Chapter 48: Work To Do
Chapter 48: Work To Do
Chapter 48: Work To Do
After gym class ended, everyone went to their next classes and news about what happened spread around the school. Of course, the story became more and more exaggerated until the version of Tommy transforming into a monster and trying to kill everyone in the gym became the normal version. For the people who actually witnessed it though, they still spread the original version.
At some point, the exaggerated story calmed down and the real truth was out. Everyone just felt like Tommy overdosed on something he shouldn't of and that is what caused him to go nuts. As it was, by the end of the day, all final classes had posted memos about the dangers of drug use and how it would impact your lives and destroy your future and yada yada yada...
Since the school was sticking to this story, it made the true story seem much more believable. As such, by the time everyone left, even though people were still talking about things, it had calmed down.
Laz was on his way out the back doors to take his walk over to the restaurant when he was stopped by Kennedy. She had a bit of a smile on her face and seemed rather cheerful. Obviously, she was still rather amused by the events of the day despite there being danger involved.
As she stood in front of Laz, she arched her back a bit and made her already proud chest stand out more as though she was trying to seduce the young man. Although Laz had gotten a little used to her antics, he wasn't a stone and could't help but take a deep breath to try to calm himself. This dark golden hair beauty was really too stunning, especially with that older woman vibe she gave off.
"Yes?" Laz asked, after he regained his composure.
"You're going to help me today. I need someone to be on the lookout for me and with your weird sense thingy, you are the best candidate for the job," she answered with a bit of a sing song voice.
"Ok. But I still have my work over at the restaurant first."
"That's fine. I will send you the directions shortly. Once you get there, just go some place quiet and hidden and keep a look out for me. I'm not worried about cops, but some guys seem to think a girl like me would be easy to bully and take advantage of. So, you will be my protector this time. And my alarm system."
With that, Kennedy didn't say anything else and walked off back towards the school while Laz continued on his way.
Neither of them seemed to notice that they were being watched. Although their stalker didn't hear what they said, she seemed to be rather reluctant to get closer. She turned around and walked off in a separate direction, Her dark red hair with the bright pink tips was especially eye catching in the sun light.
After Laz got to the Golden Panda, his phone beeped and there was just a simple text message on it that read
:Alley between Coffee Craze and Pool Hall, 8 pm:
Thinking about it, Laz figured out that when kids wanted to hang out in this town, they usually went to the pool hall or the coffee shop. The coffee shop was unique in that it was one of the most recently remodeled buildings in town. It was a coffee shop, but also had internet access and gaming stations set up. This allowed for groups to actually have a chance to mingle while doing something which was very important in a small town with no chain stores or chain restaurants.
As such, a place like this was considered a gem by the town that everyone wanted to hang out at. The pool hall was a bit older of a place and did have a bar that opened at 8pm. As such, kids could go their to play pool and use the old fashioned arcade machines up until 8pm. Between the two places, it contained the best enjoyment that people could find in town outside of their own homes.
Laz had never really been to either place before since he wasn't interested in spending time at places by himself. Although he might have taken an interest in the various environments, he wasn't exactly thick enough to want to go to a group hang out spot alone. It was just asking for embarrassment.
Most nights, those places would be packed even if school was in session. It wasn't just a weekend spot. Their were other places like the town gym where some people would go, but that was usually limited to the adut crowd.
Although Laz wouldn't exactly be there for enjoyment, he still found it pleasant to have an excuse to go.
Monday thru Wednesday nights were special. Since the bar didn't open, kids could hang out until 10 pm. As such, Laz was guessing who would be the target crowd.
Although work was a bit slow tonight, there were still some orders to be done and Laz stayed busy. Uncle and Grandpa Chu were still the same as always except Uncle Chu was wearing long sleeves today and a funny bracelet. The only reason this came as a bit of a surprise to Laz was since Uncle Chu did the cooking, he liked to not have to worry about sleeves or accessories as they might get in the way.
It also wasn't cold enough for them in Laz's opinion, but who knows? People change as they get older, or so he thought. Since it was going to start getting cold soon and the nights would actually be freezing, Uncle Chu was starting to use his car for deliveries and Laz's little scooter was parked away for the winter..
Even if he was a little dejected about this, he still had his own bike to ride so he was fine with it.
Although time seemed to drag, It was almost 7 pm and Laz was getting ready to leave before his Grandpa Chu came out from the back and sat at one of the bar stools on the front counter.
"Hey Little Laz, let me ask you something," Grandpa Chu said as he turned towards Laz who was getting on his coat.
"What is it Grandpa Chu?" Laz responded, wondering what seemed different about him today.
"You see the news with all of the crazies that are changing?"
"Yeah, what about it?"
"What do you think about them?" Grandpa Chu seemed to have a strange light in his eye at this point. Even though Laz could tell something was off, he simply didn't know what it was.
"Everyone is still human, afterall. No matter what we look like, we all come from the same planet right?" Laz was a bit confused by this. He was going to say we all come from the same place, but when he thought about how his Grandpa Chu had immigrated, he decided it was better to say planet.
His thoughts on this were more concrete ever since he came into contact with that crazed she-devil. It didn't matter how sexy a person was if they just wanted of own you or off you. You just wouldn't have a good life.
"Yeah, you are right about that. You know, even if you kids don't understand, for us older folks, we could never trust people that came from places different than us. It's caused all sorts of conflicts over the years. Yet now, the world seems to be growing smaller and smaller with weird changes happening everyday. I just think people who still feel that way about others can only be considered small minded. Besides, your just as likely to be stabbed in the back by a good friend as you are a complete stranger. The difference is, you never see the friend coming."
Laz was a bit shocked by his Grandpa Chu's words and he felt like their was far more to them than he knew.
"If you want to know more about this 'monsters' Grandpa Chu, you should go find Old Bill outside of town. He seemed to know more than he's telling anyone." Laz didn't know why he responded like this, but it seemed to have made Grandpa Chu perk up a bit.
"Old Bill? Really? Hmm... ok. Yes. HA HA, Thanks Little Laz." The more Grandpa Chu thought about it, the better he seemed to feel about what he was being told. Although Laz didn't know it and wasn't doing it intentionally, his Grandpa Chu seemed to figure out several things from what was and wasn't said.
Seeing his Grandpa Chu cheer up, Laz waved by and called out a good bye to his Uncle in the kitchen before he took off.
Getting up from the stool after watching Laz disappear, the old man walked back to the kitchen to find his son sitting down at a table.
"Seems like you were right, he seems to know some things," the old man commented before sitting down.
The younger man looked over at his father and simply said, "That's because he is like me. I knew I felt it the other day and that's why I tried to avoid him. I don't know where you got this bracelet from, but it seems to hide me from him sensing me."
"We come from a people with a long history. Even if you kids think some of these old beliefs are nonsense, you should at least consider there might be some truth to them as well."
"If it was before dad, I would say your nuts. But for now all I can say is I'm glad you were right." Uncle Chu had a thankful look in his eyes as he looked at his older father.
"It's fine, it's fine. Looks like we need to get in contact with Bill. It seems like there are more than a few people in this town who are starting to change."
"Is there a reason? For the number of people in this town, it seems a bit weird," the younger man couldn't help but ask.
"I don't know."
"You can't read the stars or divine something?"
"What the hell do you think I am boy? Forget it. I will go call Bill. You just tend to the store. We don't have anything to worry about as long as you have the bracelet and can wear long sleeves." The old man replied with a huff while getting up and making his way over to the phone.
"Ok dad. Thanks."
Laz had made his way out and was walking down the street. It was about a 15 minute walk from the restaurant to the meeting place but Laz was still going to be early so he didn't rush.
As he rounded the corner, he saw a girl learning up against the building as though waiting for something.
Her knee high black boots perfectly accented her white stripped leggings that disappeared under a somewhat loose hanging blue skirt. Although she wasn't filled up much in her chest, she still showed a budding amount of potential pushing against the white cotton shirt with the black leather jacket covering only the sides and her arms.
Her soft pink lips paled in comparison to the bright pink tips of her dark red hair, but that didn't detract from their apparent softness.
Laz had been distracted before due to thinking over his conversation with Grandpa Chu so he didn't realize that this girl was right around the corner.
Had he been paying closer attention, he would have noticed that she too had a somewhat special bracelet on her wrist, but for now, he didn't do anything other than stop in his tracks.
"It's you."