The Chicken Zombies

Chapter 22-- Dante (and Everyone Else) Meets the Parents

At about 7:30 at night, Shakira pulled into the Jones Driveway. It was extra fancy-shmancy, with gates with the letter 'J' engraved in them.

The driveway itself went on for about a mile, through a bunch of gorgeous trees in a forest. Abi, Shakira, and Dante ogled in awe at the premises.

Finally, they saw the house itself. It was giant and modern looking, with lots of windows and a beautiful fountain out front. Shakira and Abi gasped.

Dante giggled excitedly. "I'm marrying rich!"

"Ugh, why didn't I go for Hillbilly?" whined Shakira. "This could be my house!"

"Oh, no. Hillbilly would never go for you," said Dante matter-of-factly.

Shakira scoffed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Let's be real here, Shakira. I'm much prettier, much funnier, much smarter, and Hillbilly told me that you annoy him."

"I'm not annoying!"

Dante and Abi looked away.

"What, I'm not!"

Abi changed the subject. "Hey, look! We're here! Now let's get out and talk about how beautiful this property is!"

Shakira, of short attention span, got out of the car and called out to Hillbilly. "This is amazing!"

"Yeah it's alright I guess," he said sheepishly. He gave Dante a hug. "How was your trip?" Hillbilly said to only Dante.

"Fine," she responded. "We talked about how Shakira is crushing on Ace." Dante turned accusingly to Shakira. "Which she is still in denial about!"

Shakira let out a frustrated breath. "How many times do I have to tell you people? I am not crushing on Ace!"

"Whoa, there blondie. Got the message." Ace was suddenly standing right behind Shakira. She turned right into his chest.

Shakira turned beet red. "Um... yeah," she stammered. "Well I suppose you ought to know that I don't have a crush on you."

"Your tomato face says otherwise," interrupted Noah, who had joined the group and put his arm around Abi. Abi looked like she was about to explode with happiness.

"You know what? I'm done. Think what you want, but I do not have a crush on you, Ace. Now I'm going inside." Shakira turned on her heel and marched towards the front door.

Ace, eyebrows raised, looked at Abi. Abi nodded. "She totally has a crush on you," she mouthed.

Ace nodded back. "I figured."

Shakira stopped and turned back around. "Actually, I don't know your parents at all, so Hillbilly could you go in first, please?"

But before Hillbilly could even walk up to the front door, a short, plump woman ran out and squashed him in a hug. "Oh, William, you're back! I missed you so much!" She had the strongest Southern accent the girls had ever heard.

"Ma! I missed you too!" The woman was so short, Hillbilly was at least a head and a half taller than her.

Mama Jones released her son and went for Noah, next, wrapping her arms around him. "And Noah Dean James, I missed you too, sweetheart!"

"Aw, thank you Betty May."

Mama Jones looked at Abi. "And who is this?" she gasped. She grabbed Abi's hands. "Why, you are just as pretty as a peach, my dear! Noah's a very lucky guy." She winked at him. "What's your name, sugar?"

"Um, hi, I'm Abi. It's very nice to meet you, Mrs. Jones." She quite enjoyed the fact that Mama Jones assumed they were dating.

"Oh, call me Betty May!" Abi smiled.