Four Days Later
Sitting on the last swing in the row at Darwin, I stare out at the twinkling suburb off in the distance. Westbrook. My potential future. Right down that hill. I think back to how my life's been up until now. I've been doing a lot of that lately.
Just a little.
Can you blame me?
High school.
How I'm almost done with my online school days. I'm going to miss two hours a day, then napping until Kenzie gets home.
Soccer.
A Saturday away game means a Friday night bus ride across the valley. I don't want to go to Craisville. It means a bus. It means a hotel.
Work.
I'll suffer through it, though, because I get to work a shift with Kenzie for the first time when I make up hours tomorrow.
Kenzie.
Last night...
"It's a Stephen!"
Her hello when she met me after work. Her hug. Warm. Loving.
On our walk back home, I told her a story about how I had to dig tables out from the storage corner for a program. It wasn't fun. It reminded us of that one time a couple years ago when we played Hide & Seek at a home goods warehouse in Robinson...
***
Three Years Ago
"There you are!"
I know. I'm late. Kenzie's already in the car. She laughs at me while I'm stumbling into the backseat after taking forever.
"Ready?" Dad asks up front.
"Ready," we shyly reply.
Onward!
We hop on the highway and head south, watching as the city life fades into rolling fields. It's not long until society returns, though.
The town of Robinson, an hour from home.
We round a curve and shoot up a...very high rise. I'm glad Kenzie's on the other side. Her window's facing what I try not to look over at. Bits of civilization stamped into a terraced landscape. Why Robinson? Dad has to get ideas for new designs, or something. I don't remember. All I know is that I get to go. With Kenzie tagging along, I'm excited. She's been here before when her parentals bought a new living room.
"Okay! All ashore who's going ashore..."
The red-and-white warehouse overlooking the highway is the size of a stadium. From research, it's no ordinary store. It's the go-to place for any home. Mock setups in an organized maze. You buy it? You move it. Or, they can do it for you for a hefty fee. Kenzie said—
"Hey! Fun fact! Did you know...they actually have a sign posted that warns people not to play Hide & Seek?"
"Hm?"
What is she...oh.
I don't think so, Stephen.
Maybe?
Stepping past sliding doors, I look around. I can smell bitter coffee. There's a café to the right. It's no GoSpresso and hasn't attracted many. To the left, an opening to everything you can imagine in home goods, showcased under steel beams and shallow lights. I see the warning sign. It's on a pillar next to the opening, its lamination peeling.
YOU ARE READING
Earhart & Noonan: An "Us Club" Novel (#1)(NaNoWriMo15)
Teen FictionFor the first twelve years of Stephen Vaughn's life, just trying to get others around him to pronounce his first name the right way ("Stee-vehn Vawn") has felt like the hardest task he's had to try and cope with. That is, until his perfect life with...
