The Serial Tickler, Chapter 10
Sorry for the late follow up on this one, I’ve had quite the February. Please enjoy it, nonetheless.
Back on campus, Sky waited on the side of the road near the edge of the school, nervously tapping her foot. She huffed, adjusting her jacket and beanie, and frantically messing with the bits of blonde hair that stuck out of her hat. She checked the time on her phone as it read 11:20 am. She began having second thoughts, wondering if this was even a good idea, and then heard approaching footsteps.
Sky turned to see Jason, wearing his leather jacket and his platinum blonde hair shining in the sun. Sky blushed a little bit, gently punching herself in the ribs as she tried to ignore her conflicted feeling before giving him a sincere smile.
Jason’s face lit up as he waved back, smiling brightly, “Hey Sky. You hungry?”
Sky gripped her stomach, “Starving.”
The two friends walked side by side as they headed towards the eatery at the end of the block. One of those inconspicuous locations that’s attached to every college campus in America. Nothing too fancy, but with food that’s cheap, filling, and varied. They entered the establishment and the smell of pancakes and hash browns filled their nostrils. Sky’s stomach almost growled in response with how hungry she was and Jason was the same, his stomach letting out a loud gurgle.
“Heh, hungry?” Sky asked, sarcastically.
“Starved,” Jason said, sincerely.
They grabbed a table near the corner of the restaurant, right by the window, passing by a few of their classmates as well. A few students studying over a good meal, Johnny and Rebecca were in the back of the restaurant making out in their own booth, and another student working on a paper. Sky noticed her typing away like she had a deadline, as she sat down with Jason.
“She’s working hard…” Sky muttered to herself.
Sky shook her head, “Nobody. It’s fine.”
Jason shrugged as they looked at the menus, with one of the workers walking up with a pad of paper and a pen, “Morning, y’all. What can we get for ya?”
Sky pointed to a steak and eggs dish on the menu, “I’ll have the steak and eggs platter with a Coke, please.”
“You want anything with that? Onions, mushrooms, hot sauce?” The worker asked.
“Yes please, and scrambled eggs, too.” Sky added, politely.
The worker nodded, before turning to Jason, “And you, big guy?”
“Pancakes and hashbrowns please.” Jason ordered. “Sweet tea, please.”
The worker nodded, giving them both a thumbs up before leaving the table. Sky set her menu down and sighed. Jason put down his menu, smiling at her, “What’s up?”
“Just the schedule and shit…I’ve got a class in a few hours and most of the rest of my stuff is at night. I had plans to sleep tonight, you know…” Sky said, venting but not really.
Jason giggled, “That is important…”
Sky couldn’t help but chuckle. “Yeah…”
“So, why did you invite me out?” Jason asked, his own cheeks a light shade of pink.
“W-What do you mean?” Sky asked, “It’s just breakfast…”
“Oh…” Jason said, “Because I thought that maybe…”
Sky winced as she turned around, seeing the girl in the booth behind her raising her arms in success. The girl smiled wide, sitting in a blue shirt with a dark green vest over top of it, tan cargo pants and bright purple hair with blue highlights. She looked up and made eye contact with Sky. Her eyes widened as Sky quickly turned back, trying to ignore her.
“Sky!!” The girl shouted, grabbing her bag and laptop and quickly scurried over to their table, forcing herself into the seat next to Jason. “Sky, I’ve had a breakthrough!”
“Hey! What’s going…” Jason began to ask, before being cut off again.
“Just a sec, handsome. Sky! Have you noticed the weird things going on over the past few days??” The girl asked again.
“What? No! Zuri, you’re being rude.” Sky said, blushing in embarrassment.
“Well, get this: the schedule changes are because the staff have been disappearing one by one, and certain students have been unaccounted for, too! I smell a conspiracy, and it’s smellier than…well, than the toilets in the faculty lounge…” Zuri explained, in excited and unnecessary details.
“Zuri, you know this is why the school newspaper kicked you out, right?” Sky asked, growing more annoyed, while Jason sat between them confused.
“Oh, please! You mistake a hazing prank for an underground drug ring, and suddenly you’re seen as an unprofessional goofball…” Zuri responded, defensively.
“I’m sorry, who are you, and what’s going on??” Jason asked, finally having had enough of the vague explanations.
Sky sighed, visibly upset and embarrassed, “Jay, this is…”
“Zuri Applegate!” Zuri said, introducing herself, “I’m the (former) head of the school newspaper, a future Pulitzer winner, and Sky’s ex girlfriend!”
“Goddamn it, Zuri!” Sky shouted, “You don’t have to mention that all the damn time!!”
Zuri pouted, “But you were my best relationship…”
“It was unhealthy…” Sky said, “We never spent enough time together and you were always off handling your duties on the paper…”
“Yeah, but that wonderful night we spent together…” Zuri said, making Jason blush at the thought.
“We cuddled and made out a little bit…” Sky stated.
“Yeah, but you still let me taste your pussy…” Zuri retorted, proudly.
At that moment, the worker walked over with the drinks and the food, quickly placing them down, completely unfazed by the conversation, “Enjoy your meals…”
“Ooooh, pancakes!” Zuri said, as she grabbed a fork and knife. Jason quickly, and rightfully, pulled his plate away before Zuri took a bite.
Sky sighed, salting her eggs and steak bits, “We broke up, because it was a fling, and that wasn’t fair to you…”
“So, who’s the hot hunk of man meat over here?” Zuri asked, forcing Jason to neatly choke on his drink.
Sky handed him a napkin, blushing, “He’s my friend…”
“You mean, the same way I was your ‘friend’?” Zuri asked with a perverse grin on her face.
“Zuri!” Sky groaned, blushing, but it made Jason smile hopefully. “What do you want?”
Siri’s face sank back into work mode, “Things have been weird lately, and I’ve been looking into it.”
“Weird how?” Jason asked, shoving a whole pancake into his mouth.
“Anna Henderson called out, via email, and hasn’t been seen since her last class.” Zuri started, rummaging through her notes. “Then, I heard from some of the guys around campus that Sasha hasn’t been seen since her last scheduled blowjob behind the bleachers. And she had paying customers lined up in advance!”
“So? That slut probably took a break to rest her jaw…” Sky said, shoving steak into her mouth.
“Without rescheduling?! Not likely! She may be a slut, but she’s a very professional slut.” Zuri said, smirking like a perv in the process.
“Big deal. Two people aren’t accounted for. They’re probably busy with personal stuff…” Jason said, swallowing a fork full of hashbrowns.
“Wake up and smell the scoop, handsome!” Zuri said, “One person missing is one thing, but two people missing is suspicious. And the schedule changes are to cover up something…”
“What kind of something?” Sky asked, unimpressed.
“Something…suspicious…” Zuri said, trying to sound mysterious.
Sky rolled her eyes, “Okay, Zuri. You’ve clearly been watching too many cop shows, and been reading too much slash fiction. So, why don’t you go back to your dorm, take a nap, and get ready for our class this afternoon, okay?”
Zuri sighed, “Fine…but you’ll see. I’m onto something…” Zuri slid her book back into her backpack and stood up while Jason finished his pancakes. She turned back and waved at the two of them, “Sorry for interrupting your date. Byyyye!”
Zuri skipped out of the restaurant while Sky sighed, finishing off her eggs, “Sorry about that…”
“She seems…nice?” Jason asked, unsure of Sky’s own feelings on the matter.
“I mean, she’s harmless, but she gets way too invested about certain things…” Sky explained.
The two of them sat there in awkward silence before Jason spoke up again, “So…is this a date?”
Sky blushed, messing with her last bits of food, “I…don’t know. I mean…I kinda want to try again…”
“You do?” Jason asked, ecstatic.
Sky chuckled, “Yeah. You seem like you have a better handle on yourself, and…I don’t know…” Sky blushed, “I missed you…”
Jason blushed back, “I missed you, too…”
They smiled at one another, as the worker walked back over to their table, “Can I get anything else for you guys?”
Sky glanced back at the menu for a moment before answering, “Some dessert? To go…”
Sky locked eyes with Jason, as they smiled at one another again, the worker nodding before walking off to finish their order.
Meanwhile, Zuri skipped down the sidewalk, humming to herself as she made her way back to the dorms. She quickly halted herself when she spotted the dean, James Clark, speaking with another teacher, David Stewart. She quickly hid behind some bushes near the side of the building and moved in close enough to listen, pulling out her phone.
“What do you mean she’s not answering??” James asked, impatiently.
David sighed, “Like I said, she was supposed to be in her office two hours ago, and I can’t get a hold of her.”
James panted, wiping his brow, “Where could she be? Why now? What about the class?”
“Looks like it’ll have to be cancelled.” David said.
“Wait, you run it! You teach it!” James said happily, thinking he’s solved the problem.
“Uh, no.” David retorted, “I’ve already got thrice the amount of paperwork to finish because of the two classes you had me cover yesterday. And unless you’re planning to pay me overtime for this, it ain’t gonna happen.”
James groaned, “Fine…we’ll cancel the class…”
“I should be surprised by your decision to cancel a class rather than pay your teachers additional money, but I’m not…” David retorted, rubbing his eyes.
“I’m not made of money, David!” James retorted, scratching his head nervously, “And if my teachers keep dropping like flies, the reputation of the school is done for!”
“Relax. We still have a decent sized staff. The classes are just going to take a hit until we get things sorted out…” David said, trying to be the voice of reason.
Zuri shivered with excitement as she caught the conversation on camera. She smiled confidently, knowing that she was on the right track, and that something was happening. She scurried off, stealthily, back to her dorm to continue working on the theory of the mystery of this campus’s problem.
