Minutemen | Camren

Dinah, You're Gonna Get Us All Killed

If jumping through a vortex was like being shaken around as if we were a milkshake, then jumping in a black hole was like chopping our organs up, placing them in a blender, and turning the damn thing on full power. After an excruciating minute, the black hole spit us out at an old, abandoned playground. I groan and sit up. As my vision focuses, I recognize the location.

"We're across town at the old park." Dinah says.

It was a low blow, even for a black hole. This particular playground was where Lauren, Brad, and I used to hang out all the time back when we were little kids. I can even remember the spot where Brad hit his head; the dent was still there. I snap out of my revery when I hear Dinah start spewing instructions at us.

Normani and I get to work, following Dinah's commands. When we're finished, Dinah presses a button, activating the remote pack. It shoots a similar looking vortex up at the black hole above us, closing it.

"Yes!" The Polynesian girl whoops when the last of the black hole disappears. The three of us do an awkward triple high five.

"Anyone else think that was kind of anticlimactic?" Normani voices.

"No kidding." I snort.

"We have twenty minutes until the vortex touches the ground. Then we can get back." Dinah informs us, setting her watch.

I get up, dusting the grass off of my suit. Noticing a random newspaper on a bench, I grab it. "Hey, today is August 15th, 2012."

"First day of freshman year." Dinah says automatically.

Something inside of me snaps.

That was the day when... And right now it looked like school had ended less than an hour ago... So that meant...

"Wait, so that was the day of..." Normani trails off, leaving Dinah to finish her sentence.

"The incident."

"The incident." I mutter to myself. And with that, I bolt away from the park and down the street. Normani and Dinah chase after me, trying to get me to stop.

We arrived at the football field about five minutes later just in time to see Brad scoring another touchdown.

"Don't do it, Camila." I say to myself before starting to run down the bleachers. I wasn't sure what had gotten in me. All I knew was that I had a second chance at high school, a chance to actually get the full experience. No more getting bullied by Austin every day, no more being tripped in the halls, no more watching Lauren on the sidelines as Brad stole her away from me.

I make it halfway down before Dinah and Normani stop me.

"Are you seriously thinking of stopping what's going on down there!?" The Polynesian exclaims, betrayal in her eyes.

"Why not?" I reply. "Isn't that what Minutemen do? Undo mistakes? Well, I made a mistake down there!"

"Fine, but know this." Dinah says somberly. "What happened down there is that we became friends. That day when we were stuck up there on that stupid statue." As she says this, freshman Dinah was on her rocket chair, blasting down the field.

"This day... this day that you hate so much just because you got a little embarrassed." Dinah scoffs. "Well, let me tell you something. This day was my favorite day. Because today was the day I met my best friend."

After she finishes her mini speech, Dinah walks away, leaving me to wonder what kind of friend I really was. Normani looks back at the Polynesian's walking figure. She sighs, turning to face me.

"Look, you do what you gotta do. And if things turn out differently on the other side, just know that I've had a great journey with you."

Normani leaves as well. I stare at the retreating figures of my friends, biting my lip in apprehension. I turn back to the field, watching the rest of the incident play out. The football players start to drag freshman Dinah and I away. They take us to the dreaded chicken statue and I silently watch them hang us up there. Looking back at the field, I see Brad dragging a confused Lauren away. He had his arm wrapped around her as they walked in the other direction, oblivious of what was happening to freshman me.