Familiar Faces [a donnie darko fanfic]

Chapter Eight

"A lot of people like chips, right?" Bayley asked as the two of us looked around the supermarket with my mom.

"I guess. I mean.. we'll be filming almost the whole weekend so we could ask them to at least bring their own lunches. That way there's less food to buy."

Dylan helped Bayley and I put away the food. "I have to finish my homework before we do anything else," I said to Bayley.

"All these teachers ever give us is dumb busy work," she groaned, closing the pantry. I nodded in agreement.

"How are things with you and Donnie?" she asked once we were in my room, probably hoping to hear all the details.

"Good," I answered immediately. "Very good."

"Have you guys... you know... swapped spit?" she questioned further. I frowned at her, confused. "Making out, that's what it's called. Well... my mom calls it that."

"Yea we have and ew, that's a gross thing to call it." I made a sound of disgust and crinkled my nose.

"Tonsil surfing? Tongue wrestling? Are those better?"

"Hardly," I affirmed with a laugh. "All those names for it sound rather vulgar."

Once Bayley left, I sat in the living room. Dylan and I were careful to keep an extra eye on our mom lately. After her hospital visit, she seemed to be trying harder which was a very good sign.

"Mom's in the shower," Dylan told me absentmindedly, his eyes practically glued to the television. "I think she's good now."

"We can't lose her." Dylan turned around, almost glaring at me.

"No shit," he bit sarcastically. I rolled my eyes and shifted my attention to the show. I heard the shower shut off and the bathroom door open. Every day, it was nearly a game of chance. We had to watch out for her; sometimes it was stressful.

Our mom started dinner about an hour later. The sorrow from her eyes seemed to disappear and there was joy in the way she now carried herself throughout the house. "That whole fiasco at your school is terrifying," she commented as she began dishing up our food.

"Is it in the paper?" I asked. She nodded.

"That's a great idea," Dylan droned. I shot him a look.

"Majoring in sarcasm, eh?" I asked, trying to sound less harsh than I had originally intended. Dylan nodded.

"You both need to stay safe. Stick with Donnie and Bayley when you can. It's better to be safe than sorry," our mom advised. "Surround yourself with your friends because you never know if this person could still be around and try to hurt you again."

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

The whole school seemed impatient waiting for the new shipment of food for lunch. Here and there, kids were complaining about their new diet of sandwiches. Others were complaining about the home meals or the excess vegetables they had received.

Nearly everyone was on the edge. They had still not linked the crime to anyone yet, so police officers patrolled the school all day and would be until they caught the culprit.

"I hope they find whoever did it soon. I hate feeling so unsafe here." I felt slightly ashamed to admit it, but how was I supposed to feel protected in a place where the food was poisoned and the person who did it was still on the loose?