It all started on a balmy Summer afternoon when Peter's mother had taken him to the grocery store. As Peter paced down the aisles under the looming shadow of his mother, he eyed the items on the shelves, running his fingers tips along bags of chips and gummy worms. His stomach growled, a painful reminder that he hadn't had breakfast. As if on queue, Peter's mother, an imposingly large woman with a glued on grimace, smacked his hand away from the shelves.
"I ain't buying you that crap, you're fat enough," she muttered. Even her muttering was shrill, and the unpleasant tone was highlighted by her dumping two large bottles of store brand coke into her cart and her own sagging paunch.
Peter pulled his hand back, recoiling at the sting. He looked down at his pudgy belly, blushing with shame. He didn't know why his belly made his mom so upset. He didn't see anything wrong with it, but somehow it was enough to be used as an excuse to make life at home a living hell sometimes. Peter's only solace was when he could slip out to the backyard when his parents weren't paying attention and spend time with the boy next door, Aaron. Sometimes Aaron would come to his house when his father drank too much, so the two boys spent a lot of time together over the past few years. Aaron taught Peter lots of things, like how to steal money from his parents, how to patch up cuts and bruises, and funnily enough, multiplication and division.
Peter snapped back to attention, now finding himself at the customer courtesy counter, treated to the harsh sounds of his mother arguing over something about prices and wine bottles. Peter had seen his mother do this before. She'd typically put up a fight about nothing until they gave her a discount and she'd celebrate by having a few glasses once they got home. He knew he's have time to slip away and pick up something from the bakery with the money he'd slowly swiped over the past week.
On the other side of the grocery store, the bakery was typically a popular place for shoppers, with sweet treats and fresh breads, and conveniently close to the ice cream aisle. However, when Peter approached the counter, he peered through the glass window behind which stood small pastries and saw nobody. Blood rushing and stomach ever growling, Peter made the split decision to sneak around the counter and snag a cupcake or two. "It'll be fine," he thought. "Just be fast and act like nothing is wrong, just like Aaron says."
CLUNK
Cupcake in hand, Peter spun around, ready to apologize and cry, but there was still nobody in sight. Instead, Peter noticed a pile of boxes that had fallen over on their own, and a strange panel behind them. Peter knew that sometimes when there are electrical boxes and other mechanical things that buildings don't use, they sometimes get forgotten and patched up so they don't draw attention, but this one seemed different. It didn't look like it had been painted over and the stains on the wall ran across it uninterrupted, giving it the appearance that it hadn't been discovered. In fact, the panel's slumping forward was what knocked the boxes down. Peter found himself drawn slowly towards the panel, curious about what could be behind it as he slowly licked the frosting off the chocolate cupcake in his hand.
Cramming the rest of the treat into his mouth to leave his hands free, Peter pried the panel open a small bit more to peer inside. Beyond was an empty space that was both dark and spacious. Peter yanked on the panel until it gave enough for him to slip his pudgy body inside. Light crept into the room from the bakery outside, providing enough dimness for Peter to see. The room was simply a space between the walls, coated in a light layer of dust under which sat a tile flooring that looked like it was chosen in the 80's. There were a few power outlets but no furniture. The beams of the walls showed on all sides, making the room clearly appear incomplete. The room was the size of a small living room. Something about the space felt cozy, despite how dangerously unclean it appeared. Satisfied with his find, Peter placed the panel back in the wall and snuck back to his mother, undetected.
Later that day, as Peter's mom was on her third glass of cheap chardonnay, the young boy wandered off to his backyard to find Aaron waiting for him
"Hey Aaron!"
"Hey Peter. How's it going?"
"Not bad, I suppose." Peter shrugged. "You know how you showed me that video game where you went through portals?"
"Yeah, Portal 2," Aaron said dismissively, hoping he wasn't about to be asked to play that game again. He was not in the mood to head back into his house, and the thought of going back made him more aware of the bruise he was rubbing on his arm.
"Well, I found a secret room today, like those ones the rat guy lives in!"
"Really?"
"Yeah, it's behind the wall in the bakery at the grocery store on Stedman Street. You could totally make a secret base there, and you wouldn't have to worry about food like I said the rat guy did since it's in the store!"
"You would think about the food." Aaron grinned teasingly and grabbed at Peter's belly, to which the younger boy responded with a giggle and twitching away. The two continued their teasing poking for a few minutes before falling on the ground laughing. "Well, maybe you should move there so I don't have to worry about losing my stress ball!" Aaron joked.
"Thanks, Aaron. You make me feel better about being fat, ya know?"
"Yeah, yeah. Say, how did you even get into the bakery?"
"There was nobody there, I guess." Peter stared off at a cloud. "Weird."
"Oh yeah, I think my cousin works there and I heard him say everyone there's off training a few towns away. It'll probably be like that for a week."
"More cupcakes for me then! I stole one from the case."
"That's how it's done!" Aaron patted Peter on the back.
That night, Aaron lay awake in his bed staring at the low ceiling of his room. He shut his eyes, only to be kept awake by the booming of music and cop shows downstairs. "I can't sleep here..." Aaron thought to himself. "Damnit, I've got to get out of this place some day. Get a place of my own with no adults... Like..."
"A secret base..." He said out loud. His mind flashed to the bakery grocery store. For a week it'd be abandoned and easy to sneak into... Could it be done?
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
More by this author