Certifiable

Chapter 3

-- picture on the side is of Matthias --

CHAPTER 3

Remind to never again get the Daily Special without asking what the Daily Special actually is first. Turns out, the Daily Special at Daphne's Burger Place for today is the Double Serve Zombie Burger - and yes, that's its legitimate name. The Double Serve Zombie Burger is basically a chunk of raw steak heaped with about half a bottle of ketchup and then stuck between two slices of dry bread.

Daphne's should be sued.

It goes without saying that I don't bother eating it.

Therefore, when I get home at ten o'clock tonight, I'm starving. All I want to do is raid the fridge. I unlock the front door and am about to step into the hallway when I hear Leanne laughing in the hallway.

I freeze. Does she have someone over? There is no car in the driveway apart from hers and mine, but I guess she could be on the phone.

I creep down the hallway, wincing at the squeaking wood.

Leanne is washing dishes at the sink, laughing like she's just heard the World's Funniest Joke. There is no one else in sight.

"What's funny?" I ask coolly. Leanne turns around, flapping a tea towel at me.

"Oh Bryony, you're home. Hee, hee."

She actually enunciates those words - hee, hee.

I stand just outside the kitchen with my nose wrinkled. "Care to share the joke?"

"It's nothing," Leanne says, before bursting into another round of laughter that ends in a snort.

I feel my chest constrict as I watch Leanne. They say laughter is the best medicine, but I am not so sure. She sounds like a maniac.

"I'm going for a walk," I decide.

"But you just got home - don't you have homework to do?"

"I finished it at Cedar's," I say shortly. Is that all she can ask me about? Homework? Doesn't she want to know how my first day back at school went?

"What about dinner? Have you eaten?"

I pause. I am hungry, especially seeing as the Double Serve Zombie Burger was so inedible, but I don't want to spend another minute under the same roof as Leanne.

"I'm not hungry," I lie. My stomach growls in protest loudly.

There is an awkward silence as Leanne and I both stare at the other, each determined not to be the first to back down. But then Leanne's face softens.

"Brie..." she says sadly. "Don't make bad choices in life, kid."

I think I know what she's talking about, and it's not dinner. But I don't know what to say to that, so I don't acknowledge it.

"I'm going out," is all I say in return.

Leanne's face sags and she seems years older. "Well, don't stay out too late. It's already after dark." She turns her back to me, and continues washing dishes.

The last thing I hear as I exit the house is a loud hearty shout of laughter.

...

I am walking aimlessly, but my feet seem to have a place in mind. They take me to the Botanical Gardens. I stare up at its tall iron gates, shut tight now that it's after hours.

The last time I came here was with Jake. It was our special place and we used to sneak in every night like stealthy robbers, just so we could listen to the whispering of the trees without all the background noise of tourists and families out for the day.