Ghost park

Chapter 19

Kenny POV

I dragged my feet through the snow on my way back to my house which was on the complete opposite side of town, across the train tracks. I had quickly opted for walking when the thick snow falling had created a carpet on the ground that was much too thick to skate over.

I debated pulling another cigarette out, but after realising I only had 3 left and I would likely want some tomorrow, I decided against it and pushed through the cravings.

The house was quiet when I finally reached the dusty and cracked wooden door that marked the entrance to my 'home'. I wouldn't exactly call this a home.. I thought as I pushed the rusty key into the lock and turned it until I felt the door give way and open up, welcoming me into the cold living room. The stench of alcohol wafted from the kitchen, assaulting my sense of smell as I stepped into the chilly house.

The house was quiet for once. My mother was most likely on her way to work in the whole foods nearby. She worked graveyard shift tonight, from 8pm to 8am. It wasn't unusual for her to work these drastic shifts but it was good money so I greatly appreciated her putting in the effort.

Kevin, my brother, was at work as a janitor in tweek bros. My mother usually drops into the coffee shop an hour before work for a scone and a coffee, on the house since she was close friends with Mr and Mrs Tweak and they knew her financial situation wasn't exactly stable.

Karen, was obviously, still at Tricias house and my unemployed father was god knows where, most likely smoking crack, so the house was left in a rare and comfortable silence.

I checked the time on my beaten up pc, before making my way towards the kitchen and grabbing a pop tart out of the fridge. I abandoned the thought of putting it in the toaster, as I was worried about our electricity bill, and sauntered down the hallway to my room, pop tart clenched tightly between my teeth.

I swung open the door to my bedroom and threw myself onto the bed, relishing in the silence and freedom of an empty house. I plucked my phone out of my pocket and started blasting music, humming along to the lyrics.

Once 'Welcome to Japan' by the stokes ended, I decided to pass some time by messing around with the acoustic guitar I had received from Stan after his death.

After a good 10 minutes of unsuccessfully attempting to perfect the C major cord, my focus was interrupted by a loud notification drawing my attention to my phone.

I placed my guitar back on its stand and steadily made my way over to the ancient iPhone 4 that I had received 4 years ago after Cartman's mother let him upgrade to an iPhone 8. The phone was cracked my it's previous owner but I was very careful with it in order to make it last as long as I could.

I tapped in my 4 letter passcode and opened the message from 'Marj 💖'. A shiver ram through my spine as I read it.

From Marj 💖:
            We need to talk

What the fuck does that mean I pondered as I shot back a quick 'alright' and set my phone on the nightstand and decided to pace around my room as my legs were beginning to form pins and needles from the weight of the guitar resting on them.

Minutes later I received the familiar ding from my phone and rushed to pick it up.

From Marj 💖:
            Is it ok if we call? I don't want my     parents looking through my phone.

I reacted to the message with a thumbs up and quickly deleted our previous messages before the calling screen popped up. A smile tugged at the corners of my lips as I started at Marjorines WhatsApp profile pic. It was a picture of me and Marj, back from when we were 11.

I answered it after a moment of staring and smiled as her soft voice met my ears.

"What took you so long" she giggled when I picked up the phone.
"Nothing! What did you wanna talk about?" I inquired and I heard a sharp breath on the other end of the line.

"Uhm.. what happened yesterday.. what the fuck was that big hole and what were you saying about Stan and Kyle" my heart dropped as I heard the words. I knew we would have to talk about it but I wished more than anything that she would just forget about everything and we could continue on as if nothing happened.

"Marj, you're not gonna believe me if I tell you" I muttered, feeling the guilt and anxiety swirling in my stomach. She chuckled softly on the other line and it sent a jolt of happiness through me.
"With all the crazy stuff that happens in this town I'd believe anything at this point" she giggled. I smiled and lay down on my bed, realising this would most likely be a very long conversation

       ________________________________

After a solid 12 or so minutes of informing Marjorine on the situation I finally heard a short grunt on the other end of the line. She had stayed mostly quiet throughout this conversation, only butting in to ask questions. The other line was quiet for a few moments until she finally spoke up.

"I understand" she muttered. I furrowed my brows together in slight confusion at the statement but brushed it off and waited for her to continue.

"That's really bad Kenny. What are we gonna do?" She asked in a morbid tone.
"We?" I asked, slightly taken aback at the statement.
"Ken we've been best friends for years I'm not gonna ditch you just because there's a risk of danger" she chuckled from the other line causing a smile to form on my face.

"Thank you Marjorine, but I don't really want you getting involved in this. You could get hurt or worse.." I muttered. We fell into an awkward silence for a few moments as Marj considered wether or not she was willing to take the risk of death in order to help me. I prayed she wasn't, but naturally, my prayers were ignored and Marjorine declined there was no way she wasn't getting involved.

I sighed in defeat after 5 minutes of her rambling about why it's unfair that I don't let her help and begrudgingly agreed to accept her help, as long as she stayed safe.

"Ok so what's the plan" she asked.
"Plan?" I questioned, a frown forming on my face at the realisation that I was completely clueless "uh well there isn't a set plan"
"What do you mean there isn't a set plan" she bickered.
"I don't know what to do from here" I sighed
"Maybe we should wait for Stan, Kyle and Eric to visit again and then follow them when they think we're not looking" Marjorine proposed.

I pondered for a moment before accepting that we didn't have any better ideas at the moment.
"Sure" I grinned back, before wishing her goodbyes and eventually letting myself drift into sleep