Chapter Two

A Chapter by Anene

Alex after waking up from a party he barely remembers is faced with bad news.

Chapter Two
The first thing Alex saw when he came down the stairs were two of his roommates, Dennis and Brandon splayed on the brown polyester couch, dead to the world with his third roommate, Steve eating his breakfast of toast and eggs on their plastic dining table. His eyes were also bloodshot, and tired making him look more gaunt than usual. The second thing he noticed was that Michelle was no where in sight. The kitchen was empty, lacking the smell of marinara sauce and Penne pasta, the choice of food she always made for him because it was his favorite.
“Hey” Steve called to him, with a mouthful of eggs.

“Yeah hey,” Alex replied slowly entering the open kitchen. “Where is Michelle?”

“Why? Isn’t she in her room?” Steve asked.

“Noooo” Alex replied his forehead forming a crease.

“Hmm, that’s funny…I heard her leave earlier today. I didn’t hear her come back though…so I assumed she probably did sometime when I was in the shower and went upstairs to you know… hover over you like she always does” Steve said in between bites of his toast.

“She left this morning? To where?” Alex questioned as he made his way to the fridge.

“Uh, she didn’t say dude. I was half asleep anyways” Steve said finally putting down his food and looking around him.

“Hmm” Alex mumbled. “That’s odd.” His chest tightened at the sudden unease that crept into him as he tried to remain calm and deduce possible scenarios. She went out to visit a friend. Michelle was quiet as a mouse so she probably came back and left again. He whipped out his cell phone to dial her but Steve beat him to it as he heard the faint ringing. Steve let it ring till it went into voice mail. He hung up without leaving one giving Alex a shrug that says oh well who know.. Alex was already typing on his phone. He watched the message reading “call me ASAP” get sent and expected any minute to get a reply. They had agreed that if she ever went out by herself, she was to let one of them know where she was and keep in touch.

“Dude, she probably just went to see a movie and forgot to call,” Steve declared, flashing him a smile. “She’ll call us back in an hour and apologize and maybe even cook us lunch.”

“How long ago did she leave?” Alex asked.

“Um, about like eighth-ish” Steve said his voice faltering with the revelation as his eyes darted to the digital clock on the small microwave that read twenty past two.

Alex laid his palm on his temple in an attempt to hold back the pounding pain he was feeling. It was no use. He wasn’t prepared to write off other explainable scenarios yet but the behavior was so unlike Michelle that it gave him pause.

“Hey dude, check this out,” Steve uttered, standing over the corpse-like forms of Dennis and Brandon.

Alex went over and gawked. Both of the sleeping faces were wearing a painted eye-patch, blood red lipstick, glitters, blush and eye-liner. All of which were smeared in different patterns on their faces.

“You like? I looked like Ronald McDonald when I woke up today. Michelle sure knows when to strike,” Steve said, smiling.

“That she does,” Alex said smiling. “This must be her best work yet…I can’t believe they’re still out cold at this time. Don’t they have work at three?”

“Dude, we were up late, hours after you knocked out. The party was still going strong,” his roommate said “…and some one brought more beers,” Steve said his eyes taking on a faraway quality, giving the impression that he was remembering something wonderful. The night obviously had and always will have different meanings for both of them.

“I’ll be right back,” Alex said in pursuit of Tylenol. The last thing he needed right now was a headache.

He bounded back upstairs and after confirming its absence in the bathroom, he fled into his room. He rifled through the drawers in his desk, pushing aside pens, batteries, phone charger and a half eaten granola bar among other things but still minus a Tylenol. He aimed for the bedside table, picking up his comforter from the ground and dumping it on his queen sized mattress. As he bent down to open the drawer he noticed the pink stick it note tacked onto the knob with Michelle’s chicken scratch. He peeled it off and read the small note: went to Ralphs to pick up Aspirin and other stuff, be right back ASAP. A*****e.

Yep, definitely pissed, but his blood ran cold as the implications of the note hit him. Michelle had run to the store hours ago and hasn’t come back or called. He dialed her again while sprinting out of his room and down the stairs. The call went straight into voicemail and the agitation he had been feeling blossomed into panic. He felt weak and dizzy from the thought in his head and the lack of food in his stomach.

“Hey men, something may have happened to Michelle,” he declared breathing hard from the panic that threatened to overpower him as he nudged Dennis and Brandon awake. “Her phone is turned off now and I found a note she left for me saying she’d be back ASAP.”

“what?” Dennis drawled, droopy eyed as he struggled to come alive. “What’s going on?”

“Yeah what’s going on? And do I have the mother of all hangovers or what?” Brandon added looking even more dead and diseased than his sleeping companion; as he stretched his limbs.

“Michelle is missing.” Steve volunteered his tone full of disbelief at the idea.

“What?” both Dennis and Brandon said in unison sounding appropriately shocked at the idea never minding they looked ridiculous.

“F**k!” Alex muttered, his hand cupping his temple again as fear enveloped him.
“I’ll go call the police and give out her description in case they see her,” Steve said reaching for his cell phone on the dining table.

Alex grabbed onto his wrist before it could get there, his eyes wide “You know we can’t do that.”

“Oh yeah…right…I forgot…the whole Nigerian orphan minor s**t. ” Steve said turning back to his roommates. “Then what do we do?” he asked staring straight at Alex.

“I don’t know” Alex replied through his palms that were currently sliding down his face.

“We have to do something,” Steve said with conviction; his huge arms across his chest.

Alex was quite for a moment as his roommates all stared at him; he tipped his head to the side, conflicting emotions playing over his face.

“I have to call my dad,” he finally muttered.

“What?” all three of his roommates asked all at the same time stretching forward to hear him because unlike Michelle, he had told them partially about his family seeing as the house they were currently inhabiting was owned by a friend of his mothers who rented it to them at fourth the normal fees.

Alex put down his hands and looked at the ground, “I have to call my dad,” he repeated “he can help. You guys just stay here and wait in case she comes back. I’ll go to my dad. He knows people who can help without involving the police,” he finished saying.

“Oh yeah, sure” Steve said looking at the other two who were nodding.

“S**t! I can’t believe I know someone who is missing” Dennis said genuine surprise in his small voice.

“And I’ll go drive past the stores and movie theaters,” Brandon declared, putting on the t-shirt that had been on the Foosball table.

Alex shook his head and headed for his room where he grabbed his car keys, and was out the front door as his roommate bent down to pick up the remnant of yesterday’s party he couldn’t even remember.

prev chapter