CHAPTER VII

"Wow, calm down, calm down." Josh puts his arm around Aidan's shoulder. "Listen, why don’t we have some occasional fun like teens in general?" Josh's face stares forward, sweeping across the school grounds where each student is clustered in their respective groups.

The gothic group is the furthest away, in black clothes and piercings that adorned their faces. Further to the left, there is a group of geeks who might be discussing who is superior between Captain Kirk and Captain Picard. Taking the most striking position in the middle is the standard group (designation according to Aidan and Josh), containing popular students dressed in the latest trends, cellphones in hand, discussing the latest hangouts, or other latest things. Next to the popular group, in contrary to them, is the group of hipsters, who openly reject all kinds of contemporary things and now they look at the standard group with a condescending look. How the two groups manage to crowd side by side, no one knows.

Aidan removes Josh's hand from his shoulder. "Right now, I'm only curious about the creature we saw last night."

"Man, you seem very tense today." Josh pats Aidan's back. "Why don’t you just forget about the rest of today's lesson and ask Miss Wilde for permission not to work," he says, pointing at Aidan's arm.

"Why is it hard to—" protests Aidan.

"Whoops." Josh signals him a "don't do it" motion with his hand. "Today, we will have fun in the style of teenagers in general."

"What’s your plan?" Aidan asks lazily.

"Come on, I know a special place to eat," Josh says, giving secret vibe.

Lazily, Aidan follows his best friend, pedaling his bicycle along Maple St. then turns right into Oak St. They bikes out of town, past the Mountain Side Mall, the largest and only mall in their city. Considering Aidan's hand is still bandaged, they pedal their bikes casually. Aidan pedals his bicycle following Josh, along Oak St. then turns left. Now, they are on the intercity highway. Before long, a brown wood building with a large parking lot can be seen.

Josh turns into the parking lot and parks his bicycle in the area next to the entrance and so does Aidan. He looks at Josh in disbelief. "Really, Josh? Is this the place you were referring to? We, almost every day, eat here. What's so special about that? "

Josh elbows his friend. "The most delicious fried chicken on the entire Mountain Side, burgers with barbecue sauce that brighten your day, or savory fries that make you lick all your fingers," he says all that as he makes a mocking gesture by licking fingers.

"That’s too much," Aidan grumbles, but still he follows Josh into The Cook.

The Cook is a dining place located in suburb. Most of its visitors are travelers heading to other cities, long-distance drivers, and old people who like to gossip. Not many teenagers around Aidan and Josh's age are seen at that place as they prefer coffee shops or eating places in the mall, which has free wifi. Gordon Cook, the owner of The Cook, does not want to install wifi. He insists that people should communicate with each other face to face and not talk through cellphones or social media.

One of the reasons the two teens chose The Cook is because not many teenagers come to that place. They both don't really like the place where most teenagers hang out either. After the incident that happened two years ago, involving the expulsion of ghouls and several injuries, these two teenagers have since became Big G's favorite customers, everyone's call to Gordon Cook who, although his height is no taller Josh's, is three times Josh’s body size.

Aidan and Josh choose a seat behind, right next to the window. They are looking at the menu—even though all the menus have actually been memorized—when Big G approaches their table.

With a big smile, Big G pats Aidan's shoulder, making Aidan's hand shift from the table. "Wow, wow... Winchester Bros," he chuckles on his own joke. "What can I bring for my two favorite teenagers?"

Aidan grins at the words "my two favorite teenagers". He orders a large burger, fries, and coke. Meanwhile, Josh orders two pieces of fried chicken, potatoes, and coke. After receiving the order, Big G leaves and shouts the order to the waiter. Aidan hopes Big G has more to do than waiting and nosing in their conversation.

From across the table, Aidan does not stop staring at Josh, making the boy uncomfortable. He really wants to get information about the creature last night, but Josh sits in front of him as if nothing happened. Finally, he cannot take it anymore.

"Josh!" Aidan snaps. "What were you doing this morning?" he demands fiercely.

Josh turns around in surprise. "Sshhh... don't speak too loud, just talk normally, okay?" he grins.

Just then, a waiter delivers the order and, as Aidan is worried, Big G follows behind. With his big hands, Big G shifts

Josh to sit deeper and makes room for him.

"Boys," he opens conversation, leaning toward the center of the table. He lowers his voice in secret tone. "Have you heard about the news of the murder on the Mountain Upper Side?"

Aidan can feel the tension in Josh. He glances at his friend. From the change in Josh's expression, it is undeniable that what he was worried about, has happened.

"Not yet. How did it happen?" Aidan asks.