Premature Metamorphosis

Chapter 7

Evelyn expected to find some enjoyment in the peace and quiet of an empty house but she only really felt empty. Sure enough, she missed the constant presence of her son clinging to her shirt or the weight on her knee as he leaned back and played with her hair while she worked. In all honesty, she was actually pretty glad when it finally came time to pick him up.

She watched the school gate through the car window and waited to see Hunter emerge from the school and begin walking down the little narrow path beside the school, side by side with Luz, the pair of them chatting up a storm about something, probably snakes, Evelyn guessed, based on how Luz was spinning around in circles as she walked, waving her arms around like they had minds of their own and hissing at Hunter who giggled at her antics.

Evelyn's heart just about melted upon seeing him with such a genuine smile on his face and that smile got even wider once he looked up and spotted her car, waving at her. Luz joined in the waving just as enthusiastically, nearly tripping over herself with dizziness which made Evelyn laugh as she waved back.

But before he noticed his mother waving back, Hunter's attention was caught by something else over to his right and he appeared to be looking for something off in the distance.

And he apparently found it because he froze suddenly like a deer caught in the headlights, maybe even in a literal sense as he seemed to be watching a car that conveniently disappeared around the corner before Evelyn had the chance to get a proper look at it. Whatever it had been though, it had certainly spooked Hunter, that much was clear.

Luz paused too, noticing her friend's sudden change in demeanour. She gave him a quick tap on the shoulder and when that yielded no reaction, she waved her hand in front of his face, even poking his cheek.

It was only when Evelyn rolled down the window of her car and called out to him that he seemed to be broken from his trance, quickly spinning around to refocus on her, forcing a fake smile.

He continued down the path, running up to the car and clambering in rather quickly, leaving poor Luz to chase after him.

"You need a lift, hunny?" Evelyn asked the girl through the open car window.

"No, I'm good Mrs-Hunter's-Mom! My mom's here to pick me up today, she's just down the street. She says she going to take me to the clinic so she can show me this husky they brought in earlier! She says it's super fluffy, like a wolf! I'm gonna take tons of photos to show Hunter!" She panted, still trying to catch her breath.

"Okay then," Evelyn chuckled at her enthusiasm, "You have fun and tell your mom to come over sometime for coffee. Hunter's desperate to show you all his new books!"

"Yay! I'll ask her. Bye-bye, Mrs-Hunter's-Mom!" Luz beamed, running off again before Evelyn had the chance to correct her.

"Can we go home now, Mommy?" Hunter's voice came high and a little frantic from the backseat, a stark contrast to Luz's cheerful tone.

"Yep, that's exactly where we're going." She smiled back at him through the rearview mirror.

"Okay..." He replied, relief flooding his tone, even if his leg began bouncing up and down, almost impatiently.

She turned the car on and was just about to start driving when she remembered something. "Oh, that's right! Somebody's here to see you! He's been waiting very patiently all day."

She did not like the way he froze up yet again, just like he'd done a few minutes ago so she was quick to grab Flapjack from the front seat and toss him at Hunter in the back seat, not wanting to see that fearful look on his face for a moment longer.