Equivalent

4 | War

Lila

I've always felt the need to control each and every scenario in my life. From school to relationships, to jobs, everything. It wasn't that I wanted everything to go my way, I just wanted to gain a sense of control over whatever was going to happen.

Things like rollercoasters scared the living shit out of me. Sure, I'd ride it- entirely against my will. I could never look like a wuss in front of all my friends. It just wasn't in my character.

I let out a small sigh before shifting my head toward my window. I leaned against the cold surface of the glass, allowing my eyes to glance out into the dark world outside of my room. 

The rain pattered against my window, and I could only imagine the chills I'd get from being outside in the cold ambiance. The percussion of the water droplets varied from the surfaces it fell down upon, creating a comfortable loud, yet silent atmosphere. I was glad to be back home for the weekend, considering how dead the dorms were during this time. During the first few weeks of the semester, most students retreated home for the weekend. Call it homesickness I call it a need for better food than what the dining hall was offering.

I forced myself to get up from the window seat and glance at my essay, begging for me to submit it and not overthink the thesis any longer. I ignored the screen and pulled my jacket off the top of my desk chair before I flew down the steps. I wanted to go outside. I wanted to have my hair drenched wet, okay, not that wet, but a little sprinkle of rain might allow me to feel fresher. 

The smell of rain always kind of grossed me out, but it was also kind of refreshing. Rain on clothes smelt terrible, but in the air, it was euphoric. I wanted to do something, anything. 

Slipping on my flip-flops, I stepped outside and immediately regretted my decision of footwear. The rain was seeping into the extremely small space between my feet and the actual flip-flop. It was too late. Not really, but I was too lazy to go back into the house. 

As I began to walk down the street, ten minutes in, the rain was getting my hair so wet it started to drip down my back. Not an amazing feeling exactly. 

I was pissed I couldn't control half of the things that happened to me. 

Today exactly that happened. It all started pretty well for a day that ended up with me walking in the rain waiting to catch a cold. I walked across campus to my car, watching as students surrounded it. Confusion and panic stirred inside me, and when I got a closer view, I could feel my jaw drop open. My beautiful Patrice, an old Camry, was completely covered in all kinds of condiments from pepper, spices, spray paint, silly string, and the list goes on. It was basically Party City plus Shoprite threw up on my car. My poor beloved Patrice. 

I was forced to bring her back home because it was too embarrassing to keep her sitting there in the middle of the parking lot. I drove her home covered in that filthy goo and crap.

It was an understatement to say that I was mad. Bethany, who I'd been walking with, was definitely afraid to approach me as she probably saw metaphorical steam fuming out of my ears. Relax, she rubbed the side of my arm, knowing damn well I was going to wreak havoc when I found out who had done this.

I had used my water bottle to get rid of some of the gunk covering my hood and used my windshield wipers to clear the white cream off the glass. After hours of searching for the culprits, I came home exhausted and furious. I told my brothers immediately what had happened, considering the two of them had a few free weeks before they went back to work and grad school. Maybe they would help me get these fuckers back.

They looked at me like I had ten heads and said, "Lils, you can't be serious. Whoever did this is clearly targeting you because of the games. Going after them could get you easily pushed out, and plus, what could you really do?"

Now, my poor Patrice was sitting in our driveway, letting the rain wash off the remains of what seemed like cornstarch off her once beautiful color. 

I could be overreacting since the paint was already chipping, but I was still angry. 

The rain got harder and began to make a louder noise as it crashed into the ground, and suddenly, I regretted coming out. It was cold, and as I got wet, I could feel the chills creeping through my whole body.

The train station seemed closer to me than my house did, so I decided to go there. Maybe I could get away for the day. 

I put in my headphones to drown out the sound of the rain. I could still hear the pattering of the droplets as they splashed onto the ground. 

Once reaching the station, I found myself in front of a big electronic board. On this board, it had listings of all the train times, arrivals, and destinations. I tilted my head, wondering how exactly to go about this. I always loved riding trains for fun. This town was a little old, and everyone loved to travel this way.

My eyes scanned for the first train out of town, and I saw one that was boarding right now. My eyes widened, and I made a run for it. I didn't realize how out of shape I was until my legs started to burn, and my breathing became heavy. I didn't really know where it was going, but the trains that came into my town were always one way. I get off at one of the stops and take the next train back home, simple. 

Luckily I hadn't given Kabe his monthly train card back from the last time I borrowed it, so now I could use it. I was pretty sure he didn't even realize that he was paying monthly for this.

I dashed up the steps getting completely out of breath from that one jog and jumped into the first open door of the train. The seats all looked like they were filling up quite fast, but there were a few left. I was glad I caught the only single seat there was towards the front.

Most of the seating positions were in partners or in fours. The last thing I wanted was to sit in a four without even knowing the people.

As the train began to move, bursts of laughter and loud voices filled the empty air, and I was curious to see who exactly was making all that noise. I pulled out a bud and shifted slightly in my seat to get a better view.

"I had to run so fast!" A boy with a blue zip-up jacket spoke. I peeked over the side of the seat and looked in between the small opening space of the two seats. There were two other boys next to him, both of which looked like they'd run a marathon. 

"Should've seen her face when she saw her Toyota," One of them snickered, and I narrowed my eyes, feeling the pit of my stomach stir. Were these the culprits?

"I hope we don't get caught," The other boy said. This boy was slender, and his height looked like it would surpass six feet. Were they talking about trashing my car? How many other cars had they ruined? Anger began to boil within me, but I knew better than to judge a conversation I'd only heard half of. 

"We're so lucky it rained, or else that watermelon would've seriously peeled his paint." The first boy who spoke said with a grin. He leaned back in his seat, letting out a sigh.

"No, you're lucky that even though you dropped your wallet, we found it for you." A deeper voice joined the conversation. Then my eyes shifted to the owner,  and I almost felt my heart stop. It was the same guy from Maggie's. His brunette hair was so wet there were tiny droplets of rain dripping onto his already glossy skin. His side profile was moon worthy, and I narrowed my eyes, wondering how someone so evil could look so great.

The three of them all looked like they'd stepped out of an Abercrombie commercial, who were they? I couldn't wrap my mind around them being Demitriot students. Why would they come all the way here to my town? My car was molested on campus, what importance does my small town of Millview hold to them?

 As if the last boy felt me staring, his head began to turn in my direction, and I quickly hid behind the seat. My mouth was dry, and my breathing was rapid. 

I could feel his stare burn holes into the seat as he continued to speak. "Good thing we hit them all. Well deserved." He stated, and I knew that there was no other explanation for what they were talking about other than what I was thinking. His raspy voice sent shivers down my spine, but I convinced myself it was just the cold air pressing against my skin from the rain. 

This was war.