that she's forty-one, she feels like that part of her life might be over. 

Orla retires and moves upstate to the Adirondacks, far enough from the city so the family can raise their children in the fresh air, away from the hustle and bustle and dangers of city life. After they move to their new house some weird and scary stuff starts happening.

I put the book back in my bag, I'm not really in the mood for horror right now. My waiter comes back carrying my burger and fries, then sets them on the table. He looks a little nervous so I ask him what's wrong. He responds,

"Well, my shift ends soon and I was wondering if I could eat with you?"

I was flustered by this, But let him anyway,

"sure, I might not be that good of company but feel free to do so."

he runs into the back room and after a while, he comes back wearing casual clothes and carrying a meal for himself. he sits down and we eat in silence.

after a few minutes of that I start to feel awkward and try to make some conversation,

"soo, what's your name?"

"Oh, My name is Jackson, Jackson Marlow. What about you?"

"I'm Isabella Mason"

after our introductions, we actually started talking more and it turns out we have a lot in common. We both like horror, don't have many friends and have family problems... 

 By the time we finish talking and eating it's 7:30, and I have to go to school.  we walked outside and he asked me if I needed a ride,

"Uh, yes actually. I need to go to school."

"ok, I can drive you if you need"

"Really? Thank you!"

"your welcome"

He pauses for a while,

"I was wondering if I could have your number?"

"oh- uh sure"

I pull a piece of paper out of my bag and scribble my number out on it '720-884-5573' I hand it to him and we get in his car. 5 minutes or so and we are at the school,

"Thanks for the ride"

"you're welcome, I'll text you later!"

"Yeah ok, bye."

I got to the door of the school and was on my way to my first class, science, I wanted to be a scientist when I was younger but after taking the class I don't think I want to anymore, I laugh to myself.

 I had a few incidents with a dead frog and burning myself with a bunsen burner. we were about an hour or so into class when I realized that I never gave Jackson the address of the school nor its name.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sorry for the late update, I got sidetracked with school and family stuff.  What do you think of this Jackson character?  Yes, 'wonderland' is a real book, I have been reading it lately; it's really good and you should read it, anyway thanks for reading!

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