Double Feature: Attack of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies/Bride of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies (The Russel Middlebrook Series Book 3) by Brent Hartinger Read Free Book Online Page B

bumped against the fruit basket, I knew I was right.
    "Look," I said. "I wanted to remind you that my friend Otto is coming for Thanksgiving. Remember, my friend from camp?"
    "Yes, I know," my mom said quickly. "Wednesday through Saturday."
    "Okay," I said, and suddenly I couldn't get out of that kitchen fast enough.
    "Wait," my mom said.
    Against my wishes, I turned to look at her. It was like I could actually see the activity inside her head, the wheels turning and clicking into place.
    "This Otto, he's more than just a friend, isn't he?" she said. Her eyes looked up at mine, boring into them like titanium drill bits.
    My parents were nothing like me, true, but they definitely weren't stupid.
    Now I had a choice. I could tell the truth and have to deal with their inevitable wrath, and also maybe screw up any chance I had of their letting Otto come visit. Or I could lie, and potentially avoid the whole issue, but risk having them be even more furious if they found out I was lying—and possibly take their fury out on Otto once he arrived.
    "Maybe," I said to my mom. Once again, it didn't seem fair to make Otto have to deal with something that was my responsibility. Besides, like I said before, I didn't lie to my parents. I was a good kid. You might even say a sickeningly good kid (my classmates had said that often enough). I didn't drink or swear or take drugs or lie to my parents, except for the being-in-the-closet thing, which obviously doesn't count. This is part of the reason why their whole disapproving-of-me-for-being-gay thing was so upsetting. It was like my being gay completely overwhelmed everything else about me.
    " Maybe ?" my mom said to me, meaning my answer to the question about Otto being my boyfriend.
    "Okay, yeah, he is," I said. "But it's not like it sounds. You're just hearing the word boyfriend . He's a really great guy."
    " You have a boyfriend ?" Those wheels that I'd seen turning in her head? The whole cuckoo clock was suddenly exploding, with springs and gears blasting everywhere. "Russel, that is completely out of the question! I absolutely forbid you to have anything to do with this boy!"
    Okay, this was not going well. I'm not sure what I was expecting—my parents to take out a same-sex wedding announcement in the local newspaper? But it never occurred to me that Having a Boyfriend would be as upsetting to them as Being Gay. I mean, weren't they basically the same thing? In retrospect, I saw just how naive I had been.
    "Wait! Stop!" I said. "You haven't even met him yet! Just wait till you meet him, okay? He's a really, really, really great guy!"
    My mom stared at me with this bewildered look, like she didn't recognize me—like I was someone who had just wandered in off the street, someone she'd never even seen before.
    Fair enough, I guess. Because I'm sure the look on my face as I stared back at her was one she'd never seen anywhere before.
     
    *   *   *
     
    That Saturday we had another full day of shooting, which meant another 8 A.M. makeup call. Apparently the student body had already started its gradual transformation into zombies, because the makeup artists gave all our faces a yellow tint. They also put dark circles under our eyes and messed up our hair, which they then locked into place with hairspray. (Who knew zombies were so glam?)
    Once we were all gathered in the hospitality suite, they said they were going to divide us into two groups, each one working on a different set of scenes.
    "That'll be first and second unit," said Gunnar to Min, Em, and me.
    "What?" Min said, sounding panicky for some reason.
    "Second unit is when they shoot shots that don't include the main characters," Gunnar explained. "Like exterior, identifying shots. Or background shots for special effects. It's called 'second unit' because the director doesn't need to be there, just the second unit director, who's usually a nobody. They'll probably use half of us for the second unit work, and half of us for