The Incredible Quest

Lauren did not wake up to the sound of an alarm going off. They were annoying and it took too much effort to set them up, so she didn't have one. Today, it was the notifications from her group chat of mass chaos that forced her eyes open.

She rolled over and grabbed her phone to see what all the fuss was about. Apparently, Wesley had started an argument about who the hottest anime character was and everyone was sending pictures of their pick. Lauren chimed in with her fifty-photo collection of Hisoka, but they ignored her, just like they always did when she brought him up.

His sheer attractiveness must have rendered them speechless.

School was out for the summer, which meant that other than her daily worship of Hisoka, she had nothing going on. She decided to start a David Lopez vine marathon. David Lopez was very hot and nobody could pull weeds like him.

She was about an hour into her marathon when she started to get hungry. Lauren was a very strategic and resourceful girl. She had put all of her underwear with her shirts and then used the underwear drawer to hide a huge stash of snacks. No one ever looked in there.

Summoning every ounce of her strength, Lauren stood up and walked across the room. It took more effort than she'd used in weeks. She opened her underwear drawer to find that, somehow, she had run out of Cheetos!

Tears swam in Lauren's eyes as she checked and double-checked to make sure they weren't hiding in a corner. Her worst fear had come true. She had no more Cheetos.

Lauren usually restocked her supply of food every month when the rest of her family went out to some weird social event. It was the only time she ever left her room. Heavy-hearted, Lauren paused her current vine, because you simply can't watch vines without Cheetos. She turned her phone off and flopped onto her bed. She would just have to wait like this until the next time everybody was gone.

She stared at the ceiling for like a whole five seconds and then she got bored. Something had to be done. It appeared she had no other options. She would embark on a daring quest downstairs to obtain some Cheetos.

She donned her battle armor- her phone in her pocket and an Oli London poster rolled up to hit people over the head with. Lauren's dwelling was on the top floor, along a hallway with the bedrooms of her other three siblings. All she had to do was get past them, down the stairs, through the living and dining rooms to the kitchen, and back again.

It should be pretty easy.

The teenaged girl squared her shoulders, opened the door, and stepped through. She cast one last, longing look over her shoulder and shut it behind her with a click. She crept down the hallway, darting from shadow to shadow. Her senses were on high alert, making her jump at the smallest of sounds.

She reached the end of the hallway without incident. Her heart pounded like a drum played by an overenthusiastic fifth-grade percussionist as she started down the stairs. One creaked underneath her. She sucked in a breath and froze. When nothing jumped out to attack her, she carried on.

The living room was empty. She was going to make it! "Hey, Lauren," her mom called from her chair at the dining table, "I haven't seen you in a while. I was just in Briana's room and it is a total disaster zone. I know you're much neater than her and I'd like you to help her pick it up."

No. No. No no no no. This could not be happening. "Okay," Lauren muttered and tried to shuffle past. If she could just grab the Cheetos and get out, her mom would forget about it in ten minutes.

"Lauren. Now."

This was why she never left her bedroom. Bad things always followed. She dragged herself around and back upstairs, fully aware of her mother's keen eyes on her, making sure that she didn't run away.