by Raathi Chota
“I missed this.”
“Me too,” Carter mumbled as his blue eyes sparkled. They suddenly turned to me with guilty looks.
“Are we cool?” Ethan asked.
“No, we’re not cool. You guys didn’t explain why.” I snorted. Blake licked his lips as he turned to Aidan.
“What?”
“It was your jackass friends who started this. You explain,” Blake scoffed as Lindsey placed our milkshakes on the table.
“But we were talking. You’re the one who eavesdrops,” Aidan said as he pointed to me.
“Well, sorry for trying to find my Homecoming date!”
“I’ll explain! Goodness, you guys are annoying.” Carter sighed. “Parker and Austin said whoever sleeps with you first is supposedly the ‘King Player’ for breaking the nerd’s virginity, but when we found out you weren’t a virgin, it made things harder.”
I rolled my eyes as Carter continued but bit my lip as I thought about Parker. It didn’t make sense that he made a bet, since he did those things to me last year.
“As we got to know you, we sort of forgot about that and focused on actually being your friends. Lana, we didn’t mean to hurt you like that.”
“Yeah, we’re sorry for putting you through all this shit,” Ethan murmured.
“We only said those things because we didn’t want you to get hurt.” Aidan frowned. Well, I certainly got hurt. I should’ve given them a chance to explain—then we’d be friends, and I wouldn’t have run off and stabbed someone. I wouldn’t sit at home and stare at the picture of us in detention. I wouldn’t have nightmares and wake up in the middle of the night, then cried myself to sleep.
“I’m sorry too. I wish I never ran off like that,” I mumbled then stared at the table.
“Wha-what happened? You looked destroyed the next day,” Blake said as I raised my head. I wanted to tell them, I really did, but it wouldn’t be fair to Benny and them. I didn’t say anything to them about the drugs, so it’d be fair to not tell them about Jack August.
“It was storming that night. I fell and stuff.” I shrugged it off. Lindsey brought our food, and I dug in to avoid further questions. I stared at Ethan; the blond streaks in his hair faded into his dark brown hair. He wore a Nike sweater as he ate his burger. His brown eyes met mine as I stared at him. “What were you going to do that would make me lose the bet?” I asked since I remembered what he said at Homecoming.
“Oh.” He awkwardly chuckled. “We were gonna go to a monster truck show, a club, do graffiti in the city, go bungee jumping, then get matching tattoos.”
Blake grinned as he lifted his sweater, which displayed a small tattoo. It was a 3D box that was sealed; I looked at him in confusion. Ethan raised his sweater that showed a tattoo of the same box, but his box had a small hole in it. Aidan had one on his bicep, but the box was wide open, while Carter had a square.
“You guys are crazy. At least two of those things would’ve gotten me killed.” I laughed as I shook my head. “What do the tattoos mean?”
“Well, mine is wide open because I’m an open person and not very secretive, but you see there,” Aidan said as he pointed to his tattoo. “There’s a line there. That’s supposed to be a mirror, so if a person looks into the box they see nothing because the mirror will reflect to show an empty box.” He smiled. “The people who notice the mirror would know I have secrets.”
“Mine is just a square because there’s no way around it. What you see is what you get,” Carter said.
“I have a small hole in my box because somehow, someone always manages to look inside of me,” Ethan mumbled, and I smiled at their explanations.
“Mine is sealed, nothing to it,” Blake muttered.
“Really, Gunner? It’s sealed because you don’t let anyone in,” I whispered as the guys got back to their food. He smirked at me while I drank my milkshake.
“Lana, we don’t want you to be our puppet anymore,” Carter said as we finished our food.
“Why? I lost the bet, and it said to be your pu—”
“No, we feel bad, especially for what we put you through. Please don’t; besides, you don’t want to spend the rest of senior year doing our work when you have to focus on yours,” Ethan begged as he put his hand on my arm.
“But—”
“If you do one last thing for us, you don’t have to do anything for the rest of the year, and we can all be friends again,” Aidan cut me off.
“Err…okay, what is it?” I asked as I looked at them.
“We want you to find out the guy’s name who sent us the drugs.”
Chapter Nineteen
Lana
“Hey,” I greeted, then got into Benny’s car. When I put on my seatbelt, I noticed that we hadn’t moved yet.
“Morning,” he breathed out as he stared at the road.
“Are you okay?” I asked. He wore a hoodie with a pair of jeans, but the thing that caught my eye was the bags under his eyes.
“Yeah,” he mumbled, then started to drive. We drove in silence as I tried to remember what happened last between us.
“Did you have another nightmare?”
“Maybe.”
Okay, that’s not it. Besides the fact that Benny was drunk and we talked about nightmares, I didn’t know what was wrong with him…unless he remembered what he said when he was drunk. My eyes widened as I glanced over to Benny. Maybe he didn’t remember.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, just stressing over mid-year exams.”
“We still have Thanksgiving, then a few more weeks till midterms.”
“Yeah,” Benny said. I bet he didn’t even hear; there’s a difference with Benny when he’s mature and when he’s distracted. The rest of the drive to school was awkward as I stared out the window. The radio wasn’t on, and it was windy…another typical Monday morning in Illinois. I got out of the car and noticed Benny rushing ahead of me as he entered the building, entirely disregarded his friends. I let out a sigh and approached Miranda, Liam, and Marcus.
“What’s up with him?” Liam asked as we watched Benny walk in.
“He was quiet the whole ride,” I mumbled, then looked at them. “How was the party?”
“Amazing,” Miranda slurred as Marcus whispered in her ear.
“A night to remember,” he added. I rolled my eyes at the clingy couple and looked at Liam.
“Heard you got drunk off your ass.”
“I wasn’t that drunk.”
“Yet you jumped in the pool from the roof and kept yelling out Marco!” Marcus laughed.
“And nobody said Polo.” Liam frowned, then looked at his feet.
“If I were there, I would’ve said Polo,” I said, then patted his shoulder.
“Yeah, but you were too busy with a certain someone,” Miranda spoke up.
“And that someone starts with a B,” Marcus sang.
“Nothing happened between Benny and me, okay?” I snapped with a roll of my eyes. They stood, jaw dropped, as I rose an eyebrow.
“We were talking about Blake,” Liam said as he gripped my arms. “What did you do to my best friend?”
“Nothing!” I shouted as he repeatedly shook me.
“I remember Benny leaving the party; he kept saying I need to tell and all that.” Marcus shrugged.
“So they were both there? Lana Jane Willson, what happened?” Miranda demanded.
“They slept over,” I mumbled.
“Oh, way to go, Lana!” Liam cheered as he raised his hand.
“Not like that, you idiot!” I said as I scrunched up my nose. Liam lowered his hand but kept his grin. The bell rang, and I sighed in relief as I began to walk into the building. When I walked into Mr. Bronx’s class for Calculus, I saw Aidan grin. I turned my head to see Nick. I usually sat with him in Mr. Bronx’s classes.
“Morning.” He grinned as I sat down.
“Hi,” I mumbled. I sat in the middle with Nick on my right and Tyler, who’s always quiet, on my left. Out
of the corner of my eye, I saw Aidan approach Tyler.
“Scoot,” he demanded. Tyler looked up from his phone, and his eyes widened as he quickly gathered his stuff and walked to the back. Tyler was the golden boy of the school, sporty and smart, yet he was quiet at times. He often conversed more with the guys on the team.
“What’s up, peeps?” Aidan asked as he sat down in Tyler’s seat.
“What is he doing here?” Nick glared at Aidan.
“Oh, haven’t you heard, Nicky boo? We made up,” Aidan mocked when Melissa called him that.
“What? Lana, is this tr—”
“Good morning, class,” Mr. Bronx said as he walked into the room.
“Morning, sir,” I said, trying to ignore the glares sent from each side.
It was a rough morning, and I was glad it was lunch. Through the period I had with Blake and Benny’s groups, I decided to ignore all of them. When I walked into the cafeteria, I saw the long line and sighed, then looked at Liam, who waved at me like a five year old that saw the ice cream truck.
“Lana!” a familiar voice yelled. I turned my head to see Carter, who motioned me to sit with them. I looked back and forth between the two tables. Benny kept his head level as everyone glared at the other table. They seemed too busy arguing with each other, so I trailed out of the cafeteria. I walked as fast as I could, then stopped by Mr. Bronx’s classroom.
“Lana, I wanted to talk to you,” Uncle Griff said as I shut the door.
“Err…is this about Aidan distracting me in class? I have been paying atte—”
“Not that, and I know you’ve been, so it’s fine. About Saturday.”
“Oh, err…what about it, sir?” I asked as I noticed the grin he sent.
“You still haven’t answered the question that I asked you on Saturday night, Miss Willson,” he sang, then folded his arms. “The answer should be something along the lines of Saturday night when I left or even Sunday.”
“No, Uncle Griff!” I whined as I felt my cheeks warm up.
“Just playing with you, Lana, but if that boy did, you come to me, okay? That conversation you guys had was deep.”
“Yeah,” I muttered, but the corner of my mouth rose as I thought of his love life. “So how are things with you and Miss Rosa?”
“Not good. I fucked up,” he said, then lowered his head.
“What happened?” I asked. Uncle Griff barely swore in front of me, but when he did, it was serious.
“Just little arguments, and now she’s mad at me. I like it when she’s upset with me because she looks cute, but this time it’s the real thing.”
“You care about her,” I stated. Griffon talked about Miss Rosa on Saturday night like she was a goddess. He never spoke about anyone like that before.
“I do, and I don’t want to lose her.”
“I have her subject tomorrow; maybe I can throw in a good word or two about you,” I suggested, and I noticed how the corners of his mouth turned up.
“Would you?”
“Anything for you, Uncle Griff. You’ve always been there for me, and now it’s my turn to be there for you.”
“Thank you, Lana!” he exclaimed, then wrapped his arms around me.
“Okay,” I breathed out as his grip tightened. Uncle Griff let out a chuckle as he let go. With one last smile, I walked out the door and into the hallway. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw movement. As I looked over my shoulder, I noticed Kelly West and Melissa Singe against the lockers.
“Told you she goes to him at lunch,” Melissa said as her eyes flicked to me.
“So sad, wait till everyone knows who’s really behind those glasses,” Kelly said. I watched the girls as they walked off, confusion written all over my face as the bell rang.
***
“Why couldn’t I just drop you off at home?” Miranda asked as she stopped at the sheriff’s station.
“My mom isn’t home until midnight, so Dad asked me to come here,” I said as we stared at the building in front of us. I couldn’t believe how many lies I’d told, yet it was for a good cause.
“What’s up with Benny?” she suddenly asked.
“I don’t know.”
“He was silent today. Lana, if you guys have a thing going on, you can te—”
“No! What? No! I honestly don’t know what’s up with him.”
“Did you guys kiss on Saturday?”
“No, Miranda, plus Blake was there.”
“So that’s why they both had bruises on their faces.” She wiggled her brows. I let out a scoff, then got out of her car.
“Thanks for the ride. See you tomorrow.”
“See you, Willson.”
Once Miranda was out of sight, I spun around and stared at the building that I hadn’t been to in weeks. Dad didn’t even know I was here, and as far as I knew, Mom was at work. It’s not easy to tell your best friend you’re here to find out information, because that’d lead to many questions.
I walked into the building and took in the full aroma of a station. Dad was the Sheriff of the small town we lived in, but the police department in the city of Chicago was much bigger and often dealt with more significant crimes. Since the drug situation and Jack August took place in this town, there was bound to be something I could find out.
“Hi, sweetie. What can I do for you?” Ms. Jackson asked as I approached her desk.
“Just here to see my dad, Ms. Jackson.”
“Go on in; he’s been in there since lunch.”
“Thanks,” I muttered, then walked past her. Deputy Paul sat at his desk and typed.
“He’s in there,” he said as he pointed to my dad’s office.
“Thanks,” I mumbled, then walked in. In my father’s office, there were papers and files scattered everywhere. “Hey, Dad,” I murmured as I sat in front of his desk.
“Hey, sweetie. What are you doing here?”
“Miranda dropped me off,” I said, then took a book out of my bag. “I won’t disturb you.”
He nodded, then proceeded with his work. I noticed a crime board behind him. I stared at it as I saw the investigation of the cocaine. A picture of Ethan’s cottage was there, along with the guys’ photos. Each had a form beside it with their information. Then there was a clear picture that connected the rest of the images with string. It had a big question mark on it and small text below.
“I want my lawyer!” a loud voice echoed throughout the building. I looked through the glass and saw a man in handcuffs being dragged into the interrogation room by two police officers.
“They never learn,” Dad said as he shook his head.
“What did he do?”
“Accused of murder,” my father stated. My eyes widened as I dropped my book. “You okay?” Dad asked as I let out an awkward chuckle and picked up my book.
“Yeah, peachy,” I said as I covered my face with the book. The blood on my hands, shoe covered in blood, Jack by the dumpster, then the others. I wish they never got involved, because we’d all end up like that man who was still shouting!
“Dad?”
“Hmm?”
“Whatever happened to Ja-Jack August?” I asked as I lowered my book.
“Not our case. All I know is they haven’t found him yet.”
“But what if they do find him?”
“They’ll continue their investigation, even if he’s dead or alive,” Dad responded as he stood up. “Is there something I need to know, Lana?”
“No, just curious,” I mumbled, then leaned back in my seat.
“Sheriff, robbery on Flinders Street,” Deputy Paul yelled as he knocked on the door. I turned to my dad and watched as he collected his gear. He took the paper from the clipboard and rushed out of the room. I looked over my shoulder to see Ms. Jackson by the door.
“Look after her,” Dad said to her. I threw my hands up in defeat because I knew I had to come back if I wanted to know the identity of the drug dealer.
***
“See you in the cafeteria
,” Benny said as I walked to Miss Rosa’s classroom. It was Wednesday, and yesterday was a fail since my dad was out on patrol, so I had to try again. I didn’t have time to talk to Miss Rosa earlier, so now was my only chance. Benny returned to his usual self, and so had everyone else. Yesterday I sat in the library instead of the cafeteria and researched on crime, because not only was I anxious, but guilty too.
“Miss Rosa,” I said as I tapped her shoulder.
“Yes, Lana?” she asked. A bright smile filled her features as she stared at me.
“Y’know, Mr. Bronx told me what an excellent teacher you are.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, Miss, he was at my house the other night, and he went on and on about how amazing you are,” I exclaimed. Behind me, I heard Aidan and Liam snort.
“You had Mister Bronx as a babysitter? How did that go?” Aidan laughed.
“Did he only put you to bed if you finished your math?” Liam added. I rolled my eyes and looked at Miss Rosa.
“His compliments, Lana, they honor me, but I don’t want to talk to him,” she said, and I frowned as I turned to the two brunettes.
“You know, Miss Rosa, since you’re a teacher…sometime you can teach me a thing or two like you do with Mr. Bronx.” Aidan winked at her.
“Excuse me?” she asked as her cheeks turned red.
“You’re excused, and it is Miss, right? No ring mea—” Liam smirked as he leaned over the desk.
“Thank you, Miss Rosa. We have to go now.” I cut him off then backed away. Without a word, we stumbled out of the classroom. As we walked, I huffed and turned to them. “Why?”
“Why not? She’s magnificent.” Aidan sighed as he rested his palm on his chest.
“Well, she’s off limits now,” I said, then turned the corner for the library.
“Nuh-uh, nerd, you’re coming with us,” Liam joked as he linked his arm with mine.
“I-I have studying to do,” I stuttered as Aidan linked his arm with my other arm.
“I’m sure you’re smart enough,” Aidan said, then playfully rolled his eyes. They dragged me to the cafeteria, which could be interesting, since they sat at different tables. I watched Miranda smirk at me as she looked at Blake’s table. Aidan and Liam pulled me on either side as I cursed. “Lana, you’re coming with me.”
