Joe POV

That night, I came home; I went into the kitchen and sniffed the air noticed that the room had been repainted after all, and just as Mom promised, she left me two things: a spot for me to paint and a note saying: "Hey, Joe. Sandwiches in the oven. Dad's left a pepperoni pizza on the shelf. Uncle Albert's gone to play bridge with that girlfriend of his." "Thanks, Mom." I muttered to myself, my uncle told me about his girlfriend many times, but I never actually met her. She was said to be simple-minded, as for Dad, he probably bought the pizza from a nearby pizzeria, but my Mom was certainly the best cook of the town.

A shout from the Dainard residence distracted me and I decided to go over. I could see the silhouettes of Alice and her father in an angry conversation. I was just about to turn away when Alice banged through to the outside of the door and into her front yard, trying to ignore the chaos in her own house. She was angry, yet held it back. She turned and saw me standing there in her own front yard, caught staring at her. "Were you listening to that?" she asked. "I think so." I replied. At that moment, Mr. Dainard shouted from his bedroom window: "You're nothing but an ugly, ungrateful little whore! Just like your mother!" He turned to notice me and said in a calmer voice, "Oh. Say hello to your mom for me." And shut the window, turning away in shame. "I guess you can always hear us." Alice said downtrodden. "Everybody shouts." I trailed off uncertainly. "Your mom, dad and uncle don't." Alice replied. "My dad can scream pretty good." And after a short silence, "Alice, about today at school with Martin and Grady…" "They really freaked us out." cut in Alice. "You think Grady's okay." Yeah, he's just happy that a nerd didn't give him a black eye for graduation. Speaking of which, where do you want to go to after graduation." Alice asked, it seemed a little early for that subject to me. "Well…I could move into Cleveland. Or maybe I'll get my dad's job as a deputy or at the steel mill like Mom and then I could work my way through college. How about you then?" "I don't know, I could head into the city too. Get away from dad's alcoholic behaviors and rants…" "What?" I asked "Come on, try me." "I could act on stage, work at a bar…" "I think in films is perfect." "Really?" "Yeah, I was nearly in tears when I saw you dance in a ballet show." "Joe, that was four years ago." Alice responded. "Sometimes," I said "People can see what's coming to them." "What's coming for you then?" asked Alice. Taking a moment to think it over, I said "Whatever it is, it's something I never felt before."

As we walked we saw Donny, the video store manager, pull up his car in front of Charles' house. "Hey, Jen. Wanna ride in my new birthday present?" Alice turned back to face me. "I think I'd better go." "Bye." I replied and she left. Charles' older sister, Jen soon came running out the door "Oh my god, it's gorgeous!" she said as she ran toward the car, I watched as she and Donny sped away. At that moment, Charles appeared, as if out of nowhere. I said to him "Cool car." "Better yet," said Charles in excitement "I have a minty idea!"

He raised his arm and made a muscle. "I'm going to make, a zombie movie!"