Commencement (West Hampton U: Part 2)

Chapter 4 ● Doubts

-- Ruhaan --

Kento twirl a pen between his fingers with a sympathetic look on his face. I know I was pouting but I can't help it. It feels like we had a chance at getting some answers but now we were back to square one.

"It's risky man. Just forget about it," Kento says in a reasonable tone. "If I turn it on and it pings the tower, the location of the phone shows up and if any cop is looking into it, instantly the suspicion is on me because it will be the first location that appears."

"No, you're right," I sigh, twirling a basketball in my hands that mimics the movement of the pen in his.

The front door opens and Zain walks in, setting down his keys on the kitchen counter before walking into the living room. He looks like he's about to say hello until his eyes narrow in on the cellphone on the coffee table. Shit.

"What is that?" he turns his dark eyes on me.

"I can explain," I shoot out of my seat, holding the basketball in front of me like a shield.

"Ruhaan I told you guys not to fuck around with that. I thought you put it back." His voice is quiet and steady, like molten steel. It's scary and I feel like a little kid in the principal's office again.

"I know, I just wanted to make sure we couldn't actually do anything about it," I admit.

Just then there's a knock on the door and all of us turn our heads in its direction. "Is that the police?" Kento wails.

"No, you idiot," I chide as Zain goes to open the door.

Kento begins to collect his things. "I gotta go man, Sofia and I have tickets to a movie. You're okay with angry Dev Patel?"

"Yes," I nod begrudgingly. It would be nice to have him here as a buffer but alas I must face Zain alone.

Or so I thought until Suhana walks into the room. Kento waves as he passes her by, making a quiet exit as Suhana talks loudly into FaceTime. "All good here, no break-ins. Just the regular hooligans," she says, side-eyeing me.

"Sounds good. Thanks Suhana," Sameer's voice comes through the phone.

"Is that Sammy, I want to say hi!" I come around the coffee table but before I reach her, Suhana nearly screams a goodbye and hangs up. "Brat," I mutter, going back to my spot on the sofa to sulk.

"You guys need to get your security sensor checked. Sometimes it shows the door as open and Sameer was worried," Suhana says, clasping her hands in front of her. She turns her torso slightly, as if she's getting ready to leave, when Zain stops her.

He points to the cellphone. "Did you know about this?"

Hey eyes follow his finger and then she looks up at my through her hair. "No," she lies weakly.

"Sit down," Zain tells her. She does as he says, sitting on the couch across from me. "You both need to stop this instantly or you're going to get into some deep shit. Go put this phone back and forget about it."

"Yes Zain," Suhana and I groan simultaneously.

"When I come back from dinner, this better be gone forever." And with that, Zain picks up his keys and leaves again.

I wait for Suhana to say something but it seems like she's waiting for me to speak first. So I do, "I guess we wait for nightfall and put it back where we found it?"

She shrugs noncommittally. "I guess."

"What should we do until then?" I ask, looking at the clock on the wall. It was 7pm, which meant another hour and a half at least until it got darker outside.