They Are Stars

Part Eleven: Stars

"What are you doing here?" I ask loudly, but she hushes me. "Shut up. Do you want to die?"

"Hell no. Why are you asking me?!"

"If you keep talking, I'll knee you."

I decide to stop talking. It's better if I do anyway. I walk in and immediately smell, marijuana? Something cold pokes me at my back. "He said midnight." She says. I walk faster until I see the same guy from yesterday.

"About time you showed up." He tosses a paper bag towards me. "Lot 49, Block 38." I stare at the bag. I know what's in there. I hear Kyla's gun reloading. I pick up the bag. Kyla points her gun at my bruised jaw. "You're lucky that he didn't shoot you at first."

"Am I?"

"What did I just say?"

I sigh. "Let's hurry up, he needs the money as soon as possible."

"Alright."

Kyla pulls her bandana up to her mouth. We don't talk for a while. I look up to the starry sky. All I see are stars, no moon though. She coughs, it sounds fake. "Pull up your hoodie, we don't want to get caught now." I pull up my hoodie and stuff one of my hands in my pockets. We walked like that for a while. Every seventeenth step, we pass a lamp post. Each lamp post we pass, I already glanced at Kyla three times. And every four steps, I sniff. All I want is for my parents to be proud of what I've done. But all I've done is join a gang and deal drugs. Even holding this paper bag makes me feel dirty and wrong.

A police car stops near us. "Aren't both of you supposed to be at home?" He asks. This is the only time that I regret bringing my ugly bag. "Uh-" I cut Kyla off. "We're going on a walk under the stars. Y'know, the sappy stuff." He glanced at my paper bag suspiciously. Sweat is pouring down my back, despite how cold it is. "Okay. Take care." And he drives away.