The Viper ONC 2020

Chapter Five (unedited)

The week wasn't nearly long enough for Scarlett to mentally prepare herself for the upcoming trip. She continuously wondered how the hell someone could pack for such an event? What was she supposed to bring? How many outfits should she pack? Did she need to dress fancy, sporty, normal? Questions swirled in her mind like a tornado ravaging the western plains. 

What made it even worst is that her mother and girlfriend were forced to be in the complete dark about what was happening to her. Scarlett's mother was her second-best friend; she could tell her anything that was troubling her. But, not now.

What was more difficult was hiding her secret from Jacklyn. Scarlett was someone that always said that a relationship is nothing when it was built on lies. Granted this was a single lie, but it wasn't a damn small one. Whenever the two met up to hang out or go on a date, Scarlett couldn't help but feel guilty.

There was nothing more than she wanted to do then spill every little detail to Jacklyn. This secret was weighing Scarlett down; she felt like she was simply sinking deeper into the unknown depths of her own mind. It was a lonely and dark place, and with every waking moment that Scarlett kept her plans hidden, it caused her pain. She was never someone to have secrets; in fact, Scarlett had always been the type of person to be read like an open book. 

So when Scarlett found herself lying awake on her make-up bed at one in the morning, the last thing she expected was a call from Jacklyn to jerk her out of her thoughts. What surprised her, even more, was when Jacklyn said those dreaded words.

"We need to talk." 

Right then and there, Scarlett thought about every possible wrong thing that she ever has done in her life. Granted, there were a lot of things that she has done that would make a priest cringe. Scarlett knew that she wasn't the most innocent person in the world. However, she was not satan's spawn. 

Well, then again, perhaps she was. 

"What's up?" Scarlett had attempted to sound calm; she attempted to hide the terror that wavered within her voice. However, after a brief silence on the other line, Scarlett knew that her false confidence could be easily seen through. She wasn't necessarily a bad liar, but when in a pressuring situation, Scarlett was not the most convincing person in the world. 

"You've been really withdrawn lately, and I'm worried about you. I feel like you're keeping something from me." Well, there it was. Scarlett's hands shook as she attempted to not scream out in frustration. She thought she was putting up a good enough facade in front of everyone to not cause any certain panic or suspicion. Apparently, she thought wrong. 

"I just have a lot on my mind with college coming up," Scarlett paused a second; she hated lying. When she tried to speak again, her voice trembled as tears threatened to pour from her eyes. What came out was a wavering breath and then a sudden stop. Scarlett was attempting to collect her thoughts and form some sort of logical sentence. But, she never had a chance to. 

"I know that's not the truth. Listen, I'm at Jenny's. Meet me there." Scarlett started to stammer out some nonsense, but Jacklyn immediately cut her off.

"This is not a yes or no. If you care for me, then you will meet me here as soon as possible." Scarlett tensed up at that phrase. She never heard Jacklyn talk so seriously; there was a tone that she used that made Scarlett freeze up on the spot. 

"Fine, I'll be down in fifteen. Order my usual." Jacklyn agreed before she abruptly hung up the phone. Scarlett was beyond panic; she felt abysmal. 

She threw the covers off her body as she tossed on whatever clothes she had lying around. It ended up being a plain grey t-shirt and a pair of black sports shorts. Scarlett grabbed her lanyard which contained a credit card, license, and pepper spray.