Five Nights at Freddy's: The Silver Eyes(5)

Charlie shook herself, forcing her mind back to the present. Looking again at Jessica’s polished appearance, she looked down at herself. Purple t-shirt, denim jacket, black jeans and combat boots. It had felt like a good choice this morning, but now she wished she had chosen something else. This is all you ever wear, she reminded herself. She found a parking space, locked the car behind her, even though people in Hurricane, Utah did not usually lock their cars, and went into the diner to meet her friends for the first time in ten years.

The warmth and noise and light of the restaurant hit her in a wave as she entered, and for a moment she was overwhelmed, but Jessica saw her pause in the doorway and shouted her name, and Charlie smiled, and went over.

“Hi,” she said awkwardly, flicking her eyes at each of them but not fully making eye contact. Jessica scooted over on the red vinyl bench and patted the seat beside her.

“Here, sit,” she said. “I was just telling John and Carlton about my glamorous life.” She rolled her eyes as she said it, managing to convey both self-deprecation, and the sense that her life was, truly, something exciting.

“Did you know Jessica lives in New York?” Carlton said. There was something careful about the way he spoke, like he was thinking about his words before he formed them. John was silent, but he smiled at Charlie anxiously.

Jessica rolled her eyes again, and with a flash of déjà vu Charlie suddenly recalled that this had been a habit even when they were children.

“Eight million people live in New York, Carlton, it’s not exactly an achievement,” Jessica said. Carlton shrugged.

“I’ve never been anywhere,” he said.

“I didn’t know you still lived in town,” Charlie said.

“Where else am I going to live?” Carlton said. “My family has been here since 1896,” he said, deepening his voice to mimic his father.

“Is that even true?” Charlie asked.

“I don’t know,” Carlton said in his own register. “Could be. Dad ran for mayor two years ago. I mean, he lost, but still, who runs for mayor?” He made a face. “I swear, the day I turn 18 I am out of here.”

“Where are you going to go?” John said, looking seriously at Carlton.

Carlton met his eyes, just as serious for a moment. Abruptly, he broke away and pointed out the window, closing one eye as if to get his aim true. John raised an eyebrow, then looked out the window, trying to follow the line Carlton was pointing to. Charlie looked too: Carlton wasn’t pointing at anything. John opened his mouth to say something, and Carlton interrupted:

“Or,” he said, and smoothly pointed in the opposite direction.

“Okay.” John scratched his head, looking slightly embarrassed. “Anywhere, right?” He added with a laugh.

“Where’s everyone else?” Charlie said, peering out the window and searching the parking lot for new arrivals.

“Tomorrow,” John said, and Jessica jumped in to clarify.

“They’re coming tomorrow morning. Marla’s bringing her little brother, can you believe it?”

“Jason?” Charlie smiled. She remembered Jason as a little bundle of blankets with a tiny red face peeking out.

“I mean, who wants a baby around?” Jessica adjusted her hat primly.

“I’m pretty sure he’s not a baby anymore,” Charlie said, stifling a laugh.

“Practically a baby,” Jessica said. “Anyway, I booked us a room at the motel down by the highway, it was all I could find. The boys are staying with Carlton.”

“Okay,” Charlie said. She was vaguely impressed by Jessica’s organization, but not happy about the plan. She was loath to share a room with Jessica, who now seemed like a stranger. Jessica had become the kind of girl who intimidated her: polished and immaculate, speaking as though she had everything in life figured out. For a moment Charlie considered going back to her old house for the night, but as soon as she thought it, the idea repelled her. That house, at night, was no longer the province of the living. Don’t be dramatic, she scolded herself, but now John was speaking. He had a way of commanding attention with his voice, probably because he spoke less often than everyone else. He spent most of his time listening, but not out of reticence. He was gathering information, speaking only when he had wisdom or sarcasm to dispense. Often it was both at once.

“Does anyone know what’s happening tomorrow?”

They were all silent for a moment, and the waitress took the opportunity to come over for their order. Charlie flipped quickly through the menu, her eyes not really focusing on the words. Charlie’s turn to order came much faster than she was expecting, and she froze.

“Um, eggs,” she said at last. The woman’s hard expression was still fixed on her, and she realized she had not finished. “Scrambled. Wheat toast,” she added, and the woman went away. Charlie looked back down at the menu. She hated this about herself. When she was caught off guard, she seemed to lose all ability to act, to process what was going on around her. People were incomprehensible, their demands alien. Ordering dinner shouldn’t be hard, she thought. The others had begun their conversation again, and she turned her attention to them, feeling like she had fallen behind again.

“What do we even say to his parents?” Jessica was saying.

“Carlton, do you ever see them?” Charlie asked.