Numbered

Chapter 2 - News Report

Zeke opened the door of his three story house and walked in. He often felt embarrassed about showing others where he lived, his house being a weird shade of purple and all. It was his mother's bright idea to have it that color. The only reason they did not protest was that his mother always had to have her way. If she did not, it was similar to denying a baby food. She would pout until she did get what she wanted.

"Thank Goodness you are okay," his mother practically screamed, rushing over to wrap him in a big hug.

"Of course I'm alright," he muttered, wriggling his way out of her grip. "Why would I not be?"

"I was listening to the news and they said a student had died at your school. I was praying it was not you."

"No, it was some girl. Her name escapes me at the moment, though."

"The news will be on later tonight with more details about it. I am so watching it." His mother made her way back into the kitchen, from where the aromatic smell of chicken floated. He took a deep inhale and his mouth started to water. He loved his mother's cooking; she even managed to make burnt stuff taste good. She had some sort of magic touch. Eight years of cooking school really did pay off; it was also through cooking that his mom met his dad. She had worked at a local restaurant and he came in looking for a good breakfast. It was not fancy, but it definitely was original. He walked up to his bedroom and tossed his bookbag into a corner. It was nice to be home.

***

"Let's hurry or we are going to miss it. C'mon, c'mon."

Zeke's mother was trying to rush them into the living room. On most nights, his family would be eating at the table, but because of the random death, she insisted they eat dinner in the living room. Of course, he and his dad did not mind because the seats were quite comfortable. They just had to be careful not to drop any food on the chair or his mother would let them have it. That was another quality of hers that you did not want to mess with: impulsive anger.

"Ooh, it's starting."

"Good evening, I'm Robert O'harris," the news anchorman began. "And this is CBS 6 news at five o' clock. Our breaking story today is the unexpected death of a girl at Cumberland High School. Her name was Marylin Allstead, a grade A student and a member of the the girl's soccer team. The interesting mystery about this death is that there seemed to be no apparent cause of it. Later today, a medical examiner had performed a full autopsy, with the consent of the girl's parents. She is with us now to explain her findings. Dr. Redorba, thank you for joining us tonight. What did you find from your exam?"

"Thank you for having me," the examiner replied. "Well, I looked at every part of her body that could have resulted in her death if it had gone untreated. I am sorry to say, but this girl was perfectly healthy when she passed. Her organs were all functioning properly. There was absolutely nothing that could have caused this poor girl's death."

"Are you sure?" Robert asked shocked.

"I'm completely sure. This is a case that is truly a phenomenon."

"Thank you for your hard work and have a good night."

"Thank you. You -"

His mother had turned off the television and was staring ahead, a look of shock in her eyes. His father touched her on the shoulder, seeing if he could get her to respond. Zeke was pretty sure he was thinking the same thing as his mother. How could a girl die from no apparent causes? It was unusual and extremely unnatural. He knew this would be the talk of the school tomorrow. Some things did not die easily, and this was going to be one of those things. His family ate the rest of their dinner in absolute silence, trying to get over what they had just heard.

Later that night, Zeke was lying in his bed, staring at the ceiling. No matter what he thought about, his mind kept on traveling to Marylin. He did not even know her, yet he was thinking about her. He rolled over and tried to go to sleep, but he kept on tossing and turning. Any chance of sleep had flown out the window with that news report. He did not want to go to sleep, in fear that he might not wake up. Weird, he thought, how the death of one girl could effect a person so radically. He got up and walked over to the window. He stared through it, wondering what the rest of the world was thinking about this event. Behind him, he heard his alarm clock going off. He let out a deep sigh. Another day of school and he did not get any sleep. Today was going to be absolutely miserable.