Hi, everyone. Sorry this took me long, I just went abroad, and didn't find much time to write. Anyway, enjoy this chapter :).
That day after school, I had to walk home. Jesse couldn't pick me up, Sleepy was in a class, Dopey was taking this girl to the park, and even Adam couldn't find the time to pass my house, saying he had some family stuff to do, and it was really important and stuff. So, because CeeCee had her car at the shop and walked home herself, the opposite direction from my house, I found myself walking home, in blazing heat, carrying my book bag, promising myself I'd get mad at Jesse. But, of course, that could never work. The moment he kisses me, I'll melt like a Popsicle on a hot summer day.
And it was in fact, a very hot summer day. I had missed the weather forecast and wore a really nice, black Armani blouse, which turned out to be a huge mistake. I was sweating like a pig. The sun was so strong, and there were absolutely no clouds in the sky. It was so hot, even a camel would complain. I mean, if a camel could talk.
I walked out of the mission, waving CeeCee goodbye. She was just as upset as I was about having to walk on a day like that.
I decided to take a shortcut. I never actually took it, but I figured it would be the right decision, because, you know, I was this close to start melting, right there on the sidewalk.
The shortcut was through this little park, I couldn't quite recognize which one it was, but I felt like I've been there before. I walked through the place, gazing longingly at a child sucking on a chocolate sundae. I wished I could just grab it from him, but his dad was nearby, and that guy didn't look like someone you should meddle with. He didn't seem too restrained from hitting a girl, even if she was just, you know, eighteen years old.
I kept walking past the kid, trying to see if his dad was going anywhere. Maybe I could bribe him into giving it to me, I thought, but then I remembered I only had like 25 cents in my pocket. I grunted in frustration as I passed him, telling myself I'm not that far from home – Andy, I knew, would love to make me a deluxe fruit sundae.
I exited the park, and went into this pretty empty street – which, again, I felt like I've seen before – and grunted again. Now hot wind was coming at me full speed, and I was feeling like tearing off my Armani blouse, just to cool off. But, I saw, that was impossible. There were a pack of what seemed like some teenage delinquents not that far from me.
I recognized them immediately. They were those guys from Sunrise College, with the reverse-baseball-cap leader. They seemed pretty stressed, and I could only guess why when I got a little closer, doing my best not to let myself be seen.
"Maybe… Maybe we could just get her drunk, or something? Tell her we're trying to help her out because she… I don't know, collapsed?" The guy with the reverse baseball cap turned to the guy suggesting getting 'her' drunk, looking annoyed. "Shut up, Holster," he demanded, spitting at him in the process. Holster lowered his gaze to the asphalt beneath him, appearing ashamed. "Sorry, DD," he said, while all the other guys looked at him the same way. I didn't care about Holster, though. I was just wondering who Holster suggested getting drunk, and why.
"We just need to get her back to campus. It's not that far away. We'll put her in the car and drive her back," another guy, a big guy with an afro, suggested, pleading 'DD' not to insult him in reply. His pleading was, clearly, absolutely useless. "Yeah, right, Ger. There are six of us! That's already enough for a Nissan Mycra. We barely even got here. How do you expect us to fit Janet, as petite and un-conscious that she is, into the back seat?"
Everyone turned very accusing looks at 'Ger', as he looked confused and lost. The poor guys in DD's group were being treated poorly, and you didn't have to know them personally to know that. Every one of them who even dared to stutter a word at their leader was insulted and shot down, getting painful looks from all the others – even though each and every one of them knows exactly how if feels to be accused. I couldn't feel worse about men than I ever did in that moment, where they all showed their leader just how they're 'real men', hurting who was probably a good friend of theirs in the process.
"We could fit her in the trunk," one of them blurted out, looking a lot more confident than any of the others was. He definitely wasn't scared about getting shot down by DD, and I could see why when he replied. "Sure, Joe. That's a great idea." All of the others, especially 'Ger' and Holster, stared at DD, amazed. DD had turned into a total pushover, right under Joe's leash. They didn't quite like that, I could see.
They all walked along in silence, as Joe and DD carried a girl – a pretty brunette dressed nice and conservative – out from behind a little closed pizzeria, and into the trunk of their little, beat up car. They squeezed inside the car, and started driving away. I kept walking along the street, shocked, and just hoped to get outta there.
Somehow, I just knew what I just saw will get me into some serious trouble.
--
As soon as I walked in, not even caring that Andy was offering me a sundae – which I would have definitely accepted, under different circumstances – I went straight to my room, and to my computer. I just had to check who those guys were.
I typed in the address to the Sunrise College website, and then the full list of attending students. Sure, I had no idea what their real names were, but I knew I could pull it off. And it wasn't even as hard as I thought it would be.
I had an option to browse through the full list of attending students, and, as I scrolled down the page, I bumped into the pictures of the guys I saw.
DD, as it turned out, went under the official name of Daniel Darcy. I was actually surprised to find his slightly dorky full name. Joe was actually Joseph Weinstein, native to, believe it or not, Brooklyn, New-York. Holster went under the name Leopold Holster, native to sunny California. Ger was apparently named by his loving parents, Gerard Sullivan. There were also others: David Brook, Jackson Anderson and finally, Michael McAdams. They were all seniors at Sunrise, who apparently passed every one of their classes with flying colors. Funny, I thought. They didn't really seem like the kind of guys that would stay home studying on a Saturday night, instead of, I don't know, getting high and molesting a freshman?
I know that they molested at least two freshmen, because I also found two photos of the girls they were after – one of them being the blonde I saw at campus – Angela Baker – and Janet, the pretty brunette they slipped in the trunk – who goes by the full name of Mari-Janet Philippi. They were both freshmen, and another thing I found common in the both of them – they were both originated in Brooklyn.
The rest of the day was a bore. I ate a chocolate-fudge sundae, I did my homework and I talked to Jesse on the phone. We agreed he's coming to dinner on Friday, and said goodbye sweetly.
Even though I knew I was protected by Jesse at all times, I also knew that what these guys were going to launch at me? Yeah. That's a little riskier than even Jesse could handle.
Sorry about that rather cryptic ending. Now I hope I could post this – even though, if you're already reading this, I probably got the hang of this whole wireless connection thing. Thanks for reading and please review! Love, Dana.
