Page 54 of In Her Own Way
Another diner worker came out from behind a curtain. She placed a tray on a table, dinged a bell, and said, “Order up.”
“That’s Pammy,” Shanice said over her shoulder. “She’s the short-order cook.”
Pammy was adorable with her chef’s hat and grimy cooking “whites.” The tray she’d set down on the table had bloody, severed fingers on it. She turned to get another tray, and Jessicahad to laugh. The woman had a bloody meat cleaver sticking out of her back.
Pammy popped another tray on the table, this one with roasted cockroaches, except some of them were still moving. Hopefully, they were fake. They were fake, right? Yes, they had to be fake.
“Hard pass,” Bernadette said with a laugh, and Miss Lydia motioned for them to move on.
A chainsaw revved right behind them. All three nearly jumped out of their respective skin. A hairy wolf circled them, brandishing the chainsaw. It was Miss Marta, and as much as Jessica was relieved to finally see her, she was terrified. That was a fake chainsaw, right?
Miss Marta jabbed the saw at them. She revved the motor and basically chased them into the next room. And then all was silent.
“That was Mama,” Shanice whispered.
“She was not very nice to us,” Bernadette said with a teasing scowl.
The silence was broken by distant screams as people moved through the haunted house behind them.
The room they were now in proved to be much calmer. Several life-size movie monsters lined the far wall behind red velvet ropes. There were Maleficent, Cruella de Vil, Harley Quinn, and Ursula. There were even classic characters, including Dracula, the Mummy, Freddie Krueger, Chucky, and Pennywise. It looked like an old movie museum or something.
An evil clown stood up and thankfully didn’t rush at them. He held a camera. “A place to catch your breath, Ma’ams,” he said. “Mistress Rowena would like you to take home a souvenir. An instant photo with the character of your choosing.”
Jessica wasn’t going anywhere near the Chucky or Pennywise figures. No way. Shanice chose Harley Quinn. Thecharacter moved when Shanice got close. Ahh, they were motion-sensored. Bernadette chose the beautiful Maleficent, but Jessica was going to go classic.
When it was her turn, she posed in full mask and hood in front of Frankenstein’s monster. This picture would become her new avatar. If she wasn’t recognizable, that is.
They each thanked the photographer and held their pictures out in front of them as instructed so they would dry properly. They parted the curtains, and both Jessica and Shanice squealed in delight at the vending machines.
“Free candy,” Shanice squealed. “Mama said I could have some.”
“My Domme said I could, too,” Bernadette said with a grin.
They each took a turn and punched in the numbers for their favorite full-sized candy. The metal spiral spun, and the candy bar or bag dropped below.
They headed beyond the vending room curtain to the exit by the main doors. “Bwah ha ha ha,” the gorgeous witch said. “You survived. Most do not. Now I’ve got you all to myself.” Miss Rikki grabbed her wife and kissed her gently, making sure not to ruin the makeup. Miss Rikki leaned down to Shanice and said, “Is it getting hot in here or what?”
Shanice giggled, and Jessica smiled. Here was another couple who seemed very much in love. It made her wistful, but since there was nothing she could do about it at the moment, she pushed it down. As usual.
Back upstairs, Jessica finally felt ready to have some food. She talked with so many people that she would never remember all their names. Oh, well. She didn’t always have to be in teacher mode.
“Uh, oh,” Kari said, sidling up next to her. “The aunties have you on their radar.” She pointed.
Bernadette, Mistress Shasti, and their host, Mistress Rowena, had their heads together. Mistress Rowena was nodding, and every so often, one of them would look toward Jessica.
“What does that mean?”
Kari sighed. “Could mean any number of things, but my best guess is that they’re figuring out who to set you up with.”
“Seriously?” Jessica asked. This could be a godsend.
It wasn’t long before Jessica and Kari were surrounded bylittles. Madison, Shanice, and Pammy were talking a mile a minute about the haunted house and showing off their instant photos from the museum room. It was nice to feel included. Unfortunately, Jessica started fading. It was a school night, and she would pay for it all week if she didn’t get home soon.
She hated to do so, but said goodbye to her new friends, thanked Mistress Marta again, and then made her way over to her host.
“Having a good time, dear?” Mistress Rowena asked.
“Oh, yes, Ma’am,” Jessica said. “Thank you so much for the invitation. School night I’m afraid. I have to get going.”
