This choice: Take the spell book and run! • Go Back... "I'll help you," you say. "All I need is a few minutes to -- what the hell is that?"
You point behind her. When she turns around, you shove her to the ground, grab the book, and run! You tear out the front door and hop on your bike, dropping the book in the basket and pedaling as fast as your short legs will take you.
"You traitorous worm!" screeches the woman from behind you.
"Sorry!" you yell over your shoulder. "I'll give it back!" You mean it, too. Once you find the spell you need, you fully intend to mail the book back to the old woman, so that it can be there for the garage sale. You don't want to create a time paradox or something, after all.
"Little wretch! Get back here!" But the voice is already fading, and you're rounding the corner. It looks like you've made good your escape.
You've gone several blocks in the wrong direction before you realize you shouldn't be heading to your house, but to Nana Juney and Grampa Frank's on the other side of town. You circle around and head back. All this biking is making you hungry, and you're just thinking about grabbing Burger King or something, when you see it.
Greasy Pete's.
You used to love Greasy Pete's when you were a kid. The juicy, dripping hamburgers, the triple-fried fries, the finely aged pickles ... you used to ask for it every birthday. Unfortunately a few years ago it got shut down for multiple egregious health-code violations. It was so lame. Like the government didn't have anything better to do than shut down amazing restaurants! It wasn't a chain or anything, so now there was no way to get a Greasy Pete's hamburger... until now. (That is, then.)
You walk into the little storefront where a tanning salon is destined to move in a couple decades and ring the bell.
"What can I do for you, honey?" Greasy Pete himself (a slimmer, less bald version than you remember) asks.
You count up your mother's money. You hope she wasn't saving for anything important, but... how often do you get this chance?
"I'll have one Double Pete Special with an extra order of Cheezy Onion Radish Fries, a bucket of Pete Wings with extra Pete Sauce, and one Peanut Butter Pete-Za, please."
"To go?"
"Nah, I'll eat it here."
Pete grins. "You eat all that, girly, and it's on the house."
It's all as delicious as you remember. Unfortunately, it turns out your mother's stomach is smaller than yours -- by the time you're halfway through the Pete-Za, you're completely stuffed. You manage to force down another slice, but that's really all she can hold. You give up with two slices to go.
"Ooh, so close. Pay up, sweetheart."
Groaning, you pull out the money. Everything your mother had just manages to cover it.
"Hey, what about a tip?"
You turn to him. "On the night of March 14th, 2008, chase all the rats out of the kitchen and clean the place for once."
"Er, okay." He shrugs. "Seeya."
You climb painfully onto your bike, feeling bloated and increasingly queasy. It looks like Mom doesn't have the iron constitution Pete's requires of its patrols. You pedal home slowly, getting a cramp whenever you move faster than a crawl, and finally reach your grandparents' house around ten P.M.
"Sarah Suzanne McCormick!" you hear as soon as you walk in the door. "Where on God's green earth have you been?"
"Sorry, Nana J-- I mean, Mom, I just--"
"Leaving the movie theater without telling us. Disappearing for hours. Your father is out there right now with the police looking for you! We thought you'd been kidnapped!"
You can't help but feel a little shell-shocked. The woman in front of you is younger, sure, but still easily recognizable as Nana Juney, and you're just not used to having your grandmother get angry with you. She's always been so... well, grandmotherly. This is just weird.
"What have you been doing all this time?" Her eyes narrow. "Is that ketchup on your face?"
Your stomach picks this unfortunate moment to loudly send up a bubble of air.
"Unbelieveable! You sneak off to stuff yourself while we all worry. Well, I've had enough of this sort of behavior. From now on, there are going to be some big changes around here, young lady! Now, go to your room!"
Looks like you got your mom in serious trouble. You can only hope this won't mess up the future... if you can even get back there!   indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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