Imposter Syndrome: Chapter 2, Part 4
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Imposter Syndrome is a spooky young adult mystery set in the weird town of Shady Springs, where nothing’s ever quite what it seems. Paid subscribers can read full segments of the story as they’re released (and help support my fiction writing in the process). Annual subscribers will also get a free physical copy of the novel when it’s published in full.
Previously…
“Mr Morgenstein!” Alex practically shouted, causing Theo to jump like he’d just been electrocuted; one of the strawberries leapt from the box and sailed into the shadows. “Mr Morgenstein, we’re coming into the kitchen now!”
“What’re you doing?” Theo hissed, but she was already pushing open the swing door.
We’re going to get eaten alive, he thought, and hurried after her.
Mr Morgenstein’s kitchen was much like his living room: silent and musty, and by the looks of things, recently abandoned. A half-filled mug of cold coffee sat next to the sink, which was piled high with used plates, bowls and cutlery. There were still breadcrumbs on a big wooden chopping board by the toaster and a line of ants was busy transporting them across the formica counter to a crack in the wall. A wasp bumped groggily up and down the window on the other side of the partially-closed shutters.
The swing door wafted cool air past Theo’s ankles as his eyes trailed across the room, searching for signs of life beyond the invading insects and his slightly-younger cousin, who was now poking around the sink. A small kitchen table sat in the corner, draped with a checkered tablecloth; there were only two chairs, one tucked in, the other pulled out. Next to the table was a set of narrow double doors, presumably leading to a larder, with a brush propped next to them. Another door along the sink wall seemed to open into the garden. The creaky floorboards beneath their feet were hidden under gaudy yellow linoleum.
“He’s not here,” Theo said. When Alex didn’t reply, he set the box of strawberries on the table and said it again. Behind him, the door finally stopped swinging. “Alex!”
In response, she pulled a plate from the sink, causing the others to clatter together. Theo winced at the sound. She held the plate up in the intermittent light coming through the shutters.
“Look at this,” she said.