Vampire Kisses (gxg)

Chapter 12

The first thing Penelope did after she had a moment to absorb what had happened was to text Chris.

"We need to meet up tomorrow," she texted.

"Ur not dead!" He sent, along with two party emojis. "I'm up to ~debrief~"

She knew their schedules might not be compatible. Chris work up early and got a jog in, whilst Penelope was lucky to wake up at nine. So the best thing would be to meet for lunch. Or brunch.

"Harker's Burgers at 11?"

"Course!" He replied.

Penelope carried on with her night. When it came time to sleep, she barely could, despite taking a melatonin. When daybreak came, she decided she couldn't delude herself any longer into sleep, and began on schoolwork. She texted Chris and asked if they could meet earlier, and he of course agreed.

When the time came, she rushed downstairs. Her mom was eating breakfast. "You're up early," she noted.

"Yep," Penelope said. "Meeting with Chris."

She took her keys out of the key bowl and made her way to her car. She knew the way by heart. She and Chris had spent many a day meeting there and discussing Murders and Me. At the thought of the podcast, Penelope almost laughed. She was practically living out an episode from the podcast.

She then checked her phone. There was a new episode of Murders and Me, called "School of Terror". It was about a "treatment school for troubled students" in which the students were killed and buried without telling the parents back in the 60s.

She felt a chill go down her spine. It felt a bit too close to what she was facing right now. A school in which strange things were happening, but no one seemed aware of... Regardless, she put the episode on as she pulled out of the driveway.

She drove down the street. It was overcast, and for a second she debated inviting Victoria. Then, she remembered that Victoria couldn't eat food, at least traditional food. Inviting her would be taunting her. And she needed some private time to discuss things with Chris. So maybe later..

She pulled into the parking lot of Harker's Burgers. It used to be a gas station, the type which had a large WE SERVE PEPSI banner on the side. However, the gas station had long been out of service, though the structure of the pumps and the roof overhead survived, with chairs placed underneath it for outdoor seating.

They were known for serving the best burgers in town by far. Though they were greasy, it wasn't the oily type that fast food had, instead it was more meaty. They also served milkshakes and three types of fries (potato, sweet potato, and onion). However, they were most well known for their pickle bar.

Penelope could see Chris' car outside. She made her way in, making sure to double-honk her car. She entered the restaurant and Chris waved at her from a table. He hadn't gotten his food yet. She gave a slight wave back and then entered the ordering line.

She ordered her burger (Normal beef patty, pickles, cheese, bacon) and grabbed her ticket. Once her burger was finished, it would be called over the sound system which ran both inside and outside of the restaurant.

Chris called her over. "Tell me all about it!" He demanded.

Penelope jammed her thumb at the door. "Let's talk outside."

He followed her out, but they were passing the pickle bar so both of them grabbed pickles. They then sat outside in the seating area. It was deserted. Hey decided to sit down on the swinging benches, with Chris facing Penelope.

While Penelope dressed outlandishly when not in school, Chris dressed pretty average. He was wearing a green sweatshirt over a graphic tee, with tan shorts. He was wearing Birkenstocks, despite the onset of fall. Around his neck was the cross, hung right side up instead of Penelope's, which was upside down in the fashion of Saint Peter.