PANIC ROOM • KENJI KON

BONUS CHAPTER 1.3

Eva followed the noise to see the mom standing in front of the stove. Something in the pot was simmering and smelled amazing to Eva. Come to think of it, she hadn't had a home cooked meal in weeks. Muna and Kai couldn't cook, Oma had been permanently in an old folks' home for the past four months, and Eva simply hadn't had the energy to cook full meals. All she had the energy for was grilled cheese— which she got down to a T, cereal, and yogurt parfaits. Not exactly what you would call good food.

She watched the older woman cook the food, clueless to Eva's presence. And then Jacqueline began humming as she pushed her wood spoon around the pan, and Eva was wretched into an old memory where her own mother was cooking something on the stove. Eva was little, no older than a second grader, and was helping her mom cook dinner; cheeseburgers were on the stove, brownies in the oven. The room smelt like chocolate and grease, the two somehow working around each other and perfectly together.

She could see her mom, smile on her face as she lifted Eva onto the counter. They had matching aprons, both designed by Eva when she was in kindergarten, little four year old scribbles all over.

"Do you want to taste it?" Mom had asked, cutting off a tiny piece of a cooked patty.

"Eva?"

Eva blinked away the memory, her eyes fresh with unfallen tears as she turned to Jacqueline, who was staring down at her curiously. "Hm?"

"I asked if you wanted to taste it?"

"Oh, um, sure," Eva nodded.

She pulled out a spoon and scooped a little bit of the substance onto it. Eva could now see it as ground beef— maybe that was the cause of her randomly sparked memory of her mom.

Eva slipped the spoon into her mouth, then moaned in delight.

"Good, huh?" Jacqueline checked the time on her watch. "There's probably not enough time for you to shower before dinner. Think you can handle waiting till after?"

Eva nodded, afraid to upset the adult.

"Good. How about you go wash your hands, then you can set the table. God knows where Darius is or what he's doing."

"You got it."

For some reason, the idea of disappointing Jacqueline sounded absolutely terrible, so she skipped— yes, skipped to the bathroom to wash her hands. It was only after she was exiting the little room she realized with horror what she had just done.

~~~

"Honey," Jacqueline spoke softly, and that was all it took for Eva look up from her tacos and to the older woman. "What are your... intentions with my son?"

"My intentions?" She mumbled through a bite of food, her hand covering her mouth.

"You said you came here for Kenji. Why?"

"Mom," Darius groaned with wide eyes.

"Um, I don't really, I don't really know?"

"Hm."

Anxiety crept through her heart like ants crawling over food. As much as talking about him scared her, a larger part didn't want to disappoint their mom. "I, I sort of impulse bought a ticket here, and I was gonna figure out what to say on the plane, but I hadn't gotten on a plane since Isla Nublar so I kinda freaked out and then fell asleep, and then I was gonna figure out what to do in the car, but I was too scared to meet you, so I was gonna figure it out when I talked to him but he's not, here, so..."

She caught her breath, realizing how good it felt to rant away to someone who didn't really know her. Of course, Darius was there, but for some reason, it didn't really bother her.