Andy, My Little Bloodsucker

Chapter Seven

In our small city, there wasn't much to do. Not many places to go. There was a movie theatre, a shopping centre, a few small shops, restaurants and cafes. Not exactly the grandest of places. Walking down the streets side-by-side, Mikey and I had idle, meaningless conversation to fill the gap. Honestly, it was a rare occasion for us to hang out one-on-one. There was almost always at least one other person with us, normally Cam.

When I glanced up at Mikey, often his eyes were at his feet, focusing intently, it seemed. As if he thought about every single step he took. "So where are we off to?" I asked him, causing him to jerk his head upwards to look at me.

"Hm? Oh right... well, I thought maybe you'd like to go and get a couple milkshakes? I know a place that makes them really good," he told me excitedly.

"Oh yeah? I'll be the judge of that," I said confidently.

"That's the idea," he said with a wink.

He led the two of us to a small, old fashioned diner with checkered floors and a very gruff woman holding a pot of coffee at the counter. "What can I do ya for?" she asked us unceremoniously. Mikey looked to me before gesturing to the menu plastered on the wall behind her. I spent only a few moments before voicing the decision I had already made the second Mikey had spouted the idea.

"A chocolate milkshake, please."

"Make that two," Mikey added. The woman nodded and set the coffee pot on the counter before heading back into the kitchen to give the order. She was just as loud as you'd expect from a woman such as herself. I stifled my subtle laughter with my hand while Mikey simply looked at me with a stupid grin on his face.

We chose a table and slid into the booths on the smooth vinyl, shrugging our backpacks off onto the floor beside us as we did so. Resting on my elbows, I glanced around the room, admiring the various cheap paintings and photos that hung on the walls behind their wooden frames.

"You visit this place often?" I asked Mikey absentmindedly.

"Somewhat." He shrugged. "I used to come here all the time as a kid with my parents. The place is just as good now as it was back then," he explained. I nodded in understanding.

For a few moments, he simply stared at his hands, his fingers interwoven. I glanced up at the small television positioned high on the wall behind the counter. The waitress had her eyes glued to the screen. It showed five men dressed in strange clothing stepping out of a truck. At the bottom of the screen was a banner moving to the right. The only word I was able to read was "MISSING". I didn't pay it much more attention than that before turning back to Mikey who had also been watching the newscast.

"That's strange..." Mikey said bemusedly.

"What is it?" I asked in curiosity. His attention snapped back to me in an instant.

"Oh, nothing too important," he told me dismissively.

The waitress then appeared with a tray in her hand holding our milkshakes, stopping me from questioning further. "Here you are, kids." She set them down in front of us before disappearing back behind her counter.

I touched my lips to the straw and Mikey watched me expectantly, anticipation clear on his face. As soon as the drink made its way to my tongue, my eyes almost burst from my head. Mikey wasn't lying, this was damn good. Best shake I'd ever had. My slow sipping instantly became hastened, causing Mikey to chuckle in his seat. "Good, right?" I nodded eagerly, abandoning the straw and taking the long silver spoon that barely made its way past the rim of the tall glass. I scooped cream into my mouth piggishly and Mikey could hardly contain his laughter as he took to his shake in a much more polite manner.