Reclamation

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER TWOMallory

June 26, 2007: Time Unknown

Lying in my own sweat and stench, I try opening my eyes. Darkness fills the space, but I can sense other people nearby. Trying to steady myself, I move my arm and it’s met with resistance. I am restrained to something above and behind me. Using my legs, as weak as they are, I push back against the wall to sit up. Squinting, I make out the shapes of other people squatting or lying near me. We are moving. I realize we are in the back of the delivery truck. I can hear the tires whistling beneath the floor.

With as much strength as I can muster, I lift my hands to pull the tape off my mouth. There are deep marks on my wrists where the plastic ties have dug into my skin. Using my numb fingers to try to grab the corner of the tape, I begin to pull. It stings as the tape rips away at my skin, but I gradually turn my head the opposite direction to help it along.

I hear a familiar voice in the distance questioning with a hushed urgency

“Jenna?” I whisper.

Pain shoots up from my lower back, and I squirm to situate myself to accommodate the discomfort. How can this be? Is this just a nightmare, the worst possible nightmare? A sickening feeling comes over me. I have no idea where I am or how far we are from the city. The hopelessness is overwhelming. I slow my breathing down and resist the tears welling up inside. Focus, Mallory, stay calm. The skin around my mouth pulsates from removing the tape. It feels a lot like when Jenna and I waxed our faces and eyebrows before graduation day.

College graduation. Christ. It was only a month ago. Just a month ago when I still thought my entire future was in front of me.

Hundreds of white chairs were lined up in rows filled with students and family, the scent of freshly cut grass lingered in the cool spring air. I remember the distant whistle of a train carrying coal to the east across the plains of the Midwest.

Ryan and I sat in front of the stage. I squeezed his hand and smiled as I felt the new ring on my finger. We hadn’t told anyone but Jenna. Keeping it from her was impossible when we met up that morning to decorate our caps before the graduation lineup. We planned to tell everyone, including our families, that night at the big graduation celebration.

The ensemble finished singing, and the crowd applauded. Chancellor Richter stepped up to the podium.

“This year’s graduation speaker is a shining example of what a Goodwin scholar can be. She is at the top of her class, has led her peers through countless hours of making positive change as the president of student government, and has received numerous scholarships because of her exemplary academic performance while at Goodwin. Not only is she an incredible student, but she is also a steward of her community. She serves as a volunteer counselor at the Everly Falls Crisis Center, and has organized the area celebration of veterans for the past six years and counting. She is a delight to work with and will be what we consider one of our elite alumni in about . . . ” Chancellor Richter looked at his watch, “. . . twenty minutes.” The crowd chuckled. “It is my pleasure to introduce Ms. Jenna Marquette as the graduation speaker for the 2007 graduating class of Goodwin College.”

We all rose to our feet to applaud my best friend as she walked to the stage and positioned herself behind the podium. There was a slight ache in my cheeks from smiling so hard. Everyone around me had already sat down, but I stood, continuing to applaud. I winked at Jenna and then took my seat. Her speech was familiar. She had practiced it several times in front of me to get it just right. When Jenna neared the end of her address, her words went in a different direction than what she had practiced.

“And with that, I encourage each of you to find your passion and seize each opportunity to learn something new, to impact those around you, and to be the best version of yourself. Many of you came to this community to attend Goodwin College. I have been lucky to grow up in Everly Falls, and I always dreamed of going to Goodwin College. Shout out to my best friend, Mallory Shields, who has been with me every step of the way. She helped me face many challenges growing up, and in college, she taught me that it isn’t just about the grades and achievements but about taking risks to do things without knowing the outcome and being okay with that. She has given me the courage to be real and to focus on making memories and creating happiness, not just making money and professional success.”

Happy tears flowed as she made this public declaration of the importance of our friendship. Jenna was like my sister, and we had been through thick and thin. She was raised by a single mom after her father was killed during a deployment to the Middle East when Jenna was just a toddler. She had always worked harder than anyone else and met the mark with all of her goals. Jenna inspired me to be better.

Jenna looked so professional on stage with her strawberry-blonde hair straightened and framing her freckled face. Usually, her hair fell in waves and slight curls, which was perfect for her fiery green eyes and clever smile. She was a few inches shorter than I was, but her confidence always made her seem taller.

Jenna pulled out a piece of paper. “Mal, you know how special you are to me, and I wanted to share a poem to let everyone else know.” She recited a poem about friendship, and the crowd let out ooh’s and ah’s. I laughed uncontrollably. Most people probably thought it was Jenna’s cheesy attempt at a heartfelt poem, but it was the theme song to The Golden Girls, our favorite rerun sitcom.

Jenna laughed, as she looked right at me. “Girl . . . I can’t wait to leave for Thailand with you next week and spend the next year exploring the world and creating new memories. I would have never had the confidence to do this without you.” She dramatically blew a kiss to me. “Class of 2007, congratulations to you all, and let’s make it count!”

The crowd rose to their feet again and cheered. Jenna took a bow, halfway sincere and halfway sarcastic, as it turned into more of a curtsy.

Being selected as the graduation speaker was a great way for Jenna to really cap off and celebrate her achievements through college. She was always good at focusing and staying on course when it came to projects and homework. She was determined to graduate at the top of the class and to land a great job. Nobody was surprised when Jenna was offered a position with Jacobson Fielder, a local PR firm as the regional communications coordinator making close to six figures.

When I told Jenna about my desire to take a gap year before graduate school to travel and see different parts of the world, I expected her to disapprove. She would never do anything so frivolous and non-progressive to her career. If anything, I thought she would tell me it was going to be detrimental to my future when it came to getting into a good graduate program.

But she didn’t.

It was early in the fall semester of our senior year, and I was lying on a blanket on the quad. I had just finished my Psychology of the Family class and was thumbing through a Southeast Asia travel guide my advisor had given me. Her sister had spent several years there as an English instructor in a small village near Bangkok. When I told my advisor I wanted to take a year off and travel to Thailand and explore other countries before going to grad school, she gave me her sister’s email address and the paperback guide. It was almost overwhelming how many people had connections to Thailand once I told them I planned to travel there.

Jenna plopped down next to me, and I could tell there was something on her mind because she didn’t lead with something funny. She had a serious look on her face, and she fussed with the hem of her shirt, a nervous habit of hers.

“Hey, you . . . ” I sat up to face her. “This is a nice surprise. You hate sitting on the quad. What if you get wrinkled and dirty?” I chuckled.

“Exactly! The old Jenna would have cared about wrinkles and dirt,” she announced. “But you’re looking at the new Jenna who is more relaxed about such things.”

“Oh, exciting. Tell me more.” I sat up even straighter.

“Well, I just had coffee with Sebastian,” she said in a serious tone.

She dated Sebastian Manns on and off during our junior year, and then they got more serious over the summer. She crushed on him the first two years of college. Bash, as we all called him, came to Goodwin from Hawaii to play football. When Jenna first saw him during orientation, she reacted so “girly,” which was very unlike her. She wasn’t one to giggle or blush. Granted, Bash was possibly the most beautiful person to walk the earth. His giant smile was a brilliant contrast to his smooth, caramel skin that highlights his buff and contoured athletic frame. He could capture anyone’s attention with his confident swagger and long, wild black locks that always fell in just the right places, complementing his undeniable hotness.

At first, Bash and Jenna were friendly to each other, but he didn’t seem to have any interest in dating. He was focused on football. Bash was also not the best student, which surprised me even more that Jenna would find him attractive. She usually went for the intellectual types. At the end of our sophomore year, Bash needed to raise his GPA, otherwise academic probation would result, which could prevent him from playing football. Bash was convinced he had a future as a professional player, so this shook him into getting some tutoring. It was the perfect time for Jenna to step in, and she did.

In his junior year, Bash was doing a lot better in school and somehow he and Jenna started spending more time together outside of the library. We were all surprised when Bash invited us to go to Hawaii and stay with his family over spring break that year. There were twenty-four of us; Bash invited some of his teammates and their girlfriends, as well as Jenna, me, and Ryan. Bash’s family owned a chain of high-end hotels and resorts in Hawaii, and we were treated like royalty. Our entire group took up the top floor of one of his father’s best hotels.

On the second to last day of our stay in Hawaii, we were all on the beach, and some of us were still trying to learn to surf before the trip ended. I had just fallen off my board and taken in a bunch of salt water, so I was lying on the beach catching my breath. Jenna was next to me slathered in sunscreen wearing a large floppy hat and reading Anna Karenina under her umbrella. In my opinion, she was being a bit overly cautious.

Suddenly, a man approached us and tried persuading us to walk down the beach to a party with him. He was dressed in board shorts and a faded Budweiser T-shirt. His hair was unkempt and his skin was sun-weathered. His voice was raspy and rushed, and I thought he was under some type of influence because he seemed off balance. We declined politely, but he lingered, continuing to ask. We kept saying no, but he wouldn’t leave. Then Bash showed up and was in full-on active duty mode.

“Dude, get out of here,” Bash said, keeping his aggression at bay.

The guy half-turned in Bash’s direction and just blew him off. “f**k off,” he said, then took a step toward Jenna.

“All right, buddy,” Bash said, stepping toward him. “If you don’t leave my girlfriend and her friend alone, I have an army of Goodwin Gladiators who I guarantee live up to the name. Your choice, dude.”

By that time, several of the guys had rolled up behind Bash.

The man’s eyes grew wide as he realized he was drastically outnumbered and was by far the least athletic of them all. Surprisingly, he turned to Jenna and winked. “Well, if you get bored with these bottom-feeders, you know where to find me.” Then he gave us the “hang loose” shaka hand gesture and scurried off down the beach.

There were chuckles, fist bumps, and grunting as Bash’s crew slowly retreated back to the water or up to the bar on the beach. Bash knelt down next to Jenna. Her mouth was gaping open, completely smitten.

“Hey, sorry about that jerk. Are you okay?” Bash asked.

“Uh . . . sure. I mean, thanks. Yeah, he was kind of a jerk,” she said, fumbling for composure. Now it was my turn to retreat and leave the two of them alone. I went to find Ryan, who was engrossed in a game of sand volleyball.

That night, after going to a luau hosted by Bash’s family, Ryan and I were in our room packing up our stuff when I picked up a skirt I had borrowed from Jenna earlier in the week. I headed down the hall to her room to give it back to her, but there was no answer. I smiled, thinking about Jenna and Bash, together on our last night in Hawaii.

The next morning, they showed up in the lobby holding hands. When I looked at Jenna, it was written all over her face. With a nudge, I gave her a slight smirk.

“Good morning. How was your night last night? Did you two have fun?”

“Oh, yeah. We were pretty tired, so we just crashed in my room. Right, babe?” Bash looked at Jenna for confirmation. Her cheeks blushed and she giggled.

From that point on, Bash referred to Jenna as “babe.” It was cute at first, but it became increasingly annoying as time went on, at least to some of us. But Jenna never seemed to mind. She caught me up on all the gushy details during the plane ride home, and I couldn’t have been happier for her to finally have the romance she wanted with Bash.

So when she approached me that day in the quad with her fast talking and wide eyes, I didn’t know what to think.

“It’s . . . over,” Jenna finally said.

“What’s over?” I said.

She looked out past the lawn. “Bash said he wasn’t ever going to be what I wanted in life. He heard back from the arena football organization and was put on a waitlist. He doesn’t think professional football is in his future.”

“Damn,” I said, knowing this must have been a blow to Bash.

“So, he’s pretty sure he’s going with plan B: go back to Hawaii to work for his father until he can get his teaching certificate, then hopefully find a school there to teach and coach.”

She didn’t seem as upset as I thought this might make her. Bash was her first love. Well, first real love. We didn’t count the obsession she had with George Stephanopoulos during high school. She always joked about how he was going to be her future husband and they would co-anchor their own news program, ultimately becoming the world’s next power couple.

We were sitting cross-legged, facing each other. I took Jenna’s hands in mine and pressed our palms together, bringing them upwards and looking in her eyes.

“How does plan B sound to you?” I asked, pressing forward a bit.

“Bash told me how he would create a life of disappointment for me. He said I would never be satisfied with him just teaching and coaching. He tried to tell me how perfect my life was going to be and how successful I was going to be. He said he felt pressured to achieve as much as me, and eventually I would end up resenting him or leave him for someone better. Then I realized he was worried about our relationship based on how much disapproval or disappointment I would have with him.”

She sighed. “I don’t want to be that person, Mal. I need to relax and enjoy life more. I will never be happy if I keep expecting people to live up to my standards.” Her eyes were pleading, as if I should understand the deeper meaning of this statement.

I smiled, giving her a questioning stare, and finally said, “Okay, brainy Jenna, I’m clueless. What do you mean?”

She pushed her hands against my palms and raised herself up. “Long story short, I want to go with you for a gap year.”

“What?” I was bewildered. I stood up.

“I want to go.” Jenna smiled. “Can I go with you?”

“But your job—”

“Yeah, I already thought of that. I talked to Jacobson Fielder, and they’re okay with it. I mean, they’re not thrilled, but they seemed to be receptive. The HR manager said unless the entire economy tanks, they will still hire me after a gap year. Besides, I have interest from some other companies too.”

“What?” I repeated.

“Serious, Mal. I want to do something unexpected. I want to see what it’s like to live day by day. I need to make some memories of this time in my life besides just going to college and then to work.”

My face broke into a huge smile. The idea of having her by my side as we explored the world made me excited and also a bit apprehensive. My gaze followed a man across the lawn blowing leaves off the sidewalk. The smell of fall was sweet, and even though the air was cool, a feeling of warmness like standing too close to a bonfire came over me.

“Jenna, don’t tease me like this. You know I would love for you to go with me. I can’t think of anything I would want more, but I just can’t believe you want to go.”

“Yes, you do know me well.” She put on her serious face, then smiled slightly. “But you also know how much I think and overthink and contemplate before doing something or even telling anyone about it.”

“Exactly.”

“So if I tell you I actually want to do this, you know I’ve thought this through.” She smiled. “Mallory, I want to go with you to Thailand.”

“Yes! Yes! Yes!” I exclaimed. “We’re going to the other side of the world after graduation, and we’re going together! But you have to promise you won’t change your mind. Because you know me just as much as I know you. I will be crushed if you change your mind.” I put on my best mock pout, dramatically clenching my hands to my heart.

“Promise.” She stuck out her finger to pinky swear.

“I’m so excited.” I bypassed the pinky swear and went for the hug. “We’re going to have so much fun and see the world!”

Jenna helped me pick up my things. We headed toward Copeland Hall for my next class. Our pace was light as the leaves crunched under our feet. In another month, there would be snow on the ground.

“I want to know everything you’ve planned so far. Every detail,” Jenna said as she looped her arm through mine.

“Jenna.” I stopped and looked at her. We both burst into laughter. Jenna knew me better than anyone else. She knew I hadn’t started any planning.

“Well, what I meant to say is that I can’t wait for the two of us to plan this amazing adventure together,” Jenna said and, arm in arm, we skipped across the quad together towards an unknown future.

Our friendship has always had a balance. I am the laid-back, laissez-faire part of the duo and Jenna is the one who is organized and structured. If only I could have been more like Jenna and mapped out a better plan for this trip, we might not be in the situation we are now.

There is a bump, jostling everyone in the back of the truck, and I’m jolted out of my memories. I try to swallow, to get a grip on my surroundings, but all I can think about is how it’s my fault we are kidn*pped.

Kidnapped. It’s strange how I haven’t put a word to what is happening to us until just now.