Dome

3

"Jeremy! Come downstairs with your friend," my mom yelled after I heard the door close, "I have food."
"We better head down before the food gets cold". I said to Smithy. We left the room and went to introduce Smithy to my mom.
The linoleum kitchen tiles were cold on my bare feet, the kitchen smelled of take out food. Mom was standing unpacking a large brown paper bag. "Hey, mom".
"Hi, Jeremy". She turned around, and her smile dropped as soon as she saw Smithy. She quickly realized how her smile faded and put it back on. I saw it all play out on her face.
    Acting like I didn't notice I said, "Um, this is Sm-"
    "Samantha Harris". Smithy interrupted me and stuck her hand out with the same grin she greeted me with, staring my mom directly in the eyes. Something didn't seem right between these two.
    "Samantha"? I asked as my mom slowly shook Smithy's hand.
    "Smithy is a nickname that stuck from when I was a kid". My mom was looking at Smithy with a hint of anger and distrust. It was easy for me to tell, I was strangely good at reading people.
"Mom, are you okay"?
"Oh yes," she broke out of her trance, "Jeremy go set the table, I need to, um, get to know Saman-Smithy". She handed me a stack of plates and I went into the other room.
They were talking a lot louder than they wanted to, I could tell because I could hear almost every word they said to each other.
"I don't know what you're trying to do with my son, but I won't let it happen".
"Megan, you can't do this to everyone in the town. I mean look what it did to me, I'm absolutely insane, you wouldn't want that to happen to Jeremy, would you"?
"Well, you were one of our early 'lab rats', we've fixed the dome now, everything will work out for us in the end".
I walked back in just as Smithy was about to say something back. She instead changed her intended remark to a laugh and, "That's a cool job, Ms. Artison".
"What are you guys talking about"? I asked
"Just about my job, at the hospital". My mom replied
"I heard you talking about something else, a dome"?
Oh, that was," she paused, "the new wing they are building on the hospital, they are adding a dome on it, and it's supposed to look really nice".
"But, I heard something about how Smithy was a lab rat".
"Oh, you must have misheard, I had some records on her, she had some experimental treatments for a disease she had, a few of them went a bit wrong". My mom was obviously lying.
"Are you trying to protect your little baby," Smithy mocked, "he's gonna find out eventually, we might as well tell him".
"What are you guys talking about"?! I was getting fed up by all of this.
"It's nothing, Honey, just leave it, it's just your friend acting up".
"Okay, whatever you say". Smithy laughed
It was painful, in a way, they were holding something from me. Well, my mom was at least, Smithy seemed like she would tell me if I asked. From the day that I had gotten to know her, I gathered that she would tell anyone anything if you asked the right question, but nothing more than what was asked. I decided on asking her after we had eaten dinner.
The rest of dinner was eaten in silence with a few exchanged glances here and there.
After dinner, Smithy and I took our plates to the kitchen, and left the rest for my mom. I wasn't the best thing to do, but my mind was preoccupied with other things, more important things.
I took Smithy up to my room again and closed my door behind us after us. I sat down on my bed. "What were you and my mom talking about"?
"You think your mom moved here for her job, but this town has a secret, a big secret. You're going to have to choose a side, Jeremy".