Fate Escape

CHAPTER 13

   "Lisa, why do you look so thoughtful?" Lisa, whose thoughts were suddenly interrupted, turned to me.

"You know Maria. She's our high school friend, and she's been my roommate for almost two years now. She called me just now. She said both of us need help. I couldn't refuse. She's on her way here. I've never heard her voice so worried. I wonder what she'll want?"

"Didn't you ask her what the matter is about?"

"I did, but she said it's not something she can explain over the phone. She's almost here. She said she'll be here in twenty minutes."

"So, Maria is desperate enough to ask for my help. You know, we never got along well. Girls like her always seemed fake to me..."

"Sue, our friend is obviously in a difficult situation. We should be there for her and help. Now is not the time to dwell on the past. No matter how bad things were between you..."

"Do you think it was just bad between us? Don't pretend you don't know what happened that summer."

"We were only sixteen, and at that age, everyone can make mistakes."

"Yes, dear. Everyone can make mistakes, you're right." My best friend's indifference bothered me. To an outsider hearing Lisa's words, it might seem like a casual conversation about a normal event. But it wasn't such a simple matter.

"Come on, Sue, if I didn't know you, I'd start thinking you're stuck in the past."

"Anyway, let's wait and see what kind of help Maria will ask for from us." I tried to erase that summer vacation from my mind. Memories started flooding into my mind one by one.

4 YEARS AGO

That summer, we had collectively pleaded with our class teacher, Mr. Jorge Lawender. In reality, we had sort of begged him. Going to camp during the summer vacation was everyone's dream, and the only person who could convince our families was our class teacher, Mr. Lawender. Mr. Lawender was the only class teacher we had ever had who had gained the trust of all parents. He was known for fulfilling all the responsibilities he took on, so our entire class had put our faith in him. For us to be able to go camping, Mr. Lawender had to be at the forefront of the class trip. He had to organize everything.

Finally, all our efforts paid off, and Mr. Lawender agreed to take us on a camping trip for two days under the guise of a class trip. Our entire class was ecstatic about this news. There was no excuse left for my mother not to let me go. She had also given up when she heard that Mr. Lawender would be leading the trip.

Lisa came to our house the day before the trip. We were sitting in my room talking.

"Sue, I'm going to tell you something unbelievable," she said.

"What happened, Lisa? What are you going to say?"

"You know the new guy in our class, Nick. The handsome guy who our beautiful Maria hasn't been able to stop talking about for a week. She broke up with Parker, whom she had been dating for two months, for him."

"The senior guy?"

"Yes."

"Weren't they separated before because of Pietro?"

"Oh, no, there were just rumors that Maria had cheated on Parker with Pietro, so they had drifted apart a bit. Anyway, I'm getting to the real bomb."

"Come on, Lisa, just tell me who he's in love with already."

"I'm telling you. Anyway, Nick told Jerry the other day that he likes a girl. Guess who?"

"It's definitely not Maria."