1. Parade
Beep! Beep! Beep!
I banged on the snooze button twice.
Beep! Beep!
"Stupid," I trailed off, still confused and entirely annoyed.
I banged on it a few more times.
Beep! Beep!
"You freaking alarm!" I banged on it once more.
I tried to go back to sleep. I drifted in and out of conciseness. It was one of those super loud and super annoying alarm clocks.
I started to scream stuff about how I was going to take a chainsaw and cut you up you stupid alarm.
It obviously knew I was lying. The thing was clearly possessed.
As started to wake up better I picked it up, pushing every button.
It wouldn't stop.
On... Off... On... Off...
I kept sliding the button back and forth, but it kept going. Like the freaking energizer bunny with the drum.
Finally, I picked it up and hurled it across my room. It slammed against the wall and landed in my puffy green chair.
Beep! Beep!
Oh. My. God.
I took my pillow and screamed into it.
While I was screaming I realized that I had set my cell phone instead.
Oops.
I guess I just broke my alarm clock for no reason.
I reached over to my cell phone and lightly tapped on the little off button.
Ha... It worked.
I was fixing to break into a touch down dance when I heard my mom get up.
I went over to my chair to access the damage.
It looked fine. When I picked it up it fell into two pieces. I pushed them together and heard a click as they fit together. I carefully set it down and went to eat breakfast.
"Megan, what was that sound in your room?" My mom asked while she made coffee.
"Uh.... I pushed my alarm off my end table."
She just shook her head and told me to get ready.
When I was done I walked the four blocks to school. I had gotten there early because the whole alarm thing had woken me up faster than usual. I decided- not to waste my valuable life in the gym waiting for the bell to ring (Because seriously the gym stinks)- but to wait outside on a bench reading Twilight for like the fifth time. I probably would have gotten lost in the book and missed school if it wasn't for the screaming.
Who was screaming- I didn't know, because I turned my head so fast that I had a major whiplash and my vision was block by a cloud of my dirty blond hair.
The screaming had ran towards me and hugged me. I flew off my bench. I was getting ready to kick and punch when they stopping hugging me. I wiped the hair from my face and shut my mouth. I hadn't realized that I was screaming to.
"Whoa. Did we scare you." Ali said. Her amber eyes were wide with excitement.
"Yeah. That's not the easy thing to do." Caitlin said, then added, "The scaring you not the running. Running is easy, no matter what Vanessa says." She giggled at her rambling and turned her head as Vanessa came walking down the sidewalk at her usual slow pace.
"What? I don't run." She said simply.
"So, are we skipping school or what?" Ali asked and my eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Kidding."
"Oh…" I said nodding, understanding her attempt at a joke.
"Come on," Ali started walking towards the school, "We don't want Vanessa to have to run."
Vanessa raised one brow, "Oh, nothing could make me run."
At lunch Ali was going on about how her sister was going to be in the parade after school, and that her mom had to work so she has to go video tape it.
"Hey, could you guys come with me?" She asked us.
"Sure." Vanessa said. "Do we have to walk there?"
"It's only a few blocks."
"That's a yes." She sighed.
"Can't," Caitlin said with food hanging out of her mouth. Then she swallowed and continued. "I have to baby sit and I have a mountain of homework."
"How much could you have? It's the second week of school." Ali argued.
"I know! Stupid teachers."
"I'm pretty sure I can." I said as I repressed a sigh.
"Thanks."
"Hey, do you think the two of you are enough to carry me?" Vanessa teased.
I laughed, "Um, let me think about that… No!"
"Are you sure you can't carry me?" Vanessa said as we walked down the street.
"I'm absolutely, positively, one hundred percent sure." I sighed as my bag started to slide down my shoulder again. "Lets leave our stuff in my house."
"Okay they said gratefully as we turned and walked up the steps. When I got into my house I notice my cell phone was rundown. I plugged it in a hurried to join Ali and Vanessa.
When we got to the street where the parade was taking place we sat down on a bench and waited.
"How do you work this thing?" Ali asked as she turned her mom's video camera over and over in her hands. "Mine is so much simpler. How does she understand this?"
I laughed. "Its just a video camera. How hard could it be?"
She shoved the video camera in my face. I felt my smile slowly fall and my jaw went slack as I saw all these buttons without any symbol or word to help decipher them. "Apparently that hard." I said as I looked back at her. She took it back and started trying to get the right buttons.
"I'm going to go get a corndog." Vanessa said as she jumped up.
"Yum. Me to." I said and turned to Ali. "Good luck."
"I'll need it." she sighed.
We weaved through the small crowd that was forming for the parade. I didn't get why so many people came. I didn't like crowds, but I sure could move through them. Well at least a lot faster than Vanessa.
"Wait up, Meagan. Gosh, your fast."
I rolled my eyes. "Your just slow."
"Thanks."
"Whoa, your really moving!" I said as I saw her feet. She was almost fast walking… For her.
"The smell of fried meat does that to a person when they forgot their lunch money. Now lets go." Her stomached growled as if to agree. We both were laughing as I went up and paid for us both.
"You owe me." I said as I handed the greasy guy the money, knowing she wouldn't ever give it back.
"Don't worry," She teased. "I will forget it tomorrow at school along with my lunch money." She laughed while I pretended to pout.
We sat down on a cold bench and began to eat. We could her all the car doors shutting and the crowd grew.
I few minutes later Shay came running up with Caitlin.
"Hey, you made it!"
"Yeah! I finally got my dog to eat my homework! All I had to do was pour some meat juice on it." We stared at her like we always did when she said or did some thing stupid.
"Anyway," Ali sighed. "Can one of you go see which side Haley is on. My mom will get all mad if I don't get a good shot." She rolled her eyes.
"Isn't that far away?" Vanessa asked.
Ali ignored her and asked, "Meagan?"
"Sure."
"Thanks. Come back and tell me if I'm on the wrong side."
"Kay."
"Byes." Caitlin said. Vanessa just nodded with the corn dog stick hanging out of her mouth. Caitlin had the video camera inches away from her head trying to get it to work.
I decided the fastest way would be to cut down an alley that was a block away. Right from there I could see the Elementary school which was were they always started the parade. As I turned down the alley I noticed that the shadow from the tall abandoned building on my right made the alley look dark and eerie. I didn't really mind. It was kind of nice how I felt that unnecessary adrenalin rush.
I fell forward and had to catch my self on the building as I tripped over something. I looked back to see that I tripped on a soda can. I notice some movement and looked up to see and man turning down the alley. I quickly righted my self and started to walk faster. I felt my pocket and silently cursed myself for deciding to charge my phone that evening instead of last night.
I heard the foot steps behind me as I made my way down the alley.
I could also see the man's reflection as I come closer to a shiny trash can.
Crap, he was big. Not like had-to-many-doughnuts big, but more like work-out-everyday big.
Man, why couldn't I have brought my phone? Cause I'm an idiot, I thought. Why couldn't Caitlin have gone. I know this sound super shallow, but she would have been safe. She hates anything scary. The girl still sleeps with a night light for crying out loud, so I'm pretty sure she wouldn't have come down here.
Stop freaking. I told myself. He is probably just lost or taking a short cut, like me. I laughed silently to myself about how ridiculous I was being.
Then in the reflection of the trash can I saw a flashy melt object. I squinted. It took me a second to recognize the shape as a knife.
My fist tighten. My only choice was to run. And I mean run fast. Maybe I could scream to. I swallowed and realized my throat was dry. I couldn't reach maximum volume, but maybe I could run to the end of the alley and a block down were I would surely find a crowd of people at the parade.
I took a long step. Preparing to take off, when I looked down I realized that my left shoe was untied.
Oh, Crap.
I saw the man reach under his coat were I had seen the knife. Then I saw a flash of metal.
I shot forward. Trying to scream. Maybe my throat was locked up with fear or maybe it was the corndog coming back up but I didn't make a sound. I felt like I was flying. I guess what they say about adrenalin rushes are true. When I was about ten feet ahead from were I began I heard someone's feet skid and something on the roof. When I looked behind me a boy was falling threw the sky. Right off the one story building.