The Long Walk

Crossing the floor of his bedroom, Michael paused and frowned, looking around. Definitely need to vacuum a little more frequently he noted sourly, espying a half-eaten cheese puff on the floor near the garbage can by his door.

The space under the door was fairly tight, though still possessed enough room to allow him to be able to squeeze under it. Getting down on his belly, he wriggled under the portal, pulling himself up to standing and brushing himself off in the hall outside his room.

Moving out near the middle of the corridor and navigating down the hall, he stopped, “Good thing we don’t own a cat,” he chuckled. “And here on the unforgiving wild savanna of the Serengeti, we find our intrepid explorer, bereft of compass and forced to rely on his wits in this most hostile of environments,” he narrated, using an English accent.

Amused with himself, he snickered, padding along. Coming to the threshold of the darkened bathroom, he paused in the doorway, looking in.  An alarming thought occurred to him. What do I do if I got to take a leak or drop a deuce? Floor? He shrugged and shook his head. Hopefully I can get this all sorted out before then. He frowned. How? How was he going to sort this out?

“The girl, Lucie, dammit, what were those numbers she said?” he said aloud, trying desperately to remember them. If it was her phone number, she might know or be able to get her withered raisin of a grandmother to undo the curse or whatever it was she had done. “Shit,” he muttered, prodding his memory. He should have been paying better attention. He was pretty sure, well maybe eighty percent sure he knew them. He could get Maddie to call on his behalf and find out what the antidote was. Made sense. Logic in an illogical situation.

Resuming his journey toward Madison’s room, he crossed the opening of the stairs and padded along. Her door was just up ahead on the left. He was startled when light poured out into the hallway as Madison’s bedroom door opened and a figure appeared, a backlit silhouette lingering at the doorway. It was Gennifer, dressed in a soft pink t-shirt and skin tight black stretchy pants. There were little white bootie socks, pink pompoms at the heels on her feet. She was positively immense, easily well over a hundred feet tall.

“Get another bag, they’re downstairs in the pantry,” he heard his sister Madison’s voice say. “In the kitchen. You know where Gen?”

He suddenly realized, he was standing near the center of the hall. Dimly lit and tiny, he could easily be trodden upon and she probably wouldn’t even know. Motivated by fear of being accidentally crushed, he immediately darted toward the table next to the wall.

“Okay, I’ll get them after I pee,” said Gennifer, “it’s getting pretty dark out here in the hall,” she added, looking on the wall for a light switch.

“By the bathroom, right hand side, the switch closest to my room, the one in the middle is for over the stairs,” Maddie replied.

“Got it,” answered Gennifer, turning and moving, each one of her strides consuming precious real estate between them.

Diving for cover, he rolled under the small table just as she passed, breath coming rapidly and in gulps. Moving over to the wall, he leaned his back against it and sat down, skin clammy with sweat. He laughed nervously to himself. That had been close.

From his vantage, he watched three lights come on as Gennifer swept a hand across all switches, illuminating the hall, stairs, and the far end of the hall near his room all in one motion. Under the table as he was, he was mostly concealed by shadow as the area was bathed in light.

“Is he home?” he heard Amber inquire, the blonde appearing in Madison’s doorway and stepping out into the hall and moving toward the stairs. She was wearing multi-colored pajama pants and an oversized button up shirt.

“Michael?” Madison asked from within her room.

“Yes, he’s pretty hot,” Amber said, peering down the stairs.

He was about to yell out, try and draw some attention to himself, a smile crossing his lips, Amber thinks I’m hot.

Madison appeared in the hall, sour expression on her face. “Hot like a burning sensation you feel when you have a bladder infection and need to pee,” she said sarcastically.

He paused, frowning.

“I’m just saying he’s cute. Now if he wasn’t such an asshole most of the time, I’d probably do him,” Amber chuckled.

The bathroom door opened and Gennifer appeared, “Do who?’ she asked, looking at the blonde.

“Michael,” answered Madison.

“Maybe,” Gennifer agreed, seeming to ponder for a minute, “That attitude of his would definitely need to be brought down a peg or two though,” she added.

A peg or two? What the fuck was that about? I’m very doable he thought to himself.

“It’s a good thing he’s got a pretty face, the rest of him seems juvenile,” Amber said, chuckling.

Michael shook his head. An asshole? Juvenile? He definitely did not like the way they were talking about him at all, excepting of course they thought he was cute.

Gennifer giggled, “Immature or not, I’d like to tie him down and ride that pretty face of his like a saddle,” she commented, gyrating her hips slightly.

Madison rolled her eyes and turned back toward the door of her room, “Raven, we’re going to go down to the games room,” she announced.

That explained the Triumph he thought, Raven Avila, he knew who she was, seen her around school a few times but didn’t realize she and Maddie were friends. Picturing the girl in his mind’s eye. Hair so dark it was blue black, pale alabaster skin and light green eyes. Very, very pretty.

“Coming,’ Raven responded, appearing in the hall as Amber descended the stairs. Dressed in dark stretchy pants and a tight white t-shirt with pale blue three quarter sleeves.

“We were just talking about Madison’s brother Michael,” Gennifer said, on Amber’s heels down the stairs.

“I haven’t met him, but I have heard all about him,” Raven replied as she and Madison followed the other two girls. He could hear them chortle.

Heard what? Still concealed under the table, Michael walked out and shook his head. He thought of himself as an easy going free spirit and didn’t understand why they had panned him the way they did.