I never thought I’d ever go to the party. Sugar, the police officer who took me in, was still holding my hand, letting her shoulders ease. She clearly let her guard down. Her golden hair was tied up in a ponytail, which was, nowadays, very uncommon. Her rabbit ears had always twitched wherever I said her name. Although, it might have been because I barely did. That might’ve been because I couldn’t. The more I spoke, the more I felt it in me. I’m not the kind of kid to foreshadow or do any crazy mystery stuff, even if the author did intend it to be that way, but let me just put this out there. I’m Xhaxlian, and, before you let out one of those ‘cringe name’ groans, let me just say, I was named after my mother. Her name? Xhani. She had always claimed that she loved me. I believed her, it’s just… She’s evil. I’m kind of evil, but not… Y’know? Whatever, the point is… I am a Lurk. It sounds interesting and weird and cringe all at the same time. In reality, it’s just a name they gave to people with disease. Except my type of disease is turning into a creepy monster and eating humans. Not fun.
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Suddenly, I felt a tap on my shoulder, snapping me out of my ranting. It was Sugar. I looked up at her with my most human looking face, and she smiled.
“I thought I lost you for a moment, Vey.” She held my hand tighter, just by a little bit. She had proceeded to name me Veyra, thinking that I was a girl, but I am not. I found it a little frustrating, but I didn’t say anything. I couldn't. I just went with the flow and accepted it.
I shrugged with one shoulder in response and she sighed. “I’m afraid they don’t have any kid-friendly drinks, Vey. But if you want something, just let me know, okay? I’m going to go talk to the grownups about big kid stuff.” She smiled, dropping down to my height, hands on my shoulders.
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“Don’t be scared to call for me, okay? Or just tap me. I’m sure I won't be talking about anything too important.” She got back up and ruffled my hair. I acted all innocent and stuff until I saw her leave. I sighed. Why the heck was it impossible to talk to her? I decided to push that thought aside when I saw Lumi, my neighbor, and Remy, her friend, walking towards me. They were talking their heads off, and I was about to say hi when I saw cups in their hands. I was surprised.
“Yall’s folks let you drink wine??” I tried to sound casual, but clearly I sounded shocked, because Lumi laughed and Remy chuckled. Remy nodded and dropped down to a joking whisper.
“You know how my parents are. ‘The higher the better!’” Remy laughed at his own mocking voice of his parents and sighed. “Yours said no?” I nodded, feeling restricted. But also, what was so good about wine?
“Uncle Pika always tells me to do whatever I want as long as it doesn’t upset Dad.” I raised my eyebrow. Lumi usually didn’t feel too comfortable talking about her father. She probably didn’t notice my small gesture as she turned her body from staring at random people to Remy and Me. I shrugged and thought about it for a moment. Imagining having an uncle who let me do whatever I wanted… Whatever!
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I was beginning to file out all of the possibilities when Remy interrupted, eyes narrow.
“Hey, I’m not the only one left alone by parental guardians because of some ‘big kid’ talk, am I?” Remy eyes Mrs. Pop, his adoptive mother, talking to other adults and I laugh.
“Seriously? But to answer your question, I don’t have parents.” I begin, and Lumi chimes in.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Y91QEFbeP
“My dad is on a work trip right now. But now that you mention it, Uncle does seem… Social. A little too social.” We all stare at the adults in disbelief. What could they all be talking about? And just as I was thinking it, Lumi was saying it.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLVMyxRkUuw
“What the heckadoodle could they need to discuss? This is a party. Not a meeting!” Lumi throws her hands in the air as a joke as Remy playfully hits her shoulder.
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“A party is a type of meeting, Bozo.” Remy says it sarcastically, and I can’t help but chuckle. “But you do bring up an interesting point… Any insights on that? All I know is that Ms. Rainbow and Mr. Axel was talking about something called a… Lurk?” He shrugged, taking a sip out of his bright red plastic cup. Lumi put down her cup at a nearby table and dug into her hoodie pocket. She pulled out a notepad and pencil, the kinds you see detectives having in all of the spy movies.
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She nodded for Remy to keep telling the story when I noticed something. A lady I didn’t recognize walked by and gloved her hand before carefully picking up the cup that Lumi had just put down. She studied it, and then began to look around the room, seeing if anyone noticed her. When she seemed safe, she pulled out her cell phone, Pastel purple with puffy stickers coming out of it. It was glittery pink on the rim of the case, and attached to it was a little keychain. It had the letter L on it, in glittery purple. She used the phone to take a picture of the cup. Afterwards, she carefully put the cup back down and ungloved her hand. She shoved her phone into her coat pocket and quietly walked away. 9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA4OhkU4UMz
and then Add to home screen.