Grant weaves through the crowds of people, almost too quickly for me to keep up. I can only barely keep him in sight. Whereas he manages to slip through openings between people, I always get walled off the moment I try to do the same. It's like every time a group of people tries to get through a crowd, only the person in front has it easy. It doesn't help that we're in the pouring rain either.
The day has practically turned to night with all of the rain clouds in the sky. You'd never know it was only 3 O'clock. I keep finding myself looking back up at it. I don't know why, but it gives me a weird feeling, like a rock dropping into my stomach. What's the word? Dread? Yeah, that's it. It's like something terrible's about to happen, but it's just rain, right?
Despite Grant's speed, it doesn't take me long to realize where he's headed: his house. Sure, that makes sense. But he seems much too worried to just be going there because it's a storm. Even a hurricane doesn't come on fast enough for him to be racing home. There's definitely something else on his mind. Is it the same feeling I have?
Eventually, we make it out of the shopping district and away from the gigantic crowds. Now, we can actually keep up with Grant. Well, for now. I doubt I can keep up long enough to reach his house. I'm not exactly what one might call, athletic. His house is, like, fifteen minutes away, even while running like this. I can't run this fast for that long!
Evidently, Grant realized this too. Just as I'm thinking I can't run anymore, he finally comes to a stop in front of a bus stop. I come panting to a halt soon after, with Anna not far behind me. It takes me a moment to catch my breath, but once I do the questions just come tumbling out.
"What are you in so much of a hurry for? How come you're not telling us anything? Wh-"
He's fast to cut me off. "Look, I'll explain everything when to you when we get back to my place, okay?" From what I can see behind his rain-matted hair, his eyes are narrowed, and full of anger. I've never seen him this annoyed with me before. I take a step back. Maybe I should shut up for once...
It isn't long before the bus comes, but neither of us speak in that time. Anna kept trying to start a conversation, but there was no way it'd work. You could practically see the tension floating between us.
By the time we step on the bus, we're all soaked to the bone. It's almost as if the amount of rain increased in the short few minutes we were standing there. What if this really does turn into a hurricane? I mean, Grant is usually pretty accurate when it comes to this stuff. Somehow. While we were waiting, he kept tapping his foot and looking around, as if he were desperate to get moving. I almost got the feeling we were slowing him down.
Unfortunately, we don't even get to sit on the bus; it's packed tighter than a can of sardines. But despite the lack of room, Grant and I make an effort to get as far away from each other as possible. It helps that everyone tends to do the same when it comes to wet children. Adults can't even stand a little water. Sad if you ask me.
Eventually, we reach the outskirts of the city, or at least the closest stop to it. Grant's house is actually pretty far out of it, making it a hassle to get there sometimes. At least his place is large. I guess that's a benefit to living so far away from everything.
It takes way longer than I would've liked to reach Grant's house. However little I dried out is all but pointless now. I really hope this storm clears up soon. I can't take a whole trip back to the orphanage. But by the time we reach Grant's place, his older sister, Maddie, is outside at the front door, calling and waving him over. Luckily for here, there's a roof over their porch. Of course she gets to be dry.
"Where have you been?" she shouts once we're in earshot. "Mom and Dad have been trying to call you for an hour!"
"My phone's been messed up lately," Grant replies. "You know that."
"Whatever. Just get inside already. Mom and Dad think-" Finally, the 18 year old's gaze settles on me and Anna. She suddenly looks very worried. Maybe coming here was a bad idea... "Uh, hey Danny and... sorry. Don't know you."
"It's Anna." She tells her bluntly. She doesn't exactly take well to being the one out-of-the-loop. Not her best quality if you ask me.
"Yeah... How about you two get inside?" Then, she all put pushes us in the door, leaving only herself and Grant outside.
After a moment, after getting over the surprise, Anna finally says something. "Is it just me, or are they hiding something?"
I start ringing out my hat, the water practically coming out like a waterfall. "Yeah, I get the feeling Grant's not telling me something. He always gets weird like this when we're at his house..."
A sly smile creeps onto her face. "Maybe you were onto something when you started stalking him." I'm going to choose to ignore that. Not that I could do anything about it, since Grant and Maddie chose to come in right then.
"How about you two head over to the kitchen?" Maddie suggests. "We'll go find some dry clothes for you." Without even waiting for an answer, she starts ushering us over to the kitchen, which isn't too far from the front door. And it isn't long before the two are heading upstairs, hopefully to get some dry clothes like they said.
"Oh, and help yourself to anything in the fridge," Grant calls down before disappearing from the view.
"This is getting weirder," Anna says after a few seconds. "Something's off here."
"It's not too weird," I tell her, opening the fridge door. He's always got something good in here. "He always lets me raid his fridge."
"No, not that!" she snaps. I pull out a jello cup. Just what I was looking for. "Look, doesn't any of this strike you as odd? I mean, I know your friend's family is weird, but this is too out of place."
I grab a spoon and peel open the snack cup. "Since when do you even care? You seemed pretty disinterested in this whole thing at the start."
She folds her arms over her chest and turns away with a huff. "I just think this is too odd. I think the real question is why are you so disinterested now?" She pauses for a moment before practically seeming to deflate. "You know what, fine. You were right. This is the one time I'll admit that."
Just what I wanted to hear.
I toss the now empty plastic cup into the trash. "Well, since you said it-"
"Rub it in and I'll destroy you."
"As I was saying, I'd say we have another few minutes before they show up again. Which is just enough time to look around a little." I take a step forward, but right then, there's an impossibly loud boom of thunder. I can't help but cover my ears; it sounds like lightning flashed right above us! And by the time it's over, there's a loud popping noise and everything goes dark. The power's out.
It's then that Grant and Maddie return from upstairs, each carrying a bundle of clothes. "Hey, are you guys okay?" Maddie asks. "Nothing exploded or anything from that power surge?"
"W-we're fine," Anna stutters. You know, she looks kind of pale if you ask me. Almost like she's afraid of thunder and lightning. Oh, I am so messing with her later!
"And you're out of jello," I add. What? They needed to know so they can buy more.
"Yeah," Grant says upon reaching the kitchen. The two of them then hand us each a pile of clothes to wear. I've gotta say, it'll be nice to get out of these wet clothes. "The bathroom's down the hall, Anna."
While she goes down the hallway to change, I turn my attention to Grant. Question time.
"Okay, I think it's about time you tell me what's been going on with you lately. You've obviously been hiding something."
Once again, he looks hesitant. "Look, I told you I'd tell you eventually, but now's not the time."
"Wait, you said you'd tell him?" Maddie shouts. Both of us spin around to face her in shock. I almost forgot she was there. And she looks mad. But suddenly, she seems to have realized what she said. I knew they were hiding something! "I'll deal with you later, but for now, Mom and Dad want us downstairs." With that, she grabbed Grant's arm (with a lot of force) and drags him off toward the basement door.
"Ow! Hey, lay off!"
Great. I'm not getting anything out of those two, am I? After another minute or so, Anna comes back, wearing her new clothes. She has a yellow shirt with some fabric going around her waist and a white skirt that goes right above her knees. To be honest, I didn't really think it's fit her that well if they were basically hand-me downs. I hope I'm that lucky.
I head into the bathroom and unfold the clothes. It's probably one of Grant's old clothes, which is kind of embarrassing since we're the same age. It actually looks my size too. He just has to be taller than me, doesn't he?
But that's besides the point. I'm glad to peel off my (now somewhat drier) wet clothes and get the new ones on. And it turns out they do fit me. At least it's something I kind of like. A neon green shirt with white sleeves and a pair of blue cargo pants. Lots of pockets; perfect. Of course, my white hoodie's going to cover it up most of the time...
Just as I finish pulling my sneakers back on, there's a banging on the bathroom door, making me jump up. "Hey, hurry up!" Grant? What's he doing back up so quickly. "It's kind of an emergency!"
I open the door to see Grant standing there, looking a little panicked. "What's the problem?"
He grabs my arm and drags me out. "No time to explain. For real this time!"
"Wait, what?" Before I know it, we're at the basement door. Grant throws it open and we're soon racing down the cement steps. Thankfully, he
Let go of my hand by then so I don't end up falling down. That would hurt.
"Is this a hurricane or something? Why are we going to the basement?"
"Uh well, not exactly," he mutters. Finally, we reach the basement. Honestly, I was expecting more. There's just a bunch of junk scattered about. Usual basement stuff. Where's the weird stuff I was kept away from for the past 10 years? This is boring.
"Wait a minute, where are the other guys?" Unfortunately, Grant doesn't seem to be paying much attention to me. He's over by the back wall, muttering to himself. I can't catch what he's saying, but I don't think I need to.
In a few seconds, a rectangle of light around the wall appears. In a moment, it slides forward and away, revealing a hallway leading to who knows where. A secret door! I knew he was hiding something!
"I know this is weird and all, but you should really get inside right now." Grant explains. He seems kind of desperate. Yeah, this would be a good time to do what he says. But I swear, if I don't get some answers soon, I'll take all of the good snacks from his fridge. I'll just leave the tapioca pudding or something.