Into The Vale of Shadows // Max Mayfield

II; xvi. nurse allie

chapter sixteen
nurse allie

     THE PARTY HUDDLED in the center of the mall, Nancy stood before them, counting each and everyone, to make sure no one would be left behind once they evacuated the mall. Nancy kept counting, over and over, but it still felt like someone wasn't there, so she recalled the children she was with one by one in her head, and there she had the answer.

     "Where's Raven and Sid?" Her hand was on her hips.

     "Weren't they just standing here?" The party glanced at each other, listening for any noise the two might make, only to hear nothing. They bursted up and started to seek around for the unseen duo.

     Meanwhile, Raven sat on a booth inside Scoops, head resting to her forearms that lied before the table, droopy as though she was near asleep. While Sid was neck deep into the store, in search for a scooper to use with the ice creams. He looked in the back, emptied their cupboards, only to find the scooper by the ice creams.

     Sid shook his head with a smile, he was quick to grab a pair of ice cream cups, snatching the scooper clumsily that it almost fell off his grasp. Sid scooped his desired flavor, it overflew from the cup, having him clumsily lick the mess from the outside of his cup, to keep it from falling on the counter and make further mess than he already has in his hands. After he cleaned up the dessert, he placed it on the counter, wiped his hands clean, then he scooped one that he knew Raven would love.

     Raven startled awake when Sid dropped her cup of ice cream on the table, rising her head from her forearms to look at her surroundings. "I brought you your favorite," said Sid, pushing the cup of chocolate ice cream closer to her and handing her a wooden spoon.

     "Couldn't you have given me a better spoon? This one makes ice cream taste like wood." She took a spoonful into her mouth, moving her jaw around before she swallowed it, the kind of motion that looked like she was chewing.

     "Why are you chewing ice cream?"

     "I like chewing my ice cream." Raven took another bite then she chewed it loudly on front of Sid.

     "We don't chew ice cream, Raven!"

     "Why won't you try it out?" Sid furrowed his brows, he then did what Raven said. He took a chunk of ice cream into his mouth, then grimaced when he tried to chew, his teeth ached that then made a groan.

     "It's painful!" Raven laughed at his reaction.

     "I don't chew it, idiot. Who'd chew ice cream? I do bite them, yes. But who would chew ice cream?" Raven scoffed, taking another into her mouth. "It's like saying you drink burgers."

     "Disgusting." Sid filled his mouth with his ice cream, cheeks puffed that it looked to be a struggle, but then it disappeared with one swallow. "You're right, the spoon does make your ice cream taste like wood."

     "Hmm," Raven hummed, she looked up to Sid, eyes landing on his dessert, eyes filling with question when she saw the color of it. "What is flavor is the green one?"

     "Avocado."

     "They make avocado ice cream?"