Fineprint

Lilly fumbled out her keys and Sharmi was ready at the door to throw herself on the seats, when I noticed the big cardboard leaning on the heck. “Guys. There is a message for us”, I said with horror, grabbing the cardboard and reading the message carefully.

Enjoy the ride. You earned it.

“Funny.” Sharmi said dryly, “Now get in. I am dirty, didn’t sleep and my parents probably blew up my phone.”

I pouted, “But it’s a Porsche!” “A Porsche they probably can track.” Lilly added. I sighed deeply and got into Lillys car. At least we can get the seats dirty here. If Lilly’s driving skills were scary on a normal day, they were murderous right now. She made the gas rotate and the trees flying by. The ride back was quiet, not even the radio was turned on. Our hearts were still beating fast, and the events were still fresh in our minds. How do we take it from here? Should we call the police? Just go back to our jobs? Sharmi went back to being busy and didn´t lose a word about what had happened. Even Lilly kept busy and started rearranging every corner of the house. While they tried to think about the smallest details of their lives, I just read. Secretley I grabbed stories about gangs, drugs and theft to immerse myself deeper into the world that almost ended me. I scribbled down every detail I remembered of that night and I somehow became… proud. I survived, I kept my head clear and together we survived. Henry’s messages stayed on read, my laptop sat barely used during office hours and day and night words were splurging out of my hands, into my mind. Until one day, I could just not sit still. Deep down I wish we had taken the car, deep down I wished they would be able to track us. I was selfish. I knew Lilly and Sharmi just wanted to forget what had happened and establish their life as it was, while I was sitting at home daydreaming. Because for once I lived. For once, there was an adventure that did not just exist in my head, and so I did something I would never forgive myself. I went out. I went back and after two trains, one bus ride and a 20 minute walk through the woods, I was there. The empty elementary school sat there quiet and much more scarier than I thought. I slowly got closer to doors. There were no lights, no sounds and that almost made it worse. I closed my eyes one more time and took a deep breath. I wasn’t even sure what I expected. After a few seconds I grabbed the handles and opened the door. They creaked in the dim light. I took another deep breath and took a few steps in and soon I started running. Thrill and freedom were tingling my spine until I stepped into the pool house. Empty. Every room was empty. I sat down on the bleachers and looked around. I was too scared to enter the changing rooms. After a few moments, I put down my bookmark and started to make my way out again, disappointed but also light as a feather. I felt invincible, fearless. After the 2 hour long journey home I picked up some pizza and balanced them, while searching for my keys. Annoyed I rang the bell and hoped Lilly didn´t already hop into the shower. The door opened, while I was still focused on my bag. “Got it!”, I cheerfully yelled, before the keys hit the floor. Brown eyes and tatted skin were glancing down at me.

“Got you.”