Lochby

Chapter 3: This Just In

Day Two: June 25th

Gina woke up to the same noise everyday, and it never bothered her. She suddenly grew tired of roosters today. As they awoke her this morning, she decided to change her alarm. After saying goodbye to Gerald and Rupert, the names she had given the roosters, Gina went on the search for a new sound.

After various minutes of bubbles and other generic sounds that were on her phone by default, she set her alarm to wake her up with her saying 'fudge brownies' on a loop. She plopped her phone down, satisfied, and trekked to the bathroom.

She didn't bother to turn the light on as the natural sunlight peaked in from the small window above the shower. In the ray of light, dust particles danced in the gleam of brightness. The delicate things floated up and down as if they were on a carousel. Streaks in the ray were subtle yet present. Pleasant even.

Gina ferociously swatted at the beautiful scene. The particles quickly dispersed as if they'd seen a ghost. Or a homewrecker.

"Get out of here you dirty air! You aren't clogging my nose!"

With the flick of her wrist, Gina turned the sink on. She narrowed her eyes and looked around. After closing the deep pine door, she tip-toed to the shower.

There was a slight pause.

Suddenly, the shower curtains were pulled back halfway. A head peaked into the unrevealed part of the shower. Gina concluded that there were no serial killers in her shower....today. She told herself that she should check tomorrow.

Going back to the running sink, a wince filled the air. The knob was turned to cold to soothe Gina's hands. She splashed the water on her face, accidentally drinking some in the process. The towel soaked up the water as it made contact on the tan skin. Strands of light brown hair once glued to her face were now free. As the towel dropped into the mound of its cousins, Gina's freckles were pronounced. She stood in the mirror looking into her yellowed speckled hazel eyes. She puckered her lips and put up a peace sign, before resuming her morning routine.

The dinosaur toothbrush was released from its suction prison and was drowned, slapped with mint, and drowned once again.

As Gina left the bathroom, her mother appeared behind the door.

"We need to go to the store. We're running low on food. Are you coming?"

By the looks of Lori, she was going to leave soon. Gina nodded and rushed to her bedroom.

On the way to Gregory's Deli & Shop, Gina glanced over to her mother. Lori's brown eyes appeared dull, and the bags under them seemed more enhanced. She wondered how much sleep her mother had gotten last night, if any.

The owner greeted the two as they entered the store. They didn't want to be there long, so they split up. Gina went immediately to the baking section and grabbed two boxes of supreme fudge brownies. With the boxes in hand, she went to the neighboring aisle: cereal and other breakfast items. In the aisle were two people.

One of them looked familiar, but Gina couldn't quite put her finger on it until the woman began to speak.

"Jerry, I almost didn't recognize you without a camera weighing down your shoulder. What brings you to the store this Sunday? Getting ready for the potluck on July 4th perhaps?"

"I actually came here to get something for Ms. Walters. She called me this morning to get her some granola and cereal."

The woman questioned, "So she's bossing you around outside of work hours too? How long has this been going on?"

It was the woman from the news. The one who found the little girl a few days ago. Gina assumed that Jerry worked for Local Lochby News and was the man behind the camera. Gina stared at the display as she was unsure about what cereal to get and "accidentally" listened in on the two.