Why Teenagers Shouldn't Hunt Monsters

Chapter 4: Pizza Parental Guidance 

Well shit. Shit shit shit. This can be a good thing, right? No, no way. This can only ever end in absolute disaster. Terrible, terrible disaster. I'm screwed. So, totally, horribly, screwed. Shit shit shit.

    Yeah, I didn't have the best reaction to finding out Dr. Carrol knows I'm a hunter. Contrary to my immediate response, having someone know my secret was actually rather helpful. For one, it's one less person I need to be extra cautious around. And two, Dr. Carrol is actually pretty smart. He's a genius when it comes to music, he taught me things I'm pretty sure my father didn't even know. And he would talk for hours, I don't think I've ever heard someone talk as much as this man did. But, that wasn't a bad thing. I found that I rather enjoy talking to others, as long as the topic of conversation is interesting, which it always was.

    But, there was certainly more to him than meets the eye. Of course,he'd never said anything about it, and I had doubted that he ever would. But I had one question festering in my mind.

    "How did you know?"

    He looked up at me, confused.

    "How did you know I'm a hunter?"

    He furrowed his brow as the question registered, but once it did, he seemed shaken to his core.

    "You have done have to answer if you don't want to," I tried to reassure him, fearing I would unintentionally dig up something neither of us really wanted to discuss.

    "It's alright. I...I used to work for The Union". His voice trembled as he spoke.

    "The Union?" I asked, wondering what the hell he was talking about.

    "Your father never spoke to you about The Union?"

    "No, I-"

    "Sonya! Dr. Carrol!" called a familiar sickly sweet voice.

    Oh great.

    Dr. Carrol and I quickly exited his office as Hope bounced in with Gustave on her tail.

    "Hope!" Carrol greeted them with a fake cheeriness nearly comparable to my mother's. "I thought you had ballet practice today".

    "I did, but my mother had a last-minute meeting with the studio directors board, so she told me to have you give me a ride home," she proclaimed with a grin.

    "You can just drive her home? Just like that?" Gustave asked with wonderment. Ah, the joys of being seven.

    "Yes. Hope's mother and I have been friends for a very long time. In fact, Hope is my goddaughter," Dr.Carool stated mather-of-factly

    "She's your goddaughter?!" This was certainly news to me.

    "Did I not mention that?" he asked with his usual puzzled expression.

    "No, no you did not".

    "Oh, then that is my fault. Well, as long as we're leaving, why don't we all go out for pizza?"

    "I'm in!" Hope in Gustave cheered out in unison.

    "Sonya?" Dr. Carrol looked at me curiously.

    "Oh alright," I surrendered. "Let me check with my mom first". Part of me had hoped that she would day no, and tell me to bring Gustave home immediately. But another part of me was really hungry. Plus, it would allow me to continue conversing with Dr. Carrol.

    "She said yes".

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Dr. Caroll took us to a pizza place on the edge of town, and it even held a little arcade. Most of the dinner went smoothly, with all of us eventually agreeing on a larger pepperoni. Which was something I hadn't yet tried and was somewhat disappointed to learn was not topped with actually peppers as the name implied. It was still enjoyable nonetheless. After we had eaten, Gustave had given me his best "adorable seven-year-old" pout, and I gave him a few coins so he and Hope could go play some air-hockey at the other end of the pizzeria.

    "So whats The Union?" I asked once Carrol and I were alone.

    He paused for thought and shifted in his seat. "The Union...is...well...its in charge of all the hunters in the world. Its what tells us where to go and when. Instructs and trains us."

    "Us?! What do you mean 'us'!?" Are you a hunter?!"

    He looked up at me, surprised, clearly stumped by my questioning. "Well, yes. I mean, I was. But not anymore".

    As I was about to ask why, or how, he quit, I was once again interrupted by a blonde bubble of cheer.

    "Sonya!" called Hope. "Look who we found!"

    She, along with Gustave, danced in with my other close behind them.

    "Hi mom", I greeted, standing from my seat at the table in order to hug her.

    "John," she spoke, directing her attention towards Dr. Carrol. "It's nice to see you again". He too stood up from his chair and approached her with an outstretched hand, which she gently shook with a slight grin.

    "Nice to see you as well," he said, returning her smile.

    "We really should get going now," my mother said awkwardly. I was about to agree but was interrupted by Gustave.

    "Please mom, just a few more minutes. I wanna show Sonya how to play this really cool racing game," he begged.

    I shot him a glare, which my mother failed to notice over Dr. Carrol inviting her to sit down at the table.

    "Okay honey,' she said to us, handing me a few more pills for the game. I begrudgingly followed Hope and my brother to the arcade room, as my mother was contently pulled towards a chair.