chapter 3 - word count 3795/50,000

It was another crappy day in L.A. for Valerie. She woke up hungover, as usual, and Bat Boy had to sneak out once again via the neighbor's yard so the reporters didn't see him leaving. He blew her a saucy kiss as he sauntered out of her bedroom, and she waved him off with lazy hand.
In a friendly tone Bat Boy said, "Catch you later Val. I hope you get some rest."
"Bye Vic," was all she managed from under her cocoon of fluffy blankets, then she sank back into her mound of soft pillows and sighed deeply. Another day of shooting and she didn't have the lines down. Maybe she should have kept Vic around to help her with run-throughs.

With the thought of memorizing lines hanging heavily over her Valerie dragged herself out of bed and stumbled towards her cheery bungalo kitchen for a steaming cup of hot, specialty coffee. She was glad she'd picked up a quick brewing coffee machine that used pods, because she needed caffeine as fast as possible most days. Today was no different. As Valerie walked casually into her small but neat kitchen she nearly tripped over a chair that had been pulled away from the small eating area and right into her way.
"Whoa there, Nellie," she grumbled, and pushed the chair back into place. "Odd..." she thought, because she sure didn't recall anyone being in the kitchen last night, and she was always returning things to their places before she left a room.

Valerie turned on the high tech coffee machine. While it was readying the water she walked tiredly to the other side of the kitchen. She grabbed the cord to the blinds that covered the windows and pulled it up with a quick jerk to let the rays of the sun into her favorite room of the house. She loved the way the light came in, even when she was hung over and didn't enjoy much of anything. She could hear the coffee maker gurgling and went over to finish making her cup of coffee. Today was a day for a double.

Valerie decided any type of food was out of the question this morning and so she took just her coffee and went over to the small breakfast table by the window. She sat down and looked blearily out the window as she took her first sip of hot coffee. She suddenly choked and sputtered hot liquid all over the table and herself. She saw what was outside her window. Tens of hundreds of crosses, all shapes and sizes, were hanging from every limb of the ancient olive tree in her front yard. More of the crosses covered nearly every inch of her front lawn. Her mouth hung open, and Valerie just stared for what seemed like a long time before sense returned and she slowly stood up, with all thoughts of hangover and coffee forgotten.

Valerie walked outside and saw a local tv news station reporter's van first, then flashbulbs started going off all around her. There was a crowd of almost twenty reporters and photographers ensconced in her short paved driveway. She was glad her flowers were already dead or she'd have been really ticked at the people trampling about in the flowerbeds.
"Valerie! Do you have any explanation for the crosses in your tree and yard?" said one reporter with microphone in hand.
"Hey Val!" another yelled out, "What's going on? Did you find religion last night? Looks like it found you!"
Valerie took another look around, then without a word went back inside to call the police. Within minutes Valerie had two of L.A.'s Finest at her house taking notes and asking questions. So many photographers were outside her house that she ended up closing all her blinds again and she sat in the darkened kitchen. The police left after taking some photos of their own and taking her statement and told Valerie to let them know if something else like this happened again. They didn't have much to go on since there didn't seem to be any witnesses to the strange decorating. The lead officer, an older no-nonsense woman simply referred to by the others as Darcy, decided it was probably an early Halloween prank.

Valerie sat alone in her kitchen and sipped the cold cup of coffee. Hot or cold, it was still caffeine. After awhile her mother showed up. She kept the coffee hot and bustled around the house while Valerie got ready for work tried to think of any reason someone would do such an odd thing to her tree and yard. She let her mother help with the run-throughs and then she headed off to the studio where her latest show was being taped. She normally didn't have much trouble getting around town unnoticed, but today she nearly had a whole caravan of pushy, fast-driving reporters follow her. She could have easily outrun them in the car she drove, a worn Mustang convertible she got from her parents when she'd graduated from Stanford. Valerie had better things to do than get a speeding ticket in Studio City, so she endured the line of cars that followed her every move. At the gates of the studio the reporters fell back, and she went to work.

Nobody at the studio, it seemed, had seen the morning newspapers, so Valerie didn't have to field any questions about the weird prank that had been her morning surprise. She spent all day rehearsing with the rest of the cast. Everything seemed to go well which was good because Valerie was in a semi-dazed state and just wanted to go home and sleep this weird day off.
When she was leaving to go to her car one of her co-stars, a woman who played her best friend on the show, came up and gave her a sympathetic look. "Val, how are you holding up? I saw the papers over lunch."
Valerie shook her head. "I'm fine, really. It was just a prank I'm sure."
"Please don't hesitate to call if you want to talk or just need a friend." the woman said, and gave Valerie a hug.
"Thank you, I'll keep that in mind." Valerie said with a smile, and headed back to her car.

When Valerie returned home it was early evening, and all the crucifixes had been removed from her yard. She thought that her mother had probably called someone in to remove them. Again Valerie wondered just who would do something so odd, and why. It just made no sense. She wasn't religious by any standard, and didn't know of any reason for the lawn decorations.

Once home she drank some wine and had a long soak in her bathtub to erase the day's stress. Then she dressed in her oldest, most comfortable yoga pants and tee shirt and decided her day had been long enough. It was time for bed. As her head hit the pillow, she closed her eyes and sighed.
"What a day," she thought, and drifted off to sleep almost immediately.