by Raathi Chota
“And number four, he has a freaking eight pack! Look at me!” Liam exclaimed as he raised his shirt. “I got a fat pack!”
“But you play football,” Benny said as he raised a brow at Liam’s stomach.
“Yeah, and I eat a lot of burritos.” Liam huffed as he stared at one of the pictures of Miranda and Marcus. “I envy this dude and his luscious hair.”
“Do you hate Marcus?” Nick asked as he continued to walk.
“No, I just want something bad to happen to him.” Liam shrugged as I laughed. As we walked, Liam continued to talk about Miranda to Nick. I smiled when he said he only showed up to homeroom because she’s there. I glanced up and noticed we’d approached a corner. The smell didn’t get any better the further we walked, and I wanted to go home.
“Do you know where we’re going?” I asked Benny.
“Not really,” he replied, then looked around.
“Wait, what? So we’ve been lost the whole time?” I asked as I gripped on his arm.
“Well, yeah. It’s bad lighting, and it’s not every day you’re walking in the sewers on a Saturday night,” Benny said as he raised his voice.
“You could’ve said something, or we should’ve done the smart thing and went back,” I snapped. “Now we’re lost!”
“Okay, yeah, I’m sorry. Let me just whip out my phone…” he exclaimed, then took his phone out. I watched him throw his arms up in exasperation. “Oh wait! There’s no fucking signal!” he exclaimed, then shoved the phone in his pocket.
“Don’t have to be a sarcastic prick,” I hissed, then turned the corner. As I walked, I felt someone grip my arm and whip me around. I came face to face with Benny as he searched my face. A frown filled his features as we locked eyes.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be a sarcastic prick and snap like that. I’m just exhausted,” he admitted, then cupped my cheeks. I frowned as I avoided eye contact.
“Yeah, and I’m sorry for acting like that. It’s just really smelly and cold down here,” I whispered as he looked at me with concern.
“You’re getting sick,” he stated as he began to take off his jacket.
“No, no, no…it’s okay. Then you’ll get sick,” I said as I stopped him.
“Are you sure?” he asked as he brought me in for a hug.
“Yes, Benny Nielson, now do your job and get us out of here,” I said, and he laughed. We walked on, and Liam caught up to me. He glanced around the sewers, then stuffed his hands in his pockets.
“Do you think the teenage mutant ninja turtles are here?” he asked.
“They live in New York’s sewers. We’re in Illinois.” I chuckled.
“Oh yeah…I forgot,” Liam stated.
“Guys, look!” Benny exclaimed as he ran forward. Nick and I exchanged looks, then followed Benny while Liam took random pictures. We ran for about two minutes, which wasn’t a good idea, because I sneezed. Benny stopped by a wall, and he looked up. We followed his gaze to see another utility hole, which meant a way out.
“Out of my way! I’m hungry as hell!” Liam exclaimed as he came out of nowhere and pushed Nick aside as he climbed the ladder. “What’s the time?”
“Wow, it’s nine p.m.,” Benny said as he checked his watch.
“Holy shit,” Liam remarked as he pushed the lid open and got out. Nick and Benny told me to go next, and I gladly did. Once we were out, familiar noises bombarded my ears. When I looked around at the familiar surroundings, my jaw dropped as I realized where we were.
“What the fuck…” Nick muttered as we glanced around the alley.
“We’re in the industrial area.” I breathed out and noticed that the utility whole was a few feet away from the wall.
“Come on, we gotta get out of here. It’s Saturday night. Who knows what happens this side at night?” Benny said as he took my hand in his and dragged us out of the alley. We walked down the sidewalk, and the sounds of car honks, shouts, and traffic surrounded us. As we turned the corner, a big crowd blocked our view. My eyes widened as I realized that there was a street race.
“Lana? Benny? What are you guys doing here?”
“I should be asking you the same thing.” I eyed Carter up and down suspiciously.
“And why do you guys smell like shit?” He waved his hand in front of his face.
“I should be asking you the same thing,” Liam retorted as he placed his hands on his hips.
“Well, you can’t be here,” Carter stated as he gave me a once-over. Before I could ask why, Aidan and Tiffany appeared next to Carter. Aidan gave us strange looks as he took in our appearances. We weren’t pleasant with our frizzy hair, dirty clothes, and awful smell.
“Hey, you want a hug?” Liam asked as he opened his arms to Aidan.
“What? No.” Aidan continuously shook his hands. Liam was obviously taller than Aidan as he pulled him in for a hug and rubbed his smell on him. I grinned at Tiffany as I opened my arms.
“Lana, no,” she warned and backed away. I laughed as she spun around and ran away. I followed her past the crowd and onto the sidewalk.
“Lana, watch out!” someone yelled, and I instantly froze. I didn’t even realize that we’d run across the street. Tiffany was on the other side, but I froze right in the middle. I turned to my right and watched four cars idle. My eyes widened as I realized a race was about to start. When I looked at the drivers, I noticed Ethan and Keene, yet the other two’s lights were so bright I couldn’t see them.
“Get out of the way, bitch,” the flag girl hissed as she stared at me.
“What’s the magic word?” I sang, then approached her.
“Get out of the way, bitch…now,” she demanded as she placed her hands on her hips. I smirked, then hugged her. She let out a high-pitched scream as she tried to pull away. “Get her off me! She smells like shit!” she yelled as Nick wrapped his arms around my torso and picked me up.
“At least I smell better than your va—”
“Whoa! I think we have to go,” Benny said as he stepped between us before we’d attacked each other.
“Yeah, get this smelly bitch-ass whore out of my face,” the girl demanded, and Benny looked at her.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Who you calling bitch-ass whore, you du—” Benny cut off when Aidan pulled him away. As Nick and Aidan dragged Benny and me away before I slapped the girl, I held up my middle fingers, and people cheered. Nick set me down next to Liam and Benny, and I glared at the girl as she raised the flag.
“Don’t worry, she’s always a bitch on the streets,” Carter assured us as the crowd cheered when the cars sped off.
“Yeah, but not in bed!” Jaden added as he high-fived Carter, who nodded in agreement.
“We’re gonna go,” Nick stated as he walked away.
“You sure? I can give you a ride in my truck,” Carter suggested.
“No, it’s okay. My apartment is a few blocks away,” Liam assured him.
“Okay, well, see you guys.” Carter shrugged as he did that handshake with Liam, then Benny and Nick. I let out a sigh as Benny entwined my fingers with his. I leaned my head on his shoulder as we walked to Liam’s apartment.
***
We arrived at Liam’s apartment, then took Nick’s car back to Ethan’s cottage to get Benny’s car. Afterward, we drove to Benny’s house and decided to stay there for the night. Liam and Nick always hung out at Benny’s house, so they had a few items of clothing there, especially Liam, since he made himself comfortable anywhere. I immediately got into the shower and spent almost an hour trying to get the sewer smell off. I got out and tossed my dirty clothes in the basket. Benny gave me his long sleeve baseball tee and a pair of gray shorts. I dried my hair with the towel, then walked out of the bathroom and into his room. His back faced me, and I noticed he’d came out of the shower too.
“Hey, pizza should be here any minute. The guys are in the baseme—” He cut himself off as he spun around and took in my appearance. I gave him a strange look, then followed his eye
s as they went down. I glanced down and noticed that the baseball tee was white and red. Then I remembered I threw my bra in the basket too. I looked up and leisurely bit my lip. I slowly approached him, then placed my hand on his chest. His hair was damp from the shower, so it was spiky.
“Like what you see?” I teased as my hand went behind his neck. I brought him forward so that I could kiss him. His hand went to my hips, then slowly under the shirt. I felt the palm of his hands go behind my back. The kiss itself was slow yet so evocative as our tongues danced. His hands went to the front, his thumbs grazing the outline of my breast as he moved up, then the doorbell rang. We pulled away from the kiss but kept in the position as I smiled at him. “Pizza’s here.” I stepped back, and he pouted.
“Wait…you’re not going down there like that,” he said. I laughed as he walked to his closet and took out an oversized black sweater. He tossed it to me and then put his hands on his hips as he watched me take off the baseball tee. I pulled the tee over my head, then looked at him. His cheeks reddened as he shyly turned away. I bit the inside of my cheek as I put on the sweater, then walked out of the room. When I walked into the basement, Nick and Liam sat by the television. I sat down on one end, then took a slice of pizza and ate it. Out the corner of my eye, I noticed Nick staring at the floor.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“Yeah, just thinking about while we were down there. I walked behind because I took everything in. Trying to figure out how we ended up in the industrial area, in the alley,” Nick responded as he looked at me in a concerned way.
“Well, it’s the sewers. They could lead to anywhere.” I shrugged.
“Yeah, but it’s weird that they had a utility hole there in the freaking bathroom. Whoever built it chose a strange place because there’s so much land open,” he added as I thought it over. Benny came downstairs with his phone in one hand and a bag of pretzels in the other. He tossed the bag to Liam, who ate.
“Are you too lazy to get up and get pretzels that you have to text me from downstairs?” Benny asked as he sat down between Nick and me.
“I was busy,” Liam said with a mouthful of pretzels as he gestured to the television.
“Dude, do you have a paper and pencil? I want to see something,” Nick stated as he pushed aside the snacks on the coffee table.
“Yeah,” Benny answered as he got up and walked to the shelf behind us. I wrapped the blankets around me as I sat next to Nick, quite interested in where he went with everything. Benny sat down on my left as he handed Nick the paper and pen. We watched in curiosity as Nick drew a sketch of the sewers, then the tunnels we went through. It amazed me how he remembered so much and how bright it displayed. I leaned back on the sofa as my phone vibrated. I took it out and smiled when I saw a text from Levi.
Levi: Hey princess, heard you went all bitch mode with the flag girl.
Lana: How do you know? It happened like two hours ago.
Levi: I’m in this group chat with the guys.
Lana: Oh well yeah, her fault though. All she had to do was say the magic word.
Levi: Yeah, you should have seen her face afterward. She was looking for you.
Lana: How do you know?
Levi: Carter said, princess. What’s with all the questions?
Lana: It’s nothing. How’s college?
Levi: It’s good, just my dorm roommate can get quite annoying. Lol
Lana: Really? How?
Levi: Really now…what’s with all the questions?
Lana: Nothing, geez, just trying to hold up a conversation.
Levi: Has it come to that where we must ask each other questions just to keep the conversation going?
Lana: I don’t know. I should go. Talk to you later?
Levi: Oh, okay. Love you.
“Here’s a theory,” Liam said as I turned my phone off. He sat next to Nick as we looked at the sketch of the sewers. It was labeled from Ethan’s cottage to where we came came out. A few tunnels led to nowhere, which frightened me on how we’d find out where they’d lead.
“What if we can’t find Jack August and Detective Kale can’t because he’s somewhere there?” Liam said, pointing at the paper.
“Yeah, the question is how did he get there?” Nick asked as I looked at the paper.
“I don’t know. I was hoping one of you could get it,” Liam mumbled.
“It can’t be from the alley because it’s guarded by a police officer during the day and it’s too dark at night to see,” Benny said as he gazed at the map.
“It had to be from Ethan’s cottage, since the chains were broken and the tiles moved,” Nick interjected.
“If Liam’s theory is correct, then where is he?” I asked.
“Only one way to find out.” Liam grinned as he looked at us. “We go back down there because we’re investigators!”
***
To walk down the halls on a Monday with a blocked nose wasn’t how I pictured my day. After Liam’s crazy idea to go back into the sewers and look for a connection there, we decided to go to sleep. Next morning when we woke up, we were lazy, so we chilled the entire day. I didn’t even want to go back down there; we’d get caught.
With so many things going on in my mind, I didn’t even notice that the bell hadn’t rung. I passed Mr. Bronx’s class, and we locked eyes.
“Hey, Lana, you seem confused, and that’s not a good sign, because that means I’m not doing my job right as a teacher or uncle…” He trailed off and smiled.
“Morning, I—” I cut myself off when I sneezed.
“Whoa, you okay?” Griffon asked as he gave me a tissue.
“Yeah, it’s just the little flu,” I said, then blew into the tissue.
“Hey, while we still have time, I just want to let you know that next week is the last week Yale will be accepting stuff for your application,” he stated, then walked over to his desk.
“Oh crap. The time went so quick I almost forgot. What else must be handed in?” I asked, then put the tissue in the trash can.
“Have you written two essays on topics of your choice and a list of activities you’ve done?” he asked as he read off a paper.
“Yeah, I just need to print them.”
“Great, and we have your two teacher recommendations, which are Mr. Dockwell and me. The last thing is the secondary school report, which is a whole bunch of stuff.”
“I’m getting that. The counselor is helping,” I said, and he groaned.
“Lana, do you know how important this is? It’s your future we’re talking about. All of Carter’s stuff is in.”
“Wait. Carter applied too?”
“Yeah, he’s a smart kid. Doesn’t show it much in general, but you and he are both excellent students.”
“Wow.” I gasped. The bell rang, and people piled into the classroom. Mr. Bronx turned to his students, and I took that as a sign to leave. I tried to get to class as fast as I could, but my sneezes held me back. When I got into class, I took a tissue and sat down. Melissa greeted me as I slouched in my seat.
“Morning, everyone. Here’s your tests back,” Mr. Gorton began as he held papers. “Reason why I didn’t say good morning is because it’s Monday, which means seeing all of you again for the next five days.”
“How do you sleep at night?” Melissa asked as I sneezed.
“I sleep very well indeed, Miss Singe,” he replied as he gave my test. I let out a louder sneeze. Some people looked. I stood up and walked to the teacher’s desk to get a tissue. As I got a tissue, I sneezed again, but this time it was worse as I slouched.
“Bless you,” someone called out, and I thanked them.
“She has been blessed,” Aidan announced, then bowed to me. I gave him a questioning look as I cleaned my nose. It felt so thick and swollen as I blinked continuously.
“Who got the highest on this test?” Carter asked as I stood next to the trashcan.
“Well, you beat Lana by two questions, Mr. Halls,” Mr. Gorton replied as I gaw
ked at him.
“Oh, Willson, this must kill you.” Blake laughed as I glared at him.
“What two questions?” I asked.
“The ones on Circular Motion and Field of Reference,” Mr. Gorton replied as my jaw dropped.
“What? But Circular Mo—” I stopped as I felt liquid fall from my nose. I leaned back and grabbed a tissue.
“Whoa, you’re looking pretty bad,” Blake stated as I felt my throat clog up.
“Thanks, I was going for that look today,” I sarcastically responded, then sniffled.
“Lana, I think you should go to the nurse,” Mr. Gorton suggested.
“What? I’m all right,” I mumbled.
“As much as I’d like you to get us all sick so we don’t have to attend school, I can’t, so please go before you get worse,” he said as his nose wrinkled up from my sick appearance. “And don’t worry, I’ll make sure your boyfriend brings the homework.”
“That’s depressing. You’re still gonna give me homework,” I said.
“Just get your things and go, Lana Willson, before I change my mind,” he said. I let out a sigh as I walked to my desk and gathered my things. When I looked up, Benny gave me a supportive smile. He held up his phone, which meant we’d stay in touch. I smiled, then walked out of the classroom.
***
Benny
As soon as Lana walked out of the classroom, the period dragged. We took notes on Electric, Gravitational, and Magnetic Fields. It was a lot, especially since Mr. Gorton explained everything in detail. When he’d explain, I’d talk to Lana. I wanted to be with her even though she’s sick.
“Yes, Mr. Sanchez?”
“What’s the point of all these notes on Coulomb’s Law and Electric Fields? It’s not like we’re gonna use them in the future. When I graduate, I’m gonna burn all my books,” Liam stated, and the teacher shook his head.
“It depends on what career you want to go into,” he replied.
