The Tale of Tara and Emiko

IV. Tara

One breezy evening in early May, when my parents were out, I heard a sharp rapping on my front door, followed by a text from Emiko that read, "I'm at your house". Suspiciously, I opened the door to see her standing on my porch, tapping her foot impatiently. "Get changed into something nicer, will you?"

"Huh?"

"I'm going to a huge party and since the others can't make it I'm dragging you along with me. About half of the school's gonna be there, and if you came with me, everyone will have a lot more respect for the both of us. You in?"

"Uhm...okay? Gimme a minute, I gotta change." I hurried to my room, throwing on a simple light blue dress with short bell sleeves. The soft, fluffy skirt hung just below my knees, creating a wispy, cloud-like effect whenever I twirled.

When I got back to the front of the house, Emiko smiled. "You look beautiful!" She jerked her head towards the pink convertible I should've guessed was hers with a smirk on her face. "Hop in, let's go."

Surprisingly enough, this specific party wasn't at Emiko's place. It was near an abandoned part of town, and I was a little confused as to why she'd chosen something so far away from where most of the kids lived. Eh, the party was fairytale themed anyway, so I supposed she'd gone all out like she usually does to stick with the theme. I was playing the part of Cinderella, where her pumpkin carriage broke down in the middle of her journey to the prince's castle. Emiko? She was the princess of the woods who'd taken me in and kept me safe, wearing a tan tunic, brown baggy pants, a huge fur coat that I suspected was made with the pelt of a real animal, and a necklace of large animal teeth that couldn't have looked faker.

"Hey, Tay, you promise to talk to someone today?" Emiko asked. "Last time, all you did was sit in the corner, people-watch, which is really creepy by the way, and scroll on TikTok. You should make more friends without my help."

"Yeah, I will," I muttered, not really meaning my words. I liked being alone!

Once we got to the place, it was really, really loud. However, it wasn't too cramped since the location Emiko chose was very large, and everyone was spread out enough for me to weave through the crowds without bumping into anyone.

Get food, get to a solitary place, don't die of a sensory overload, don't die of social anxiety, just don't die.

Emiko ran up to me, shouted "It's not alcohol, I know you don't like that stuff" in my ear, as she shoved a red Solo cup in my hand, and ran off again.

I took a tentative sip. Ew. I think it was supposed to be fruit punch, but whoever made it put three times more sugar in it than necessary. I tossed the cup in the nearest trash can, but it was too late. The sugar had already started buzzing in my head.

You know, maybe you should make some new friends-

NO!

Damn it Emiko, trying to get me to become an extrovert like you!

I plopped down on a mound of hay and dirt, munching on a hamburger as I surveyed the crowd. Everyone was shouting and dancing and generally being very loud, not my favorite atmosphere at all.

I had to find a way to get out of here somehow, and I spotted Emiko rushing towards the exit, her bag clutched tightly in her hands.

Yes, there was my getaway card. I ran after her, trying not to lose her between the looming darkness and the trees that merged with their shadows, so I never knew if the space in front of me was open air or about to poke my eye out. Emiko was the captain of the girls' track team, and I struggled to keep up. Luckily, she slowed down to a stop in front of the old barn.

Why not her car? Why is she...here, of all places?

Then I saw the flash of a keychain on the handle of her bag. A clover keychain.

That's not her bag, that's mine!

Why would she have my bag?

I followed her into the barn, and woah, it was nothing like I remembered. Around me was a maze of sorts, with twisting corridors and crossroads every which way.

How did she do this?

Finally, after what seemed like hours of walking, Emiko reached a room near the back of the barn, I think, with a lantern sitting on the floor. I was kinda happy to see the light, since it meant I could use it to get out. Unfortunately, light gives shadows, and mine had just appeared on the wall beside Emiko's.

She whipped around, shocked. "Y-you! Why are you here?"

"I don't know! Why are you here?" I replied, backing up a few steps. My head felt really fuzzy like someone stuffed cotton balls in my brain, but I shook it off for now. "And why do you have my bag?" I shouted.

"I-what?" Emiko feigned confusion. "Your bag? This is mine!" Her confidence faltered when I pointed to the keychain.

"That's not yours," I said.

Giving up on the whole act entirely, Emiko's gaze narrowed. "Okay, this is your bag. Then explain why you have this!" She thrust a piece of paper towards me, and I took it, hands trembling.

On the front of the paper, a post-it read "Here. You weren't answering your phone and you said you wanted it ASAP. yw!" The paper underneath was...an answer key.

Upon closer inspection, I realized this wasn't any old answer key. It was the key to the entrance exams, taken right from the photo I'd sent Zia!

This was bad.

"That-I-uh-" Unlike Emiko, I was not good at acting.

"You know what? I don't care. Actually, it's a good thing you followed me here tonight. I need someone to pass the blame onto!" Emiko smiled coldly. "Thanks for being a great friend, Tara."

"Blame? Emiko, what are you talking about?" I asked, hysterical. In response, she held up a lighter-how did she get that?!?-and flicked it on, the flame dancing in the reflections in her eyes.

"Tell me how you got this or the barn burns."

"My friend sent it to me! Well, no, I sent it to my friend, but it was all blurry, and she made it better, and I didn't know what it was at first! I swear I didn't cheat!"

"Oh, I know you didn't cheat," Emiko said. "I did, and why not kill two birds with one stone here?" After fishing around in her bag for a minute, she pulled out an identical copy of the paper in my hands. I was still stunned by how casually she admitted her biggest secret, leaving me open for Emiko to snatch the paper away from me and hold it above the lighter faster than a hawk snagging a bite to eat. The flame ate away at the paper, and Emiko let it flutter to the ground, touching a thin wire that led out to the maze. I assumed the wire was there to light the rest of the barn on fire.

Dammit, Tara!

"I'll tell them! I'll tell the headmaster and, and the adjudicator, and all your friends-" My words sounded muffled, and the lines separating the colors from each other in my vision blurred.

"No, you won't. You'll be lucky if you even get out of here unscathed. Plus, you won't remember any of this tomorrow. I'll come pick you up after the fire's out."

I opened my mouth to shout something, but my brain was too fuzzy to make any noise. Emiko smiled sadly at me.

"I truly am sorry it had to end this way, Tara. You were so fun to be around, and I wish you never found out about this, but now you've gone and made me frame you."

I collapsed on the ground, the fire burning its way into the backs of my eyelids, as the world around me disappeared.