Sunday is a weird day for me. I spend the entire morning trying to decide whether to text Enzo, wait for him to text me or to delete his number. My Dad isn't home and I take that as a good thing; I'm too distracted to try and have a normal conversation with him.
After some pointless deliberation, I check the time on my phone. It's 12:00. I open the news app on my phone, out of boredom and find that there is another dead body, this time a teenager. This news is followed by a statement from Ms Forbes, bringing the curfew down to 6pm, rather than 7. I get a huge rush of panic as I read the date and time of death of the teenager: Saturday night, just after I got home...
B - Enzo, are you okay?
I don't bother questioning how desperate that text seems, whether I sent a text too quick, whether I'm being weird. I don't think about any of the usual things that cross my mind when I'm texting someone I like. All I can think is that a teenager was killed around the time Enzo would be walking home. And I'm worried.
Ten minutes passes without any response. I tap my nails on the table nervously. An hour passes, still nothing. Some more time passes, it must have been a few hours because my Dad comes through the door.
B - Enzo, I'm worried
I quickly send before I put my phone in my pocket and rush to my Dad. He is friends with Caroline's mom and so if any civilian knows the identify of the teenager, before it's been made public, it's my Dad.
"Hey, Bonnie." He greets me. I quickly say hello and then ask the important question before I burst.
"Do you know who the teenager was?" I'm speaking so fast it takes him a second to catch up. "The recent animal attack." I clarify.
He looks surprised at my question and I resist rushing his answer. "No, I don't. Why are you asking?"
I sigh audibly. "I'm worried it's one of my friends." is all I say. He shakes his head.
"Caroline and Elena are both fine." He rubs my arm to reassure me. This time I shake my head.
"I mean another friend." I leave the room before I cry. This has made me realise just how much I care about Enzo, and in such a short amount of time.
On Monday morning, it's back to not sleeping. Such a short respite it was. I'm ready an hour before my alarm and that's only because I spent 3 hours just lying in bed, awake. I say good morning to my Dad and leave straight away, without looking at the news; I'm too worried to find out whether the dead teenager is Enzo.
I check my phone for replies from Enzo three times before I start driving. I check it again when I park in the school parking lot and I check it repeatedly as I enter the school building.
I check around for signs of sad teenagers, people who have just found out that someone they know is dead. But everyone seems normal. As I scan the room for reactions, my gaze falls on somebody standing at the end of the hallway... Enzo!
I breathe out a huge sigh of relief and smile at him. I decide that I'm going to scold him for not replying to my text and leaving me worried. He catches my eye and my smile deepens. Maybe I won't scold him, yet. He looks down at the floor awkwardly and then walks away. I get the feeling that my texts were being ignored on purpose.
Angry, I stomp over to Elena and Caroline. They both give me a questioning look and I huff to outline my exasperation.
"So, long story short, Enzo and I hung out and now he is ignoring me." I say before they can even ask me why I'm annoyed.
"You hung out?" Caroline of course only picks that part of the sentence out. "When?"
"Saturday night." I bite my lip nervously, waiting for them to tell me I'm reckless. That the curfew is there for a reason. Elena and Caroline look at each other for a moment and then turn back to me.
"You really like him, don't you?" Elena asks and I slump against the locker behind me. I nod my head and they both smile sympathetically.
"Right." Caroline claps her hands together, matter of factly. I'm about to hear some of her wisdom, whether I want to or not. "You need to find him, drag his ass somewhere he can't get away from you until he listens and tell him that he's being a jerk."
"And tell him that he will lose you if he doesn't start treating you better." Elena adds and I nod slowly. Maybe they are right. Maybe I need to put my foot down and stop being scared that I'll spook him. He's already ignoring me, what's the worst that could happen?
