The Thieves Of Our Time

Pencil Sheddings

ALICE threw her pencil at the wall. This was useless. How was anyone "good" at math. Alice looked at the paper with a frustrated breath.

Knuckles knocking on her doorframe made her wip her head around. Nathaniel, leaning against the frame.

"Need some help?" He asked. Alice let her head lean back on her shoulders. She let it roll over to his direction.

"Please." She sighed. Nathaniel walked in, squatted to grab the pencil, and stood back up. Alice groaned.

"I won't be like dad, I promise." He stuck a long pinky finger out, and Alice hesitated before intertwining hers with his.

////

Alice walked out the door, across the porch, and to the cracked sidewalk. You'd think being on the rich side of town would call for smooth cement.

Alice walked across the street, still bright out, but not blinding. She felt a hand over her mouth and a forearm over her mid-section. Panic and fear filled her lungs. A scream arose in her throat, but before she could release it, a low voice whispered in her ear.

"Don't scream, it's me," the voice didn't waver, neither did it yell. "Me" was whoever had tried to kill her. She still hadn't gotten his name. But why was he pulling her into an ally?

Alice let out a muffled sound of frustration. He must've recognized it as such anyway because he set her down. Alice brushed her clothes a bit with her hands, fixing her twisted shirt.

A finger pointed beneath her chin, an angry tone masked over his voice. "Why didn't you answer my call?"

"I should be asking you why you're at my house," Alice hissed back.

"Let's not forget who's life is on the line here," he retorted calmly. Alice groaned. He was right - and wrong, but who was she to correct him.

"How do you know I was even home to answer?" Alice said, defending herself.

"Because I was outside your window."

"What!?" Alice said a bit too loudly. He quickly placed a hand over her mouth, silencing her with his pointer finger over his mouth.

"Be quiet," he stated, releasing his hand from her mouth. Alice tried to remember whether she felt like she was being watched. "And you called me first, so why didn't you answer?"

"I don't know," Alice said defensively.

"You were going to break the deal. I told you I'd kill you, I'm not retracting that." He spoke through an angry whisper.

"I don't know. I just didn't answer. It's not that big of a deal," she groaned. Fucking math, now a murderer, great.

"It is a big deal. Everything is. One call unanswered could mean life or death." Alice tried to walk away, but he grabbed her collar and pushed her back against the wall.

"I'm sorry," she said, looking down and frustrated, but knowing fighting back wouldn't win an argument. It was like that with anyone convinced they were already right.

His face softened for a second, and he took a step back. "It's fine. Just... answer them. I need to know the plan sooner rather than later."

"Okay," Alice said it in the tone most people did when they were being scolded.

"Go." He said while scratching his head.

Alice began to walk away but stopped. "I'm not leaving because you told me to, I'm leaving because I want to."

"Right," he said, placing his hands in his pockets.

Alice turned around once more, cupping her fingers around her mouth. "When do I get to know your name?" She yelled.

He shrugged in the distance, and Alice scoffed. The nerve of this guy.

She walked back inside, having forgotten why she'd left in the first place. She didn't know if she felt better or worse.

"Have a life-changing walk?" Nathaniel slapped a hand on her back. She looked into his smiling face and grey eyes.

"Totally."