Location: Rayâs Diner Time: 2:30 am Status: Open
Laura had to get away from all of it. From the vigil, the revelation, death, everything. It felt like she drowning in it and she couldnât reach the surface. She hadnât felt like it since the day she found out about her parents. The vigil was two days before, but Laura couldnât shake it. The Morgue even felt like it was suffocating her, the place she called home felt like it was out to get her. That was how she ended up at Rayâs. It had become her escape from the chaos since her freshman year. She set herself up in a booth by the door, laying out her laptop and a textbook even though she knew no work would get finished.
The news blast from earlier that day kept flashing in her mind. The Red Avenger. Who could it be and why did they decide they would be Lovellâs masked vigilante? How did they know who did it? The door chiming caught her attention and made her raise a brow when she noticed who it was. She plastered a smile on her face, pushing whatever thoughts were plaguing her to the back of her mind.Â
âThe seats open if you want it. But first, you have to answer a riddle. A box without hinges, lock or key, yet golden treasure lies within. What is it?â
Jack had tried to leave any thoughts of the Vigil in Front Square with Marcusâ defaced portrait. It was easy enough to do: heâd lived side-by-side with death for the first however many years of his life. It was even easier to ignore it when it wasnât his own family bringing it about, when no one was looking down their nose at him wondering what was wrong with him, that he couldnât.
He ignores unpleasant things. Itâs just what he does. Heâd put his entire world through a funhouse mirror before, learned how to crack jokes in the depths of hell, and while he hadnât thought that heâd need to lean on that skill quite as much at Lovell and away from his family, doing it again feels like nothing more than muscle memory.
The Marcus Abernathys and Red Avengers of the world donât keep him up at night. No, what drives him to Rayâs Diner is the same thing that usually does: heâs drunk, heâs hungry, and itâs open. The most pressing thing on his mind is whether he wants a burger or pancakes.
âA riddle?â He says. And then, because it didnât seem to capture the depths of his unimpressed state, he repeats: âA riddle? I like you, Laura, but not enough to be taking pop quizzes for you. So can I sit or not? Or, if I sit, are you gonna try and wrestle me out of this booth?â









