A/N: This is a short, most likely one shot story of the time after Finny created the Super SuicideSociety of the Summer Session, butbefore 'the fall'.This was at firstan english essay that I have yet to turn in, so I willedit it after I see what my teacher has to say about it. If you like it, tell me and I'll continue on with it. Please ENJOY THIS AND REVIEW!Thanks! Mpro1
Nighttime Excursion
"Naturally, they wouldn't be able to get to the courtyard fast enough before we left, so naturally we wouldn't be caught." I listened in awed silence as Finny reasoned with himself. He had a way of taking the worst situations and twisting them so they bent to his favor. The worst part; it worked. It wouldn't work for anyone else, not even for me, but it would work for Finny. I didn't know how he convinced me, but there I stood, under the pale nights sky in the looming shadow of a great oak tree. Its branched cast a protective shield that wrapped us from head to foot in darkness. I was freezing in an unnaturally cold August night, but never had I been so grateful for a single tree. One lamp in the dean's room flicked on. I held my breath in a fearful silence as the shadow of the Dean slid back and forth though the room. If he were to even glance outside, we'd be caught. I was never one for breaking the rules. Finny, of course, seemed perfectly relaxed. He seemed to sense my fear and repeated, "we're not going to be caught, Gene. I'd bet my life on it. Naturally, even if he did notice us, by the time he got down here we'd be long gone. You're one heck of an athlete, Gene. I know you can run fast. I'd say I run like you." And right then he did it again. It was not that I ran like him, but that he ran like me. He knew he was a superior athlete but he insisted on always making me out to be someone better. I couldn't tell if this was purely his kindness speaking, or if he was trying to tease me in a way I didn't find humorous. "There is no evidence," he went on, "that could point this midnight excursion towards us." And I believed him. Despite my senses telling me this was wrong, against the rules, I went along.
"Yes, yes," I agreed as I always did. "But if we don't get caught, no one's going to know where we are to come looking for us when we freeze to death." Finny gave me a sideways glace. A look he made when I've said something he thinks to be outrageous.
"We're not going to freeze to death." He sounded so sure I started to wonder if he was as sure as he sounded. I began to wonder if I even knew what I was saying.
Finny confidently stepped out of the shadows and casually made his way through the damp lawn field towards the forest. Just beyond their branches was an ironic freedom. This was the last four weeks before the end of the summer session here at Devon. Once we graduated, we'd no longer be trapped with in a school, but become men who are ready to face the world. Unfortunately, the world we were about to face was full of peril and sorrow. A war that didn't, technically, exist was sucking the population into a trap where countries who were once allies turned on each other, killing fellow humans. If only the world would see things the way we did, the way Finny did.
I lingered in the shadows, watching as Finny made his way through the soggy grass. Everything about him was so carefree, so concealing. Everyone else fell willingly for his charm, but not I. No, I was his best friend and roommate. Nothing could get by me. We were even. We were both jealous of each other, but how far would he go? How far would I go?
"Gene, mate. You commin'?" Finny yelled across the field. He was already standing at the edge of the forest, wildly waving his hands. I mentally cringed at the volume of his voice while talking a quick glance towards the building behind me. No one had heard him. I returned his call with a sharp gesture of my hand before sprinting there as fast as I could. Mud sloshed my sneakers and the hem of my pants. I tried by best to ignore the cold, slimy mixture of dirt and water that squished with every step.
When I reached Finny, he was wearing a smile that would have charmed anyone but me. I, of course, returned the smile like everyone else.
"Told you. I did tell you," he said to me in a professor like voice. We glanced at each other for a split second before cracking up into a fit of suppressed laughter. It sounded so odd hearing such a serious and bland voice coming from Finny. "Did you see how you ran?" he asked, back to himself. "Mate, if I could run like that I'd be golden."
Anger coursed through my veins like poison. How dare he say such a thing! Finny, a boy who could break a school swimming record whenever he pleased dare tell me that I could run better. If it had come from anyone else, I would have been pleased. Nevertheless, I knew him too well.
I, of course, smiled.
"Thanks Finny," I lied smoothly, "though I recon you're better. You probably couldn't see that well how fast I was going."
Finny shook his head and turned into the forest. His figure soon melted into the darkness of the shadows. I once again hesitated; lingering where Finny had left me. I also, once again, took after him in a sprint. I would not be left behind.
"That's not true Gene." His voice floated from the darkness not far ahead of me. When I was standing next to him, he continued. "I have 20/20 vision and saw you perfectly well. You were running like a panther, sleek and smooth." I gritted my teeth and was, for once, thankful for the darkness. I couldn't help but let a nasty sneer come across my face. He was trying to sabotage me from the inside. Finny wanted to make me feel like a good athlete so I'd care less about school and fail at my studies like him. Then, when I had no reason to doubt him or life in general, he turn on me and show me up. Leave me friendless and confused. But, unlike him, I was smart; something I could use to my advantage over him.
"Sure, Finny," I replied with a touch of coldness. Finny didn't seem to notice and carried on walking. Together, as one, we stumbled out of the branched that clawed at our arms and faces, and pushed our way through the last stretch of brush.
A single, one way road winded its way to town. The tar was cracked and worn with years of use and neglect. There were no street lights so we had to slowly make our way down the curves and corners all the way to town.
I walked with my head down as I watched my mud caked shoes shuffle, one in front of the other, repeatedly. My mind raced with thoughts that I could barely keep up with. Thoughts of Finny's possible, upcoming betrayal muddled my conciseness. I didn't notice when a pair of bright lights flashed in my face. I didn't notice a familiar voice shouting for me to get over. I didn't even notice when a horn blared a deafening honk. Only did I notice when body slammed into me, knocking me like a rag doll into the poppies that lined the road. My breath was punched out of me upon impact and I rolled a few times before coming to a painful stop. All my muscles burned, but nothing felt serious. For a minuet, I lay there, dazed, with my eyes squeezed shut. A hand gingerly grabbed my shoulder and shook it.
"Gene, Gene! Are you alright?" I slowly opened my eyes to the blurry image of Finny swimming in front of me. As he came into focus, the first thing I noticed was the look of pained concern.
"Finny?" I asked. My voice came out in a harsh croak that startled even me. "What happened?"
Relief washed over Finny and the tension that I hadn't even notice gripped his shoulders, loosened. "A car came around the corner and you didn't notice. You had your head down, you must have been thinking something serious," he mused to himself. "Well, anyways, I tried to tell you to get over but you didn't seem to hear me. The car tried to slow down, but there was no way you could get out of the way in time unless I did something. So I pushed you out of the way." He coughed uncomfortably. "Sorry about the landing. I recon this is better than being road kill to a big o'll car like that one, eh?" The smile was back, though, not as bright and carefree as normal. "Gene. Don't ever do that to me again. There was a second there, a moment where I though I was about to lose my best friend."
In those few moments, I forgot totally about my quarrel with him. He had saved my life. Finny had nearly gotten himself killed by a car to save me. I could only hope that some day I'd be able to repay him. Maybe someday I would say his life, too.