House Trap

Chapter four: A Grave Mistake

After seven minutes passed, Rachel continued her unwavering search for her cell phone and refusal to abandon her brilliant scheme of leaving Alicia's home. Alicia made a beeline to the living room's phone. "What's your phone number?" Rachel stopped searching and gave it to her, hoping her mother wouldn't answer the phone. For the most part, on Fridays, she's either sleeping or out somewhere with another soccer mom.

"Hello? Is this Mrs. Evans?...I'm Alicia, your daughter's at my house helping me study and we didn't finish all the pages that I had to cover, so I'm, like, wondering if she could like stay over...She can sleep at the guest room which has everything she would need to stay here...She told me to ask you."

"What! I didn't say that!" Rachel exclaimed. Alicia turned around, as she beckoned Rachel to hush.

"Yes, she said that," Alicia said, and then they kept on talking for awhile until Rachel's mother finally gave her an answer.

"Really? Great!" Alicia said happily.

Rachel looked stunned by her reaction, did her mother just agree for her only daughter to stay in someone's house that she didn't really know?

"I need to talk to my mother." Rachel said to Alicia. She happily handled the phone to Rachel. "I need a drink and to make sure my brother and sister are in their room, sleeping." she said as she rushed out of the room.

"Mom, how could you agree for me to stay here?" she said harshly.

"Rachel, you're helping a fellow classmate," she replied, "and maybe you can finally have some fun and relax. Maybe make a new friend."

"What? You're letting me stay in someone's house that you and I don't really know?" she said.

"Honey, you worry too much. Nothing is going to happen, I mean come on, you're in the house of Mr. Hausefalle, the guru of home security! You're probably safer over there than here."

"Come here and pick me up NOW!" Rachel fired at her mother with a harsh whisper.

"Rachel, someday you'll thank me for this, see you tomorrow," she said then sounded a kiss on the phone but Rachel hung up.

Alicia saw Rachel's angered face and asked her if her mother had changed her mind. Rachel shook her head and reported she was staying over. She marched to the closest table and sank into the carpet.

"Okay, no time for chitchat, let's get to work." Rachel said as she hurried to the opposite side of Rachel on the carpet.

It got tougher and tougher for Rachel to tutor Alicia. She didn't seem to understand the logic of how to solve some of the math problems. Exhaustion, Rachel stared outside as Alicia struggled to solve a math problem. The clouds resembled puffy-gray smoke flowing from some sort of distance cigarettes as it covered the sky. The night got unusually somber, like you're in a ghost or haunted house movie. Although Rachel gazed at this, she wondered more on how she's going to get her other tasks done before the weekend is over.

"Okay, did I get it right?" she asked as she put her paper in front of her. With attentive eyes, Rachel looked at the paper and then said, "No." Alicia cast a sad face, almost in tears.

"Look, I think Mrs. Toussaint should help you instead of--"

"No, I have to get this today. I can't give up now, please!" Her face grew sadder each second. "My dad told me this afternoon if I don't get good grades this semester, I couldn't go to Santorini, Greece with my friends this summer."

Rachel felt hoodwinked, so that's why she's studying so hard. Alicia had never been a studious person or one that cared too much about her grades. Rachel couldn't help but feel Alicia was using her. The more she thought of it, the more she felt kind-of-sick.