Riddle Middle Two

Chapter 15: The Redemption

Zack (1st person)

I didn't have anything to do, so I called Lauren. Once she answered, we talked for a bit, then decided that she should come to my house. She got there around twelve, and we just sat around, eating Extremely Hot Cheese-O's. We talked about food for a while, and eventually, she changed the topic. "How's Bryan? Where is he?" She asked. "He's probably asleep. He's healing the way he's supposed to, so that's good," I said. "Oh, that's good to hear," She said. Right after Lauren finished, someone knocked on my bedroom door. I'd already told my parents about Lauren coming over, and they didn't seem to care. I opened the door, and Bryan was standing there. "Zack?" He asked. "Yeah?" I asked. "I'm hungry," he said. "Oh, alright. What do you want?" I asked. "Ice cream..?" He asked, looking up at me with huge eyes.

"I don't think you're actually hungry," I said. "I'm hungry for ice cream," he said. "Maybe you should wait a bit," I said. "Aww..." Bryan said. I looked to Lauren. She raised her eyebrows at me. "What?" I asked. "After all he's been though you won't even let him have some ice cream?" Lauren said. "Yeah!" Bryan said. "I... You know what, fine," I said. "Yay!" Bryan said, sprinting to the kitchen. Me and Lauren followed. "You guys have a ton of ice cream... Can I have some?" Lauren asked. "Sure, why not," I said. "I have to use the bathroom, you give Bryan his ice cream," I said. "You got it!" she said.

I came back and found them both on the couch, eating. The bowls they had seemed decently sized. "Can I have more?" Bryan asked. "Umm... I think that's enough," Lauren said. "How much have you had?" I asked. "This is my second and a half bowl," Bryan said. I didn't really understand the 'and a half' part, but I knew Lauren gave him more than I ever would've. "Lauren," I said, say her name slowly. "I- I'm sorry, Zack, it's just so hard to say no to him!" Lauren said. I rolled my eyes. Lauren's stomach growled loudly. "Ugh..." she said. "Are you gonna finish that?" Bryan asked, looking to Lauren's ice cream. Lauren yawned. "How much did you have?" I asked Lauren. "Umm... Not too much," she said. Lauren yawned again. She settled onto the couch, taking my entire section. Bryan laid next to Lauren. Within a few minutes, they were both asleep. I went to the ice cream pint to see how much they'd eaten together. They'd eaten about half a pint, which was about what I'd expected. I put their bowls in the dishwasher, along with the spoons and ice cream scooper they'd used. Once I finished, I went back to the couch and sat down beneath them. At least I didn't have to watch Toddler Funtime.

Lauren woke up an hour later, around one thirty. "Ah... Well, I guess I should go now," she said. "I'll walk with you," I said. "Alright," she said. "Hey, Zack, do you have any Extremely hot Cheese-O's?" She asked when we were just leaving my house. "I'm afraid not," I said. "Well, there's nothing good to eat at my house," she said. "Well, um..." I said. "Who's house is that? It looks familiar..." she said. I looked up. "I don't recognize it," I said. Before I could finish, she was at the door. "Lauren!" I said. If it's been one of our friends house, I could see them giving her something, but this was some strangers house. I ran up onto the porch along with Lauren. She rang the doorbell about twenty thousand times. "I'm coming!" Someone called from inside. After a few seconds, the door opened.

5. "Oh, hello," he said. "Got any hot Cheese-O's?" Lauren asked. "...Yeah. Why? Do you want some?" he asked. "Yes!" Lauren shouted, clearly excited. "Okay... One second," he said. He closed the door. "...He'll come back, right?" She asked. Before I could respond, 5 opened the door again. "Here," he said, tossing her a pretty big bag. Without thanking him, Lauren tore them open and poured them into her mouth. "Can I have some?" I asked. She glared at me. "...Fine," she said, handing me a single Cheese-O. "Gee, thanks," I said. "Is she okay?" 5 asked. "Yeah, she's just hungry. I don't know why she came to you, though," I said. A few minutes later, I found myself having a conversation with 5. I hadn't really talked to him before, and he's actually quite funny. Lauren finished the bag a couple of minutes later. "Alright, we can go now," she said. "Oh, okay..." I said. "Bye guys," 5 said. "Bye," I said. Once we'd gotten pretty far from five, I figured it was safe to talk about him. "Hey, 5's actually pretty cool, huh?" I said. "Hm? Oh, yeah, he gave me hot Cheese-O's," she said. "I mean, yeah, but he's also pretty fun to talk to," I said. "...I believe you, but I wasn't really listening to what he said," Lauren said. At least she admitted it. A week or so later, I got school supplies with Bryan and my mom. I'm not necessarily looking forward to going back, but I'm sure it can't be that bad.