Stranger Danger

Arts and Crafts and Gardening

My hands are twitching in excitement as Wanda opens the car door for me, the ride to town was surprisingly not that long, maybe 20 minutes, but the entire time I couldn't stop bouncing my leg or squirming. 

Wanda had to tighten my seat belt twice and put her purse on my lap to get me to stop, I mean my leg was moving so fast everytime the car stopped at a stop sign or red light it would bounce like a 5 year old on a sugar rush inside a bouncy house.

Wanda grabbed me by my now healed but never fully recovered shoulder before I could take off. 

"Rule number 1. Don't leave my sight unless I say so. Number 2, if anyone you or we know sees us, sct like we ran into each other. Oh and keep your pretty mouth shut, let me do all the talking. 3. If you even utter a single word about our... situation, then I'll..." Wanda trailed off, fumbling with her words for a second begore she continued. 

"I'll... I'll.. well I don't know what I'll do but it'll be bad and you won't like it, are we clear? Number 4... well no you've never disobeyed before I don't think you need more rules. Are we clear on expectations sweetheart?" 

Wanda wrapped up her list of rules and I quickly burned those into my brain. I'm not sure what she'll do if I break them but if what'll happen is so bad she can't even think of what she'll do then I should just be smart and not break the rules. 

"Yes mmm...mommy." I said, lowering my voice as I realized it probably wasn't normal or socially acceptable to call someone "mommy" in public. 

I looked around, noticing Wanda had taken me to one of those gardening stores. You know the ones where all the uh.. plants and shit are? I don't know okay I don't know anything about gardening. 

The last time I was left in charge of a plant it got set on fire and I poisoned it, and myself, by mixing random chemicals together and watering it with that. I think one time I definitely must've made a poison. I think I was mixing bleach with ammonia or something, I don't know why I decided that would be a good idea. But I did it anyways and I lived so it's fine. 

Then again sometimes when I cough my lungs still burn so maybe I inhaled too much poison gas. 

(True story I mixed chemicals and watered a plant with them for a science project I had in Chem and I accidentally made Chlorine Gas, which was/is used for chemical warfare, or just normal Chloroform I can't remember which. But it was great cause there I was just mixing my chemicals and inhaling toxic fumes and coughing so loudly my neighbor heard me and posioning my little plants. And I was doing this in a tiny room with no windows and no air vents so yeah I was coughing for 4 days straight and for a day my eyes burned. But I lived so it's fine. But I got like a fucking 40 on that project so that's not fine. I still cry about that.)

So yeah. I really shouldn't be here honestly I mean knowing me anything could go wrong even with Wanda supervising me. Wanda held my hand tightly as she led me along, humming to herself as we walked around, Wanda every once in a while stopping to put some plant or flowery type thing in a hand basket before we continued. 

As I looked around I noticed a few people I used to know, not anyone important, old friends from high school, jocks I used to know and their cheerleader friends, a few of the older women that I used to know from church. A few faces stuck out. 

Particularly Andrew, probably my favorite dude bro I've ever known, and Diane, my old best friend's mom that helped lead a youth group. 

Neither of them had noticed me, or maybe they had and just hadn't recognized me, of course the sadder option is that they have noticed me and they just didn't want to talk to me. Or maybe they aren't sure it's me. Honestly who even knows at this point.