the bad boy's scared of bugs

Chapter 18-there's a possum on the roof

L I A M

18| there's a possum on the roof

After quickly swallowing a Pepto-Bismol, I went downstairs to see Mrs Henzel serving up bowls of soup whilst Riley looked at the mixture disgustedly.

"Ahhh Liam you're here. Why don't you take a seat next to Riley right there?"

"Thanks Mrs Henzel." I smiled through my teeth.

"Oh, call me Victoria." Riley's mum passed a massive bowl of red soup. Riley pulled a slight face before accepting her own bowl.

Looking down at the lumpy soup, I cringed slightly before gulping down a spoonful. And believe me when I tell you that it was the most disgusting thing I've ever eaten. It was so salty to the point you could still feel the grains of salt swashing around in your mouth. The soup was also watery and the tomatoes were so sour that I was questioning if there was vinegar in the soup.

"How's the soup, dear?" Victoria asked. I looked over at Riley's pained expression as she forced down another mouthful of soup.

"It's not bad, except my nose is so blocked that I can't taste as much. How about you, Liam?" She said, smirking at me slightly.

"Oh it's great." I smiled through my teeth.

"Really? You don't seem to have eaten a lot. Your bowl still looks full." Riley peered at my bowl. Victoria seemed to notice as well.

"Oh dear, don't you like my soup? I can make another one..."

"No! I mean, no thanks." I mustered politely, glaring at Riley for betraying me.

"Oh ok then..." Mrs Henzel said hesitantly, still looking at me doubtfully.

A couple minutes of torture later, Riley stood up suddenly.

"Do you hear that?" She asked innocently, pointing at the roof.

"Hear what?" Mrs Henzel looked confused.

"I think there's a possum on the roof. I'm going to check, we don't want the tiles to be ruined, do we?" Riley dashed out of the house.

"Do you hear anything, Liam?" Victoria looked at me, still cocking her ears.

"Yeah, there's a scratching noise. I'll help her." I muttered even though I couldn't hear anything  before running after her. I found her in the front yard puking the contents of the soup out into a bush.

"Oh, it's you." Riley sighed in relief when she saw me.

"Are you ok?" I pulled her hair back as she crouched down and squinted her eyes shut.

"Yeah, I couldn't hold it in anymore. Usually I can wait until after dinner to vomit but I think the fever is making it worse. How are you holding up?" She leaned against the wall, clutching her stomach.

"I feel a bit sick but that's all. Anyways, why did you draw attention to my bowl? Now you're mum thinks I hate her cooking." I felt a bit annoyed remembering the earlier betrayal.

"Right. Sorry about that. That was to distract my mum so that I could quickly pour a couple spoonfuls into her bowl. Anyways, you should really take some more pills. Sure, you feel fine now but wait a while and you'll want death." Riley pulled out a couple of tablets and gulped them down.

I copied her, wondering how on earth I got myself into this situation.

"Does your mum like her own cooking?" I asked.

"I doubt it. But since she made it, she kind of has to like it I guess. I don't really know." She shrugged.

"Huh..."