Chapter 4
The sunny town of Santa Barbara seemed to grow darker as Jessie stepped out at lunch. It may have been the sun ducking behind a cloud, but Jessie could feel something brewing within her small, skinny body.
I wonder what Chris is doing, she wondered as she walked to Frank's, the local hangout for all the teenagers after school let out for lunch. Today, the place seemed empty. There were no voices yelling about how they were failing a class or talking about the latest Wes Craven movie they saw. Something about the place made her feel uneasy, something inside wanting an explanation as to what the hell was going on.
She sat down at the first stool on the left, waiting for Sandra, the waitress behind the counter, to take her order. Sandra looked up from her book.
"Ah, Ms. Jessie Colton. What'll it be today, sweetie?"
"Hmmm... I think the bacon cheeseburger sounds good today." Jessie licked her lips. "But anything is good when it's made at Frank's!"
"Damn right it is. If I wasn't so overweight I think I'd eat here myself. Hon, you're lucky you're so skinny and petite. I wish I was."
"Aww, Sandra. You aren't fat. Bigboned is all." Sandra was always complaining about how overweight she was, when in actuality, she was quite skinny herself.
"Sheesh, instead of spouting my mouth off, I should be getting you your lunch. Unlike me, you have to be gettin' somewhere." Sandra set down her book, took her pad of paper with Jessie's order, and proceeded into the kitchen.
Jessie got off the stool and went to the bathroom. She knocked on the door, like she was always told to. When no one answered, she opened the door and went inside. She looked at herself in the mirror. She never thought of herself as being pretty, but Chris always said that it was all in her head.
She left the bathroom after she was done, thinking that her food was ready. Outside the sky was getting darker and darker, and it looked as if the perfect storm was coming. She went back to the counter. By this time her food was usually done. Jessie waited another five minutes, and then decided to venture into the kitchen to see what the holdup was. Sandra was lying on the floor by the stove, sleeping, but she did not have a peaceful look on her face like in the movies.