Under Her Skin

Chapter 3

Police Officer: Why was Sunny so on-edge?

Me: Huh?

Police Officer: What did she see at the park? Was it the bears?

Me: Partly.

***

Lyssa was putting forks and knives in the drawers of the Scandinavian style kitchen with white walls and wood floors. She had been doing the tedious job of unpacking, keeping Sunny in all week to help her open boxes and organize.

"Sunny?" She called up upstairs. "Hurry up, don't clog up the toilet."

"Just wait!" Sunny called back.

In the bathroom, it took Sunny a hot minute to realize that last night wasn't painless slaughter but just the fact that she had gotten her first ever period. She crouched on the toilet, placed her face in her palms. PMS? More like Potential Murder Suspect.

Now what?

She stayed in there.

Ten minutes.

Twenty. Still, she was nowhere near figuring it out. She needed help. She thought about jolting her pants back up and going to get Lyssa, but then she sneezed and felt like a tube of ketchup. Menstrual cycles were not funny. Period.

"Sunny, you've been in there for far too long!" The door swung open and Sunny headed down the stairs.

"Okay. okay. I'm done."

"Is everything okay?" Sunny knew that the family was shy when it came to puberty, so she replied safely, "Yeah, just a bit tired."

"Do you need anything?" The TV had been playing throughout the day and that was enough to keep Lyssa entertained. But for Sunny, it was fun at first but got old real fast. Sunny wanted to go out and explore. The woods, with their swaying branches and beautiful autumn leaves, looked more than inviting. She wanted to play with the nature that surrounded her like neighbors. The family was gathered in the living room just as the sun was setting, and Sunny couldn't resist any longer.

"Could I go out for a bit? I need some fresh air." Lyssa frowned, looked around the living room.

"Two more boxes." Sunny's face lit up. "And be back by dinner, new episode of Dancing with the Stars at six." Sunny smiled. Then suddenly, the TV paused. Hiram turned around.

"Where are you going?" His voice was heavy as a stone.

"I don't know, just for a walk or something. I, er... saw a park on the way here."

"Just the park?"

"Just the park." He scanned her up and down, then sighed.

"I don't know how I feel about this."

"Come on Hiram, it's just the park," Lyssa added.

"No, it's not just the park. Have you read the news?"

"What?"

"Bears."

"Bears?"

"Yeah. There's a bear problem here. The Alberta Fish and Wildfire Officers ware called 24 times in just the past few years."

"What do you mean?"

"Look just listen to this." Hiram spun around and un-paused the TV.

A local brunette reporter said in a sturdy voice, "Good evening, and thanks for joining us. What happened to an eighteen-year-old high school student in the oil sands town of Fort McMurray is still a shock five years later. She was killed by a black bear in late August on one of her walks. It's a cruel twist of irony in the heart of Alberta's Oil Sands, an industry often described as an assault on nature, nature has bitten back with deadly forces. Bear sightings are a routine, but attacks are rare. During this bear season, please be cautious." Hiram clicked the remote.