Chapter 3- Chemical Seduction

Mr. Kevin crumbled to his knees, forcing them to vibrate against the tiled floor, being the only sound heard now that the music had stopped, simultaneous to the appearance of the figure. The shadow loomed over Mr. Kevin. He had slick brown hair which complemented his matching brown eyes, which seemed to always have a glare lingering behind them, no matter how many times Lace squinted. His attire was completely black except for his white socks sneaking to get  a peek of the action." Y'all better teach me how to bring a man to their knees!" Marmie snorted, oblivious to her surroundings. "Lester" the silhouette spoke, somewhat patronising.

"We're just gonna..." Banana muttered as she set course for anywhere but there, Lace and Marmie followed clawing at her ankles to escape the awkward situation metres behind them. Crush and Harry remained with Mr. Kevin, unsure of their decision, and of their true intentions for doing so.

The three girls headed back to the basement to rest in the oxygen limited room and to test the limitations of the human body as a new day of Freak Week was born.

Revitalised by the morning sun, Lace tried to fulfil her regular daily routine as much as she could to contain her sanity. Therefore, she headed for the bathroom.

Lace swiftly scampered into a cubicle, and flung open her withered notebook.

Dear Robot Diary,

I know, I know, I changed your name again. Deal with it! But I am so over this whole disaster thing. What if I have ruined your chance of a positive future with all this name changing! It's like you are a dog! Oh. My. God. With the dogs in this Shih Tzu storm before...it all makes sense!

Dear Dog Diary,

Yeah, you like that new name don't you. Look you sit and everything! Oh wait that is me sitting... On this rusty old, 'scented' toilet. I wasn't the scent causer in case your wondering, because girls don't do that obviously. Sorry sidetracked again, what I was going to say was...

"Come on Poops! You can do it on the way" Marmie commanded, more serious than usual. "I swore I heard something other than Lace's toilet echoes, come on!" They belted back to the main entrance, screeching like cars in a multi-story car park when turning corners because of the polished school floors.

Vibrant smog clouds peered through the windows behind Harry and Mr. Kevin "Crush is gone" Lace's brain discovered. "HE is Freak Week" Mr. Kevin exclaimed. "He is nuts! He just sort of...summoned these rainbow chemical clouds."Harry contributed as measles, devoured, his body. "Each colour cloud exudes a chemical disease?" Banana suggested, cringing at Mr. Kevin's severe cough. "It appears that the emotional effect would also give extreme shyness or extreme confidence, judging by the contrast in these two's reactions" Marmie stared inquisitively. "I mean, you actually believed that!" Lace laughed pathetically, covering her hidden intelligence. "That was a line from the school play" She added.

"Wait here" Lace roared as she headed to fetch her notebook from the bathroom.

Lace almost missed it with the notebook being her main priority. A woman faded around a corner, just as Lace pressed on the bathroom door, she considered following her, but fear and the factor of the unknown, which controlled her life on a day to day basis provoked her to reject trying something new and she entered the bathroom.

Once her notebook was regained, engraved on the front wrote "Don't you dare fluff that duck... V.K"

She immediately thought "VaKation" Until her mind overcame the enticing and disappointing paradox.

"V.K... Valerie Kevin... Mr. Kevin's about to be divorced wife.

But the duck phrase puzzled her, as it would to most, but Lace had a trait for the deconstruction and rebuilding of phrases. "Don't you dare fluff that duck... " Lace pondered. " It could be rearranged letters? Or, a, a metaphor! It's a metaphor for? A threat to rile something or someone up! But what?" The thoughts sat uncomfortably on her shoulders as she headed to find the others, but she wouldn't tell them what she had discovered. Not yet.

Lace found the others in the nurse's office, this time, with Crush and his new found feverish companion on his forehead. "He said something about the lake in the forest behind the school" Crush spluttered, looking away to hide is insecurity. "We better get a move on then!" Banana cheered, ready for adventure. As everyone flooded past Lace, Mr. Kevin emitted a smirk to Lace, causing the saliva to burn her throat as she swallowed her guilty knowledge.

"Hey" Crush glowed, still hiding his face to an extent. A gust of courage soared through the door and swept through every cell of Lace's body.

She stepped forward and softly turned his chin to look at her, his eyes sinking to the floor. "You don't have to hide from me" Lace whispered, giving him a peck of a kiss with so much passion, it could fuel an addiction. An addiction to Crush.

She ran her fingertips down his trembling arm, to his soft hands and finally left the room, leaving Crush's arm reaching for more.

Dear Dog Diary,

Pardon the handwriting, I'm heading for the lake, I'll try not to bruise you too bad.

So ugh... I KISSED CRUSH...ME! I know! I'm freaking out too! It must be the clouds. I think? I would never EVER usually do something like that. After four years of this crush. I CRUSHED IT, see what I did there Dog Diary? You loved it don't lie. I just thought that, now that I am kind of your master, you would appreciate the news.

I remember the first time he said my name, my goosebumps had goosebumps, I swear it! I never quite understood why they were called that. His words still resonate today "Ugh Lace, could you pass the ketchup?" Me and him touched the same ketchup bottle. AGHHH. The DNA on it could match what our children's DNA would be like. Our ship name could be Lush. Doesn't it just sound like destiny Dog Diary?! Sure I know that Lauren would have the same ship name, but... He never asked her for ketchup!

Lace closed the notebook at the thought of another girl with Crush.

The lake wasn't far, but in Freak Week, it was a perilous trek.

Lace pressed on, the chemical clouds in hot pursuit were ready to seduce her. Trees with half an orchestra in their canopies stretched their roots out in the attempt to trip her and claim reward of her demise. Regardless, Lace continued in a state of delirium from her previous encounter with Crush. A stiffening sensation had began at her ankle, but nothing serious to what Lace assumed. The trees were an oak and pine assortment, catching the little moisture of rain that had been falling, drops shimmering in the satisfying light, holding on to the leaves to avoid a fateful future with their brethren flooding along the ground below.

The lake had lowered from what Lace could last recall, probably because of the Shih Tzu storm's chemical clouds needing to quench their thirst. The gang was in a circle, crowded around something...or someone.

"Hey Shoelace! Get over here!" Harry boomed, scarily dictating. Lace found 'Freak Week' helplessly slumped on the saturated soil. "Well you want to interrogate me too!" He spat venomously. "We waited for you to come so you wouldn't miss some of the juicy information" Banana gleamed, thinking of me as always. "Well?" Marmie said nonchalantly. "My name, is Mr. Jacobsen and I..."

"My wife's lawyer?!" Mr. Kevin interrupted angrily. Lace had never seen him this infuriated before...no-one had. "Well the thing is Lester..." Mr. Jacobsen began. The jigsaw pieces levitated into place within Lace's cognitive mind. "Where is she!" Lace roared. A large, red but yet transparent cloud formed overhead and they all fell down to the ground spontaneously. Knocked out.

They awoke back at the entrance to the school. Pain from Lace's ankles now just below the knees. Lace lay shivering at the thought of what this new morning of Freak Week would entail.