Finding Emily

{Chapter 2}

   After school all of the friends went over to Kyle's since his parents were often not home since both were paramedics. It gave them free reign of the large basement that was always stocked and had a big screen TV on the wall that his Mom gave to her husband last year for his birthday even though Kyle said he wasn't even sure his Dad even watched a whole movie on it yet, but Kyle got a lot of use out of it as he loved to show his home movies. 

  Kyle was always carrying around an expensive video camera he bought with his after-school job money; he'd taken a film making class the summer before last, and he was obsessed with making a documentary about their last years in high school. He said he wanted to document everything. He had gotten yelled at several times for bringing it to school though so it mostly stayed hidden during class now although he brought it out during lunch time to get Lenny sticking carrots up his nose.

" Yes, we should never ever forget these memories," Quinn had said when Lenny had to go to the nurse as he couldn't get a piece of carrot out of his nose.

 "You recorded having dinner at Jenna's?" Brian snorted when Kyle showed him his most recent footage. "This is going to be the most boring documentary of all time. Honestly you should get an award for it."

  "It's going to be timeless, and I'm going to make you all copies once I edit it down," Kyle said as he had come to ignore their jokes and jabs at his project. "You'll all thank me someday."

  "Sure," Star snorted from her corner on the couch where she was flipping through a magazine from the coffee table that Becca was willing to bet all of them flipped through at least twenty times each. She glanced up just in time to see Kyle zoom his camera on Jenna's mother's rather large chest as she leaned down to pick up a plate off the table. Jenna gasped at him and hit him with a pillow.

  "They were just there!" Kyle yelped. "What did you expect me to do?!"

  Star had to leave at four as she worked part-time at the Dairy Queen. She gave Kyle a quick kiss on the cheek, and he told her he'd call her later. Jenna and Brian left a little later as they had been quietly fighting in the bathroom even though Becca didn't mention it to anyone else as she over-heard on accident when she was going upstairs to get more ice. They didn't fight often so she was surprised, but she couldn't hear what they were saying. They left not long after as Brian lived close by. Becca was glad as she hated when people fought. She hoped they could work it out alone. Tasha left not long after as some of her softball friends - and the girl she liked, but she hadn't admitted it to any of them - were going to a late movie.

  Quinn was passed out on the sectional as Becca laid on the floor as she watched Lenny and Kyle play video games as she finished up her homework so she wouldn't forget about it as she tended to do when she hung out with her friends after school. Kyle would suggest they start doing shots or go to the park to hang out, and nothing would get done. She couldn't risk it with her always slightly wobbly grades.

 "You're boring," Kyle told her more than once as she laid on a pillow next to him and occasionally asked Lenny for help with a problem as he was the smartest in their group she often thought even though he didn't give a damn and passed his classes with barely any effort. Lenny was more interested in video games and talking to girls on the internet that he'd never meet in real life. 

  "That's me – dull as dirt," she said every time which just made him make a face at her and then go back to his video game. She always got a kick out of watching and listening to them play. They took it so seriously and spoke to each other as if they were really on a war mission. They had a whole language and tone, and she thought it was hilarious even though they never appreciated her mocking them and would end up ignoring her. She checked her phone occasionally to see if Emily called her, but nothing. Her Mom called once, and she said she hadn't heard from Emily. Becca didn't tell her that Emily skipped school as it would only get her in trouble again, and she was already on thin ice around their house. Becca didn't want to be the cause of another battle. She had long learned to stay out of her Mom and Emily's fights.