Chapter 19: Why Is Everyone So Weird?

“Have you seen Lucy anywhere yet? She was supposed to meet us up here about 15 minutes ago!”

Kaden looked at Leanne and just shook his head. The last he had seen of Leanne’s sister was when she shot down the escalator to check out something she had seen on the lowest level. That was just over an hour ago now and he hadn’t seen her since.

“She’ll been fine” said Kaden trying to sound reassuring. “I’m sure she knows her way around this place. Maybe she went back to check out that Art Exhibition again. There were some really good entries and even I wouldn’t mind going back to have another look ... once I’ve finished this little pile of food first!”

Kaden then took one massive bite out of his double beef cheese burger followed by a long slurp on the straw going down into his chocolate shake. As he was wiping his mouth with a paper serviette he nudged Leanne just next to him and pointed at something way down the end of the food court.

“Oh, good. Here she comes now” said Leanne as she watched Lucy’s distant figure slowly drawer closer to the table they were sitting at and once again back in her skirt and t-shirt!

Once Lucy was at Leanne and Kaden’s table she quickly took a big scoop of Kaden’s french fries and began wolfing them down.

“What took you so long, Lucy? I thought you were only going to be gone for half an hour or so. You were ages. What was so important for you to see down there in the basement?”

With a mouth full of hot food Lucy spluttered out with, “Oh, nothing really. I just wanted to check out some tops in one of the shops I saw last time then I bumped into someone who wanted to chat for a bit then I needed to use the bathroom down there for a bit as well. It’s all very boring stuff and nothing to get excited about, big sister of mine. Now if the inquisition has finished I’m going to get me a bacon and tomato wrap and a large drink of OJ.”

Lucy then took another scoop of Kaden’s fries with Kaden going, “Heyyyyy ... get your own stuff. This guy is hungry!”

Lucy just laughed at him then started to move off to buy something for lunch herself.

Leanne quickly pulled her back with, “Hey, we can’t be too much longer. Mom wants us to come back and help a bit with the cleaning up. Apparently Gran and Pop are coming over earlier than expected. They’ll be here in the morning now and not the afternoon. And she said something about them having a little surprise for us ... whatever that means. Anyway mom won’t be able to finish any of her chores off Sunday morning now and wants us to help get it all done this afternoon. So go get your food then when you are done we will head home again. So hurry along there, little sister. Let’s not keep mom waiting. You know she hates that.”

Lucy Hayward just shook her head in slight disgust at having to hurry along with her lunch but complied with all that had been asked until everyone was ready to go.

As the three were heading out the main entrance of the mall to begin their 10 minute walk home Lucy turned to Kaden on her left side and asked, “Hey, big fella, do you know anyone out at that nudie place of yours with the surname Keaka? I think they are Hawaiian or something like that.”

Kaden turned to Lucy and replied with, “Well now ... firstly ... it’s not just some ‘nudie place’. It’s a very well respected and very successful Naturist Park ... The Shady Lawns Naturist Park to be exact. And secondly ... that name sounds slightly familiar to me but I can’t tell you why. Why do you ask Little Grasshopper?”