Lost Horizons

Chapter Twenty Three

'Thank you Tristan. This makes my plan a lot easier,' Parry thought as a smile spread slowly across his face.

He waited a few minutes, to make sure the cost was clear, to sneak into the girl's room. Because of his careful observation, Parry knew Sienna was the last girl in the room. She was alone. Was the universe on board with him? He could only assume. This was almost too easy.

All's fair in love and war.

He took a deep breath and quietly slipped inside the girl's locker room.

Tristan was sitting in the lunch room waiting for Sienna. It was too loud in here. Various conversations flowed from each table to the next. Tristan wondered how everyone in here could focus on whatever the person's they talked to said. He hated all the noise but if they wanted to lay low they had to eat in here, with everyone else. He knew they couldn't risk sneaking into each other's rooms in pure daylight. It was too dangerous. The last thing they wanted to do was get in trouble and unwanted draw attention.

The line to get the food was extra-long today, Tristan noticed with disgust. He knew Sienna would hate it. He thought about skipping lunch but decided against it. They needed to eat. They had skipped lunch yesterday already. With resolution, he decided to do something nice for a change. He would get lunch for both of them.

He realized the problem once he was already standing in line. Students needed their lunch cards to get the free meals per day. The lunch ladies would never believe him and give him two trays. They would think he would eat them both. He needed Sienna's lunch card.

For a change, he went the 'extra mile' and went back to the gym to ask Sienna for her card. Knowing her she would probably need some more time in the shower so he would have plenty of time to get the card, make the line, get lunch and make her happy. Love is showed with actions after all.

Parry heard footsteps. He cursed under his breath and quickly thought of where to hide. The person was getting closer. How would he explain himself if he got caught in the girl's locker room? It looked highly suspicious. He was supposed to be at lunch now, eating with the rest of his friends. He glanced around the room in panic. There! He spotted a hiding place where he would go unnoticed. He rushed behind one of the showers at the far end of the room and drew the curtains shut. His only hope was that the person entering would not walk all the way down the long hall of showers lined up. If the person did, they would clearly notice a pair of dark polished male shoes sticking out from under the last stall.

'I left her bag unzipped!' Parry realized with dread.

He hoped Sienna stayed in the shower a little longer. He needed the person to leave the premises so he could slip out of hiding and zip her bag back up as if nothing had happened. He could not afford to leave evidence behind.

The person's footsteps entered the room. The sound seemed to echo off the walls in Parry's mind. He waited in suspense and wished he could sneak a peek at the stranger. He wanted to put a face on the individual's footsteps and see if it was someone he knew. Was it a student? Or was it someone form the staff? The footsteps were heard, then they stopped and then they continued again. It almost seemed as though the person was looking for something. 'It's probably a girl who forgot something in here', Parry reasoned.

Since Parry was at the far end of the hall, he couldn't' really make out from the sounds what the person was doing. All he could do was measure the time the person took to do whatever it was they had come to do. Parry wondered if Sienna could hear anything from inside the shower. It was highly unlikely though because the sound of the water running drowned out the sounds from outside. He knew form experience. The shower was that one place Parry could lose himself and forget about the world.

What seemed like a minute-but was actually only 30 seconds- passed and the footsteps were heard as they retreated from the room. He heard the sound further and further away until it could not be heard. Parry opened the shower curtain and checked the coast. When he was satisfied no other surprise visitors were coming, he rushed out of the room and back to Sienna's bag. It was a light blue school bag that was placed on the bench across from the stall she was in. He wanted to rummage around for something but before he knew it, the awful sound of the shower being turned off was heard. Parry's breathing stopped along with it.

He had no time. If she had finished her shower it meant she was coming out to grab the stuff she needed from her bag. Sienna could not catch Parry in here with her. That would be the end of everything. How would he explain that? He quickly zipped her bag, not caring about the loud sound the zipper made in the silent room, and ran out.

'That was close, too close', he thought to himself as he made his way back to the cafeteria as if nothing had happen.

Tristan was satisfied with himself. He had found Sienna's lunch card, he had made the long line and he had gotten them both lunch. The mashed potatoes, the grilled chicken and the lifeless looking broccoli sat there on the plate waiting for Sienna. He wondered when she would show up. Hadn't enough time gone by now? How much did she need to scrub her skin to know it was clean? He found it odd how she was taking an extra-long time with her shower-- not that he knew how much time she normally took (he didn't know her that well yet) but more than half an hour had passed and she was still not present.

He dared to glance over at Sienna's table of 'friends' in curiosity. Were they wondering where she was too?

A second later, that annoying and manipulative red headed guy who was head over heels for Sienna showed up to the table. Tristan hadn't even realized he hadn't been there before. 'That's because you were too focused on Sienna', his mind pointed out logically.

Trying to be patient, Tristan continued to wait for Sienna. She would show up at some point. She wouldn't just skip lunch altogether. Maybe she was just having one of those days.

Sienna hadn't even realized she had started shivering. She had been standing naked and frozen with shock in the narrow shower stall. Fear had not permitted her to move. She could still hear the sound of the zipper loudly in her mind. Sienna knew all the other girls had left, she was always the last one to finish her shower. She liked to take her time with it. Sienna felt like her whole life she was rushed, everything she did had a deadline, and over time she had figured out that the shower was the only place no one had ever bothered her. Until today.

Someone had come into the locker rooms during her shower. Someone had waited for everyone but Sienna to leave. Someone had known she was in here alone. Someone had zipped open her bag without permission. Someone had invaded her privacy...someone who had bad intentions for Sienna.

Now she was too scared to come out of the shower in her table. Now her worst nightmares were coming back to life. Now she knew she was in pure, undeniable danger. Now she knew she had not been imagining things.

She did not have to guess. She knew who the person that had sneaked in was. It was none other than her stalker.

Author's note: Did you follow that sinuous tale of events?

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The song for this chapter is White Teeth Teens by Lorde (a long time favorite).

o