Paranoia

“Three teenage girls went missing early this morning. Their car was spotted ten miles outside of town abandoned. If you see these girls, please call 555-0125,” the TV blared. Three girls with long blonde hair were shown on the screen, their names underneath.

Zoey Brooks was staring at the TV with her eyes wide. “Don’t those girls go to our school, Lola?” she asked.

Lola Miller stepped out of her bathroom with eyeliner in her hand. Her black hair was in waves over her shoulders. She sighed, “I don’t know. There’s, like, 400 people at Bridgewood High; I can’t keep track of all of them.”

“I swear I’ve seen them somewhere before.”

Lola came through her small living room, grabbed the remote, and turned the TV off. “You’re scaring yourself. Just because it’s Friday the thirteenth does not mean you have to be so paranoid! Besides, we’re going to be late for the movie. I want to grab a burger from Chickee’s before we go.”

Zoey stood up off the couch and her gently curled blonde hair bounced. “Yeah, you’re right. I’m sorry.” She stepped closer to her best friend and examined her make-up, “By the way, you really need to lay off the eyeliner.”

Lola just stuck out her tongue and called out, “Bye Mom! We’re going! We’ll see you later!”

“Bye Mrs. Miller,” called Zoey.

A tall, slender woman with brown hair stepped out the kitchen and wiped her floured hands on her apron. “Please be careful, Lola; you too, Zoey. I don’t want to have to see y’all’s pictures on the news.”

Lola groaned, “Not you too, Mom.”

Her mother’s voice was gentle, “I’m just saying-”

The two girls were already out the door before she could finish.

~ * ~

“Oh my gosh! That movie was so awesome!” Lola was driving but her hands were flailing excitedly.

Zoey had a book open on her lap and her eyes glued to the pages. “I guess,” she said, “but the book was better. I mean, the order of events was completely wrong and they didn’t even include my favorite character.” She looked up at Lola momentarily. “Also, please keep your hands on the wheel. I didn’t want to come back this way anyway. The least you could do is not run us into a tree”

Lola rolled her eyes, “You are such a nerd. Besides, there’s no traffic this way; we’ll get home a lot faster. Curfew’s at eleven, remember?” She glanced at the clock: 10:23. 

“Yeah, yeah.” Zoey flipped another page in her book.

“What’s that book about, anyway?”

Zoey looked up and flashed the cover to Lola. A pair of ballet slippers was on it. “It’s about this girl who wants to become a dancer but her parents want her to become a doctor. She always argues with them because they never watch her perform. Finally they decide to come watch her. That’s where I’m at now.”

“Well, that sounds lame.” Lola reaches for the radio and goes to turn it on. 

“C’mon! I’m almost finished. Why do you always have to interrupt my reading?”

She turned the volume up louder. “Like I said before: because it’s lame.” 

Zoey reached and turned the radio off. “I’ll be finished in less than ten minutes, I promise.”

Lola didn’t respond, only turned the radio back on and the volume up higher than before. She started beating her hands on the steering wheel.

“Turn it off,” Zoey practically yelled, “and keep your hands on the steering wheel!” She once again turned the blasting music off.