Dead!

Chapter 27

Chapter 27

After work that day, I went home and started packing up for Washington DC. I grabbed one of Grandma's suitcases and stuffed as many outfits as I could fit in there. However, when I tried to close the suitcase, the zipper got stuck. Maybe I should have picked a larger suitcase, I thought.

All of a sudden, Grandma barged into the room. "What are you doing?" she asked me.

"I'm packing," I said. "This stupid suitcase won't close though."

"What are you packing for?" Grandma asked. "We're not going anywhere."

I had completely forgotten to ask Grandma about the trip. "My boss wants me to go to Washington DC with her," I explained. "Can I go?"

"Why are you going to Washington DC?" Grandma asked. "And when is this?"

"We're covering a Black Afterlives Matter rally," I said. "The rally is on Saturday, so we're leaving Friday evening and I'll be back on Saturday night."

"You should have told me about this sooner," Grandma said.

"I know," I said. "I'm sorry."

"I guess it's okay, as long as you check in with me a few times while you're gone," Grandma said. "I want to make sure that you're safe."

"I'll be fine," I said. "Can you just help me close the suitcase."

"Ivy, you're going to have to take a few things out first," Grandma said. She opened up the suitcase again and took a look at what I had inside. "You're only going to be gone for one day," she said. "You don't need three sweaters." She took out two of my sweatshirts.

"But Grandma!" I exclaimed. "I want to wear all of those!"

"You're going to be gone for a day," Grandma said. "It's not like you're moving to another sector."

"Can I bring two?" I asked. "What if it gets cold?"

"It won't get cold," Grandma said. "This is Heaven. The weather's always wonderful. You will be fine with just one sweatshirt."

"Fine," I said. "Do I have to take out my four pairs of sneakers too?"

"Yes," Grandma said. "You should pack light anyways. You're going to have to carry all of this yourself."

"I know," I said as I took out a few more unnecessary items. "Is this any better?" I asked Grandma.

"Much better," Grandma said. "Try closing the suitcase again."

I zipped up the suitcase, and it finally closed. "Yes! It worked!" I exclaimed. I took the suitcase over to the door and then came back. "Where's Maya?" I asked Grandma. "Usually she's home by now."

"She just texted me," Grandma said. "Maya said that she's at the park with Raj, Henri, and Jack. She wanted to know if you wanted to come with them."

"Sure, why not?" I said. I headed out the door once again, and I started walking towards the park. Unfortunately, the park was in the opposite direction of the spot where Adam usually worked. I was hoping to see him again, but that would have to wait until tomorrow.

I arrived at the park, and I found Maya on the swings. I didn't see the others, so I sat down on the swing next to Maya's. "I never said that you could come," Maya said.

"What?" I said. "Grandma said that you texted her that you wanted me to come."

"RAJ! JACK! HENRI!" Maya screamed. "Did any of you steal my phone and invite Ivy?!?"

Raj spontaneously ran over to Maya. "I didn't steal your phone," he said. "I just borrowed it. I wanted Ivy to come. It wasn't fair that you didn't invite her."

"For the love of the Holy Emo Trinity, there's a reason why I didn't invite her!" Maya exclaimed.

"There isn't a good reason," Raj said. "I was just being nice."

"Thanks for inviting me, Raj," I said, smiling.

"You're welcome, Ivy," Raj said.

"Where are Jack and Henri?" I asked Raj.

"I'm not sure," Raj said.

"Probably doing something hopelessly adorable, just because they're Jenri," Maya said. "Have I mentioned how hard I ship them?"

"You've mentioned that many times," I said.

"Well, they're really adorable," Maya said. She put her headphones back in and started swinging again.

Suddenly, I saw Henri race down the slide. "This is so much fun!" he exclaimed. "I haven't been to a playground in forever!"

"Did you know that the idea of the playground originated in Germany?" Jack said. "It was used to teach children to play properly."

"How do you 'play properly?'" Henri asked. "Is there one 'proper' way to play?"

"I don't know," Jack replied. "That's just what I read."

"I was just curious," Henri said as he ran up to slide down the slide again.

I ran over to the monkey bars, and Raj followed me. "I always liked these things," I told him as I grabbed the first bar. "I'm no good at them, but they're fun."

"I'm too tall for monkey bars to be any fun," Raj said. "I'll just watch." I made my way across the monkey bars, and although I almost fell a few times, I managed to get to the other side. "Nice job Ivy," Raj said.

"Thanks Raj," I replied. I looked up at the sky and saw that the sun was beginning to set. "Maybe we should get going. It's a little bit late."

"No, I want to watch the sunset," Henri said. "It's so pretty." Henri was right. The bursts of color were simply gorgeous. The five of us just laid out on the soft, green grass, watching the sunset.

Finally, it was time to go home. Maya and I didn't speak to each other on the way home, but that was okay. I didn't really want to talk to her anyways. Once I got home, I immediately went to bed. I would need a good night's sleep for what was to come.