5:33 p.m.
We crouched under the shake counter, taking turns to pop up our heads and scan for the cub. All the time the light was fading, as more snow clouds gathered, and the wind kicked up from a tiny whirl into more of a howl. And snow began to fall, soft and steady again.
“The thing is, where there’s a bear cub…” said Alex.
“…there’s a mama,” Jade finished. “We’ll have to be really careful not to scare it.”
“Yeah, the last thing we need is an angry mama bear,” Alex whispered.
“Why are they even here? I thought bears hibernated in the winter,” I said.
“They can get food all year in Tahoe, as long as humans leave it lying around, which most of them do, also…” Jade paused.
“Climate change,” Alex finished. “There was hardly any snowpack last year.”
“Yep, that,” said Jade and fist-bumped Alex.
I sighed and peeked at the bear. It was sweet, snuffling around, gnawing on a bright yellow packet of cookies, until you saw its claws, like a sheaf of knives.
“We could sneak out and wait for it to leave, then get back in and bolt the door,” I suggested.
“Why would it leave? It’s warm in here with a ton of food. It’s more likely its mom will join it,” said Jade.
“And then she’ll find us and be really mad,” said Alex. Like I needed it laid out.
“That’s it. We’ll run out loudly and see if it follows, then run back in and shut the door on it.” I grinned. I was that sure of my plan. It was only a cub, after all.
“That’s a stupid plan,” said Jade.
“Worth a try,” said Alex. “Better than sitting here waiting to see if it gets mad at us.”
Jade nodded and gripped her flashlight tighter. So easily persuaded by her bestie.
I eased my way from behind the shake counter, after almost knocking over the chocolate sprinkle toppings with my new layer of clothing girth, and peered into the gloom. The aisle closest to us was empty, except for a Mountain Dew can, which had finished spilling its contents and sat at the edge of a green-fizz pool. I pointed to Jade and Alex. And mimed with my fingers, One, two, three, we run out the front door. I mouthed, One…two…three…
“Run!” I shouted, to get the bear to notice us and chase us, only not too fast, and not to hurt us. Just enough to get it out of the store.
But Otis had other plans. Once we’d raced out, he blocked the door, growling at the entrance, and baring his teeth like the overprotective, giant dog he was. The bear cub ran a little way forward then backed away and looked anxiously out the window at Otis. Then it started to cry, at least I think that’s what it did. It was a cross between a deep, loud honk and a guttural protest call. It wasn’t happy, that was for sure.
“Otis, out of the way.” Alex tried pulling Otis from the doorway, but he wouldn’t budge.
“He’s so stupid,” I said. Idiot dog. Snow darts spat down my neck.
“That’s why he wouldn’t come inside. He’s smart, not stupid. If a dog won’t go in, you don’t go in,” said Jade, the animal expert, who ignored her own advice.
“But then you wouldn’t have got your double layer of clothes, your new torch, or your stomach full of Snickers!”
“Shut up, Lottie.” Alex held a stick of turkey jerky in the air. Otis backed away from the door to give the jerky a suspicious sniff. The bear cub stood on its hind legs against the door, crashing it open, just as Otis snapped down on his meaty snack.
Jade threw a doughnut away from the door into the snow, while Alex led Otis back into the store to stop him from chasing the bear. The cub crossed the veranda, scarfed down the doughnut, and took a tentative step toward Jade for more.
“Give it to him!” I shouted. On its hind legs the cub was way too big to argue with.
“Oh my God.” Jade threw the whole box out into the snow. The cub tore after it.
I backed into the store with Jade. Otis and Alex were already in there.
“The store is ours!” I watched the cub tear the Doughboys Donuts box apart.
Alex was running around filling a backpack with energy bars, Gatorade, and ramen noodles. “We’ve got to get out of here before its mom comes.”
“Why?” I asked. I spotted the rack of backpacks and grabbed one, stuffing it with water bottles and energy bars. “The cub’s out. We should stay.”
Otis went mental, trapped inside the store, growling through the window as the cub sat outside.
“Not with an angry cub, its mother nearby, and this huge food source. You saw how strong the cub is. Do you really think that old wooden door can withstand its mother’s weight?” Alex shook his head and zipped up his bag. “Fully grown bears are enormous!”
“What about Mr. Soto’s apartment? We could stay there.” Jade looked expectantly at Alex.
My heart sunk. Mr. Soto, poor Mr. Soto. I’d never get those dead eyes out of my head. Keep it down, keep it down. I swallowed, but the bile stayed in my throat, hovering.
I locked eyes with Alex.
He shrugged. “Could try it. It’s dry, and the bears won’t follow us up those stairs.”
“We can’t.” It came out sharper than I’d meant it to. “It’s locked. We don’t have a key.”
“What about the bathroom?” asked Jade. “There’s nothing for a bear in there.”
“That would be gross.” I screwed up my nose.
“You’d rather freeze?” Jade arched her brow.
“We could at least look for the key first,” said Alex, ever the peacekeeper. “Unless you have any other ideas?”
The way the wind was whipping up the snow, there was no knowing if the body was covered by a snowdrift or if it had been blown it bare. I dug my nails into my palms. The pain helped me focus. Stop thinking of the eyes; think about the key, and the flat, and getting somewhere safe where we could wait this whole mess out.
“I do have one idea.” I looked at Alex. “That might solve everything.”