Riley's Point of View
It was just a short walk back to my apartment from the bakery. Maya and I didn't talk much the entire way there. It was an awkward silence, one that I felt I needed to break.
"He kissed me!" I blurted out. Why am I so awkward?
"I saw," Maya said, smiling.
"Does this mean we're a 'thing' now?"
She shrugged. "I don't know. Are you?"
My shoulders drooped. "That's why I asked you!" I shook my head. "Well, if we are, then I'm really happy, butI'mnotsureifI'mreadyyetand-"
"Whoa, Riley." Maya interrupted me. "Calm down. . . that's right. . . Breathe"
"I'm breathing," I told her. She smirked.
"Now say what you were saying, but slower," Maya said calmly.
I took a deep breath. "I'm really happy that Lucas likes me, but I'm not sure if I'm ready for a relationship just yet."
"You know that I don't know as much as you think I know," Maya said. "How can I tell you what to do if I don't know what to do? Use common sense, Riles."
"Oh, Maya," I said, smiling. "You know I don't use common sense. My sense is anything but common!"
Maya rolled her eyes as we came to a stop in front of my building. "Whatever."
She led the way upstairs, up to apartment #26. My home. She burst through the door with such force that I thought she might knock it of of the hinges.
"I'm ho-ome!" she yelled, her voice echoing through the living room. I expected to hear Auggie and my parents giggling at her entrance. But the apartment was silent.
"Mom?" I called. "Dad? Auggie?" My heart rate began to increase. "Oh, Maya, what if something terrible happened to them?" I looked at Maya, who seemed completely calm. She pointed to a piece of paper on the counter.
"Look, sweetie," she said, sarcasm dripping from her voice. "They left a note."
I felt my face grow hot. "Oh," I said, embarrassed. I made my way over to the counter, where a note in my Mom's handwriting was laying. I picked it up and read it.
Riley,
Your father and I both have to work late today. Then we must go and sign the rest of the papers so that we officially own part of Mrs. Svorski's bakery. We should be home by 7:00. Auggie is out getting ice cream with Ava. Maya is welcome to sleep over, since it's Friday. Have fun, and try not to burn the house down!
- Mom
I read the note out loud to Maya. I checked the time on my phone. 4:30.
"We have hours until Mom and Dad get home," I groaned. "We have to wait and ask them if we can go shopping. What if we're out later than seven?"
"Riley, you know all we have to do is write them a note," Maya said. "They can't say no if we're already gone, can they?"
I shrugged. "I guess you're right."
"I know I'm right," Maya smirked. "Come on, let's get ready."
"What should I wear?" I fretted, holding up two dresses. They were the exact same dresses, but one was light blue and the other was dark.
Maya sat on my bed, looking bored. "How about what you're wearing?"
"I guess so," I sighed, hanging the dresses back up.
"I don't see why you need to change your clothes to go shopping,"she said, raising her eyebrows at me.
I shrugged. "I dunno. I felt like changin- is that a fire alarm?"
CRASH!
A piece of the ceiling fell, crashing down onto the floor, dangerously close to my foot. Maya and I screamed.
The chunk of ceiling was on fire, and it quickly lit my rug. I panicked. My muscles wouldn't move, no matter how much I tried. I was frozen.
"Riley!" Maya's voice over the crackling flames snapped me into action. "The fire escape!"
Another flaming hunk of ceiling crashed down. Now I could hear the screams of the people up stairs, yelling "Fire!"
The pillows around the window caught fire. Now it was impossible to get to my window without going through flames.
"It's too dangerous!" I yelled. "Let's get out of here!"
I opened the bedroom door to see that everything was engulfed in flames. Maya led the way. We fought our way through the living room, which was hard, considering I couldn't see anything through the smoke.
My lungs were killing me. Every breath felt like I was being stabbed in the chest. I had no idea what was going on. How had this happened? Why was the apartment on fire?
I didn't know. What I did know was that we had to get out of there. Fast.
We ran down the stairs, leaving the apartment. I had never been so glad that my parents and Auggie weren't home yet in my life.
The flames rushed down the flammable carpet below our feet. We had to move fast, or else our feet would get burned.
I tripped. I couldn't help it! I ended up face first on the bottom stair. The fire was catching up, and as soon as I got to my feet (with Maya's help) they singed my shoes. I let out a strangled yelp, my chest heaving. It was getting hard to breathe. I needed air.
We were now on the first floor, which was also engulfed in flames. I had no idea where to go. I could see a door, but my head was spinning. It could have been just a hallucination, for all I knew.
I started to stumble. Maya turned to me, worry in her eyes. "You okay, Riles?" she rasped. I nodded, not wanting to speak. It would make the pain in my chest and throat even worse. Maya turned around, leading the way once more.
But I was not okay. Black appeared on the edges of my vision. My legs gave away, and I fell to the ground, the thump my body made lost in the sounds of blaring fire alarms and sizzling flames.
"Maya," I called weakly. But she didn't hear me. I watched her form disappear into the smoke. My chest burned, my muscles ached. "May. . .aaaah. . ." I whispered. It was no use. Flames lapped at my face, but I was too weak to react to the searing pain. Don't burn the house down, I thought. Too late for that. . . Within moments, my world faded into darkness.