One Night That Changes Everything

Chapter Six

8:37 p.m.

The air outside is cool and feels nice on my face after the damp, hot air of the club. But one glance around tell me no one's here, either, so I walk a few steps outside to the side of the building to try and call Samantha, and when I do, I almost bump into Justin.

"Oh," I say, pushing my hair out of my face. "Excuse me." I try to push by him but he doesn't seem like he wants to let me. I know this because he doesn't move. "Move," I say.

"Wait," he says. He looks around nervously, then glances behind him, like he's afraid he might be tailed by an assassin or something. Which is completely ridiculous. Honestly, they're really taking this whole secrecy thing just a little bit too far.

"What?" I ask. "You know, you're really taking this whole thing a little too-" And then Justin grabs my arm and pulls me over to the side of the building, before I can protest. 

"Hey!" I say. "What are you doing? Let go of me!"

"Look," he says, releasing my arm when we're safely out of sight. Of who, I don't know. I rub my arm and pretend it's all sore, even though it doesn't hurt at all. "I'm not supposed to be talking to you, so just calm down and-"

My cell phone starts vibrating then, and I reach down and pull it out of my pockets. One new text message. "PLEASE PROCEED TO THE SPOTTED FROG," it says. It's from a number I don't recognize. 

"Who is this from?" I demand, shoving the phone into Justin's face.

"Um Ryan," Justin says. He's still looking around, all nervous and squirrelly- like. 

"Right," I say. "Why does he want me to go the the Spotted Frog?" The Spotted Frog is a coffee shop around the corner from Cure. Samantha and I have gone there a couple of times, when we felt like going into the city and having brunch, or when we needed to cram for a test and wanted somewhere fun to study.

"He probably wants you to do something else from your notebook," Justin offers up helpfully.

"Duh," I say, rolling my eyes. "When is he going to give it back?"

"I don't know," he says. "But listen, I'm going to help you. We can-"

"Where is it?" I demand.

"Where's what?" he asks.

"The notebook!" I say. Honestly!

"I don't know," he says. But his eyes shift to the right, which everyone knows is, like, the universal sign of lying, but it doesn't even matter because I don't need to know that sign since I already know he's a big liar.

"Excuse me," I say. I push him and start to head back toward the front of the club. Justin, proving just how ridiculous and stupid he is, follows me.

"Where are you going?" he asks. I'm walking super-fast but Justin, unfortunately, is having no trouble keeping up with me. It's these damn shoes I'm wearing. Whoever thought five-inch wedges were a good idea is obviously insane.

"I have to fine Emily and Samantha," I say.

"They're gone," he says.

"No, they're not," I say. Shows how much he knows. Emily and Samantha wold not just leave me. They know I'm in a state of duress.

"Yes, they are." I push past him, so not in the mood to deal with his craziness. But after another look around the club and calls to their cells that go unanswered, I realize he's right. They're gone. Emily and Samantha are gone. They've deserted me.

Okay. New plan. Head to the Spotted Frog, where hopefully Ryan and the 318s are waiting to give me my notebook back after I do whatever ridiculous thing they have lined up for me next. Then, I will order a nice coffee or cappuccino and a chocolate-chunk cookie, and I will wait for Samantha and Emily to call me, and then this whole night will be over, and we will all go back to my house and watch romantic comedies on Netflix.