Fortune Park: A South Park AU

Chapter 3: Missing

  The next morning, Stan decided to eat breakfast with his family for the first time in a long time, even though he didn't have the appetite for anything.  Cereal, again.  The television was playing but nobody was paying attention to it, and the news was on.  He didn't care to watch the news because it added more shit onto his list of things to care about, but he didn't care anymore.  Ever since his tenth birthday, he's just felt like there is nothing but emptiness in life.  No matter what his friends, or family, or even the doctors said, he knew they were just plain wrong.  It made him feel bitter inside.  He acted full and then left to go to school.  At the bus stop, Cartman was gone again.  

Stan: Huh, maybe Cartman's sick or something..

Kenny: Yep, we haven't seen him since Tuesday.

Kyle: He's probably sick.  Don't worry about it.

Stan: Are you sure, dude?

Kyle: Yes. He's a dickhead, so stop worrying about him.

Stan: Oh, okay..

Stan thought Kyle has been acting weird, but he brushed it off again.  His little brother did break his leg on the playground recently, after all. So that could be the root to his strange behavior.  Or maybe it was something else.  He just couldn't put it on the tip of his tongue.  His thoughts were interrupted by the bus loudly stopping.  The three boys got on, and as usual, he put his earbuds in and looked out the window at the moving landscape.  The bus arrived at the school yet again, and everyone got off and walked into the high school.  Stan noticed that everyone was more social than he remembered, and thought he'd get ridiculed for not knowing how to interact with the other people.  A few hours went by, and before he knew it, lunch time crept in.  He decided to skip lunch because he wasn't hungry.  He saw his friends sitting down and thought he'd interact with them though.  So he went to them and sat down at their table.

Stan: Hi guys.

Kenny waved at him. Kyle said nothing.

Stan: Wow, the fatass *still* isn't here.

Kenny: Yeah, I still haven't heard from him either.

Butters: He told me he was going to that old abandoned bar on the other side of town but when I got there, he must've already left, because he wan't there.

Kyle shot a glance at Butters but then quickly composed himself before Stan could notice.

Stan: That bar? Why?

Butters: He said Kyle was going there and he wanted to scare him or something, but I can't remember.

Stan: Oh. Thanks for letting us know, though.

Butters: You're welcome, but just don't tell my dad 'cause he'll lock me in the basement again.

The three boys finished eating, and Stan kept talking with them even though he didn't get a lunch.  After lunch ended, he decided to go outside to take a break.  He remembered that he had a pack of cigarettes and a drink in his backpack, and he found a lighter too.  He sat under the stairs, and lit one of the cigarettes, putting it in his mouth.  He sat there, thinking of what would've made Cartman sick, because he literally never ever got sick.  He kept getting drawn to blanks in his head, because he couldn't remember what Cartman was doing the last day he spoke with him.  He thought of talking with Cartman's mom about it.  Maybe she'd know what's up with him.  But since he had to get his grades up, he couldn't skip the next class and talk with her or else he'd get his phone taken.  So, he'd have to wait until he had a good chance to question her.

Stan: Jesus Christ.. Just because I'm failing math it doesn't mean I can't live my life!  I'm almost sixteen, dammit!  

He raised his fist in the air, as if he was cursing God for making his parents punish him because of his grades.  The truth is that they're worried about something happening to him, since he is a minor after all.  He then remembered how they'd let Shelley do whatever she wanted when she was his age, and he got even more mad about it.  But, he didn't want to upset his mom.  So he just decided to wait until he learned to drive.