Road to Someplace

Chapter One

 I could faintly hear a police siren in the distance, the wail masked by the fireworks' booming explosions in the sky. I swallowed nervously, my fingers sinking into the ground and grabbing the blades of grass beside me. Mud oozed onto my fingernails, turning the tops a murky brown. I let out a deep breath, closing my eyes as I exhaled heavily. There was a feeling, or rather an instinct nagging at me, something that I was unable to explain. Somehow, I knew they were there for me, that the sirens were only blaring because I was here. I rose up and stood up fully, rolling my shoulders back. I looked out at the sky, the large blasts of color decorating the night. Another round was shot into the air, erupting in a brilliant, grand burst that lit up the hill I stayed planted on.

Raveena noticed me up and stood up as well. There was a hint of a smirk on her face, her face partially concealed by the darkness of the night. "Think that's our cue to leave?" She asked. I shrugged. "I think I'm done running," I said, my voice low and shaky. She nodded and turned around to face the others. They all silently stood, their faces dejected and crestfallen. I could see Raveena hug Hailey, clinging onto her tightly, an uncharacteristic frown on Hailey face, tiny tears welling up in her wide blue eyes. People began to surround me, embracing me and whispering their goodbyes. The sirens grew louder, red and blue lights flashing in the distance, their headlights slicing clean shapes of light through the darkness.

Raveena and I stood side by side, a silence passing over us. Over the blaring siren and the fireworks, I could hear my breathing, uneven and shaky, like I was out of breath. My body trembled, shivers wracking my body. I balled my fists and bit my tongue, trying to disperse my nervousness. I could feel the mud from my fingertips smear on the palm of my hand, the cold dampness shooting a chill up my arm. I glanced over at Raveena, who was unshaken. She flashed me a cocky grin. The police car turned a bend, and began to slow to a roll down below. "You ready? I think it's time for our grand reveal." She said, her voice devoid of any fear. I sighed. "Sure," Raveena grabbed my wrist and pulled me down the hill, right into the sight of the officers emerging from the car. I glanced at Raveena's face, and I knew that she was going to say something, likely something stupid and unnecessary, something that was completely and totally Raveena. I could see the idea formulating in her mind, causing her grin to grow. She released my wrist and started to walk faster, and with an uncontrollable smirk on her face, asked, "Looking for us, officers?"

When summer had started, I never pictured it ending with a ride in the back of a police car, thick bars separating me from two officers, packed in next to Raveena. Going back further, I hadn't expected my junior year to be so eventful. I started it out with a simple goal, to survive the year with no major incidents, but as she always is, Raveena was determined to change it.

Raveena and I had met in third grade, but we only became friends starting in middle school. She was my closest friend, regardless of how much I denied it. I defined our friendship as a love-hate relationship, where Raveena loved me, and I hated her. It was more of a constant irritation than hate, but the principle still stuck. She wanted me around more than I did. However, for the most part, we had a functional friendship.

I'm not certain if it would be called luck or misfortune that landed me in two periods with Raveena, along with lunch. It most definably affected my year, nonetheless. I've found that sharing lunch with someone is the largest impact on your relationship, and this was certainly no exception. It was one of the biggest factors there was, and that's where it truly began.

It was about three weeks into school, and everyone that said over the summer they were looking forward to school starting again were wishing summer wasn't countless months away, me included. Everyone had started to fall into the rhythm of school, the teachers dropping the peppiness they had for the first few classes, looking as exhausted and unenthusiastic as the students. The eye bags that had disappeared over the summer had returned, like a nasty scar. I was also feeling the effects, trudging through my days half-asleep. I was sitting at the lunch table, staring down at the tasteless sludge on my tray, about to face plant into what was somehow considered a lunch. I was jolted awake when Raveena dramatically slammed her tray down on the seat across from me, her burger going flying. "The hell?" I glared at her, rubbing my eyes. She smirked and set her canvas bag down on her lap. It had a black outline of a heart on it, and in the unfilled center of it, the words "You Suck" were painted on it in delicate, flowing letters. Another friend of mine, Bo, a petite girl with an immense love for obnoxiously pink lipstick, sat down next to me, tapping her long, bright teal nails up against her tray. We sat in silence for a moment before Raveena opened her canvas bag and set something on the table before sliding it towards me, crashing into my tray, small bits of lettuce flying into my face. I cringed, and flicked the chunks off my face, Raveena laughing loudly, and Bo trying to stifle her giggles.