Crystal

Ten

"Thank God you're here, man," Skittles says in relief as I step in, "You know that voice manipulator I told you about? Well, I felt a bit nostalgic about us making those prank calls-"

"Let me guess, you pranked people by using that manipulator. What do you expect me to do about it?"

"I want you to prank call the same number I did, that guy figured out where I live. So, if you call him then I can blame it on you and my parents won't kill me."

"Or, genius, I can call him using a different number so that he traces that one."

"He'll still have my number!" He objects, pointing toward the phone.

"You used your home phone number? What did you say to the guy anyway?"

"Uh," Skittles rubs his neck. "Well, I got a little carried away, felt a bit like Batman, so I kind of said stuff like 'I can attack you from the shadows.'"

"You threatened him?" I flick him on the head. "What's wrong with you?"

"You can beat me up all you want later," Skittles grabs me. "He told me he called the cops."

"I doubt he was-"

The bell rings as Skittles and I slowly turn our heads toward the door, the silhouette of a man behind the glass visible.

We look at each other, both thunderstruck.

"Dude!" Skittles yells in fright, I quickly muffle his screams and drag him back.

"Shut up, I've got an idea." I put on the mask.

"What's that?" Skittles laughs in spite of himself.

"You'll thank me later," I say before smacking him hard on the face. "Now pretend you were assaulted when the cop comes in."

"I have been assaulted!" He cries with his hand over his face.

I snatch the voice manipulator and sneak out the window, moving toward the front of the house from the outside, then hear Skittles opening the door.

"We received a complaint that someone using this number was harassing-" As suspected, it's a cop, "What happened to you?"

"I-I was assaulted by someone, he knocked me out," Skittles' well acted voice reaches me; he sure had talent when the time called for it.

"Can you describe him?"

"I'm right here," my augmented voice echoes from the doorway, and the cop double turns.

I charge away as soon as I finish my line. The last image I'd seen was Skittles' flummoxed face and the cop bolting after me.

After what feels like an hour of running my lungs give out and I collapse on the pavement. The sky above dances with lights, stars careening around resembling fireflies attracted to a distant moon. I blink hard a couple of times to find those stars behind my closed eyelids as well, yanking up to find myself in a shadowy basketball court as I recall jumping over that fence behind me.

Great, as if I hadn't had enough on my mind now I'm reminded of Jared. In fact, my paranoia must be so high I can even see him. I shake my head to gather my bearings but he doesn't fade away. It's not a hallucination.

"Yeah, man, I made it out," Jared bawls with laughter, one hand holding a phone up to his ear. "Stupid old man had no clue. I threw the last of the firecrackers at his front porch. You guys should've seen his face. He was ready to pop."

Jared falls to the ground, rolling with hilarity.

"Man, this was the best prank we could've done. Blasted that stuck up old git, he'll remember us till the day he croaks, although I think we might've given him a heart attack." Jared's cries of mirth fill the secluded court. "Old man Beakly or Dead man Beakly?"