SHOPPING
” I wasn’t talking with you. Get the hell away from us,” Ryder snapped.
” You should get the hell away from her, Jason. Can’t you leave her alone if she doesn’t want to talk with you?” Jason stepped forward. They both glared at each other. I don’t know whether they know each other. But I don’t know what to do. Move towards Jason or stay with Ryder. Actually, I’m mad at Ryder. So, whatever I do it will be against him.
” She’s not going anywhere. I know she will talk with me.” Ryder said. His words show that he has more trust in me.
” Come here, Milly. He’s nothing but trouble to you.”
Ryder focused his eyes back on me. ” Stay here for a while, Emily. I will explain…” I stopped him in the middle.
” No, Ryder. It’s not the right time. I got detention. I need to go home.” I calmly said and stood away from both of them.
” Bye, Jason,” I told and went inside the class. I didn’t wait to see what they are going to do after that. But I can see Patrick was noticing everything the whole time. Ryder can be his enemy. But I’m none of his business. Why is Patrick observing everything? Then I heard his voice.
” We got a lot to deal with, Ryder. But first, the principal called us to the hall. Are you coming or going to wait for that nerd girl who ignored you?”
How dare he can say I’m a nerd. It’s offensive to me no matter how much close the person is to me. Right now, I don’t even know this Patrick idiot. I took my bag with frustration and went out of the class. I can hear Pearl’s voice calling me. But I can’t reply here. She’s right. I should have stayed away.
After a while, I reached my home. ” What’s wrong, Emily? Did you forget any book?” my mom asked. I would come home if I forget any notebook. But that’s not the case today.
” No, mom. I got detention.” I simply said it doesn’t matter to me. I threw my bag and sat on the couch, taking the TV remote.
” What? Why? I don’t understand. You never got a detention. Are you kidding me?” My mom asked with a serious expression. I told her everything. I know she won’t talk which makes me more worried.
” Are you angry?”
” No. I’m not honey. I only tried to do the good but it won’t end well. I blame the principal for not understanding anything about your innocent heart. She’s stupid. Just leave it. A Day break won’t do anything bad.” she said, patting my shoulder. I know she always stays on my side.
” Right, mom. I can enjoy my day with Netflix.” I laughed a little to hide my sadness. Why am I thinking about Ryder? I cut him off while he was trying to say something. Will he really explain it to me? About his past.
” From what you have told, I won’t say you need to get away from Ryder. But know more about him. I can’t say he’s a trouble-making boy without knowing anything about him. But you never talked more with a boy till this year. So, it will be good to be cautious.” she advised me.
” I don’t think he’s a trouble maker. He has always been kind to me. I don’t doubt it.” I uttered. My mom silently nodded.
” I should probably go to be room,” I said getting up from the couch.
” Wait, Emily. I forget to say something. You didn’t attend Pearl’s call yesterday. She called me instead. She wants to go shopping with you today. Did she told you about that?” Mom asked.
” No, mom. She didn’t.”
” Maybe she forgot. She said she wants to go with you for your birthday purchase. Two more weeks to go for your birthday. You remember it right?”
” Oh, yeah… Oh, god. I forgot mom. I didn’t teach about that. Usually, I would be going for shopping with you for my birthday.”
” I know. But you and Pearl got reunited after many years. I think it’s nice if you go with her.” My mom suggested.
” Of course. If something good happened today, it would be this moment, mom,” I told her happily. The whole day went fast. Ryder messaged me from school. But I can rather talk with him than in chat. I turned my phone off and got dressed. Pearl came to my house at evening after school. Pearl decided not to talk about what happened in the school. Instead, we discussed shopping.
” I’m so sick of this, Em. Don’t buy another dress in pink for your birthday. Don’t be a child. You have grown up.” Pearl advised me.
” So, what else should I buy? Black is nice too but…”
” I will help you with that this year. You got to learn a lot about dressing sense. I will make Jason and Ryder’s jaw drop if you let me choose this year.” she silently whispered.
” No, Pearl. I didn’t ask you to do that.”
” Of course, you want that. I know you will invite them.”
” Right. I will invite them. Now, can we go? It’s already 6:00 pm,” I cut off the topic and went to the nearby shop. The time went fast the moment I stepped inside the store. Pearl and I spent a lot of the time to choose a dress. Atleast she chooses something which I never wore. A V-neck flare sleeveless red dress. It will come till my knees. I started searching for the same dress in a different colour.
” What are you doing, Em? You can take any other dress but don’t change this,” she ordered me.
” If I buy this. I need to get accessories which match this. Even I need to keep red nail polish. You know how it will look. It makes me feel like a prostitute.”
” Cut it off. This is one of your excuses so you could take a pink dress like a child. Your thoughts are stupid like you. Take it. I know you will look beautiful. Don’t be a girl who always chooses pink.” she gave it to be stern. Maybe she’s right. It’s beautiful. It will suit me perfectly. With that, we continue the purchase. At last, we went to FKC and enjoyed the time together with food. We ordered Fingertips, Burger and chicken. When we stepped on the road, it was dark. It’s almost 10:00 pm. Being with my best friend makes me happy that I forget about all other worries.
We walked on the road after crossing all the shops. I can’t see anyone on the road except us. Pearl and I come to the shop through her scooty. It was parked all alone in that empty road.
“Oh, my god,” she shouted all of a sudden.
” What? You scared me.” I shrieked.
” I forget my phone. Oh, god. It has to be in that shop. No should take it.” she prayed.
” Wait, I will come back in a few minutes,” she immediately ran like a freak leaving me all alone. She even took the bags with her. I don’t have anything in my hand. I left my phone in the home. I stood near the scooty and waited for her. After ten minutes, I heard footsteps approaching me.
” What took you so long, Pear…” I trailed off after realizing it’s not Pearl. I can only see a shadow approaching me. It’s a boy. Who could it be? From the limited friends I’m having, I can only think of Jason and Ryder. But what happened is not what I have expected.
” You must be Emily,” the boy’s face is now visible to me. Patrick. His reddish-brown hair and an evil smile on his face.
” Yeah, What do you want?” I snapped. All the problem I had today is because of him.
He forced a laugh and spoke, ” To be honest, I want to harm someone close to Ryder. I noted him today. He was begging you to talk with him. Did you talked?”
” It’s none of your business,” I snapped again. But I’m getting nervous by every second. Where the hell is Pearl? Can’t she come here now? For a minute, I didn’t realize that some other footsteps are approaching behind me. When I looked back, three other unknown guys have surrounded me and blocking my path from escaping somewhere. They all wore masks like a criminal.
” Of course, it’s my business. Anything related to Ryder is important to me. It’s not like I care for him but more like finding a way to hurt him.”
” I don’t care. Now get out of my way,” I yelled at him. I don’t want to be a damsel in distress. Even if it’s a damsel in distress, I won’t get a rescue. I’m not a girl in fictional movies.
Finally, Patrick spoke. He didn’t speak to me but to the guys behind me.
” Tie her up,”