True Crime Begins At Home

(I am on a college break, and am staying with my parents, who are out for the evening. I pass the time by watching crime shows on my laptop.)

TV show: “…and so the murderer killed college students in their homes as surrogates for the person he really wanted to kill…”

(It has gotten dark while the show is on, and I quickly become terrified, thinking I see the killer’s mask in my darkened mirror. After 20 minutes of jumping at small noises, I hear a door creak open downstairs. I slip out of the room and grab one of a set of thick metal crutches left over in the guest room closet.)

Me: *coming down stairs, wielding the crutch* “H-hello?”

(There is no answer, and only a small light by the front door is on. I slink around the corner into the front room, then burst into it, swinging the long crutch out like a bat and screaming loudly. Someone else also screams, and I realize it’s my mom.)

Mom: “[My Name], what are you doing? Your dad and I just came home early because the weather was going to get bad, and we tried to come in quietly because your light was off. I thought you were asleep!”