Partners for Life

Chapter One: The Beach

"Hey, Shelby! Me and a couple other guys are gonna go down to the beach in a little bit, wanna come?" Shelby's best friend, Monica said through her phone. "Just guys, Monica?" Shelby asked. "No, there'll be a few girls there, but I'm mostly interested in the guys. Especially the new kid. He is hot!" Monica answered. "Okay, I'll meet you guys up there in about half an hour." She responded with a chuckle. "Okay, see you in a bit!" She hung up. Shelby changed into a bikini swimsuit with red and purple flowers on it, and wore a pair of overall shorts over it. "Hey, mom? Can I go to the beach with Monica? She's bringing a few other girls, and she invited me." She asked her mother downstairs. "Sure, sweetie! Bring me back a seashell, okay?" She answered. "Thanks, mom." Shelby went up to her mom, and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I love you!" She yelled at the door,grabbing a beach towel. "I love you, too, be safe!" She left her house, hopped in her car, and went to the beach.

"Hey, girl! Glad you could make it!" Monica greeted as Shelby stepped out of the car. She grabbed her sunglasses from within her console, and her beach towel, then went to join her. "Hi, this is going to be so much fun!" Monica squealed. "Okay, what are we doing first?" Shelby asked. "Volleyball, and we're playing with the new kid! His name is Rich, and he's even hotter in person!" She whispered. "Hey, I hear we're going to be on the same team?" A voice called from behind Shelby, a voice she didn't recognize. "It depends, are you-" She turned around, and there, standing behind her, was a tan boy that had dark hair, mysterious eyes, and orange swim trunks. Shelby gasped quietly. "Oh, Shelby, this is Rich!" Monica said behind her. "And yes, you are on our team." She added. "Nice to meet you." Shelby said. She thought that this man was the most beautiful person she'd ever seen. "Uh, what grade are you in?" Shelby asked. "A Junior in the fall. You?" Rich answered. "Sophmore." Shelby replied.

They played volleyball for a little bit, and Shelby realized that he wasn't the playboy that she thought he was. He was kind, caring, and never even had a first kiss. After volleyball, Monica and a few of the others went to get in the water, but Rich pulled Shelby aside to talk to her. "What's wrong?" Shelby asked. "Oh, nothing, nothing. Nothing's wrong." He glanced all around, then back at her. "I like you, and I wanted to see if maybe you'd wanna go on a date sometime?" He asked. "Oh!" Shelby gasped. "Well?" Rich asked quietly. He didn't sound rude at all when he said it. "Umm, sure. When?" Shelby asked. "Whenever. How about-" He looked up at the street. "Oh shoot." Rich said quietly. He ran behind the trash cans. "At natural." He whispered from behind it. She saw a man and a woman step out of a black SUV, wearing suits and reflective black sunglasses. She bent over to the sand, and picked up a bottle, then another, following Rich's instructions.

"Hey, you." The woman called to Shelby. She looked up, and she was walking towards her. "Yes?" Shelby asked, standing up with ten bottles in her arms. "Have you seen him?" She held up a picture of Rich. "Is he your son?" Shelby asked. "No, he's missing." The woman in the suit responded. "Oh. No, but I'll keep an eye out for you." Shelby lied. "Okay." She put the picture back in her pocket, then went to another person, then another, and the man did the same. When they were out of sight, Rich went up to Shelby. "Thank you." He said. "What is going on?! Are you a criminal, is that why Men In Black are looking for you?" Shelby asked. "No, I'll explia-" The woman started to come back. "Oh no. Shelby, run. They won't hurt you, hopefully, but they'll try to catch you, because they want me, and you were seen talking with me. Don't go home, go hide. I'll find you, I promise." He pushed. "But wha-" He kissed her lips, and turned away. "Go, Shelby." He said.

Shelby went to her car, started it up, and left. "What am I doing? Following the instructions of a maybe-criminal!" She muttered in her car. "But those people seemed scary. Hide, where can I hide?" She asked herself. "Costco! They won't have memberships, so they can't get in." She said. Shelby parked her car in the huge parking lot of Costco, hopped out of her car, and went inside. "Now what?" She asked herself. "Food court? Bathroom? Employee staff room?" Her stomach rumbled, so she went to the food court. She bought a cinnamon pretzel and an ICEE, ate it, but then she saw the woman in a suit, followed by a few men in suits. She rushed to the bathroom, where she could hide from them. They stopped her, so she heard running footsteps behind her. "Stop!" She heard from a man behind her.

She turned a corner, and locked herself in a stall. "Hello? Little girl?" She heard menacingly. Shelby panted heavily, but stopped when she heard her. "I just want to talk. Face-to-face, you're not in trouble." She heard. Then she heard a bang on her stall door. "Come out! Before I make you come out." Shelby gasped, and said "Alright! Alright, I'll come out." She stood up, and unlocked the stall. "Submission. The world can't live without it." The woman in the suit said plainly. "What do you want from me?" Shelby asked. "Ooh, hostility. I like you, I might take you in with the Program." She said, walking closer towards her. "Found her. Yes. Did you find the boy?" She asked to her sleeve. Shelby assumed there was a walkie-talkie in it. "You did? Perfect. I'm taking this one back to the Program." She looked at Shelby.

"Yes, but it doesn't hurt to have an extra set of hands." She said finally. "Come with me willingly, please. If you don't, I'll just have my Men chase after you again. They don't run out of breath as quickly as you do." The lady said, turning towards the door. "Come now." She added. Shelby walked slowly towards her. "There you go, let's go." She walked out of the bathroom, looking at the ground as she walked. She went to the black SUV she saw at the beach, and saw Rich in an SUV parked next to the one Shelby was in, appearing to be asleep. Next thing she new, there was a sharp pain in her neck, and she fell asleep.