Little Things ✓

Chapter 5

"That's such a cute bag," interjects Kaiti, staring at the aqua O-bag. "Why did you want to get rid of it? I mean, you could've auctioned it for charity, or given it to some of your loved ones or-" I raise a hand to cut her off, my eyes never leaving the ground.

"Don't," I state. "I don't think you want to make things worse." Kaiti grimaces out of confusion, before turning to Aaron, who, however, is staring blankly in front of him. Tension escalates again to the point that I intervene again, "Let's let Hailei finish talking, okay?" Everyone nods, except for Aaron.

Hailei groans. "I don't have much to say, actually." Then, she smirks and points a finger at Shannon. "Let's have some fun, shall we? I say that Shannon goes up next." Kaiti rolls her eyes, pissed at Hailei's bored tone, whereas Shannon's face is turning pale. I'm actually surprised, since her cheeks are rosy and bright most of the time.

Even though she's shaking a little, Shannon still stands up and goes to look for her item, starting from the cupboard. Kaiti stands up abruptly, wanting to leave Hailei behind, but I drag her down. "Kait, please stay here. I know she's driving us crazy, but running away will just make things worse."

Even though I'm hopeful that things finally change, Kaiti isn't. She's done with this bullshit; nonetheless, bashing at Hailei directly doesn't work. She'll just throw shit at us this way. The only way to make sure she stops causing us any further trouble is being smart.

And I perfectly know how.

***

Since we're not keen on waiting for everyone to look for their prized possessions without doing anything, I suggest making lunch, for we left our homes to come here early in the morning. Kaiti beams as I make this offer. "That's an excellent idea, Blen! Let's look for something to eat!"

Her enthusiasm, however, immediately fades away as Leayah, who has just inspected the cupboard to look for some food, announces, "Bad news, guys. There's nothing to eat here." Kaiti groans, whereas I stare at the furniture, wondering how we're going to keep our cool if we don't have a proper meal within the next few hours.

"There must be an alternative solution," states Aaron, causing Hailei to frown at him. He, however, ignores her and mumbles something under his breath. Leayah comments, "If only there were any signal... we could order a pizza or some take away on Uber Eats."

"But what if the police instead catch us? We're not supposed to be here," points out Penelope. While she may sound annoying, she's not completely wrong. This hut might have turned into private property over the last four years as I suspect. This is why we have to find everything quickly and leave, possibly without being caught.

"This only means one thing. We have to finish this business quickly," I declare, "and then we'll be off to Pizza Hut. Do you like this plan?" Everyone nods, except for Hailei and, obviously, Shannon, who is now staring outside the window. She's clutching a small brown notebook on her chest.

When I reach her, I ask her, "What's that?" She, taken aback by my presence, hesitate at first; after realizing it's me, however, she sighs out of relief. "You scared me, Blen, you know?" she teases, making me burst into peals of laughter. Anyway, she continues, assuming a more serious tone, "Oh, nothing serious, just my old journal I used it back in high school."

I assume it's her hidden item but don't say a word. I don't even ask her if she's willing to read us some passages from the diary because it's not respectful of her privacy and also because it might stir some unnecessary drama. No, we don't need more drama. We just want to get this shit done and leave.

My friends and I go back to the center of the room, taking our places in circle with the exception of Shannon, who sits on the wooden chair. She's still holding her notebook, trying to hide it from Hailei's hawk eye, but it's easier said than done. The latter, indeed, clears her throat. "We're not playing hide and seek anymore, Shannon. Show some guts!"

Her latest comment is dubbed as "rude" by Leayah, who crosses her arms after she moves away from her. Nonetheless, the blonde shrugs, barely retaining herself from flipping our other friend off. Wanting to avert tension once again, I address a trembling Shannon. "What a beautiful notebook," I comment, pointing at the journal. "Why don't you show it to us?"

"Oh, yes." She smiles weakly as she notices that everyone else has since shut up and turned to her. "This is my journal from high school. When I was done with scribbling on its last page, I thought that hiding it in a secluded place like this would be perfect, so that no-one could try and read it."

"I say it definitely worked, given it's been four years," comments Aaron between a fit of laughter and another. Kaiti, Leayah and Penelope follow after him, but Hailei scowls at them to shoo them. While I appreciate that she's trying to keep everyone quiet, I hate her poor manners. Why does she have to be like that? Where is the good-natured and nice Hailei I met in high school?

She's gone, unfortunately, so I don't think that reminding that once again will be of any help for me or any of the others. The thing is, she distracted everyone from Shannon's explanation with her pointless shenanigans. If she's not willing to make a step back for the sake of the group, then I guess we'll have to let her go.

I approach Shannon and let out a sigh. "I'm really sorry for all the mess. I should've stopped Aaron and the others myself." She, however, dismisses my apology by just raising a hand and patting my shoulder. "You don't need to worry. Aaron had good intentions," she explains. "I'm worried for Hailei, though."

"Just worried?" I blurt out without realizing that I might hurt her with my words. "I'm literally done with her! Look at how she's bitching around without anyone saying anything!" Great job, Blen. What happened to your promise to be the better one and not lash out?

Fortunately for me, Shannon doesn't lose her composure. "She changed a lot, I guess. She used to show off her bags, take selfies with silly faces and drag all of us to Starbucks for a caramel latte." She sighs as she comments, "Her cheerful attitude has gone since she was admitted to Hartley College-"

I interrupt her, "Hartley College? The one for snobbish brats and daddy's boys?"

She nods gravely, sighing again.

"Shit!" I accidentally let out, hoping that no-one hears me, but unfortunately someone is tapping on my left shoulder. I turn to find a glaring Hailey, who's shaking so much that she could kill me at any time.

As she drags me at the corner, grabbing my orange sweater with all the power she has in her arm and pinning me to the wall, she hisses at me, "Don't think you're going to get away with what you're doing to me, bitch."