The Heroines of Paris

Chapter 2: 140 Rue de Rivoli

     While I walked up the narrow, fold down ladder, I was thinking about Olivia. She is definitely hiding something..... Maybe she's.... I don't know. I sat down on my bed, only to think more. After laying there for over 30 minutes, I remembered about the box. I inched my way over to my dresser, where I had set it down. It had a quite pretty design on it, dots. I picked it up, looked it all over, and shook it. I wonder what's inside... As I thought those words, almost as if on cue, the box, still in my hands, shook. It shook like there were Mexican jumping beans inside, straining with all their might to get out.

    I have to admit, when the box started at me, I jumped 10 feet in the air. I didn't know what to do, I just dropped it on the ground, it landed with a thud, and stopped. It stopped jumping. Okayyyyy. That's...... New. I picked up the worn box again. As I turned it around in my hands, I noticed a name on it. If lost, return to Lindley Brown then it had a phone number and address. Hm, it must be important. I wonder what's in it... Maybe just a peek. I lifted the lid carefully, mostly because I was frightened of what may be inside. When the rustic box was half-way opened, nothing was happening, so I kept going. As I flipped the lid all the way open, I peeked inside. I couldn't believe it... It was.... Empty. There was only a scrap of paper with an address on it... What, how was it shaking. This is.... This is wrong. Should I go? The address was 140 Rue de Rivoli... Should I go? Is it safe? As my mind was flooding with questions, something caught my eye on the scrap of paper. The words "Meet me here at 7:00 sharp if you are interested" had appeared on the paper. Oh, gosh. This can't be good... Who put the paper here? Who wrote this? I had to think about this more, so I put the crumpled paper back in the suspicious box and went downstairs.

"Hey Bri!" my mom said to me as she was carting a big tray of sweets past me "You hungry? Your dad and I were thinking of going out to eat tonight, if you wanna come, we are leaving in a few." "Uh, yeah sure I guess, I'll be ready." I said back, and walked to the back of the store. I couldn't get that stupid box out of my head. What do I do? Should I tell someone? Something told me not to tell anyone, so I kept this 'situation' to myself. I couldn't decide if I wanted to go or not, still, I didn't know if this was safe or not. It was only 5:30, so I had a couple hours. Maybe dinner will help, I thought to myself. I thought this was a good idea, especially because I was starving. I went back up to my room, and grabbed a few things... being sure to get the address out of the box, just in case, and headed back down. "Brianne, are you ready?" My mother asked me as I was putting on my coat while walking down the ladder. "Yeah, sure" I replied, worry filling my voice because I knew, the longer I pushed the decision, the closer it was to being to late. 

     As we walked into the restaurant, something hit me. If the note was put there, that means the same person put the box there, so someone wants me, but why me? I'm not special.... I get average grades..... I'm just a normal girl living a normal life..... Why me? By the time we had sat down and gotten our food, it was 6:15. I had a few mental fights with my own self, listing pros and cons of why I should or shouldn't go. I told my parents I wasn't feeling well, and to put my food in a to go box and I'll eat it at home. I had to go. I put my jacket on, excused myself from the table, and left.

     140 Rue de Rivoli. 140 Rue de Rivoli. 140 Rue de Rivoli. As I walked down multiple streets, I said this address repeatedly in my head. 140 Rue de Rivoli. 140 Rue de Rivoli...... I started to get anxious as the time passed. 6:40, 6:45, 6:50, I checked my watch so many times.... What would happen if I showed up late? Would they not want me anymore? I shook this thought from my mind. I don't even know why I was sent here, to this precise location, 140 Rue de Rivoli.

   As I found the road Rue de Rivoli, I studied the roughly paved street as much as I could. Most of the homes there were run-down and many were abandoned. The windows were all dirty, some were even boarded up. The sidewalk was uneven and had an abundance of cracks in it and the road was the same. There were very few people there, many of them were grim looking, scary looking almost. And, when someone would pass by me, they would give me a 'look' as I dodged out of their way. There were no restaurants, no parks, no children, no..... no happiness. It was all dark, dank, and sad. I started to think that this wasn't a good idea anymore. But, alas, I couldn't turn back now. Now that I've already told myself I was going to go, no matter how scared I really was, I have to go.

    136, 138...... 140. I walked up the driveway, that was cracked like all the others. I was scared out of my own wits. The house was dark, reclaimed, dirty wood with boarded windows, and the garage was banged up-like someone had run their car into it on accident. As I walked up to the paint-chipped, old front door, I saw a note taped to the old fashioned, loin knocker: MEET IN BACK... GLAD YOU CAME, BRIANNE. Then, a smiley face. Ok, well at least there is a harmless smiley face, I said to myself trying to cheer my mood up. But, deep in my mind, I knew that something bad was going to happen...

Wassup my fanpeoples!!!! This is chp 2 of my first book..... Hope you like and I'll have chapter three ready in a couple of days.
Chapter dedicated to -AquaGal- for always being a mystery ; )
~Hanne •3•