Chapter 19: Running Out of Luck
“I need a huge favor,” I said into the phone.
“Don’t you always?”
“Ha-ha.” I said deadpan. “Did mom call you to know where I was?”
“Nope. Why, where are you?” He asked, sounding worried.
“It’s Sunday! I had a deadline, remember?” I lied… partially.
“Oh!” he said, getting the point. “No problem, if she enquires then I’ll tell her that you were at my house to play video games. Okay?”
“Thanks, Nick. I owe you one.” I told my best friend.
“Hey, you saved my ass from Marian plenty of times, it’s the least I can do,” he said. “So, how did it go?”
“Great! Absolutely fantastic!” And I was going all gaga on him. “Oh, Nick, I can’t wait to tell you all about it, but not right now, I’m nearly home. I’ll tell you at school tomorrow? You’ll love this one.”
“Okay. I’ll be waiting patiently to hear this ‘absolutely fantastic’ piece of news.” Nick exaggerated, but I could hear the smile in his voice.
We said our goodbyes and hung up as I climbed the stairs to my front porch. Laughter filled my ears as soon as I walked it. Eva and mom were making lunch and dad was nowhere to be found. “Hey, mom!” I greeted as I walked into the kitchen. “Where’s dad?”
“Over at a friend’s. You know how he gets on Sundays.” Dad has a group of college friends that meet up every Sunday, the only day-off my parents have in the week and that was not all the time. I wouldn’t be surprised if he skipped lunch. Men, football and barbeque were all I was going to say. “But don’t worry, he promised to make it by lunch.” As always, mom didn’t add.
“Great! I’ll go change,” I said heading to my room.
*
*
Unknown P.O.V
“That’s her?”
“Yes.” He gave me narrow-eyed glance. “That’s what we were told about.”
“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go!”
A slap on the back of his head.
“Shut the fuck up! Why not yell and let everyone know of our plan!”
“I was on—”
“I don’t fucking care what you were thinking! This is serious matter and I say we thread carefully. And besides, we were paid to scare her!”
“Oh, don’t be so righteous! We can have a little fun while we’re at it. Besides, it’s her who crossed a line.”
“I agree.”
Four agreements and they donned their masks.
It was time.
*
*
Akira's P.O.V
Lunch time passed by the next day with no signs of Nick. I waited the entire day to speak with him, to tell him the big news, but he decided to be absent that exact day. It was when I asked around that I heard that they had a practice match coming up soon and everyone was busy at the basketball court.
Ethan was nowhere in sight either, so I went looking for him. The final bell had just rung and I gathered my biology equipment and shoved them into my bag, took out my completed project and handed it over to Mrs. Martin, our biology teacher.
Her face lit up as I submitted the project. “Good work, Akira. Right on time, as always.”
“Thanks. See you later, Mrs. Martin.” I waved at her and exited her class and turned towards the chemistry lab. It was where I usually find Ethan, knee deep in project papers and notes.
But this time, as I neared the door, I found it locked from the outside. That was… strange. Ethan was always here after school.
Shrugging, I headed towards the basketball court. Ethan did say he’d have a chat with Dylan about yesterday…
But when I reached the basketball court, not only was the practice match in session, but all the seats were already filled, especially by the team’s admirers with Marian in the front row, florescent pink pom-poms in hand. I debated on staying or going somewhere quiet so I could finish my homework. Deciding on the later, I walked to the boy’s locker room, just outside the changing room. I would easily catch Nick when he was done practicing.
The locker room was located quite a bit far from the court, so the hallway on this side of the school was completely empty. It made the hairs at the back of my neck stand in attention. But I shook it off. I was scared of the dark, not empty hallways! Damn, I was turning into a sissy.
I entered the locker room and turned on all the lights and started walking towards the benches at the center so I could finish my work before the boys came in, but as soon as I reached the first row of lockers, the door to the room slammed open... and four masked men entered right behind me.
Shit!