The Good Race

Chapter 7

Danny sat on the futon in his dorm room strumming his guitar. His roommate was gone for the weekend. Saturdays were quiet in the dorm as a lot of the kids went home for the short break. Some still lingered, but not many. Danny hadn't ever gone home for a weekend. In fact, he wasn't even sure where home was at the moment. As soon as school was done, he went to camp. From camp, he went back to school. He didn't have a bedroom somewhere in another state. He lived out of duffle bags. It was all right, all in all. He had a laptop and his guitar. Besides the clothes, what else did he really need?

Still, he found himself anticipating the end of the school year. Upon his high school graduation, he got a large disbursement from his trust fund. He'd get another one when he graduated college and then the full amount when he turned 30. The first two disbursements were more than enough for him to live out his life and never have to work, but he doubted he'd go down that road. Even he knew he would need something to occupy his time.

Before this year, Danny's graduation goal was to get the hell away from New Hampshire and never look back. He thought maybe he'd buy an RV and travel the country a bit before picking a college and a major. He still couldn't think of anything to do as a career, but he wasn't so antsy to get away now. Jackie had changed that. His new plan was to take some money and get an apartment nearby and wait for Jackie to finish up at Trent. She was a year younger than him. He was an honor roll student and his test scores were high. He'd have no trouble getting into whatever school she wanted to go to.

It wasn't lost on him that if he got an apartment, he'd have to furnish it, and it would the first actual home he had ever had or that he could remember. Maybe he'd rent a furnished place, so he wouldn't have to deal with moving or storing a bunch of bulky stuff in a year. The last place on the planet he was going to put down roots was New Hampshire. He'd spent the last eleven years here clawing to get out. He could bear one more if he had to, but nothing after that. It would be just his luck if Jackie picked a New Hampshire college. It wasn't so much that there was anything particularly wrong with the State of New Hampshire itself, but when someone was forced to be in one spot with no opportunities for change, it made one antsy to leave and never look back.

For the first time in Danny's life, he had someone else to take into consideration. It was a strange feeling to him, but not an unwelcome one. He knew Jackie cared about him. The only other person on campus she was open with was her brother. Sophie hung around them a little bit more now and Jackie was a friendly with her, but Sophie wasn't someone Jackie confided in like she did to Danny and Ryan. Danny sometimes wondered if she even confided in Ryan as much as she seemed to in him.

Danny answered the phone in his dorm room on the first ring. "McKenzie."

"Danny?"

Danny pushed his guitar aside and sat up straight. "Jackie? Is that you?" There was no answer. Danny stood up, his heart beginning to pound in his chest. "I can't hear you Jackie. You have to speak up."

"Can you come to the library and get me? There's a guy outside, and the library's closing and—"

"I'm on my way, Jacks." Danny shoved shoes on his feet and looked around for a sweatshirt. "Do not leave the library. Tell them someone's coming to get you, and you have to wait there. Do you hear me?" When she didn't answer, Danny asked again. "Tell me you acknowledge what I just said, Jacks. I can't hang up and leave until I know you'll stay inside."

"Yes, I will," she whispered. "Hurry up, okay?"

"I'll be there in two minutes, baby."