The Exchange

Chapter 2

"Get up, get up, get up, get up, get up!" Natalie chanted as she, Melissa, and Leah all shook me awake.

"I'm up, just give me a second," I said and swatted at their hands. I glanced at my phone when I opened my eyes to check the time.

It was almost two, and I got a text from Arti, my best friend, twenty minutes prior that said, "Your car's here but you're not. Did you get kidnapped?"

I rolled my eyes and replied as I got out of the van. "Did you break in again?"

"It's not breaking in if you leave the window open," she replied.

I didn't even want to know how many times she had snuck in through the window over the years, so I just texted her back, "Just call me when you have the chance. It'll be easier to explain talking."

And then my phone rang.

"Hey Arti. That was fast," I said as we walked into the airport. Melissa was attached to my side, holding my hand. Crowded, noisy places made her nervous.

"Yup. Your house looks really nice. Like, so clean," Arti said.

"Thanks. We're picking Viktor up from the Chicago Airport."

"Oh, I forgot that was today. Wait, so were those cookies off-limits?" Arti asked, her voice turning panicked.

"Well, kind of, yeah. Did you eat all of them?"

"I ate four. Blaine had six," she replied.

"Blaine's there too?" I asked. Blaine was the third friend of our group, and he definitely had a crush on Arti, but she couldn't see it. She saw him as a friend, and that was that. It always seemed a little odd to me that it was a one-way thing, because Blaine made us laugh with every dumb story he told, but maybe there was more to attraction than just humor. What the hell would I know?

"Yeah. He said the cookies were good. Viktor will love them." Arti paused. "Or, at least what's left of them. Wait, we'll make some more for you. Do you have the recipe somewhere?"

"That's not necessary. And you should probably get out of my house before someone calls the police."

"It's okay. We climbed in through the back window. No one even heard us, probably."

I exhaled loudly. "Please, just go home. If my mom finds out that you guys are there—"

"Blaine! Get out of their fridge! Show some decency!" Arti interrupted me. "I gotta go. Blaine's stealing your food. Love you!" She hung up, so I put my phone in my pocket.

"When you get older, don't have friends. They'll just steal your food and frustrate you," I said to Melissa. She nodded, and with one eyebrow raised, she didn't seem certain whether I was serious or not. I smiled at her.

"Where are we even going? Where's Viktor?" Natalie whined, grabbing onto Mom's hand.

"He's somewhere around here. He probably is wandering around, looking for something to do. Matt, text him and ask him where he is," Mom said.

A tall, blond-haired boy approached us, and with the look of pure excitement shining in his eyes, I knew it had to be Viktor.

That was easy.

I took a quick look at his nose. It certainly didn't look crooked, so either Matt was a liar, or he had some serious work done on his face. Vanity wasn't a good look on anyone, even if it led to having a perfectly shaped nose.

"Viktor! How are you?" Matt asked, his eyes now as bright as Viktor's.

"I'm good! I can't believe I'm here. How're you?" Viktor asked. His accent was light, and he exaggerated the sounds of the vowels.