• Our Group Is Here
    Chapter 5
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    “Hey, you know what we should do?” Momo says as he, Catie and I stand back from the crowd forming around Pen’s house, Fear, Fear’s family, some members of the group and the cops.

    “Eat pie!?”

    “Pie is--

    “You say it and I’m taking you down, b***h.” I cut off, knowing what was coming next. Catie and I glare at each other and then Momo claps his hands to get our attention.

    “AS I WAS SAYING!” He starts, looking back and forth between us before continuing, “We should get some weapons from Pen’s dad’s tool shed and then run around like murderous lunatics.”

    “NICE!!!” Catie compliments, giving Momo a high-five.

    “Wow, Momo. I didn’t know you had that many big words in your vocabulary.”

    “It was only two!” Momo protests as he crosses his arms.

    “Still shocking.” I say as we make our way to the tool shed--Pen’s dad works in the lumber industry and makes things out of the wood, like chairs, frames, etcetera. I slip a bobby pin out of my hair which causes my bangs fall in front of my face, and I angrily blow it away as I pick the lock on the door.

    Once I get it open, Momo grabs a chainsaw, Catie a shovel, and I myself take an axe. I push Momo forward and mutter, “You first.”

    “Okay, follow my lead.” Momo takes a deep breath and then runs forward, his chainsaw running and held in front of him as he screams, “YOU’LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE!!!”

    “HOLY s**t HE’S GOT A CHAINSAW!!” One of the cops shouts and Catie and I start to crack up.

    “FREEDOM!!!” Catie calls as she runs down the street a little bit behind Momo, having started late.

    “FOR NARNIA!!!!!” I lift my axe up into the air and run after them. Cops chase after us and police cars screech as they make their way down the neighborhood street. As we turn onto the one heading downtown, we see a helicopter make it’s way overhead and next thing I know, I’m sitting in a jail cell in Juvie.

    “How did we end up in here too when WE didn’t do anything!?” Snoop crosses her arms as the whole group sits around, bored, waiting for our families to come and bail us out.

    “I dunno, we were all at the scene of the ‘crime’, I guess.” I say, using little air quotes on the word “crime”.

    “But technically, WE didn’t do anything! WE were good! WE--

    “Can you stop saying we like ‘WE’!?” I cut off, getting annoyed.

    “Fine then…be that way…we…” She mumbles as she turns to sit next to Momo. I don’t even bother to yell at her and instead I move forward to Pen, who is pacing along the front of the cell.

    “Calm down, Pen--

    “I’M A GOOD KID! I GET STRAIGHT A’S!!! I’VE GOTTEN THEM MY WHOLE LIFE!!” She screams in my face, and I stumble back a few steps. “WELL, OKAY, MAYBE I DID GET A B- IN MATH ONCE, BUT IT WAS MATH!! AND ALL THAT X TIMES Y STUFF!!!!!!! I’M NOT EINSTEIN YA KNOW!! STOP PUTTING PRESSURE ON ME!!! WWAAAAAHHH!!!!!”

    Fear stands up and slaps Pen across the face. We stand there for a second as her head slowly migrates back and then mutters, “Thanks. I needed that.”

    “Jennifer?” A deep, rough voice comes out of nowhere. We all turn to face the jail cell next to us where a boy who looks around 15 or 16 sits. He’s dressed in all black and so many chains dangle from his clothes and skin that it’s hard to tell if he has a face. “Is that really you?”

    “HEY, X-MAN!!” Fear runs forward and extends a fist through the bars separating the cells. The so called “X-Man” bumps his fist against it and nods, as if seeing an old friend. “Guys, this is my old friend who I shared a cell with when I was jaywalking, X-Man.” Oh. Well then.

    “Hey, X-Man.” We say in chorus.

    “So are these those crazy loser friends you were telling me about?” We all slowly turn to glare at Fear after X-Man says this, and Fear just laughs a little nervous laugh and waves a bit. “Which ones the weak one?”

    “Oh, that’s Pen. The one who was just freaking out and I slapped.” Fear points out our sheep-loving best friend and adds, “The one with the purple hair and ‘I LOVE SHEEPY’ shirt.”

    “Hey, she’s sorta cute.” X-Man compliments as he adjusts a chain on his hat.

    Pen’s deep purple eyes widen in fear and she turns towards the front, flailing around and screaming, “HELP!!! HELP!!!!! I’M TOO YOUNG TO BE RAPED!!!!!! I HAVEN’T EVEN SEEN IF YUUKI ENDS UP WITH ZERO OR KANAME YET!!”

    “Oh it’s Kaname.” Fear says.

    Pen turns and glares, “AND YOU HAD TO GO AND SPOIL IT FOR ME!!! THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!”

    “Yeah, way to be a biscuit, Fear!” Taylor speaks up, crossing her arms and frowning. When she says “biscuit” she means b***h.

    “Okay, guys,” A policeman steps forward towards our cell and continues, “Almost all your parents are here, but we just need to ask you a few questions before we let you go-

    “OKAY, SO I FORGOT TO FEED THE CLASS GOLDFISH IN 3RD GRADE!!!” Pen blurts out, starting to get all frantic again. “BUT HE WAS JUST SO, I DON’T KNOW, SAD LOOKING, AND I THOUGHT HE WOULD BE HAPPIER IF HE WAS IN HEAVEN WITH JESUS AND ALL THE SHEEPYS!! SO I SORTA LEFT HIM ALONE FOR A BIT AND I STARTED TO FEEL BAD AND WAS GONNA START TO FEED HIM CAUSE I STARTED TO THINK LIFE WAS A PRECIOUS THING, BUT THEN I SAW THE FIRST SHEEPY I EVER SAW AND IT WAS LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT AND I TOTALLY FORGOT ABOUT BOB AND THEN HE WAS GONE!!”

    We all blink and stare at the crazy, purple-haired, sheep obsessed, Christ believing, never cussing, totally innocent best friend.

    “Err…I can see you guys have had a long day. Why don’t you just go now.”

    The policeman unlocks the cell door and releases us and we all walk out, Pen launching forward, screaming, “I’M COMING SHEEPY!!!!”

    Everybody bids goodbye, knowing what punishments were coming when they stepped out of the doorway. Soon enough, I’m left alone, sitting on the steps, waiting for my mom to come pick me up.

    “Hey, Alice, right?” A familiar voice speaks up from ahead of me. I slightly raise my hand to see non other than my crush, Keaton, standing ahead of me.

    I’m at a loss of words and finally manage to choke out, “Yes.”

    “Oh, I’m Keaton.” He smiles that breath-taking smile and adds, in case I didn’t know, “From choir.”

    “I-I know.” I stutter, then mentally kick myself for sounding like such an utter idiot.

    “Can I join you?”

    “Sure.” I squeak, and he walks up the steps and sits next to me on the 4th one. He sets down a McDonalds to-go bag and a large cup, and I question, “What’s with the food? And why were you coming here anyway?”

    “Oh, my dad’s chief police. He called me earlier and muttered something about, ‘random group of misfit teenage trouble-markers…crazy purple-haired chick with an ‘I love sheepy’ shirt freaking out…huge headache, must have hamburger and extra large fries from McDonalds…and here I am.”

    “Nice.” I reply, laughing. “And I’m disappointed to admit that I’m one of those misfit teenage trouble makers.”

    “You? Seriously?”

    “Yeah. Actually, two of my other best friends and I made it.”

    “Nice.” He laughs, and then adds, “And I take it you were the one who screamed FOR NARNIA!!!!!” He shouts the last part and I start cracking up.

    “Guilty as charged.” We laugh for a bit and then I ask, “Hey, you didn’t happen to get a milkshake too, did you?”

    “Oh, uh, actually, I did, but I already drank some--

    I grab the paper size large cup out of his hand as he started to pick it up, flip the lid off with my thumbnail, grab three french-fries, dip them into the thick yet thin chocolate liquid and then eat it.

    “You dip french-fries in milkshakes?” Keaton asks, a little disgusted.

    “Hey, it’s the heavenly combo!” I protest, then extend the milkshake and packet of french-fries for him to try some. He gives me an unsure look and I bring them further closer, willing him to take some.

    “Well alright. Just one, thought.” He takes a french-fry and hesitantly dips it into the drink and brings it up to his mouth to eat it. His eyes widen and he exclaims, “Holy crap, this is GOOD!!”

    “Told ya so.” I smile as we eat more and chat about the new movie The Lovely Bones. I haven’t seen it, and Keaton hasn’t either, but we both want to see it and have seen many previews and trailers.

    “Maybe we can see it together sometime.”

    My heart skips a beat as I reply with a smile, “I’d like that.”

    The sound of a car honk pulls me out of my smitten state and I look forward to see my mom in that hideous old silver mini van. “Time to go to hell.” I mutter under my breath as I stand up, grabbing my black leather shoulder backpack that I brought with me when I went to the tree-house earlier today.

    He hands me the rest of the french-fries and says, “See you tomorrow, then.”

    “Uh, we have no school tomorrow. Some make up snow day thing, remember?”

    “Oh, yeah…Well Monday, then!”

    “That’s President’s Day!” I call as I walk towards my mom’s car.

    “Valentines day!?” He shouts.

    “That’s Sunday!”

    “So!? I thought we were gonna catch a movie!” I chuckle as I open the door to the car and he continues, “See you around, Alice.”

    “Yeah, see ya.” I smile as I get in a seat and close the door. He waves from the steps as the car drives away and I wave back, watching--even after he’s gone into the building--until the building fades out of sight.

    “Alice Hewitt, you are in SO much trouble.” My mom growls from the front seat.

    “Yeah, yeah, sure, of course…” I mutter, my mind transfixed in a fantasy, located in a place far away from where I stand, which will soon turn to be hell.