“Attack of the 50ft School Lunch!”: A Miller South Teens Short Story by Tori L. Day

Submitted into Contest #92 in response to: Write a story set in a city where the power suddenly goes out, leaving everyone in darkness.... view prompt

0 comments

Teens & Young Adult Fiction High School

It’s nighttime in New York City. The lights were bright and the city was busy as usual. At the Crowne Royale Hotel, Mason moved the table out of the living room and placed pillows and blankets on the floor. Finn was in the kitchen making popcorn and getting the sodas out of the cooler. Sam was roasting cocktail wieners in a crockpot and preparing a special sauce to go with them. Mason was getting the tv together when he heard a knock at the door. He went over and opened it to find the girls at the door.

“Hola, senoritas,” he greeted warmly.

“Hey, you,” Xenna said, giving him a kiss. “It’s everything ready yet?”

“Not yet. We’re just finishing up.” He calls to the bedroom. “Hey, guys. The girls are here.” 

Dylan comes in and hands Mason a DVD. “Hey, here’s the movie.”

“Perfect. Are the snacks almost ready?” 

"Almost," Sam replied while preparing the wieners on a tray.

While the girls were making themselves comfortable in the living room, Brian and Kardierre came in from the bedroom wearing pajamas and carrying pillows. Bree and Essence help carry the snacks into the living room.

“It's great that Chief Walter gave you guys the weekend off,” said Bree.

“I know,” Xenna added, grabbing a handful of popcorn. “After what happened last week, we definitely need the break.”

“Movie’s on,” Mason announced. “Finn, come on!”

Finn came into the living room, carrying the tray of weenies. “Sorry. I was trying Sam’s wieners.”

“Well, guys, this is it.” Mason sat down next to Lexi. “The first week where we have the time off and now, it’s finally here. Let the movie night begin!”

When the teens cheered, the lights in the suite went out all of a sudden. The tv was off and the crockpot stopped humming. Soon, every building went dark, leaving the city completely powerless.

“Hey!” Finn exclaimed. “Who turned out the lights?!”

Xenna turns the flashlight on her phone and walks to the balcony. “It's a blackout. The entire city’s without power."

"Happens every year during nights like this,” Dylan added.

“I better call Ralph and see what’s up.” Before Mason could dial for Ralph, he heard a knock at the door. “That must be him.” While the teens turned on their flashlights, he went over and opened the door for Ralph, who was carrying a clipboard and a flashlight. 

“Hey, Ralph,” Mason greeted.

“We were just about to call you,” Finn added.

“No good. All of the phone lines are cut off. There’s no power in the hotel or anywhere in the city.”

“Care for a cocktail weenie?” Sam hands him the tray of wieners. 

“Oh, thanks.” Ralph takes the tray and begins to munch on a wiener. Anyway, what have you guys been doing?”

“The chief gave us the week off, so, we decided to have a movie night.”

“That is until the power went out before it started.”

“Well, I’m sure the power will be fixed soon.”

“It better,” gripped Sam. “I’ve spent 6 hours making those wieners.”

While Ralph sat down, Mason looked out the window as he thought of a way to pass time with his friends. “Y’know,” he began. “Being in a blackout like this reminds me of when we were at Miller South.”

“We had a blackout at Miller South?” asked Finn.

“Yeah. Remember, it was the same day we fought off that mystery liver monster?”

“Oh yeah. I remember now.”

“ ‘Mystery liver monster’ ?”

“It was a creature we encountered when we were students at Miller South,” Lexi explained. 

“Wait. Is that why you, Mason, and Finn came to English smelling like gravy?” asked Kardierre.

“Yep.”

“So, how did you fight this ‘mystery liver monster’ ?” asked Xenna. 

“Alright. It was a humid, summer morning. It was so hot, people were coming to school on camels, right? So...”

—————————————————————

(Flashback to Miller South)

Kardierre, Bree, and Essence were sitting together in English when Mason and Finn came in. 

“Me and Mason got there, we sat down and greeted our friends. Lexi was in piano at the time. The rain was picking up just as the teacher walked in. While he talked, I heard Essence whisper to Bree about how handsome Jacob, one of our classmates, looked...”

“Well, he really did,” said Essence.

“...Kardierre heard their comment and rolled his eyes...”

“Show off,” Kardierre grumbled. 

“Okay, where is this going?” Xenna interrupted Finn’s story. “Where’s the part where this mystery liver monster tries to eat you?”

“I’m getting to that,” Finn replied. “Anyway...”

(Back to Miller South)

“At the same time, the lunch ladies were preparing the liver for Mystery Liver Monday. Now, usually, the liver is supposed to be soaked in a vat of chicken grease for an hour.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. They say it makes it tender. Outside, the rain started to really pour down. We’re taking Hurricane Katrina rain. Suddenly, lightning struck one of the antennas on the roof and made the lights in our classroom go out. In the cafeteria, since the electricity went out, the vat holding the liver was off as well. Then, the lightning struck the antenna again, this time, making the circuits travel from the roof into the vat. After the lightning struck, the lights came back on. The vat of liver was up and running and the lunch ladies resumed their work...but not without a horrible realization.”

Suddenly, a greasy arm poked out of the vat and grabbed onto the side of the pot. Then, a massive grease ball tipped over and spilled the mystery liver on the floor. When it was out the grease ball morphed into a hideous monster and roaring at the launch ladies!

“Wait!” said Dylan. “So, you’re saying at your school, your lunch was Frankensteined into a monster by lightning?”

“That’s exactly what happened!”

“Okay, you guys cannot be serious,” said Xenna.

“Trust me, hun. It’s as real as these cocktail weenies.”

“So, what happened next, Finn?” asked Brian.

“Oh, I’ll tell you.”

(Back once more to Miller South)

A scream was heard and all of the lunch ladies ran out of the cafeteria and the monster proceeded to wreak havoc in the room. The custodian arrived at the scene and alerted the principal. 

“Ms. Wilson!” he cried on his radio. “Come in, Ms. Wilson! There’s something in the cafeteria!”

“Meanwhile, we were in class talking about the boring tale of Romeo and Juliet when our principal came on the speaker.”

“Attention, staff, and students. There’s a gigantic monster composed of mystery liver on the loose! Please stay calm and exit the building!”

“Me and Mason were really confused. A mystery liver monster? I swear this is starting to be a fictional book. We all got up and went out of the room. Everyone was moving towards the stairways and out towards the parking lot. In the hallway, we ran into Lexi. She was still in her wheelchair before we graduated.”

“Thankfully, I got to walk the stage using crutches.”

Finn and Mason ran over to help wheel Lexi to the elevator. 

“Hey, you heard the news, too?” Mason asked. 

“Yep. And to think, fighting zombies was ridiculous,” Lexi quipped. 

“Mason. Mason.” Mason turned around to find Ms. Wilson behind them. “You think you can take down that...thing?”

“Can do, Ms. Wilson,” Mason replied.

“I’ll go, too,” said Lexi. 

“You sure?”

“Ms. Wilson, I’ll be fine. A little broken leg won’t slow me down.”

The two friends looked at Finn for his response. “Alright, count me in. You’re gonna need the help you can get.”

“Good luck.”

“Got it. Let’s go.” The three teens loaded up on the elevator to the ground floor and went down the hall to where they found the monster trying to devour Jacob. 

“Hey, fatty,” shouted Finn. The monster turned to them. “Why don’t you pick on someone your own size?” The monster sneered and dropped Jacob. Mason and Lexi glared at Finn. “Oops.” 

The monster then charged at them, forcing the teens to retreat towards the cafeteria. Mason wheeled Lexi inside and he and Mason locked the doors. Then, they went into the kitchen and used a set of hand towels to tie the handles together. They huddled next to Lexi. 

“Alright. What do we do now?” 

“I got it.” Mason got out his phone and dialed Bree’s number. Outside, Bree was with Kardierre and Essence when her phone rang. 

“Hello.”

“Bree, it’s Scott.”

“Mason, why are you still in the building?”

“Don’t you remember? I’m still the protector. Now, you think you can look up how to get rid of grease on the internet?”

“I can try.”

“Thanks.” He hangs up just in time for the monster to barge in the cafeteria. It then kicked the door down and trudged into the kitchen. Mason pushed Lexi’s wheelchair out of the way while Finn began to fight back. He used a bowl of potatoes to throw at the monster, but it caught them with his mouth every time. Mason grabbed a chopping knife and ran over and stabbed the monster, making it screech.

“So, you killed the monster, right?”

“Well...not exactly.”

Turns out, the knife got stuck in the monster’s grease and absorbed it inside of him. It then appeared in its hand and the monster threw it at him. Luckily, Mason dodged it and the knife landed in a wall next to Lexi. While the boys were busy, Mason felt his phone ringing. 

“Lexi, here!” Mason threw his phone towards his friend. “It’s Bree!”

Lexi answers the phone. “Bree?”

“Hey, Lex. Where’s Mason?”

“He’s busy. Finn, carving fork!”

“I see it!” Finn uses a cutting board as a shield. 

“What’s up?”

“Well, I found on the internet that vinegar can dissolve grease.”

“Vinegar?”

Suddenly, the monster grabbed Finn by the leg. “Bro, help!”

Mason grabbed his friend’s hoodie and tried to pull him back. “Lexi, what did Bree say?”

“She said vinegar can dissolve grease!” 

Lexi looked around the cabinets and in the pantry until she found the vinegar in a big bottle. The monster now has both of the boys in its grasp. He held them up over his mouth and lowered them down into his gaping maw. Before the monster could eat them, Lexi threw the vinegar onto the beast and it began to bubble and pop until melted away. When the monster was gone, the boys fell into the brown puddle, much to their chagrin.

“Ugh! I’m packing my own lunches from now on.”

Lexi wheels over and helps Mason and Finn up. “You guys okay? That was very close.”

“We’re soaked in mystery liver gravy...” This comment made Lexi laugh.

“Oh, you think that’s funny?”

“No, I’m not laughing,” she said through chuckles.

“She’s laughing. She’s laugh-you know what?” Suddenly, Mason tipped the wheelchair and Lexi fell into the brown goop, followed by the three teens having a gravy ball fight.

—————————————————————

(Back to the hotel)

"And that's how we saved our school for the-umm...third, no, forth...well, that's we saved our school again. The end."

“What a unique reputation you three have,” said Dylan.

Suddenly, the lights in the hotel and in the city came back on, much to everyone’s excitement. 

“Finally, back to our movie,” said Mason.

“Well, I better head out.” Ralph hands Finn the tray. “I have to check on the other guests and make sure they’re alright.”

“See ya, Ralph.”

“Bye, Ralph.”

When Ralph left the suite, the teens resumed their movie night when Finn heard something bubbling.

“Hey, you guys hear that?”

“Sounds like it’s coming from the crockpot,” said Lexi.

“Oh, yeah. I forgot to turn it off before the power went out.” Sam went to the kitchen and was about to turn the pot off when a greasy hand popped out of it. Suddenly, the weenie grease spilled onto the counter and morphed into a medium-sized monster. 

“Uh oh!”

“Sam, get the vinegar!” Mason ordered.

Sam looked into the cabinet to find the vinegar when the monster jumped off of the counter and went after the teens. As they scurried out of the room, Finn opened the balcony doors as Lexi grabbed a broom out of the closet and swatted the greaseball out of the suite. After Finn closed the doors, the monster jumped over the railing and landed on the sidewalk, and landed in front of the main entrance. The teens watched as it wreaked havoc in the city.

“Sam,” said Mason. “What exactly did you use to make your wieners?”

“Easy. I use a special rub for the cocktail sausages and then broil them in chicken grease.” The teens looked at him, dumbfounded. “What?”

“We should probably do something,” Brian suggests.

“...tomorrow?” Finn asked.

“I’m good with tomorrow,” Lexi replied.

“Tomorrow’s fine,” Dylan added.

“It’s just one grease monster,” Xenna stated.

“I agree,” said Mason.

“It’s not like Godzilla or anything.”

“Mm-hmm.”

At once, the teens nonchalantly went back into their suite and resumed their movie night while the cocktail grease monster continued with its rampage.

May 03, 2021 01:04

You must sign up or log in to submit a comment.

0 comments

RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

Bring your short stories to life

Fuse character, story, and conflict with tools in Reedsy Studio. 100% free.