Don't Wander

Sneaking Around

I made my way back home and found my mom standing at the door waiting for me. “What were you thinking Rebekah? You could have gotten hurt out there! You know the rules,” Mom nearly yelled.

“I really don’t feel like talking about this. I’m going to take a shower.” I stomped past her and went to my room. I grabbed a pair of sweats and a tank top and then went to the bathroom. Britt was supposed to be over in about ten minutes. I showered as quickly as I could, but even so, she was there by the time I got out. I worked on drying my hair with a towel as Britt sat on my bed and flipped through my latest playlist.

“Um, remind me again why all your music sucks?” She tossed the remote on the floor and started digging around in her bag.

“It doesn't suck. It's soothing. Just because no one sings in the songs, doesn’t make them bad,” I said as I picked the remote up off of the carpet.

“Right. We’re gonna listen to some of my faves,” she said as she plucked her phone from her bag.

“I don't really feel like listening to music, Britt.”

“Then what do you propose we do for entertainment? And please don’t say, 'Watch Titanic.’ ”

“Why not? It’s a great movie.”

“Not after the zillionth time watching it.” Britt crossed her arms over her busty chest.

“Okay, fine. How about we surf the internet?”

“Hmm, too lame. We should do something exciting.” Britt tapped her foot as I sat down next to her and sighed.

“Like what?” I asked. After a moment her eyes got huge and she put her hands on mine.

“Okay, promise not to freak. I have an idea.”

“No promises,” I said, “What’s your idea?”

“We should totally sneak up to school and go through the student files!”

“Oh my gosh Britt, that’s a horrible idea," I squeaked.

“Come on Bek! You never take any risks. I’m begging you to do something fun just this once!” She stuck out her bottom lip and gave me the puppy-hit-by-a-car look.

I slapped my hands on my thighs in exasperation and blurted, “Fine! We are so gonna get busted.”

“Yay!” Britt squealed. “So what was up when I called you earlier?”

“Nothing really. My dad might be leaving for work again. I don’t know for sure though.”

“Oh I’m sorry Bek. I know it sucks that he’s gone so much.”

“Yeah.. and there's something else..” I wasn't sure if I should bring up what I overheard my mom saying, but I didn't know who else to turn to.

Britt's brows shot up, "What is it?"

"I overhead my mom on the phone with my dad and she mentioned something about not being able to lie anymore and that something would be found out. I can't be sure, but I think she was referring to me."

"I'm sure it's nothing serious Bek. Maybe they were talking about your birthday present or something." I looked at her skeptically and she continued, "Doesn't your dad have some top secret military job?" I nodded. "Well it wouldn't be a secret if they told you, right?"

"That's the thing though, Britt, he doesn't tell my mom anything either. So what could she be lying about?" She placed a hand on my knee and looked at me with compassion.

"Maybe about her not knowing anything? Maybe she actually does know something.." I just shook my head. I didn't feel like discussing it any further.

. ***

We waited until my mom left for work at seven thirty before driving back to school in Britt’s little red VW Beetle. I must have been crazy to let Britt talk me into doing this. I was almost positive that we were going to get arrested or something equally horrifying. We arrived about twenty minutes later, and it was strangely quiet. We, of course, were the only ones in the parking lot. “Britt..how are we supposed to get in? I’m pretty sure they keep the doors locked at night.” Britt just rolled her eyes like she was being forced to babysit her annoying baby cousin.

“Ever heard of picking a lock? Or busting a window? Our school is way too janky to have an alarm or those automatic locking doors, so no worries,” she said as if it should have been obvious.

“No way are we breaking any windows,” I commanded. I followed her over to the office door, which was old and unsophisticated. Britt pulled a bobby pin out of her hair and started bending it into an unfamiliar shape. Then she stuck it in the knob and started turning it slightly while listening carefully. After only a couple of minutes, there was a small click, and the door swung open.

“See? Piece of cake.”

“I don’t even want to know where you learned that.” I sighed and followed her inside. “How are we supposed to get into the files? Aren’t they locked up?”

“Yeah, that would be a problem if I hadn’t seen where the assistant secretary hid the key after pulling out my file one time.” She walked over behind the desk and slipped her hand under the left corner. “Voila!” She held up a dull silver key and then began unlocking the file cabinets. “Ever seen your file? Cuz here it is.” She waved a thin folder in front of me and then tossed it onto the desk. “Oh! I’m gonna look up my ex’s folder. There’s gotta be some dirt I can use against him.”

“You are so naughty,” I joked. My folder was pretty boring, just a lot of old report cards and a few disciplinary notes. I had always been a pretty good kid. A thought hit me then. “Hey Britt, let me over there.” She had her nose stuffed in what I assumed was her ex-boyfriend's folder, and moved aside absently. I looked in the W’s and then struck gold with Woods. Eden’s folder looked thick and felt heavy, and after stepping a few feet away from Britt, I curiously skimmed its contents. “Oh my gosh,” I whispered.

“What? Is that yours?” Britt appeared next to me and snatched the file before I could stop her. “Eden Woods? Who’s that?” Then her eyes got big. “He’s that new guy, isn’t he? Bek, I thought you said you didn’t know anything,” she practically yelled.

I hurriedly shushed her, "I didn’t until algebra, when the teacher made everyone find out three things about their partners.”

“Partners huh? Sounds pretty hot to me.”

I rolled my eyes and said, “You are so gross sometimes.” She laughed.

“But you still love me.”

“Uh huh,” I said, as I grabbed Eden’s file back from her. “This says he’s been to schools all over the country.” I began naming the list of places he’d been, “Wyoming, Virginia, Colorado, Arkansas, Alaska, it just keeps going. Canada too? Sheesh.”

“He must be a bad boy. He just keeps getting sexier,” Britt purred.

“Get your mind out of the gutter, Britt.” I kept reading, “Eden was expelled from several schools for fighting, skipping, vandalizing, stealing, and other various offenses. He’s been in counseling numerous times, but without success. He’s been in foster care, orphanages, and on the streets?” I looked at Britt and said, “This guy is trouble. I don’t think we should hang around with him.”

“Whatever Bek. So the dude’s had a tough break? I feel kinda sorry for him.” Britt shrugged.

“You only say that because you wanna get in his pants.” We both laughed. Our laughter came to an abrupt halt when headlights shined through the windows of the office.

“s**t!” Britt said. She grabbed all of the files lying around and shoved them, in no particular order, back into the cabinets. She slammed it shut, locked it back, and flung the key under the desk. “We’ve gotta go, now!” She grabbed my wrist and led me towards the entrance. We skidded to a stop as a large shadow appeared in the doorway and blocked our escape.