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<<fadein 8s>>December 21, 1987
You come home from the last day of school before the holiday break. Only one semester left of the hell hole that is your 10th grade year. You hope your acne clears up over the summer before junior year, but you're not counting on it. Looking around the living room, you notice that the house is dead quiet. Mom must have left a little early for work tonight.
.
.
.<</fadein>><<fadein 8s 8s>>
If mom were home she probably would have left the <<linkreplace "TV">>[[watch some TV?->TV]]<</linkreplace>> on or the <<linkreplace "radio">>[[listen to some radio?->radio]]<</linkreplace>> playing. The red light on the <<linkreplace "answering machine">>[[check for new messages?->answering machine]]<</linkreplace>> is blinking. The <<linkreplace "bookshelf">>[[read a book?->bookshelf]]<</linkreplace>> is collecting dust.
Your <<link 'backpack'>>
<<dialog 'backpack'>>
<<inventory '$playerBackpack'>>
<<if $playerBackpack.has('geometry textbook')>>
[[free up some space->Living Room]]
<<drop '$playerBackpack' 'geometry textbook' 'European history textbook' 'sweaty gym clothes'>>
<</if>>
<</dialog>>
<</link>> is heavy from school.
[[kitchen]]
[[hallway]]
<</fadein>>Just some re-runs of Family Feud and some uneventful Midwestern news. The good stuff isn't on til later.
[[turn off the TV->Living Room]]
<<if hasVisited("bed") && hasVisited("oven") && hasVisited("fridge")>>
You boil some water for tea, but you soon [[forget->Living Room]] about it.
[[garage]]
<<else>>
Jesus Christ it's cold in this kitchen. The only radiators in the house are in the bedrooms and the living room. But you do feel a faint, warm breeze coming from the [[oven]]. You see a note on the [[fridge]].
[[living room->Living Room]]
[[garage]]
<</if>>
<<if hasVisited("eat some meatloaf")>>
Your [[bed]] is looking pretty comfy right now.
You forgot to turn off your [[Nintendo]] in the corner, Mom's Christmas present to you last year. You have no idea where she got the money from but you're not complaining. Maybe this year she got you that new [[Zelda]] game everyone's been talking about at school. But maybe not if she's having trouble with the bills again.
[[hallway]]
<<else>>
You forgot to turn off your [[Nintendo]] in the corner, Mom's Christmas present to you last year. You have no idea where she got the money from but you're not complaining. Maybe this year she got you that new [[Zelda]] game everyone's been talking about at school. But maybe not if she's having trouble with the bills again.
[[hallway]]
<</if>>
<<if hasVisited("eat some meatloaf") && ("drink a Yoohoo")>>
I should brush my teeth after that meatloaf and Yoohoo...
<<else>>
I'm too cold to sit on a toilet seat right now. I don't really need to go.
<</if>>
[[hallway]]<<if hasVisited("wakes you up")>>
She's not here. The house is still as quiet as it was last night. No TV, no cooking, no radio.
Something is [[wrong]].
<<else>>
Immaculate as always with the same framed family photos on her dresser and a photo of dad on her nightstand.
[[hallway]]
<</if>>
<<if hasVisited("glove box") && hasVisited("eat some meatloaf")>>
Maybe you should [[ride your bike to her work]] and see if she's there?
There's still a little snow on the ground so you'd better be careful.
<<else>>
What's mom's [[car]] doing here? Wouldn't she have taken it to work? It's freezing outside, no way would she have walked.
<</if>>
[[kitchen]]
The light flashes red, indicating some new messages.
[[listen to message 1]]
[[listen to message 2]]
[[turn off the answering machine->Living Room]]A boring weather forcast predicting more snow, the other stations are fuzzy.
[[turn off the radio->Living Room]]Only a few things of much interest to you: a [[photo album]], [[A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens]], and [[The Big Book of Secret Hiding Places by Jack Luger]].
[[look around the living room->Living Room]]This hallway can be a bit creepy when it's cold and empty. And why did mom frame up your crappy drawings from elementary school? Your drawings are much better nowadays.
[[living room->Living Room]]
[[your room]]
[[mom's room]]
[[bathroom]]The oven's on low. There's a fresh meatloaf sitting on the middle rack, slathered in broiled ketchup sauce. Mom hasn't made this in a while but you're sure glad she did. It's your favorite dish of hers.
[[eat some meatloaf]]
[[close the oven->kitchen]]The note on the fridge reads,
"Meatloaf in the oven! I'll be home around 11. Love you, Jamie!
-Mom"
[[open the fridge]]<<if hasVisited("drink a Yoohoo")>>
<<set $yooHoo = 2>>
Nothing much here but some old leftovers and $yooHoo bottles of Yoohoo.
One bottle was enough, better save them for later.
[[close the fridge->kitchen]]
<<else>>
<<set $yooHoo = 3>>
Nothing much here but some old leftovers and $yooHoo bottles of Yoohoo.
[[drink a Yoohoo]]
[[close the fridge->kitchen]]
<</if>>
Ahhh good ol' Yoohoo. Every kid should unwind with one of these after a long day at the office.
But wait...
There it is.
That heavy feeling in your gut when the Yoohoo just sits there like it's made of molasses because well, it probably is.
Totally worth it, though.
[[close the fridge->kitchen]]How does mom do it? It's almost better every time while being exactly the same as it's ever been. Better save some dinner for her, too.
[[close the oven->kitchen]]A reminder from the power company to pay the bill.
[[listen to message 2]]
[[turn off the answering machine->Living Room]]A weird message from a man you don't recognize. He says, "It was good catching up. Hope to see you again soon." Maybe a friend of mom's?
[[listen to message 1]]
[[turn off the answering machine->Living Room]]A leather bound book with a bunch of old and some newer pictures of you and mom...and a few with dad too (but those ones are really old of course).
[["put the book back"->bookshelf]]
[[look around the living room->Living Room]]"Marley was dead: to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that. The register of his burial was signed by the clergyman, the clerk, the undertaker, and the chief mourner. Scrooge signed it: and Scrooge’s name was good upon ’Change, for anything he chose to put his hand to. Old Marley was as dead as a door-nail."
Ehh, that's enough of that.
[["put the book back"->bookshelf]]
[[look around the living room->Living Room]]"To develop your ability to hide things, you should understand the mentality and the methods used by those who will be trying to find your hidden material. The insight you gain from examining your potential adversaries will help you understand your task better."
Your grandpa used this strange guide to hide shit all over his house before he died. You wonder if this could be useful someday...
[["put the book back"->bookshelf]]
[[look around the living room->Living Room]]
Just a couple of empty paper coffee cups on the floor and a lighter in the cup holder. Hmm, a lighter? Anything in the [[glove box]]?
Registration papers, insurance documents and what's this?
A half empty pack of cigarettes? You thought mom quit...
[[get out of the car->garage]]Maybe you should just lay down and take a little [[nap]]...
But then again, it is Friday night. And you are on holiday break. Maybe you should just go to the [[kitchen]] and make some tea.<<if hasVisited("try again")>>
You should probably just give up.
[[try again]]
[[put the controller down->your room]]
<<else>>
You continue for where you left off in Kung Fu. You're killed within seconds. You kind of suck at this game but damn if it isn't addictive as hell.
[[try again]]
[[put the controller down->your room]]
<</if>>Tom's cartridge at school looked like it was made of gold. I wonder if they're all like that?
[[play some Nintendo->Nintendo]]
Immediate death...again.
[[try again]]
[[put the controller down->your room]]You deflate your tires a bit so you can ride better on the snowy streets. You go to your room to put on some more clothes and grab a scarf. On your way back through the kitchen, you see something you hadn't noticed the first time...
the [[note]] on the fridge...
You bury yourself in wool blankets and dirty laundry, falling into the kind of hibernation only a high school kid who stays up too late can achieve.
A loud snowball exploding against your window [[wakes you up]].It's Saturday morning. Some neighborhood kids are playing on the street outside. You slept for seventeen hours. Your head is killing you. You walk into [[mom's room]].To be continued...<<fadein 3s>>where'd you go, mom?<</fadein>>
<<fadein 3s 2s>>a work in progress<</fadein>>
<<fadein 3s 2s>>by matt sorensen<</fadein>>
<<fadein 3s 4s>>[[play->Start]]<</fadein>>
<<newinventory '$playerBackpack' 'geometry textbook' 'European history textbook' 'sweaty gym clothes' 'half eaten sandwich'>>
If mom were home she probably would have left the <<linkreplace "TV">>[[watch some TV?->TV]]<</linkreplace>> on or the <<linkreplace "radio">>[[listen to some radio?->radio]]<</linkreplace>> playing. The red light on the <<linkreplace "answering machine">>[[check for new messages?->answering machine]]<</linkreplace>> is blinking. The <<linkreplace "bookshelf">>[[read a book?->bookshelf]]<</linkreplace>> is collecting dust.
<<if !$playerBackpack.has('geometry textbook')>>
Your <<link 'backpack'>>
<<dialog 'backpack'>>
<<inventory '$playerBackpack'>>
<</dialog>>
<</link>> is lighter and more spacious now.
<<else>>
Your <<link 'backpack'>>
<<dialog 'backpack'>>
<<inventory '$playerBackpack'>>
<<if $playerBackpack.has('geometry textbook')>>
[[free up some space->Living Room]]
<<drop '$playerBackpack' 'geometry textbook' 'European history textbook' 'sweaty gym clothes'>>
<</if>>
<</dialog>>
<</link>> is heavy from school.
<</if>>
[[kitchen]]
[[hallway]]There's a [[corner]] missing...It looks like it was intentionally ripped off. Was it like that before? You open the [[fridge->fridge2]]One of the bottles of [[Yoohoo]] is now tipped on its side.You wrap your cold hand around the bottle, feeling [[something]] taped over the backside of the label.It's the missing corner.
There's something written in tiny letters,
"DO NOT EAT THE [[MEATLOAF]]."You start to feel dizzy, sick, panicked.
The bottle slips out of your hand, shattering, spilling cold chocolate drink all over the laminate floor. You reach for the counter to hold yourself up but it's just out of arm's reach and you slip.
Your head hits the corner of a wooden chair seated at the kitchen table.
If you could just get to the living room phone, maybe you could...
A pool of blood forms around your head, colliding with the puddle of Yoohoo.
You close your [[eyes]].You think to yourself, "Where'd you go, mom?" before [[drifting]] unconci--To be continued...