Page 62 of Oxygen Deprived

He put something down on the counter, which I could see from the front door, and I grimaced.

“I told you I wasn’t eating a duck,” I said. “I still can’t believe you thought I’d enjoy duck hunting. You’re crazy in your head if you think I’ll like that.”

He tossed me a look.

“All I ask is that you try it, not that you eat it all. That’s it,” he promised.

I sighed.

“Fine,” I acquiesced. “Just make sure you remember I don’t like my food burnt.”

I came up to the kitchen counter that was directly across from him and hopped up onto it while I watched him work.

Something dinged on my base unit across the room, and the light that’d stayed green the entire day—yes, I checked multiple times—turned from green to red and back to green again.

“Guess that was cutting it close,” I guessed. “What time was I supposed to be back in my house?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. I think they give you twelve hours, but we ran way over that today. We were out about fifteen hours or so. I told my sister we wouldn’t be back until nightfall, though. When she’s working, that’s okay. When she’s not, we need to get you back here in twelve hours.”

“We?” I asked.

He turned the oven on and then started taking down bowls.

“Flour?”

I pointed to the bottom cabinet.

“Eggs?”

I pointed at the same spot.

“We?” I prompted again.

“Yes, we,” he confirmed. “The only way you get to come out is if you’re with someone who has agreed to chaperone your excursions. That’s me or your brother when I’m working.”

I bit my lip.

“My brother’s not going to agree to chaperone me so I can go out,” I told him. “He doesn’t particularly like me and avoids spending time with me.”