The Boyfriend Diaries

12) Duck and cover!-

    Chapter Twelve: Duck and cover!

    Here I was, laid on my bed with a pillow covering my head, just sinking. The ship of rainbows and lollipops had departed yesterday with Liss and Adam as its only passengers leaving poor Shayenne alone still slowly sinking in her little broken boat, on a Saturday. Albeit it was a cloudy Saturday, but a Saturday none the less. I usually would have been out tormenting some little kids somewhere on the block, leaving sticky chewing gum on benches and watching for people to sit down. Hell I'd even go as far as babysitting Charlie for the day, it beat being stuck inside (not to mention the money it earned me), only moments away from being submerged under a wave of depression.

    My career as an undercover detective was flawed, my dreams of becoming a big-time actress was crushed, and my guilt of being the worst best friend ever was overwhelming. Who was I kidding? Melissa and Adam were right, this was just another one of my stupid ideas, that will end only...stupidly. I should just quit while I'm ahead. Oh, woe is me.

    Just before I was taken under there was a loud smack against my window. Instinctively my body shot up away from my bed, pillow at the ready like some kind of weapon. Yeah, like a pillow was going to protect me, unless it was loaded with bricks I was a goner if that was some kind of weirdo knocking on my window. Then logic took over and I realised that I was two stories high, unless the weirdo could float in mid-air, I was safe. I think.

    There was another smack on my window and I was beginning to think someone was throwing stones to get my attention. Jumping off my bed I stormed across my room, opened my window wide and stuck my head out. Another stone soared through the air, narrowly missing the side of my head to hit my window.

    “Oopsie! Sorry!” My attacker shouted from below.

    I glared down at Melissa. “What are you doing? You're gonna break my window!”

    “I said I was sorry! I didn't know if I should knock on the door or not.”

    “No, it's a good job you didn't. My mum would have fended you off with the potato masher. What do you want anyway? I'm busy.”

    “Oh, you're busy, are you?” Melissa retorted, crossing her arms across her stomach and raising an eyebrow up at me sceptically. “What were you doing, laying on your bed with a pillow over your head? I didn't know moping around and feeling sorry for yourself was so time-consuming.”

    “I am not moping around!” I shouted down at her.

    “Yeah, yeah. Come on, Rapunzel let down your hair, it's freezing out here.”

    I groaned and rolled my eyes as I moved back away from the window, secretly loving the fact that she came to my rescue like some prince charming, except she wasn't on a white horse nor wearing any shiny armour, in fact she was my best friend and it was creepy to even think of her that way.

    I ran to my wardrobe and threw the doors open, going straight for the back right-hand side and pulling my makeshift rope ladder out. To me and you it was some old duvet covers that I had stolen from the linen closet, which I kept for those super rare occasions when I was grounded and needed to escape the house, or when a certain someone wanted to sneak in.

    I tied it around the radiator that was directly below my window and threw it out to Melissa. It was a good job my bedroom was at the back of our house and not the front because every neighbour on our street owe my mother in some way or another, and none of them are above crawling to her with news of rogue teenagers climbing in and out of her house without her consent.

    Melissa climbed up the makeshift rope with ease, as if she did it every day, and fell through my window with a thump. She stood up and brushed her hair back out of her face and pulled the rope back up.