Zip It, Lock It

Are We Free Yet?

Chapter 3

Jewel stifled a scream of glee as she stepped off of the school steps and into the parking lot where her aunt was. The final day had come to a close, and students buzzed (and screamed) with excitement.

Running over to her aunt's cherry red Volkswagen, Jewel dropped her backpack into the backseat and gave Aunt Judy a hug.

"Happy final day of school, honey!" Her aunt smiled.

"Happy final day of school, Aunt Judy," Jewel said through the hug.

It wasn't simply the fact that she would be away from her school for three months, it was the fact that she wouldn't see Amanda until fall, and with her short attention span, she'd probably drop the whole matter of pushing her down the stairwell.

"I have to go back to work for the rest of the day, so it looks like you'll be on your own for a while, Jewel. You can stay home or go out, so long as you're back by five. Okay?" Aunt Judy told her, breaking up her train of thought.

"Sounds good," Jewel nodded.

Aunt Judy pulled the car into the driveway and waited politely for Jewel to get out so she could be on her way.

"Bye, Aunt Judy! Drive safe!" Jewel waved as her aunt drove out of their neighborhood.

In a flash, Jewel was upstairs in her bedroom with her backpack in the corner like a child in time out and her TV playing a recorded episode of The Simpsons.

Jewel jumped onto her bed and pulled out her cellphone as the theme song started up.

One new message.

Jewel's brow knit in confusion as she tapped the reminder.

From: Unknown Number

Message:

I hope you weren't thinking that just because it's summer that I'd forget. Because if you were, you were dead wrong. This isn't a very big town, Jewel. And I have all summer long. So don't think that I'm letting this go. Tata!

Jewel's face paled. She'd forgotten how two faced Amanda could be. It couldn't be anyone else.

Maybe this summer wasn't going to be all cartoons and FanFiction.

Unless...

Hands shaking, Jewel pulled the paper out of her pocket and dialed the number.

---

Philomena raised an eyebrow, she wasn't used to people calling her, they'd usually text her or skype her. It was especially strange for a new number to call her cellphone. Hesitant, she answered.

"Hello?"

"Um, hi. This is, uh... Jewel Amberly." The voice on the other end said quietly.

Philomena went through her mental list of people she knew, "Oh, hi, Jewel! Frightened rabbit, right?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Okay! Glad I got that right! What's up?" Philomena grinned, even though Jewel wouldn't be able to see her.

After a brief moment of silence, Jewel spilled.

"I've seen something. It's not good. At all. Two days ago, Monday, I was in the stairwell. I saw Amanda Hertz p-"

"Philomena, why don't you come in here and watch this with us?" Philomena's mom called.

"Uh, listen Jewel, I hate to cut you off, but we'll have to talk later, okay? Bye!"

Philomena clicked her phone off and shoved it in her pocket. With a sigh, she stood up and trudged towards the living room where her mom was hugging Fredrick on the sofa. She decided against gagging like she usually did when people were lovey-dovey around her.

"Why don't you sit and watch this with us, Philomena?" Her mom smiled.

Philomena glanced at the TV and stifled another gag. She could tell by the one frame that it was a sappy romance movie.

"No thanks," she said flatly.

"No?"

"No. I... Don't want to intrude on you two love birds," Philomena spat, resisting the urge to speak her true feelings.

The two shrugged and pressed play just in time for Philomena to hear the ending to a sappy speech.

Shuddering, Philomena returned to her bedroom to try and call Jewel back.

---

Jewel paced her bedroom anxiously, the Simpsons still playing in the background was the only thing that kept her from screaming.

"I can't believe it... When I try and talk about it, no one listens!"

Jewel's phone sounded, and, like a cat, she pounced on it.

"Hello?"

"Sorry about hanging up earlier, Jewel." Philomena said, sounding embarrassed.

"It's, um, okay."

"So, what were you going to tell me? About Amanda Hertz?"

"It's that, well she... Isawherpushtheothercandidateforstudentbodypresidentdownthestairs," Jewel said quickly.

Philomena was silent for a moment. Two moments.

"It sounds far fetched, I know, but-"

"I believe you."

Some people say that the three words they want to hear the most are "I love you," but Philomena's three spoken words were Jewel's dream words.

"You... You do?"

"One hundred percent. That is just like Amanda. Always one to-"

"There's more. She... She threatened to push me down with her if... I told anyone."

Another moment of silence from Philomena.

"Then she won't know that I know."