Rewind

V: Permission

After Chemistry I decide that now that Sam and I are friends we might as well do what friends do. Which I assume is spending time together. That’s what I’ve seen and read.

“Do you have to go with your mum now?” I ask Sam when we’re picking our belongings.

“Not really. Why? Do you have any scheme to take over the world?” she asks wiggling her eyebrows and I laugh.

“Not yet but let’s not discard that possibility. I have to test you first to see if you are a worthy accomplice,” I say sounding as serious as I can, but I can’t wipe off the grin of my lips.

“I’ll do my best. So what’s my first task? Hide a body?” Sam ventures and I chuckle.

“Tomorrow you’ll do that. For now, would you want to grab something to eat with me?” I ask with my best smile and Sam’s widens, all joke aside.

“I can totally do that. This whole thing about being an accomplice sounds pretty fun and delicious. I should’ve tried to conquer the world before.” We laugh together and pull our backpacks over our shoulders, leaving the classroom behind. We say goodbye to Mrs White, Sam’s mum, who smiles so brightly at us, as if she couldn’t be happier that we are spending time together.

We leave the building together after I pick the textbooks I left in my locker. I need to review when I get home. I don’t think I’ll be back that late and I still need to focus on my classes. I have to get only As in my A Levels. Plus, my parents wouldn’t approve if they don’t see me studying at home.

When we’re outside I see everyone leaving. Pretty much like yesterday but this time there’s something different. I’m not going straight home, I’m going somewhere with a friend, like any other college student.

Things can change so fast if you’re really willing to do something about it.

Out of curiosity or impulse, I look at the same spot where I saw Zeke the day before and he’s there, smoking, all alone, dark and scary as every time I’ve seen him before. The only difference is that in this occasion he’s watching me when I turn to look at him. Our eyes meet for a second and I panic, grabbing Sam’s arm and looping mine around hers.

“You okay?” she asks me, noticing I tense next to her.

“Yes, yes,” I say but I don’t tell her my heart is racing, pumping blood to all my body, making sure all my limbs are ready for the escape. It’s a natural reaction, a survival response to a threat.

I don’t know why Zeke scares me so much, but he does.

Sam looks around as if like that she could find the source of my anxiety. “Not to freak you out or anything, but Zeke is watching you.”

I swallow hard.

“I think I’m in his black list,” I whisper, walking faster away from the building and away from him. “And I don’t know why. I haven’t even talked to him!”

“Or maybe he has a crush on you!” Sam exclaims and we both stop to look at each other and one second later we burst out laughing.

We laugh so hard at the impossibility of that option that even my sides hurt and I forget all about my fear when I saw him watching me. Probably he’s just trying to scare me away so I don’t stare at him ever again. He looks like the kind who doesn’t approve of people butting in so it would be wise if I just pretend he doesn’t exist.

Once we recover from our laughing fit, Sam stands straighter and takes a deep breath. “Okay, I’ll take you to a place I love. Let’s go.”

So I follow her down the streets of Manchester. We take a bus at some point but it’s not really far. We finally make it to a small coffee shop that looks very casual and bohemian. We walk inside and it’s like half-underground. It’s not exactly at ground level but it’s not underground. It’s pretty cool, though. The walls are just bricks, no painting, with many posters of different bands on the walls. There’s a small stage with a piano, a stool and a microphone. No one is on there, though. There are a few tables with chairs but mostly you found loveseats and coffee tables in the middle. Even some sofas. The doors to a kitchen, I assume, a kind of bar for all the coffees and the cashing machine with a girl in cat-like glasses and red hair.  The waiters all dress in black and look very hipster. With skinny ripped jeans, boots and shirts with bands I’ve never heard of. All they have different hairstyles and that gives the whole place a really cool vibe.