Birch Barker: Practiced Paranormal Investigator

Burning Plastic (Act 1)

"Oh, poor thing." Underneath the debris of another of the many decaying buildings was an old, toddler-sized car. A common but unfortunate sight, toys abandoned to decay over the passage of time. The blacks of the painted eyes still remain despite the damage. Sun-bleached reds and whites coated the punched and bent-in exterior. Pressing her palm on it heartbeats of memories slowly came back to her.

She may not fit now but she reminisced on the times she did. Back when she was shorter than she already was she would deliver imaginary pizzas to her parents and plushies. Crashing into the walls of their townhouse and trying to do wheelies till she flipped on her back. Dad would always pick her up, fly her around and pretend she was a ghost. Now that she remembered she realized how morbid that was.

After she grew too big they gave it to a family friend's kid, who hopefully enjoyed it as much as she did. It was begging to be brought home. Without a second thought, she began to pick up pieces of fallen brick and wood till she could drag out the little thing. At first, she attempted to wheel it away but the tires appeared to be stuck. She sighed, having to use her underwhelming upper body muscle. Birch carried the yellowing, squeaky, dust-smelling thing all the way from Old Fate back to Fatemore.

Once home the first thing she did was shower it till not even the slightest bit of mouse poop remained. Then with a hammer pushed out all the dents till they were only noticeable at a closer glance. While she struggled to fit the car through her bedroom door her bed made a familiar squeaking noise.

"And you judge me for eating trash." Shaliver mocked as he watched her pull at the car.

"Yeah but eating trash is far different than rebuilding it." She made another pull at it, stuck between the white frame of her door. "Found it in Old Fate, decided it would make a fun DIY project. And when I'm done, I'll send it out to a deserving family."

"Like a Dumpster Diving Santa Claus."

Birch glared at him, "We don't talk about Santa in this house." She did a big final pull before falling back into her room, sliding all the way to the bed. "And don't forget you did that too, so you're only insulting yourself."

"Either way shouldn't you be out there figuring out if Bigfoot is real or something." Shaliver stepped down from the bed and used his infini-tail to lift up the plastic car. "Or maybe you're too busy looking for that snake with buff arms."

"I told you that was a hoax and that snake was offended that they thought he skipped leg day," Her cheeks puffed. Birch didn't want to disturb that snake just to prove a point to her disbelieving roommate. She, too exhausted from both his teasing and pulling the car through the door, collapsed on the bed for a momentary break. Shaliver jumps up to the car and then again, landing square on her back. To his disappointment, she didn't flinch at the sudden weight. Instead of leaving he circles around her back before laying down on it for a quick nap.

Rather than fight it she chose to remain, earning it after trekking under a third of the city with the plastic thing. Her sleep was dreamless, aside from the bits where she swore hearing high-pitched laughter. But from the depth of the dreamless realm, she could hear the locks of the front door click. Instead of being the kind hearted girl she is, and not waking the still-sleeping cat, she did a different approach. Arching her back as if doing a yoga stretch, till her back felt like a croissant, then sprung arches forward. Shaliver's body hits the floor as Birch runs out of the room to meet them downstairs.

She hugged her Dad just as he closed the door behind him, "How was the reunion?"

He was ear to ear smiles, "The band was just as jovial as I remember. They also loved your baby photos, even if you were drooling on my guitars." Her dad laughed as he continued on about his get-together with his old Punk band. Birch stuck her tongue out as Shaliver who was glowering just around the corner.