Scream

Allister Casada

Reyna's parents are the most predictable human beings I have ever known, and probably will ever come to know. Their replies to questions and the questions they ask are routine. From "how are you" to "oh I'm well, thank you," everything they do is almost rehearsed. For such plain parents, Reyna actually came along alright. We're all gathered at her dinner table eating pasta, and I realize I'm the odd man out...surprisingly.

We're all here to figure out where Makai is and who is doing all of this. Maren has good ideas about the assaulter, being that she actually researches serial killers in her free time; Della has a will and determination of iron, and I'm pretty sure she likes Makai so there is extra incentive; Hanzo provides the group with stability and adds in safety precautions; Aero is really smart and can imagine methods the assaulter took in order to scare everyone at Destiny's party; Reyna is ultra-resourceful and is an excellent problem solver. Where do I fit in here?

Everyone here has a skill useful to figure this out. All I've ever been known for is being positive and happy.

"So were any of you guys close with Destiny?" Mrs Copulas questions the general audience.

"I was," I answer. "We were both on the cheer team."

"It's very unfortunate what happened to her," Mr Copulas predictably notes. "Now who is this that recently went missing? A Mikey or something?"

Reyna puts a hand on her dad's arm. "Makai, Dad. His name was Makai."

"Is his name," Della corrects "His name is Makai Keanu, and we're going to find him." Reyna, sitting by her dad, tenses; Hanzo stops mid-chew next to her and flashes Della a deranged look; Maren who sits by Hanzo and across from me, nods enthusiastically; I look to Mr and Mrs Copulas for a read on them; Aero next to me glances at Reyna to get a read on her.

Breaking the silence, Della shrugs and takes a bit of pasta. "What?" she bites.

"Isn't that something the police should handle?" Reyna's mom asks.

To my left, Aero tenses and bites down extra hard on his fork. "You okay?" I whisper to him, my hand on his knee.

"Yeah. I'm fine," he dismisses. "I just don't think we should go to the cops."

I furrow my brows. "Why not?"

Meanwhile, Reyna agrees with her parents. "Of course," although the discrete shake of her head tells us that they aren't going to the good ol' sheriff anytime soon.

"I'll tell you guys after dinner," Aero mutters. He leans down to take a bite of food and his hair swoops over his forehead. I go to push it back for him when his leg jerks. Aeroglances around before pulling his phone out of his pocket.

I see the message on his screen before he tries to hide it.

Unknown: She's pretty, isn't she?

A flare of flattery heats my cheeks. "Are you going to tell me about that after dinner, too?"

Aero looks dumbfounded like he's at a loss for words. "This is just some kid bothering me. No big deal."

Unknown: Just some kid?

Aero turns his phone off and shoves it back into his pocket.

I know dinner is wrapping up when Hanzo's voice bellows a thank you to Reyna'sparents. "Thank you, Mr and Mrs Copulas," I gratify, standing and taking my plate up.

"It was delicious."

"Yeah, thanks," Aero adds. We all stand in unison and gather our plates together.

"Allister," he lowly says at a volume that only I can hear. "What you saw...the texts. Don'ttell anyone."

I giggle and look up into his blue eyes. "What, not even a please?"

"I'm serious," he tells me.

"What's in it for me for keeping your secrets?" I ask, wrapping my hand around his wrist and tugging on my bottom lip with my teeth.

Nervously, Aero looks around. "Um...twenty bucks?"

"Not going to do it." I think for a second. "How about you come to my house for a little bit? It's not like we know anything about this anyways."

"Makai is missing, Allister," Aero reminds me, going into the kitchen to put his dishes away. "Do you even care?"

I grunt and leave him. We all gather in Reyna's room. We talk about the assaulter and their methods, and the possibility of there being more than one person. Everyone had good ideas and opinions besides me. During the entire hangout, Aero and I made eye contact once, and during that time, he had the expression of a killer. Why doesn't he want anyone to know about "just some kid?"