Fictitious

Save the Gas

I impatiently watched the clock as the second hand ticked uniformly round and round, and my teacher wrapped up the lesson. Around me, I could hear my classmates start to pack up, so I followed in suit. There was no real reason for me to be so eager to get out of school, but just the principle of being free from sitting still at a desk. The bell finally rung, and the class slowly erupted into conversations, from the silence. I quickly made my way to the door, wanting to be early to the parking lot so I wouldn't have to deal with my peers road rage as we all tried to leave simultaneously. 

I finally had sight of my prized possession, my red 2005 Honda Civic. What a sight for sore eyes. I sighed, and as I approach it, I pull my keys out of my pocket and hit the unlock button. Weird, nothing happened. I resulted to manually unlocking it, sticking my key in the driver side door, and getting in. When I put my key in the ignition, and turned, a horrifying sound was made. The engine sputtered, like it was about to come to life, but then it went silent. I tried turning the key again, and this time no noise was made. Great. It finally gave out on me. I had no one to call, my parents were both working and my best friend, Emily, had a free period at the end of the day, so she was already working. I lightly hit the steering wheel, frustrated. Sitting there for a while, I stared as I watched other people's cars turn on perfectly fine, and pull away from the parking lot. 

I decided to get out, locking the car, and trekking the way home. I shot a quick text to my parents, letting them know, as I walked out of the parking lot, onto the sidewalk. Despite it only being around 4, the sky began to darken, thanks to daylight savings. The air was chilly, and I clutched my jacket around myself, crossing my arms. A car slowly drove past, but I chalked it up to nothing other than someone being overly cautious. I continued walking for a while, before seeing a gas station. I knew my ex was working in there, but it was so darn cold, I needed a hot chocolate. 

"Hey Addie!" My ex exclaims from behind the counter, wearing the ugliest uniform I've ever seen. 

"Oh hi, Andrew." I reply, heading to the fountain drink area.

"Coming to see me?" He loudly asks, watching as I pour myself a hot chocolate.

"No, I was just freezing my ass off." I admit, walking to the counter to pay.

"Well, this could be on the house." Andrew smirks, leaning against the counter.

"You sure?" I ask, taking a sip. 

"Mhm." 

I don't let him say anything else, "Thanks."

"We should hang-" I walk out, cutting him off. I smile to myself, taking another sip, feeling it warm my throat. The streets got even darker in that short time period, the street lamps dimly lighting the street. I use my free hand to readjust my backpack, and I keep walking.

I notice the same car, slowly driving the opposite way now. I pick up my pace, until I reache a crosswalk. A bit freaked out, I reach down, and push the button. A little behind me, was an alley. I wanted to be aware of my surroundings. I felt as if I was being overly paranoid, though. Suddenly, rustling could be heard in the alleyway. My anxiety was through the roof, so I eased my nerves by convincing myself it must've just been a raccoon. The crosswalk changed from a red hand, to a walking man, and I was about to cross when someone appears behind me. 

"You need a ride? It's getting dark out." Says a man. 

I feel my body go into fight or flight, mostly flight. I turns around, and face the guy. He doesn't look like he could be much older than me. The street lamps over here were dim, and I couldn't make out his face.

"Are you gonna kidnap me?" I joke, but with a nervous twinge in my voice.

"No, I already have someone in my basement." He says blankly, but then I could see him burst into a smile, "I'm kidding, I thought you'd recognize me, I'm in your english class... Three seats behind you?"