Joan started to look behind her. Half expecting it, someone was following her. Carl. At first, Joan thought, Clingy Carl, but then realised he probably lived near her.
"Hi. Are you following me?" He asked as if he were deliberately annoying her.
"How can I be following you? I'm walking in front. You're following me," Joan answered irritatedly.
"Just asking. Where do you live?"
How much creepier can you get? Joan thought. First he seems really concerned that I'm not in school when we've never met? Then he's either my next door neighbour or stalker, and now he's asking me where I live!
"None of your business," she cried, a lot louder than she meant to. "Creep," she added under her breath.
"Gee, thanks. Just making sure you aren't stalking me."
"You could make it less creepy.'
"I guess I could—"
"Ok whatever."
A gust of wind circled around them. They shivered but continues to match pace. Joan tried to walk faster to make the deafening silence less awkward, but it seemed to make it worse.
Eventually Joan made it home. She was far to paranoid to look behind her, so she just walked in.
The difference in temperature made her almost start sweating as she walked in. It felt heavenly, as the warmth of her home gently cuddled her.
"Hi mum. Why's the door wide open?" She asked, but was then quickly answered by a putrid stench, like fish of some sort.
"It's just very smelly," she replied.
Yes, I can see that, Joan thought. "Why is it so smelly?"
"No idea."
The smell seemed to get stronger, and now smelled like dead mice. Joan knew what that smelled like from previous experience. They probably hadn't got rid of one from a mouse trap.
"Do you think it's mice?"
"No, we don't have mice."
It could well have been true, there hadn't been mice in years. But then what could the smell be? Rotten eggs?
Whatever. I'll just live with it... eventually I'll get used to it.
