My life

Chapter 3

The class was buzzing, everyone was talking to someone except Laila. She sat lazily with her legs crossed at the kneel while she played casually with her pen. Her teacher was in front, trying to gain control of the class but the poor old man with bald head and port belly just couldn't command respect.

School was boring, Laila concluded and proceeded to stand up and fling her almost empty backpack over her shoulder. She strolled out of the classroom without so much as a glance at her struggling teacher.

She weaved through the empty halls leisurely, heading for the exit when a figure caught her attention. It was Chloe. She seemed to be coming from the girls bathroom and hadn't noticed Laila yet.

"Hey newbie" She greeted. Chloe stopped in her tracks, staring at the girl skeptically.

"Newbie?"

"Yeah"

"I've attended this school since forever"

"But haven't been in our group since forever" that shut Chloe up. Chloe stared at the girl in confusion and suspicion. Since when did she become a part of their group?

"What does that mean?"

"What do you think genius?" Laila asked sarcastically, receiving a blank look from Chloe, she sighed and proceeded to explain.

"It means that you and I are friends now, along with those other idiots. Exciting right?" The sarcasm was clear in her last sentence but Chloe was unamused. The word friends kept echoing in her head. She remembered what happened the last time she tried to keep friends and it wasn't something she wanted to experience again so she walked past her.

"Not interested" she knew she was being mean, but she didn't care in that moment. She didn't trust them, she had no reason to. For all she knew, it could all be an elaborate plan to humiliate her again. She saw no reason why they'd want to be friends. She didn't consider herself cool or beautiful so what could they possibly want from her?

"Stop Chloe" Laila felt stupid. Here she was, trying to make friends with the girl and getting turned down. She considered letting the girl go and acting like this didn't happen but something about Chloe intrigued her. She didn't want to admit it but she knew it was the loneliness she saw in the girls eyes. She felt a bond between them even tho they hadn't formed any and she wondered if Chloe felt it too. She decided to try harder, try to gain her trust.

"I just want to be friends Chloe" that stopped Chloe in her tracks.

"Why?"

"I'll tell you" Laila smiled mischievously.

"Okay?"

"Meet me at the park by 6pm, don't be late"

~

The park was almost deserted by the time Chloe got there. She sat on a familiar swing, a swing she remembered fighting over as a kid. She remembered how she'd always complained about her feet not reaching the ground and Maria would tell her that someday she'd grow up and her feet would reach the ground, now looking down, it was. She smiled a slow nostalgic smile, almost transported to the past when things were much easier. She could see herself as a little girl, laughing loudly as her best friend eagerly pushed the swing for her, Brunette hair flailing wildly in the evening wind. They were just two innocent girls oblivious to the world around them. She desperately wished she could go back to those times but things didn't work that way.

She noticed it was getting dark. She checked her watch and realized thirty minutes had passed since she got there. Laila was late. She couldn't help but wonder if this was a prank, another scheme to humiliate her. Her heart sank at the thought. She didn't consider Laila a friend yet but she realized she had put her in the potential list and now, thinking she stood her up almost brought tears to her eyes. She convinced herself that Laila would show, she probably got held up and was running a little late.

She considered calling her but realized she didn't even have her number. She held out hope, sitting alone on a swing in an almost deserted park.

Another ten minutes passed and there was still no sign of her. The park was deserted now.

She wasn't used to staying out late but it wasn't like anyone would care or notice. With every minute that went bye, it became clear to Chloe that Laila wasn't going to show up.

She got off the swing and decided to walk around the park. The park brought back memories, memories of her past but she was too distracted to reminisce. Her mind kept straying back to Laila.

She decided to sit on the trunk of one of the trees and just think since she wasn't ready to go home. She wondered how old the tree was, since it had been there for as long as she could remember.

~

Hushed voices woke her up. She was disoriented for a second, wondering where she was until it all came back to her. She had fallen asleep. She checked the time on her phone, it was twenty minutes past nine. Laila never showed up. She made to leave but then she remembered how she had woken up.

She knew something was up. The voices were getting louder by the second. Not loud enough to make out what they were saying but by their tone, she could tell it wasn't good. She knew the smart thing to do would be to get out of there but she needed to survey the area. She wasn't sure what danger awaited her but she was thankful for the tree that shielded her.

She got up slowly, careful not to move too much. She turned around and took a peek. A bunch of people was huddled around something, or someone. She couldn't see them clearly since it was dark but she could make out their figures and could tell there were four of them.

It would have seemed like an illegal drug exchange if a body hadn't fallen down. She clamped her hand over her mouth to stop herself from screaming. She couldn't tell if the person was dead or alive but the unmoving form was enough to send her heart racing.

She thought about home, thought about her brothers, her mother, her father. She closed her eyes, wondering if she'd survive this.

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