by Glasko Klein
“No parties,” Daniel choked out. “Everybody calm down, and let’s just hold on for a second.”
By then Gloria had caught up to Daniel, and she seemed to be a little frustrated. “Hey, so what’s the deal, do your friends need a ride or not?” she asked. “Cause I wouldn’t mind getting back to the show.” Just then a rowdy car full of teenagers pulled up beside them.
“Who are you?” Laurie yelled, glaring at Gloria. “Look, whatever. I’m out of here. Some people who are way cooler than you losers are pulling up, and I think they’re headed to this party, invite or no.”
“Well, wherever you’re going, you should get to it, Laurie. It looks like the cops are here,” Charlie said, jerking his head in the direction of the side view mirror. Daniel turned around and saw the parade of police cars behind them rolling into the neighborhood toward the party, just like last time.
“Let’s go!” Laurie’s friend called to her, and she hopped into the back of their car, which sped off.
Gloria had her arms folded across her chest and was looking impatient. “What’s going on, Daniel? I don’t think we should stick around here much longer. There’s already enough excitement without us getting involved.”
Daniel turned to her, painfully aware that he didn’t have any solid reasoning he could offer as to why he’d dragged her all the way out here. But before he could even attempt any sort of explanation or apology, the sound of squealing tires—followed by a deafening crash—erupted from nearby.
The sounds seemed to have come from behind them, near the entrance to the neighborhood.
“Whoa, what was that?” Charlie asked, looking nervously over his shoulder.
“That could have been us,” Daniel said. He took a deep breath. He hoped the other kids weren’t hurt. But he couldn’t help feeling intensely relieved at the same time. “I had to come down here and warn you guys that could have been us.” Daniel smiled at Gloria, who gave him a small smile in return.
His phone buzzed in his pocket, but he ignored it. He’d get to it later, if ever. For now, he was just happy that he and his friends were okay.
About the Author
Glasko Klein is a financial researcher who holds an MFA in fiction from Long Island University Brooklyn. He resides in New York City with his fiancée and his bilingual cat, Umlaut.
