Chapter 5
Giant Teddy Bears and Little Green People
That evening, Gemma and Shy cook dinner. Max and Adrian join us, but Kade is apparently being a mega-nerd and hanging out at the library… on day one of class.
Within five minutes of entering our apartment, Adrian has his hands, and lips, on me. I’m sitting on the couch and I make some comment about him not being hot, when he climbs onto my lap, straddling me. He takes my face in his hands then hesitates, staring into my eyes. I feel a knot form in my throat as I wait to see what he’s going to do, but at the same time wondering why I’m not knocking his ass off me. His affectionate smile turns devilish, and then he’s lapping at me like a dog greeting its owner.
“I missed that smart mouth of yours,” he says after releasing me.
I furiously wipe at my face and scold myself for that moment of desire I felt toward him. I need to be more on guard around him. No more sneak attacks for him, unless he wants find out how a Converse feels when it connects with his boys parts.
After dinner, the guys find one of my survival preparedness magazines and begin an interrogation, trying to gauge how crazy I truly am. I don’t really believe that zombies are going take over the world someday. I do believe that an apocalypse is inevitable, so why not be prepared. I reference zombies for the shock factor. Okay… maybe there is a small part of me that believes some crazy ass anti-government freak is out there making a virus that will kill the brain but allow us to still walk and eat… other people.
“There are people who believe in bigfoot, aliens, and ghosts,” I say, defending myself. “Don’t judge me because I prefer the walking dead over some giant teddy bear, or cute little green people. Besides, think about it, a zombie apocalypse is the best kind of apocalypse.”
They all exchange curious glances.
“Of course it is,” Max says, in a tone that clearly says he’s ready to have me committed.
Adrian scoots to the edge of his seat. “Can you explain why you believe that? And talk slowly. I don’t wanna miss anything.”
I sit up straighter, ready to share my wise insights. “If the world goes black, then every—” I begin, but Adrian cuts me off.
His face contorts. “You mean if all the white people die? How is that the end of times?”
Shyanne snorts out a laughs, then tries to explain, which surprises me. She’s adjusted to these guys much quicker than I’d thought. “Don’t be stupid, she means if we lose power, people stop working, no one is making food or clothes, or other goods.” She gives me a this-guy’s-a-dipshit look.
I know, Shy, I know.
“Think about it,” I go on, “If we lose total power, everyone will be raiding stores to get supplies because no more will be made. If there are zombies walking around, eating other people, that eliminates our competition for the food and supplies.” I lean back, stretching my arms over my head with a yawn. “Plus, zombies only eat people, they don’t need food.”
“Wow,” is all Max can say.
Adrian smiles excitedly as he nods. “I know, right? She’s awesome.”
I stand and bow. “Thank you, I’m glad you’ve enjoyed the show. Now, I must nap before my next performance.”
I hear Max ask Gemma as I’m walking to my room, “She’s totally serious, isn’t she?”
“About the zombie shit, absolutely,” Gemma replies.
“That’s awesome,” Adrian adds, again.
I’m not sure why he’s so fascinated with me, but I hope I lose novelty soon. I have an aversion to men, and if I have to fend him off all semester, it’s gonna get ugly.
I end up not being able to fall asleep, for my afternoon nap, feeling like I was forgetting something. I decide to start working on getting my class schedule entered into my calendar on my phone. I sit up in my bed as soon as I open the calendar app and realize what tomorrow is, and why I felt like I was forgetting something. Feeling a knot form in my throat, I pull up my mom’s contact on my phone. She answers after one ring.
“Hey sweetie,” she says, sounding sad, “how are you?”
Hearing her voice is enough to make the tears form, but I push them back. “Okay, just the usual guilt and sadness.” I don’t need to pretend with my mom. We skip right over the usual greetings because we both know it’d be fake.
“You coming home tomorrow?”
I lie down on my bed, staring up at the ceiling. “I almost forgot. You know… what day it is.”
My mom sighs. “That's okay Keegan. You know that, right?”
No, I don't know that. There are certain things in our lives that define us, things we should never forget. The death of a child is one of those things.
“Anyway,” I say, ignoring her question, “yes I’ll be home. I have two classes in the morning, so it’ll probably be early afternoon.”
“Okay, I requested the day off so I’ll be here whenever you’re ready.”
Of course she did because she didn't forget.