That One Shot

The Whole Shebang

Chapter One

    "Every goal I block, you have to answer any question I choose to ask you. Every goal I miss, I have to answer.  Got it?"  Ryan looked up at me after his pronouncement, expecting me to say something brilliantly witty. 

    "You're on!" I shouted as I bobbled one of my favorite black and pink Nike soccer balls between my cleats.  "You know you're gonna lose this time Ry-Guy," I grumbled turning to face him.  "By the way, you better improve your goalie-game or else Coach is going to bench you for that new arrogant freshman that can't block even for a box of doughnuts." He turned, appalled by my choice of analogy.

    "We'll see about that, Andi," he rolled his eyes and continued gallivanting down the field to the goal. "Take your mark," he bellowed, turning and taking his stance, "get set," he paused and straightened his cleat. Shrieking, he shouted, "pummel the balls straight at this glorious face!"  I sighed.  I used to do this with my brother, but this was my first time since he went off to college.  My body ached from the frown on my face to the black and blue toenails I sported.  I sighed, thinking of the ice bath I could be enjoying at the moment, but set the wonderful thoughts aside as I began to relentlessly throw all my energy into each kick that would send a ball flying into different portions of the net in ten second intervals.  With concentration etched on both of our faces, we dove into each strategy mindset as we both tried to outwit each other. 

    "Five more," I hollered across the field.

    "But we've already done twenty-five," he whined and easily nabbed a ball that was sailing in his direction through the hot summer air.

    "Four," I cackled, sending another one in the opposite direction.

    "Andi! Stop making me run," he panted as sweat now visibly drenched his hair.

    "Three, two, one," I sent them all flying directly aimed towards him in less than three seconds.  "Done!" I jumped triumphantly, stood for a second, and collapsed sprawled out on the dry grass in the center of the field.  Trying to return my breathing to normal and calm the workout flush that had taken over my body, I began my favorite thing in the world to do: cloud gazing.  "That one looks like an octopus strangling a lawn gnome," I said, watching Ryan flop down in the grass beside me.  He snorted.

    "That one looks like a baby unicorn impaled by a narwhal." I followed his finger to a cloud that held the exact description.  He was better at this than I was.

    "Oh yeah? Well baby unicorns shouldn't be impaled by narwhals because it's mean, so stop thinking mean thoughts," I countered.  "Not bad for a new guy," I simply stated a couple minutes later before bringing my eyes back up to the clouds.

    "Not bad?" He said, looking shocked as ever, "I killed out there! My hustle was better than ever!" He stopped for a minute, then scoffed, "not bad. Really, Andi? Not bad? Is that the best you can do?" He shook his head and rolled his eyes.  "Hey, we gotta do questions now," he said as his snarky eyes ignited with excitement.

    "Fine," I said stubbornly. "But I kept score.  I got eighteen past you, and you missed twelve. And no ask-backs." I thought about telling him that I show no mercy, but I forgot about it.  No need to break the tough guy act.

    "One," he paused, for total dramatic effect. "What's your dream occupation?"  Easy, too easy.

    "Orthopedic surgeon," I stated; he gave a low whistle.

    "That's surely more school than I've ever dreamed of completing. Way to take the high road."

    "Thanks," I grinned, "all right. One. Why did you move here? I mean of all places, why Minnesota?"  I thought the question was harmless enough, but I guess it wasn't.  Frown lines etched his forehead, but quickly disappeared into the calm, giddy face that seemed to be following me everywhere.

    "Because I have family in the hospitals around here.  And my aunt thought that it might be best to be in close proximity to all of them," his gaze fixed on something in the distance and his eyes revealed the slightest pain. Quickly censoring his expression he focused on our discussion.  "Two: why is a girl like you playing on a boys' soccer team?"  I laughed.

    "Well, there's a long story and a short story. Which are you in the mood for right now?"

    "The long," he yawned. "I got nothin' better to do."

    "Okay. You asked for it," I paused to gather my thoughts. "So, from the other guys on the team, you know I have a brother, right? And a sister.  Well, my brother was in a hunting accident and had to have his right arm amputated just below the shoulder to save him from infection and basically to keep the rest of his body from going into shock.  Before that, my sister died.  She was really little, and I hadn't been born yet so I didn't know her.  She and my parents were on a sightseeing helicopter on a vacation in Alaska.  However, the pilot was an inexperienced fraud and managed to kill himself and the rest of my family that was in that helicopter.  I was too young to know them, but I feel like I do.  Now my two brothers and I live in a foster home here in Bloomington." He looked intrigued, so I decided to keep talking. "My aunts have come in and out of the picture, but for some reason they always have an excuse pardoning them from taking legal action over us.  Our grandparents don't want anything to do with us because both sets disowned our parents.  Now our foster parents love us, but I'm so close to legal adulthood that they think it's a waste of time to adopt us if we are just going to control our own selves in a couple of years. So how this all ties into 'why are you playing on a boys' soccer team' is because of my brother's amputation and contribution to the team, I get to play soccer in his place. The coach kind of feels bad for me and loves me, so I can play with my brothers," I sighed. "That was dumb. I'm sorry," I started picking at the grass around me, clearly agitated with myself.

    "No, Andi, it's okay," his worried expression said it all. "Do the kids at school know?"

    "Nah," I retorted, "I don't go to Lincoln during the day. I just play soccer for them. But I mean, it's not like I'm an outcast.  The guys kind of love me as much as the coach does."  I fiddled with the piece of grass in my hand. "Okay, no more deep questions. So. Two: what's your favorite ice cream flavor?"

    "Cake batter," he said wistfully as I laughed out loud.

    "Eww! That just sounds gross!" I couldn't believe he had chosen that of everything.

    "Three: what is your favorite kitchen appliance?"

    "Spoons," he looked surprised by my answer. "To eat all the ice cream, duh," I explained as he looked at me with question marks all over his face.  "And Nutella."

"Al lright, three," I deliberated for a second, "what's your favorite color?"

    "Copper.  I'm bored." So was I.

    "Same," I rolled onto my stomach and pulled myself to my feet. "Let's head out of here," I said as I glanced up at the tumbling gray clouds in the sky.  "Will you help me with the balls?" There were so many; thirty had to be dragged to the bed of my truck.

    "Sure," he tossed me a couple sacks and threw some over his shoulders. "I'll race you to the goal," he challenged.

    "You know I'll win," I gloated as I sped off running.  Diving into the goal like a seasoned professional, I celebrated my win by holding the bag over my head like a flag and jogging a victory lap around Ryan.

    "You can stop rubbing it in my face now," he sighed and started collecting balls. "Four: Andi, what's your actual name?" I stood there for a second after he asked the question, shocked by the realization that not many people actually know my real name. "Is that classified information?" He teased, making a goofy face and continuing to stuff the balls away.

    "Alisa Katherine Andersen," I mumbled under my breath.

    "What was that? I couldn't hear you," he questioned, even though I knew he did.  I cleared my throat and repeated myself in a more bold manner. "Where do they get Andi from, then?" He looked so confused.

    "It's a brother thing," I sighed.  "When my brother was on the team they called him Andi from the last name, and since I'm part of the family they call me the same thing."

    "But what about your other brothers?"

    "Eh, doesn't apply to them, I guess." I chucked a ball at him and watched it bounce off his head.

    "Oh. I like Alisa better," he grinned at me.

    "Eh," I shrugged, "I got so used to everyone calling me Andi that I don't really respond to any other name."

    "I, uh, got all the balls into the sacks," he said, changing the subject and stuffing his hands into his pockets.  "So, Andi, there's something I wanna ask you," he looked as scared as a child awaiting a spanking. "Would you mind, uh, coming to the hospital right now to see my dad with me?"

    "Of course, man," I said, patting him on the back. "Let's go!" I tried to sound cheerful, but from the tone he took when asking me to accompany him, I didn't think things would be so easy.  I grabbed a couple bags and hefted them over my shoulders, hauling them to the back of my baby. 

    "Can I hop a ride with you?" He honestly looked so distraught that I couldn't turn the poor boy down. 

    "Sure," I said, looking at him, "but if you so much as scratch my baby your head will come off within seconds." I stared at him long enough to get the point, but also long enough for him to understand that I was completely joking. But seriously, it was my baby.  His name was Patrick: an old Ford F250 with a fading muffler that I treasured despite the rust holes.

    "Your baby, huh," he slid onto the bench that was the front seat of the truck and sang, "seatbelts, everybody," to everyone in the car: him and me.

    "So which hospital are we going to?" I asked. His eyebrows knit together in a scrunchy caterpillar-looking apparatus.

    "Uhh..." he looked confused. "How many hospitals are there?"

    "Well, there's Abbott Northwestern, the Veterans Center, Hennepin County Medical Center, and the University of Minnesota's hospital," I said, naming a couple. "But then there's Mayo, too, if you feel like driving to Rochester."

    "I think it's the University's hospital," he said.

    "Are you sure?"  I prodded, not wanting to waste precious gas on a pointless crusade to a hospital.

    "Yup," he whipped out his phone and started pressing the iPhone buttons or whatever you call them.  "Yep. That's the one," he said, holding his phone out for me to glance at. I nodded, put my truck in drive, and began humming the tune to the song I had just written in History.  "What are you singin'?" He asked facing me.

    "Don't distract me; I'm singing and driving," I scolded, without removing my eyes from the road, of course.

    "Please, Andi," his voice wavered on the edge of pleading and begging. "Sing the song!" He had entirely exploded with excitement.

    "I wrote it myself and I'm not going to sing it." He leaned back in his seat and sulked.  "Unless you swear not to meddle with the copyright stuff and stuff," I gave in, just because we were on the way to see some relative of his that was cooped up in a hospital room. "Fine," I grumpily complied, "just don't look at me. I don't like an audience."  Drumming my fingers to a beat on my steering wheel, I began singing the lyrics to my new song.

    We wake up together and give it a run / it may be now, but forever is sung

    Standing to greet the light of the day / Patrick you give me all my reasons to stay.

Hearing suppressed laughter, I turned my head only to see Ryan almost choking on his own spit.  "What are you laughing at?" I bellowed.

    "You...you're daydreaming about your car," pausing and gasping he continued. "I thought it'd be about some boy," another pause for air, "but your car," another fit of laughter interrupted his sentence, "you wrote a song about your car."  He seriously needed to get a grip.  I pursed my lips and continued to drive, regretting the decision to take the poor boy to his family member.

    "Ryan."  The laughter continued.  It wasn't like happy laughter, it was more guffawing and choking-to-death laughter.  "Ryan," I said a little louder.  Still no response.  "Earth to Ryan!" I practically screamed in his ear, actually leaning over to do the trick. 

    "No need to scream my head off," he winced, clutching his precious ear. "What?" He responded after a minute.

        "Ryan, what happened to him?" I tried asking politely, but my curiosity meter was practically exploding out of the roof of the car.

    "He got in an accident," he responded curtly.

    "I'm sorry," I whispered, barely audibly, not knowing whether or not to actually respond, but I mean it's my truck; I get to choose when to say things.

    "It's a long story," he groaned, pushing his hand through his hair and rubbing his eyes.  "But for some reason he tried to win a bet involving a wild sailboating experience and some wiring went wrong or something and he's just really hurt now."  Pulling into a parking space I stopped my truck and turned to face Ryan.  I just looked at him and smiled.  I swung my feet around to the back portion of my car and put on some running shoes and tossed Ryan his duffel bag.  I pulled on a sweatshirt and messed my hair up a bit.

    "Let's do this," I confidently puffed out my chest and imitated a blowfish. "I want to meet your dad."  I pushed my way into the hospital lobby. "Hey Stacey," I said, thankful she was the one working the desk.  "This is Ryan," I pulled him closer to the desk. "We are here to see his dad."

    "Okay guys, I'll see what I can do" She asked for his name and his dad's name and gave us the room number.  "Andi, you're technically not allowed in since you're not in his direct family. But you're a cousin, right?" I looked at her blankly until Ryan nudged me. I nodded solemnly.

    "For now, I guess," I mumbled.

Chapter Two

    "How do you know Stacey?" Ryan whispered after I grabbed his arm and practically dragged him down the hall.  "Woah, Andersen, you're gonna rip my arm off," he protested and continued fighting against my iron grip.

    "Eh, I just track my volunteer hours with her," I shrugged, continuing toward the Intensive Care Units of the hospital. "Hurry up, Ryan, no need to dawdle."

    "So you know where all the pop machines and stuff are, right?" He raised an eyebrow and glanced at me with his dancing eyes.

    "Inside and out like the back of my hand," I said as I stopped outside a room.  "This is it, man.  Do you want me to wait out here?"

    "Um, no," he opened the door, "come on. Ladies first." A small smile played on his lips, but soon vanished the moment we stepped into the room. "Hey Dad," he greeted the comatose man as he lowered himself into one of the hospital's hard plastic chairs.  "I brought a friend," he grinned and beckoned me to come closer.

    "Uh, hello, sir," I stammered, hoping not to sound too brainless.  "Your son's a great goalie," I added more confidently, "but he didn't top my shooting skills," I timidly boasted; Ryan scowled.

    "To clarify," he interjected, aiming the comment at his father, "we had just endured three hours of practice and then she made me practice longer," he groaned. 

"Wimp," I retorted as I studied the man.  He was breathing via a ventilator and the heart monitor kept its steady pace as we talked. The man looked fragile.  He wore a peaceful frown on his face that semi-resembled his son.  Their hair color was both light brown, even though Ryan's father had specks of gray intertwining with the rest. "Andersen, what are you thinking?" Here I was, standing in a hospital room with a new kid and his father.

    "Uh, not much right now I guess. I think I'm a bit tired," I sighed for effect. Dragging another plastic chair toward the other side of the hospital bed, I sat down and crossed my legs, snuggling into my sweatshirt. "Four," I said, snapping out of my daze, "who's your favorite soccer pro?" Catching him off guard, he squinted at me.

    "Favorite," he scoffed. "I have, like, four favorites."  I rolled my eyes. "Fine," he held up his fingers and began ticking off names. "Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Philippe Lahm, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. I guess four's enough.  For question four. Get it?" he gave a forced laugh.

    "You only picked the best players in the world," I glared. "You're supposed to say me." I gave him the best pouty face I could muster before the laughter erupted out of my mouth. 

    "You haven't earned that spot yet." He crossed his arms and frowned.  "Five. If you could paint your dream house any color, what would it be?" He seemed generally intrigued as I fiddled with my fingers.

    "Rainbows, unicorns, and polka dots!" The look on his face was utterly priceless.  After another fit of giggles, I suppressed myself and semi-calmly thought about it.  "Seafoam green or mint. Or aqua." I sat dreaming for a minute, actually putting it together with the hardwood inside and the white trim and shutters of the Victorian-era style home that I always dreamed of. I looked at my watch.  "Hey, Ryan, it's almost five-thirty and I have to be home at six," I said.

    "Cool," was all that followed.  He stacked our chairs and set them in the corner of the room before walking out. "I have to go to the bathroom," he grumbled, brushing past me.

    "I'll be here waiting, I guess," I informed his back as he strolled down the hall to the bathrooms in the guest lounge. "Well, sir," I said, turning around to face Ryan's father, "I'm not really used to talking like this, but I think Ryan is really lonely." I fiddled with the screws on the side of his bed. "I mean, that's why I wanted to hang with him today." I paused, looking in the general direction of his face. "sir, I don't know if you can really hear me or not, but I can watch over your son while you're temporarily here." I stopped myself for a minute but then continued.  "I mean, I've watched over myself for a couple years now and I'm pretty sure I can help him out." I swear the coma-man smiled. "I like your son," I quietly admitted as a blush crept into my cheeks.  "But I won't let it get the best of me, sir.  I'll keep coming with Ryan if he keeps inviting me.  I'm going to leave now, but I hope I'll be back."  I grabbed my phone from his bedside and shoved it up my sleeve.  "We're gonna get along great when you wake up," I smiled and left the room.  Sighing, I made my way toward the bathrooms.  "Ryan?" I asked into the air.  A hand came out of nowhere and snaked around my waist. Before I could scream or yell, another was jammed over my mouth and nose, cutting off my air supply.  My captor hauled me around the corner and took cover behind a vacant information desk.  Adrenaline rushed through my body as I struggled for air.

    "Andi, it's me, Ryan," he timidly loosened his grasp and I began to breathe the sweet air once more.

    "What do you think you're doing? You can't-" he placed his hand over my mouth again and his panicked expression shushed me.  I yanked his hand away from my face, pushing him aside.

    "What is this?!" I whisper demanded as the fury my eyes emitted almost had him burning on the spot.

    "Andi, there are bad people out there. I heard them talking; I know them and it's not safe," he whispered and my eyes bulged.

    "You owe me an explanation," I sighed, "but I know how to get out of here. Don't question me, however." His face had questions written all over it.

    "Andi, I don't know if you've noticed or anything but we are kinda trapped here," his voice began a gradual decrescendo  as I rolled up the rug beneath us and revealed an air duct.  I unscrewed the bolts holding the grate in place and noiselessly raised it, motioning him to hold it for me.

    "Don't worry, it's safe," I assured him, "the hospital had these installed just in case a shootout or something bad happened.  I found out about this a while back, but barely any of the staff knows.  Stacey told me."  I winked and hopped in.  "Just be quiet; the ducts are weight-proof but they radiate sound like crazy."  His facial expression was somewhere in between "this is so totally awesome" and "I'm about to pee my pants." No matter how he felt, he still got in. "Duck," I ordered as I rolled the rug back so it extended naturally over the grate and lowered the trap, leaving us in total darkness.

    "What about the screws?"  The voice beside me echoed the thoughts in my head.

    "I'll just fix them later. No one uses that desk anyway," I shrugged, fumbling for my phone.  "There," I whispered as I found my flashlight app and illuminated the metal around us. "I think I generally know where this leads," I said to myself.  I began tiptoeing my way down the duct. "Come on, Ryan, you can't just stand there forever." He rolled his eyes and followed me, having to stoop because he was taller than the space allowed.  We walked until we eventually reached the exit into a garage beneath the hospital.  We lifted the grate together only to reenter the world emerging into the ambulance-only specified garage.

    "Uh, Andi?" Ryan looked at me with an eyebrow raised.  "How are we supposed to explain why we are in an ambulance center to the attendant on the way out?"

    "Follow my lead." A triumphant dare-devil smile crept across my face.

    "Oh boy," he groaned as he facepalmed himself. "This can't be intelligent," he muttered, rubbing his face.

    "On three we sneak like ninjas." In all seriousness, I waited for him to visibly nod. "One," he looked bored. "Two," I poked him and shifted my weight in a jumping motion. "Three!" I took off running, weaving in between parked ambulances.  So much for sneaky ninjas.  Barrelling around the attendant window's blind spots, I ducked under the yellow striped barrier and sprinted out of the garage right to my truck.  Hearing panting beside me, I jumped into the driver door and started my baby.

    "That was the most fun I've had since I moved here." Laughing and gasping for air, he quickly said, "I looked back to see if the guy had seen us, but he was still reading his phone like nothing happened." That comment only earned another bout of laughter.

    "Hey, Ryan," I said all seriously. "How did the pig get to the hospital?" I could barely hold myself together.

    "How?" He asked, matching my tone.

    "In a ham-bulance," I shrieked before laughing my head off. He shook his head and chuckled to himself.

    "Right time; right moment." I looked over at him and began leaving the parking lot. I glanced at the clock, only to see it read five minutes to six.

    "Shoot!" I exclaimed, surprising Ryan. "I have to get my brothers, they'll be waiting for me at six!" I tried to drive faster, but being the rule follower I am, I only matched the speed limit.

    "How old are they?" He looked honestly curious.

    "That's question six for you. They're sixteen and twins." I rolled my eyes.  "They stayed after practice for weights. But they'll both team up against me if I'm late picking them up." He laughed.

    "Don't worry, I've got your back," he said all gangster-like and even added in some hand movement thing to the end of his sentence.    

    "Five." I said suddenly, "Who were the people in the hospital that we were hiding from?" His mood shifted abruptly.

    "My dad's best friend and his best friend," he said, but continued when I didn't say anything.  "My dad got into some trouble and cheated his friend.  Even though my dad is in the hospital, the guy won't stop until he's dead."  That meant trouble, apparently.  "My dad did something stupid, that I don't even know what, and now Emilio hates him and is out to get him.  So we just need to be careful, okay?"

    "Sure," I said on the outside.  But on the inside I was screaming, "Cop show! We are on a cop show! I get to do some investigating! I am the super soccer hero to the rescue! Don't worry, Ryan, everything will be great because I WILL SAVE THE DAY."  But of course I didn't want to come across as a crazy lunatic, so I decided I could do some research later. No harm; no foul.  Pulling into the school parking lot, I let Ryan out near his car.  "Sick ride, but I love mine more," I joked. "See you at practice tomorrow!" I hollered out the window, revving my engine and speeding away toward the bench my brothers were occupying.

    "Andi, what took you so long?" Austin complained as he got up from his perch on the curb.  I pretended my windows hadn't been all the way down as I inspected my nails.

    "Shotgun!" Aaron called as he came barrelling toward my truck and tossed his backpack and duffel bag onto the bed.

    "Be careful!" I screamed.  "No sweaty boys get to sit in the front seat of my baby!" They both groaned and slowly loaded themselves into each side of my truck.

    "Why do you have to be so mean?" Aaron pouted as he flipped his hair and dug some shades from his bag.

    "I can smell you guys and it's been less than five seconds," I griped.

    "Ey, Andi! Let's pump some country!" Aaron had his arm out the window and could be compared to a dog at the moment.  I plugged in my phone and raised the volume high enough to drown out my rumbling engine. As the beats to Luke Bryan's That's My Kinda Night filled our ears, we all screamed, "That's my favorite song!" And began jamming out as we drove home.

    "Might sit down on my diamond plate tailgate; put in my country ride, hip-hop, mixtape!  A little Conway; a little T-Pain! We might just make it rain, yeah!" We all belted out the lyrics while Austin and Aaron were doing the same disco moves in a dorky way.  Pulling into the driveway after we had listened to This is How We Roll by Florida Georgia Line and Drink to That All Night by Jerrod Niemann, we got our equipment out and loaded it into the garage. Opening the door and heading to my room to change, I poked my head into Mrs. Hamilton's sewing room and waved.

    "Hey, Mrs. Hamilton, the boys and I are home.  Do you want me to make dinner for all of us tonight?" I hoped she would say no, but she never does.

    "Sure, dear, thank you." The poor woman didn't look like she could thread her own needle.  I dropped my bags of soccer balls in the hallway and approached her trembling hands.

    "Hold on," I gently said.  Taking the needle and thread out of her hands, I stabbed the thread into the metal until it went through.  Placing it back into the poor old woman's fingers, I just simply smiled and walked out.  I grabbed my balls and jogged down the stairs to the basement: the area that my brothers and I shared.  They got half of the basement and I got the other: the only thing separating the two sides was the invisible line of cleanliness that extended from one wall to the other.  "Hey, guys," I plopped onto my bed and stared at the ceiling listening to their XBox. After the noise annoyed me enough, I changed and walked back up the stairs to start dinner. 

    "So, dear," Mrs. Hamilton feebly hobbled toward the countertop island in the kitchen and took her seat.  "How was your day?"

"Decent," I answered absent-mindedly as I began searching the fridge for possible meal-starters. Then I grinned cruelly. I had figured out what to make for dinner.  After twenty minutes of non-stop cooking I called the boys upstairs.  As soon as they emerged I saw the looks I'd been waiting for on their faces.

"Oatmeal," they said simultaneously as they both wrinkled up their noses.

"You boys need your nutrients for the game, and as your captain, I'm responsible." Hah.

Chapter Three

    The twins looked at me and glared. I used the "I'm Captain" card again, and they weren't too pleased. "Anyways," I continued, "Tony would say to eat your oatmeal, too," glancing at them I watched as defeat clouded their eyes. I knew I won that round, but I combined it with the brother guilt trip.  "Just because he's in college and can't supervise every protein drink you guys don't drink everyday doesn't mean that I can't be on your cases as well." Scolding them always made me feel guilty.

    "Now, now, boys." Mrs. Hamilton fluttered her hands about and sighed.  "Andi, will you please bring me my glasses?" I retrieved them from her bedroom and handed them to her. "Thank you, dear, now where was I? Oh yes," she suddenly became aware of the food. "Well done, Alisa. I love oatmeal.  It reminds me of the days when I was a child." The cute old lady began shoveling the slop into her mouth so fast that both boys stood behind their seats with their jaws hanging wide open.  I broke myself from the shock I was in and started busying myself.

    "Heads up," I warned, tossing the can of flax seeds at Aaron.  Easily catching the container out of the air, he scowled.

    "What is this for?" The look on his face was repulsive.

    "It's for the oatmeal." Queen of Snarkiness. I should win a prize.

    "Thanks, Captain Obvious." He rolled his eyes once more as I started piling vegetables and fruits on the table.   

    "So, we're going to make a healthy soup.  I don't care if you don't like it, but this is what we are having.  We need to get our game faces on, boys. We need to start with dietary changes.  So, today's the day.  Until the end of the season I don't want to see any soda, processed sugar, or extra salt.  No junk food and absolutely no energy drinks." I narrowed my eyes and looked at them accusingly.  "And stay away from caffeine," I added, trying not to make their lives too terribly miserable.  "Okay, so here's some celery," I sat down and passed it to Austin.

    "Uh, Andi," he looked at me funny, "I don't think celery goes in oatmeal. I mean, it's a vegetable, right?"

    "Celery is healthy for you, bro," I teased.  "It burns calories and it's a green. Eat it if you want to be cool."  I laughed to myself, thinking about how dumb that sounded.

    "Seriously, Andi, you need a life," Austin scoffed when I passed him the cranberries.

    "I have a life. And cranberries are full of antioxidants and sugar. So eat up," I scoffed, slightly offended by his previous comment.  So, I guess I'm not the best cook in the world, but I sure know how to eat and serve food. 

    "So, kids," Mrs. Hamilton, trying to be the friendly foster parent, always tried to maintain conversations with us, even though she never remembered what we say, "what did you guys do today?"

    "Weights," Aaron and Austin replied together.  For twins, they sure do many things way too similar.

    "I visited the hospital," I said plainly, trying to hide the excitement of the day.

    "That's nice, dear." Mrs. Hamilton is so sweet. I couldn't imagine any child trying to take advantage of her.  She's just too sympathetic and frail; any attitude just wouldn't be right.

    "With Ryan?" Austin peered at me over his bowl of mush and wiggled his eyebrows in a questionable manner.

    "Eh," I tried to shrug off the question, but the motion only intrigued him more.

    "Andi's hiding something!" Austin yelped when I kicked him and he ran away.

    "Guys, stop," Aaron pouted from across the table.  "You'll make me laugh into my flaky boogers," he grinned as he poked his spoon around the bowl.  "You know, it looks like something died in here," he fake gagged and everyone laughed.

    "Let's hit up Culver's." They both cheered. I grabbed my wallet and keys and looked back to the table only to see Mrs. Hamilton sound asleep.  "Be right back," I whispered and squeezed her arm.

    "Shotgun!" Aaron yelled in my ear. I must have jumped six feet, for he had managed to seriously humor himself with my response.  I glared and stalked out of the house. 

    The drive over to Culver's was great.  The conversation was extremely light-hearted and  replicated the childish banter we grew up with.  The boys were dreaming up all the food they decided that they wanted to inhale. Pulling into the restaurant's parking lot, I safely maneuvered Patrick to the only available spot and we walked into the restaurant.  Ordering was a challenge.  Austin and Aaron were being so indecisive that I decided to order for them.  Three orders of Butter Burgers, fries, soft drinks, and custard were being made when I excused myself to the bathroom.  I adjusted my hair in the mirror and washed my hands, only to hear yelling coming from the men's bathroom.  Being the curious busybody that I was, I spotted a ventilation system in a bathroom stall.  I stood on the toilet and pressed my ear to the vent and exerted every bit of energy remaining in my system in order to pull all the words out of the air from the other side of the wall.

    "Lock the door," a gruff voice demanded.  A gruff voice: the same voice that Ryan had flipped out over a couple hours ago, was on the other side of the wall.  After I heard the door click, the voice continued, "did you get what I asked you to get?"  The question was followed by some paper wrinkling and a man muttering something about privacy.  After a couple of seconds the voice exclaimed, "you call this information? I could have pulled this out of his Facebook profile!" I could just imagine the voice's owner taking the other man by the collar and pulling him closer to his lagging breath, speaking with spittle splattering all of the place. "Get me some information on the kid," he said through gritted teeth and I heard the trash can tip over.  "Get out of here!"  I heard the door unlock and open.  I waited seven seconds, just to be safe, and emerged from the bathroom.  The man that had just left the bathroom was short and stocky.  His hair was shaved so close to his head that he looked bald, and his clothing choice made him look expensively homeless.  I noticed his boots were Doc Martens and his jacket was a Carhartt, so I assumed he staged the appearance for some unknown reason.  My suspicious eyes followed him to his car as I walked to the table my brothers had taken over.

    "Dude, what took you so long?" Austin said with his mouth stuffed with french fries.

    "Nothing." I grabbed all three custards off the table and placed them in front of me.

    "Hey!" Aaron's protestations only made me laugh.

    "I paid. I get to eat what I want." I smiled at him, only to be met with a puppy pout. "Oh, leave me alone," I scowled.  "I had a really long day and I don't need you giving me that garbage."  He crossed his arms and rolled his eyes.  As I ate my custard, I went over the day's events in my head.  Ryan had seemed really afraid of whoever we were hiding from.  I hadn't seen the guy that had grouched in the bathroom, but I now knew his voice and could probably recognize it anywhere.  I pulled out my phone and texted Ryan, asking him where he was.  When he replied telling me he was heading to the gym, I told him to meet me at Culver's.  Continuing with my meal, my brothers and I kept joking until they caught sight of him walking into the store.  They both jumped up and yelled, "Ryan!"  They both abandoned my table and smothered him in a hug. 

    "Hey! What are you doing here?" Austin couldn't have sounded more excited.

    "Yeah! This is a coincidence!" Aaron led the trio back over to our table where I was trying to eat all the custard before it melted.

    "Uh, didn't your sister tell you that she invited me?" Ryan looked at me quizzically and I blushed. "I guess not, then," he said, shoving his hands in his pockets. 

    "No, Ryan," I sputtered as I tried to make eye contact with him. "I just forget to tell them!" He looked up at me and grinned.

    "Sure," he laughed and sat down, running a hand through his hair. He surveyed the half-eaten food on the table and raised an eyebrow at me.

    "Dig in," I sighed as he happily grabbed some fries and took the hamburger I hadn't eaten.

    "So, Andi, I guess Coach would approve of your diet," he criticized as he examined my new-found food.

    "It's dairy, and dairy is beneficial for you." I stuck my tongue out at him and he rolled his eyes once more.

    "Fine, whatever, just don't tell my dad I ate this for dinner." I didn't expect him to say that. 

    "Don't worry, I will." I was so serious.  I'd tell his dad anything, however, I was on my second custard and the third was melting so I began eating faster. 

    "So, Andi," Ryan looked at me funny. "You gotta boyfriend?" I raised an eyebrow at him and squinted.  The twins snapped their heads up and choked on their current mouthful.  Once their reddened faces had calmed down, they started laughing and throwing jokes around.

    "Andi?" Aaron looked at Austin. "A boyfriend?"

    "HAH!" Austin cracked up, "I think she'd kill the poor guy before he had a chance to make a move!" He looked at me and started laughing even harder. "Andi, do you even like boys?" His teasing manner deserved a punch in the nose.

    "Yes," I said defensively and slammed my custard cup on the table.  "I like boys," I squeaked standing up. "And for your information," I glared at the faces surrounding the table, "I like certain boys," I hissed for flourish and walked out of the restaurant with two custards that still had dairy in them.  No need to waste perfectly edible custard. I jumped in my truck and left the boys to walk home. 

When I walked in the door, I went to check on Mrs. Hamilton, only to find her snoozing right where we left her.  I jogged down the stairs and flopped onto my bed, dragging my massive sized Calculus textbook out of my backpack.  After at least an hour had passed, I was exhausted.  I hopped in the shower and massaged the shampoo through my hair.  When I turned off the water, I peered at myself in the mirror.  My muscles had begun to show for the season and I had a striped tan line from shorts and long socks. I shook my hair and tossed on some quick clothes.  I opened the door and screamed.  "What is Ryan doing in our house?" I yelped as I jumped away from him as if he had  a disease.  Austin came forward and pushed me into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

    "Andi, Ryan doesn't have a home; he lied about his aunt. He sleeps in his car." I was shocked.  "So we told him Mrs. Hamilton would be fine if he stayed here," he sheepishly explained.

    "That helps a lot.  Where's he gonna sleep?" Honestly, I had no idea.  The house was so small already and the twins and I share a bedroom as it is.

    "Well," he grinned guiltily, "I was thinking he could have the pull-out on your side because Aaron takes up way too much space and your side is so neat," he rambled.

    "Fine," I groaned, throwing my hands in the air.  I stormed out of the bathroom and got all their attention.

    "Ryan stays in Tony's spot.  No changing in the open, you change in the bathroom," I said, glaring at the boys.  "Lights out at ten, no cell phones after eleven.  And I don't want to hear an alarm before six," I said, mainly directing my comment at Ryan.

    "Deal." They all nodded and I put in my earbuds and blared some Lifehouse to drown out their video game noises.  I half-heartedly continued my homework, but my mind was stuck on the conversation I overheard in the bathroom today.  I'd always been superb at people-watching and listening in on conversations to figure out what I wanted to know.  I had a knack for reading facial expressions and figuring out what it was that people wanted and meant when they talked to me.  From this experience I was able to push the boys to do anything that I knew they could handle.  I started doodling records and goals around my chemistry homework.

    "Whatcha doin'?" Ryan looked down at my notebook.  How the boy just appeared out of nowhere astonished me.

    "Homework," I sighed as he bounced himself onto my bed.

    "Andi, thanks for letting me stay." He sounded relieved, but wary of my reaction.

    "Six: why did you lie to me?" I was plain and bold, proving that my trust in him had been broken.  He scrunched up his face.

    "I'm sorry, I just didn't want you to find out about the trouble my family was in."  He looked away and fiddled with the hem of his shirt.

    "What's going on?" I asked gently, trying to drop the 'I'm mad at you' act.

    "It's a long story." He looked at me, but obviously saw that I had time and interest.

    "I'm hiding from the guy I saw at the hospital today. He wants to kill me and my whole family." He stopped talking to gauge my attitude.  "My dad's a drug dealer.  He runs a huge cartel that sneaks drugs into the United States." He sighed, looking me in the eyes. "However, I only found out when officers told me after he was placed in the ICU." He laid back on the bed and continued, "Stacey's an undercover officer," I must have looked more shocked than I felt because he laughed. "She documents everyone that goes in and out of the hospital.  She doesn't know about Emilio though.  Emilio was my dad's best friend and business partner.  My dad cheated him out of some deal, and Emilio has been trying to get back at my family.  He has my aunt and my mother.  When he came and kidnapped them, I ran away and bought a cheap used car, which is where I've been living." I put my hand on his arm, hoping it'd be somewhat comforting.  "Wherever I stay, he seems to find me.  So if I'm on the move, he can't find me."

    "Why can't you go to the police?" I was seriously confused as to why he didn't.

    "Because I can't.  He'll kill himself, my mom, my dad, and my aunt. I can't let him do that."

Don't worry, Ryan, I thought. I promise you I won't let that happen.  And I don't go back on my promises.

Chapter Four

    "You never answered my question from earlier." Ryan rolled over and propped himself on his elbow to look over at me. "Seven," he continued talking even though I knew the dreadful words that he was about to say, "do you have a boyfriend?"

    "Nope," I shrugged, drawing out the 'o' and popping the 'p' for the necessary effect.

    "It's not that big of a deal, Andi," he rolled his eyes.  "But your reaction was cute." Before I could hurt him, he jumped up and sprinted to the other side of the room to hide behind Aaron.

    "Woah!" Austin put his game on pause and gave us questioning looks.  "Man, you've only been here an hour and it looks like she wants to kill you," he wearily looked at me and shifted his glance to Ryan.  "Chill out, bro, save the hustle for the tournament this weekend."

    "You better hassle that hustle man," I chirped from the my side of the room before I returned to my favorite playlist.

    I woke up the next morning feeling groggy and refreshed at six o'clock sharp.  I reached for the whistle laying on the ground by my bedside and blew it loud and clear. "Wake up guys, time for a workout session before school!" I jumped out of bed as they all groaned. "Dibs on the bathroom," I yelped, racing to the door.  "Be ready in fifteen minutes," I shouted behind me.  I changed to Ed Sheeran's new song Sing and brushed my teeth. I opened the door and stepped back into the sleeping chambers only to suddenly be bombarded with wadded up paper balls.  I took cover behind the nearest bed as they all emerged from their combat stations whooping and laughing.

    "Victory is ours; revenge is priceless," Austin gloated as they chest bumped each other.

    "Wow, you guys, you're so immature," I grumbled, removing myself from the safety of my hiding spot.  "I really didn't think you all were so pathetic," I continued, "so this morning's workout will be merciless. You brought this on yourself. Let's go." I filled a water bottle and shook my hair into a binder. "Seven mile run in under forty five minutes; fifteen minutes of abs.  We will be back by seven; off to school at seven-thirty." I looked each of them in the eye and said, "Ready, set, let's roll."

    "Ready, set, let's ride!" Austin and Aaron fake-cheered and we headed out the door.  I plugged my earbuds into my phone and started blasting music, leading the way on our run.  In my peripherals I saw Ryan doing his best to keep up, even though I was pushing the pace on myself as well.  The whole run was refreshing.  The morning air was crisp and all humidity was gone; the shadows kept us cool.  Everything was great until Aaron yanked my right earbud out of my ear on mile six. 

    "What was that for?" I grouchily nudged him.

    "No, wait," he whispered. "I saw you stalk a sketchy looking guy yesterday at Culver's.  He looked scary and you looked suspicious," he continued speaking between gasps of air. "He's been trailing us for the last mile," his eyes widened.  "What did you do, Andi?"

    "You've got to be kidding me," I raised my eyebrows and quickened our pace. Pulling Ryan's earbud out of his ear, Aaron nudged Austin so they all could hear me. I said, "Sketchy van is following us. On three we split.  Sprint around these neighborhoods through yards and out of sight.  Meet back at the house in five minutes." We were nearing the end of our loop, and I didn't mind hurrying them home.  "Ryan, you're with me.  Toss me your phone." He looked at me suspiciously, but did so anyway.  "Austin and Aaron, stay together." I ditched my water bottle and cracked into Ryan's phone, factory resetting the whole thing and shutting down all applications involving GPS tracking.  "One, two, three," I yelled and I grabbed Ryan's hand and sprint-dragged him through a back alley that I knew would get us home.  Jumping over multiple fences, racing through back yards, and weaving between garages, we finally snuck in the back door of Mrs. Hamilton's house and collapsed on the ground.  Ryan's chest was heaving and his tan face was the color of an overripe strawberry.

    "Are you gonna tell me what that was about," he started, taking a lungful of air, "or am I going to have to guess?"  I was about to open my mouth to explain when the twins came tumbling into the house.

    "That was sick!" Austin's cheer filled the house.

    "Dude, did you see Mrs. Gatzke's cat?" They both started laughing.

    "And those sheds we almost knocked down?" I rolled my eyes and started to get up. 

    "Abs, now." I grabbed both of their arms and attempted to drag them to the basement. 

    "Chill, Andi," Aaron said, flopping back and sprawling across the floor.  Ryan copied the action with Austin following behind soon after.

    "You guys are acting like a bunch of little kids," I scolded and tried to drag Austin across the kitchen floor. However, Austin grabbed onto Ryan, who latched his arm through Aaron's, who anchored himself on the table, making my efforts useless. "Ugh," I groaned, giving up.  "Fine, be babies. I'm taking a shower."  Twenty minutes later, after everyone had taken turns cleaning up for school, we all got in my truck and I drove them to the Lincoln High School. Dropping them off in the front, Ryan popped his head back in the door and looked at me.

    "Andi, where are you going?" Ryan seriously looked confused, like he didn't trust me to just park and walk in the building.

    "College," I sighed and leaned back in my seat. "Instead of high school, the government pays for me to go to college because of my grades.  During the day, I do my online class homework and attend Calculus lectures at the University of Minnesota, then I do my volunteer rounds at the hospital before coming to practice.  Is that good enough for you?" I glared at him and he closed the door, feigning speechlessness. 

    "Bye," he mouthed as I lowered my favorite reflective sunglasses over my eyes and drove away.

    After my book report was written for my English class and I had attended my Calculus lecture, I drove to the University's hospital.  Greeting Stacey as I walked in the door, I saw her look at me funny.

    "Stacey, did I do something wrong?" I asked her the question and leaned over her desk.

    "No sweetie," she chuckled, "but who was that boy you were with yesterday?" She winked and I felt like I was going to hurl.

    "No one," I mumbled, thinking about yesterday.  "What do you want me to do today?"

    "You could bring this paperwork to the ICU.  From there I want you to check every patient on the first floor and gather blood pressure and temperature stats, enter them into the database, look for any unusual activity, and report back to me when you're done." She smiled, "It should be pretty easy today.  I know you have some things on your mind." She gave me the thick chunk of papers and sent me on my way.

    I bundled the papers up in my arms, careful not to jumble them.  I grabbed a stethoscope from a nearby storage closet and a temperature gauge before beginning my rounds.  When I got to Ryan's dad's room, I noticed that the shades were drawn and the door was closed.  I pressed my ear to the door and listened.

    "You what?" Someone exclaimed from the inside of the room.  Well, it wasn't just someone.  It was the same voice as the guy in the bathroom from the day before.  Chills ran through my blood as I lifted my shaking hand to open the door, but I stopped myself.

    "Sir, I didn't mean to," the bald guy's voice pleaded, "but they just all ran off at the same time and the GPS tracking on the kid's phone shut off."

    "I don't believe you," the voice scoffed, "you can't just lose a kid so fast."  He stopped for a moment and lowered his voice, "Kids are stupid.  He's going to get caught eventually."

    "He was with some kids too, like they were on a run." The guy's stammer was worse than a poor child's when faced with grave danger.

    "Continue," was the curt reply.

    "Well, he had buddied up with this girl; she ran fast and was about five and a half feet tall with really long brown hair.  She was thin, but not skin and bones.  There were two boys; they looked just like her, but their hair was spiked and they all had green eyes.  They were all running and the two boys were definitely identical twins, maybe five or six inches taller than the girl. They all were out of breath and tired from running; I followed the for at least three miles before they just took off all at once and I couldn't..." his voice was cut off and I heard muffled protests coming from within the room.

    "Shh," the voice said, "someone's coming."  At that moment, I took my cue, drew in a deep breath and opened the door.

    "Hello," I smiled warmly, faking surprise that there were actually people in the room.  I addressed the voice, "I'm Andi; I need you guys to step out of the room so I can check the patient over." I ushered them toward the door and closed it behind me. Turning around to face Ryan's dad, I started talking in a low voice.  "Hello Mr. Findell, remember me from yesterday?" Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the two men arguing and occasionally glancing through the window into the room.  "Don't worry.  I'll make sure that these two don't bother you. I'll figure out some way to keep them out of here. I know they're troublesome, but I just can't figure out what," I said, muttering.  "I suppose you want to know about Ryan," I pointed out and began to tighten his armband and count his heart beats. "He's staying with my twin brothers and me," I sighed, "but don't worry.  All of us share a room and it's safe.  I reset his phone so they can't track it." I removed the band and continued talking as I made myself look busy and professional.  "I just wish I knew how I could help," I mused and took his temperature.  "But for right now, I need to keep you and Ryan safe.  My brothers are flanking Ryan's sides and I'll get these two yahoos out of here." I paused and adjusted his blankets, "I made a promise to you that I'm not going back on, despite what you would say if you could talk, and despite Ryan's stubborn attitude."  I patted his arm and leaned over his side to whisper, "I know how Ryan feels.  I think I can help."  I walked over to the door and was met by two blank stares.  "Who are you guys?" I looked at them and insisted, "I need to know who you are in relation to the patient," I stated again.

    "Oh, I'm his best friend," the tall hairy guy, the voice, said and reached over to shake my hand.

    "And I'm his brother," he said, pointing toward the hairy guy.

    "I'm sorry," I fake smiled once more, "what were your names?" The tall, hairy, "voice" man spoke with confidence.

    "That's Ernesto, and I'm Emilio Ramirez," he said, taking my hand and bowing.

    "Well, Ernesto and Emilio," I said, turning them around, "it's hospital protocol that you have to be family in order to see a patient in the ICU." I took out my phone. "Unless you want me calling hospital security on you, you're going to have to leave now."  I folded my arms and watched their retreating figures meander down the hallway. 

    "It's her!" Ernesto whispered, his realization loud enough for me to hear. I froze, but then realized they knew what I looked like, however,  they didn't know anything about me. 

    "Find the hospital database and find everything for that girl.  Her name is Andi; I saw it on her name tag.  Her name could be short for Miranda, Amanda, Andrea..." his voice faded off in the distance as he disappeared out of sight.  If they ever figured out that the nickname was short for Andersen, there'd be about thousands of volunteers they'd have to hunt through. 

Good luck boys, I thought, but I'll make it my goal for you to never find anything about me.

    I reentered Mr. Findell's room.  "I hope they never come back," I spoke wearily and longingly.  "If you can hear me, I'm sorry that you have to go through this.  I know where your wife is and I'm trying to help Ryan.  So don't worry about them, and focus on getting better, okay?" I leaned over and kissed the man on his forehead.  "I'll try to check in with you often, and I'll let security know about Ernesto and Emilio.  We don't need any trouble from them." I checked to make sure his ventilator was properly secured and that there weren't any listening bugs in the room.  "Goodbye, sir," I said quietly and shut the door behind me.

    "What took you so long?" I jumped at the sudden voice, only to realize it was Stacey. 

    "You scared me," I yelped.

    "Oh, I'm sorry dear," she smiled and a worried look crossed her face.  "You look like you've just seen a ghost," she gasped.

    "Don't worry, Stacey.  There were just two guys in here and I had to convince them that only family could come in but they wouldn't leave until I threatened to call security and they weren't nice and they both had weird names," I rambled.

    "That's my girl," she hugged me and patted my back.  "I'll inform security and they'll never set foot in this hospital again." She winked at me and walked away. 

Check mate, I thought, plan worked, and problem solved.  I finished my rounds and turned my daily information into Stacey's relief at the front desk. 

    "Thanks, dear," the lady smiled.  "How'd it go?"

    "It was long." I was just glad that the day was over.

    "Well, that's too bad.  Sometimes we have our good days, and sometimes they just don't go too well." She honestly looked miserable behind all the foundation caking her skin. "Can I tell you something?" She looked desperate.

    "Sure," I gave her my best friendly expression and leaned into her beckoning wave.

    "I know you know where Ryan is," she whispered. "Some guys just bribed me to find him and you.  Be careful! I'll give him false information, but he's hot on your tail."

Great. Just great. I thought you were a cop.

Chapter Five

    I hurried to soccer practice, frantically driving to be there before everyone else.  I arrived on the field just in time to hear the end-of-the-day school bell.  I tossed out balls and set up cones, forming the start of a perfectly organized practice.  I removed the rainwater from the bleachers that the coach would most likely sit on and I changed into my practice jersey and cleats in the back of my truck. 

    "Andi!" I turned just in time to see Austin and Aaron tackle me in a huge hug.

    "We watched Ryan today," Austin whispered.  "Thanks for the text."  I smiled gratefully, but then that smile quickly disappeared.

    "Well, if you guys are here," I sighed heavily, "then where is Ryan now?"  Both of their jaws dropped and we sprinted into the school.  "Ryan!" My frantic voice filled the hallways.  Both the boys called his name too, but we couldn't find him.  "Austin, you take the locker rooms.  Aaron, you take the west side and I'll take the east side.  Whoever finds him first texts the others." They each nodded and looked back at me, wary of my safety.  "One, two, three, split!" They each ran off in their own directions.  I searched every classroom and hallway on the east side of the building.  All of the storage closets, bathrooms, stairwells, and lounges were checked for anything representing the boy I claimed to protect. I jumped when my phone got a notification and fumbled to unlock the screen.

    "Found him, west wing, room 304."  Aaron's text sent shivers down my spine.  I raced back through the halls and ran straight into his arm. He covered my mouth with his hand and pointed to where Austin was pressing his ear to the door of the room.  I nodded and inched my way toward the door.  I immediately recognized Emilio's voice.  I silently prayed nothing bad had happened.

    "Did you think you could hide forever?" Emilio's evil sneer filled the room and seeped under the door's crack.  "Did you think your cute little friends could gallivant through the cute little neighborhoods on imaginary unicorns and you'd be safe?" I could just imagine Emilio shaking his head and smirking.  "I knew all along that we'd find you.  Again, might I add."  I peeked into the room, meeting Ryan's eyes and ducking beneath the window once more.  They had him bound with duct tape covering his mouth.  Emilio was pacing around him, while Ernesto was leaning back on a desk smoking a cigarette.

    "Austin." Barely loud enough to escape my mouth, I said, "we need to create a distraction.  Let's pretend to be administration." Stepping into the room and locking the door beside the one Ryan was being held in, I silently crossed to the nearest wall and willed Austin to improvise.  "Why are you staying in so late? Do you have tests you need corrected?" I loudly executed the words, hoping Ryan and his captors would hear him.

    "No, I was just locking up the building," Austin looked so hesitant, but his voice did not hesitate.

    "Oh, so I'll leave then," I shuffled a bunch of papers and continued. "Have you emptied all the rooms yet?" I grinned and playfully nudged him.

    "Not yet, I'm about to check this wing first." He made a scene of opening the door and shutting it really loud.  We both raced out of the room into the next, but Emilio and Ernesto were gone, leaving Ryan slumped over in a chair.  I swiftly approached him and took the tape off his mouth, unbound his wrists, and checked for air supply.

    "Ryan," I opened his eyes with my thumbs, "Ryan, can you hear me?" He didn't respond and I saw his eyeballs roll to the back of his head.  I placed myself on his lap and hugged him. "Wake up, Ryan," I gently shook him, knowing my efforts would be useless. "I'm sorry, I'm so, so, sorry I wasn't here," I whispered solely for his dad.

    "Wake up, man!" Austin yelled, causing me to wince.  Aaron licked his finger and stuck it in Ryan's ear, twisting it around and Ryan groaned.  His eyes fluttered open only to realize what had just happened.  He jumped up, pushing me to the ground and he stalked toward Aaron.

    "What was that for? Come on, man!" He groaned and ruffled Aaron's hair.

    "Ow," I said, still lying on the floor.  Austin helped me up while Aaron and Ryan were wrestling.

    "Hey!" Austin interrupted the tackle fight as I stood there crossing my arms.  "What did they want from you, man?"

    "Nothing." Ryan sighed and cast his eyes toward the ground, finding sudden interest in the intricate designs on the floor.  I noticed his expression and decided to change the subject.

"Guys! We have a practice to get to! Coach is going to kill us!" They all leapt to their feet and began sprinting to the field.  Mission Distraction accomplished.

    "Andersen!" Coach's voice boomed so loud that the entire field stopped practicing.   The whole soccer team stopped and turned to look at me.  And the cheerleaders.  And the football team.  And the cross country kids that were warming up, the marching band, and the land conditioning swimmers.  Out of the corner of my eye I saw some girls standing together, laughing and pointing at me.  I felt like curling up into a ball and shrinking into a puddle.  Ignoring my instincts, I squared my shoulders and turned my gaze up to meet the intimidating bald guy in front of me.  He tried to suppress a smile.  He lowered his voice and said, "I know what you did for Ryan, but we need to put on a show." I was astonished.  How did he find out? I racked my brain, thinking of all the possibilities, but he interrupted my train of thought. His voice returned to his typical bellow, loud enough for the whole city to hear. "Fifteen laps around the track," he announced  and I winced.  "Since you're the captain, I expect you to do even better than that.  So run thirty." I shuddered.  I saw the growl in his face, but the pride in his eyes.

    "Yes, Coach," I mumbled. 

    "What was that?" He sounded offended for reasons I couldn't explain.

    "Yes, Coach!" I belted the phrase at the top of my lungs.  Sighing, I plugged my earbuds into my phone and began running.  Not running: I sprinted the whole way.  I was faster than all the cross country kids, who ogled and gawked at my speed and stamina.  Thirty laps: seven and a half miles. I finished in record time, only to face a speechless soccer team as I joined their drills.  If anyone ever tried to outrun me, I'd always win.  Soccer is my coach. 

    "You make us all look like fools," Ryan dribbled the ball past me and watched as I heard his comment.

I just laughed to myself thinking, No, Ryan, I make the whole school look like a fool.  I grinned and continued dribbling and passing, not a bit phased by the massive sprint I had just taken on.  My grin came to an end, however, as all things do.  I ended as soon as I spotted Ernesto's car across the parking lot.

    "Just my luck," I muttered and made my way towards Ryan. "Aaron, Austin, follow me."

    "What's wrong?" Austin's glance followed my glare, and immediately recognized the issue when he caught sight of the car.  "Oh man," he muttered, "these guys are really on to us."

    "We're going to go camping." My sudden outburst was so unexpected that Ryan almost giggled.  "What?" I looked at them.  "We can't have them find out where we live and put Mrs. Hamilton in danger," I explained.  The twins nodded.  "So we're going to sneak home, grab some stuff, change cars, and camp out tonight, away from the city where these guys are lurking."  They all looked pretty content with the option.

    "Cool," Aaron's approval caught my eye, causing me to calm down a bit.

    "Let's be sneaky ninjas!" Austin's cheeky cheer earned several looks; I rolled my eyes.

    "Let's!" I cheered sarcastically and grinned. "Let's be the sneakiest ninjas ever.  On three, sneaky ninjas," I placed my hand in the middle of an imaginary circle which was then followed by Aaron's, Austin's, and lastly Ryan's.  "One, two, three," I counted. "Sneaky Ninjas!" We all cheered and fell on top of one another laughing.  "We're sneaking out when the footballers take their water break.  It'd be the easiest way to get off the field without being seen." I diverted my attention back to the players and etiquette,  concentrating all I had left on the mini scrimmage we created.

    "Now or never," Austin had grabbed my arm and tried to subtly yank me away.  His undeniable force dragged me to where Aaron and Ryan had hidden themselves behind a vehicle out of sight of Ernesto's car.  Now or never.  Right.  We snuck through blind spots into my truck.  We snickered when we saw him doze off in the light of day, and we made our get-away quickly and smoothly.

    An hour later I pulled up at the dump.  "Carly!" I threw my arms around my favorite dump manager, strange, I know, and introduced her to my brothers and Ryan.  She greeted them with hugs and smiles, nodding her head and offering them cookies like any other grandmother would.  "So, Carly?" She turned to look at me and I asked, "may I borrow that SUV that I fixed up?"  Every boys' jaw dropped.

    "You fix cars?" Aaron's incredulous look proved his disbelief.

    "Yeah, what?" Austin matched Aaron's tone.

    "Cool! Let's check them out!" Ryan's face ignited and I led them around back. 

    "These are them!" I proudly gestured to a row of half-strangled looking cars that I had managed to get back into good terms with their original build. "Let's take the black Escalade." I dug the keys out of the dash while the guys loaded our stuff into the truck.  The twins obviously still had a hard time believing me, but they settled down as soon as we got out of the dump.  We all waved to Carly and she blew us kisses. 

    When we pulled up by the lake, we all worked to set up our tent.  Some would call it team bonding, but I call it a serious struggle.  All of the poles were tangled and bent while the actual tent was scratched and smelled funny.  When we were done it looked as if it had been there for days; the sole home of a lonesome hobbit.

    "What's for dinner?" Austin enthusiastically proclaimed his hunger and jumped up and down like a little kid.

    "Fish." I pointed to the lake and tried to keep a straight face. "There's the lake and there are fish in it.  Go fishing." Austin's reaction was priceless.  His face turned shades of pale and he looked like he was going to hurl his lunch.

            "Kidding," I quickly told him to try to get some life back into his pained eyes.  "Fish isn't all that bad you know."  I unpacked some stuff from the bag I quickly stuffed random things into.  "Or, we can eat whatever I brought." I sat down on the dusty grass and patted the seats beside me.  Ryan sat down across from me while the twins flanked his sides.

            "What did you bring?" Ryan wiggled his eyebrows at me while I debated which option I could take.  I thought about it, thinking I could hoard the food for myself and leave the boys to find something in nature to eat, or I could share.  I really didn't like the second option, but being the nice person I am, I decided to go with it.  I sighed and opened the sack I had placed in front of me.  I pulled out the first item, frowning.

            "Don't expect me to be really excited about sharing this stuff," I only packed my favorite foods.  "I love all of this food. Don't waste it." I sent a glare around the awkward circle.

            "Marshmallows! You brought marshmallows, Andi!" Aaron grabbed the package of Jet Puffed creamy goodness and held it dear to his heart, mumbling something about a long lost friend.  I rolled my eyes and yanked the package back.

            "They're mine.  You need to settle down.  I bought this stuff, you know."  I frowned, hoping they'd get the message, but all they seemed to do was find my reaction amusing.

            "What about that 'no sugar and junk food' thing you were talking about?" Austin pointedly raised an eyebrow at me and I rolled my eyes.

            "Just go with it, Austin," Aaron glared at his brother and continued fighting me for the marshmallows.

            "What else did you bring?" Ryan had been sitting there all along, watching the sibling fight.  I felt bad for him.  The mess he was in with Emilio and Ernesto was one thing, while his dad was in a coma.  Fighting with my brothers wouldn't get us anywhere.  Austin and Aaron settled down when I gave them my best 'do what I say right now or else' look.  I continued pulling items out of my bag while the boys' mouths watered with each thing I took out.  I tossed four chocolate granola bars, a jar of Nutella, a loaf of banana bread, a bag of skittles, a can of soup, an apple, a pack of gum, and a huge bag of Cheetos into the center of the circle.

            "Woah." Austin and Aaron looked at me, astonished that I had this much junk food with me. 

"Where'd you get all this?" Austin looked at me incredulously, as if he couldn't believe the sight before his eyes.

            "It's my secret stash." This stash was indeed secret.  I had hidden it in the back of my truck in the compartment where all the tools and ropes are for quick fixes.  I had only packed half of the stash, but I had no intentions of telling them where I got it.  I really didn't want any precious food of mine to disappear in the near future.  We dug into the food.  I ate at least half of the marshmallows and a ton of Cheetos.  Ryan looked at me like I was crazy while he nibbled on a granola bar and chomped down an apple.

            "Let's go swimming!" Brilliant ideas never die, and this one didn't.

            "I'm all for it!" Ryan got up and started walking to the lake with me.  I noticed that the twins hadn't followed and I looked back, only to see their faces looking green and content.

            "So I take it you aren't coming..." I looked at one face to the other.

            "Uh, I think we ate too much." Austin wrapped his arms around his stomach and groaned.

            "Later," Aaron said as he crawled toward the tent.

            "Guys, we're running later.  Hurry up and digest your food." I walked away with a spring in my step.

            "Aggh!" The sound came from the bushes and a giant person leapt out of the brush and tackled me to the ground.  My panic mode kicked in.  I twisted around and sprang to my feet, kneeing the person in the stomach and rebounding off.  Then I really panicked.  I had just defended myself from the least of my worries: Ryan.

            "Where'd you learn to move like that?" Ryan rolled over and put his face in the dirt.

            "I'm so sorry, I... can I do anything?" The poor boy.  I thought he was a crazy hobo mugger or something insane.  I couldn't believe I brought a guy Ryan's size to the ground, clutching his side in pain.  Strength comes in small sizes, I guess.

            "Can't hit a girl," he said, as if he could read my mind.

True, I silently agreed with him.

            "So, do you still want to go swimming?" I hoped I hadn't hurt him too bad; I still wanted to go swimming.  He grunted, stumbled to his feet, and wrapped me in a hug.

            "I'm so proud of you. Now I know I never have to worry that you're going to get mugged." He grinned and looked at me with manly beautiful brown eyes.  I increased the distance between us, realizing how close we were.  I grabbed his wrist and practically skipped to the water.

            "Ready to swim where fish poop?" I wiggled my eyebrows, scrunched up my face, and made my eyes squint.  He laughed; I performed a happy dance in my head.  I love making worried people laugh.  For a couple minutes we stood there having an odd fish face-making contest until I pushed him backwards.  "So are you going to go first or am I?" I took off my soccer jersey, revealing a Nike t-shirt.  "Just kidding, I'm first." I waded into my knees and dove in, splashing all around me.  I emerged from the water, grinning, only to be dunked back down again.  Seconds later I came back up for air and I screamed, turning to Ryan.  We were standing waist deep and he was smirking at me.  "Hey!" I splashed water in his face and his eyes lit up.

            "So, you want to play it that way, huh," his mischievous expression told me everything.  Before he could splash me again, I ducked and swam away, or so I thought. When I resurfaced I was splashed as soon as my face met air.  He was good, but I was better.  I jumped onto his back and leaned to the side.  We both fell over and came back up laughing.  "So you know what?" He looked at me and I said nothing, only smiling.  "If the world was on fire, I don't think we'd burn."  He pointedly looked at both of us and I realized we were drenched.  His jeans and t-shirt were shades deeper than originally while I couldn't even read the Nike logo on my shirt anymore.  I sighed, leaning on him, hugging him from the side.

            "Despite everything bad that's been going on, it's been a pretty fun day." I looked up at him and he looked back at me, and I knew we both agreed.  The magical moment ended at that very second.  I slapped a pesky bug on my face.  "We have to get back now.  I have a thing against these blood-sucking monsters," I slapped another one that had landed on my shoulder.

            "I agree," he said, nodding to confirm his statement.  He brushed a couple off and grinned.  "Dusk," his voice turned all creepy and dramatic, "is the time of the vampire bugs!" He chased after me as I ran screeching out of the water and back to the campsite.  As soon as I laid my eyes on the campsite, I panicked.  "Ryan?" I looked around, my senses keen.  "Ryan!" My hollering filled the air.  No answer came.

Chapter Six

            "Aaron? Austin?" My voice was high-pitched and squeaky, knowing that they wouldn't respond.  "Ryan!" I yelled once more, assuming it wouldn't do any good.  I heard panting beside me and I froze, readying myself to execute a dropkick and run away.

            "Why are you...what happened?" Relief flooded my whole system.  I wrapped my arms around Ryan.

            "What took you so long?" My voice demanded the answer while my eyes showed concern and confusion.

            "I went back to grab your jersey," he held up the mesh fabric and I took it from him.

            "Thank you." I smiled at him and chucked the material straight into my pile of open luggage.  I opened the tent and my jaw dropped.  Austin and Aaron were duct taped together and unconscious.  I froze until Ryan pushed me over, trying to get into the tent.  "One at a time," I grumbled and dove in to help my brothers.  Ryan zipped the tent behind us, knowing how much I didn't like bugs.  I started unwrapping their wrists and ankles from each other when Aaron opened his eyes.

            "Mpphff," his eyes widened when he realized he couldn't speak.  I tore the tape away from his lips and he grimaced.  "What took you guys so long?" He sat up and began unwinding his knees.  "Some guys showed up, taped us together, and chucked us in here.  I guess I fell asleep from waiting."

            "What guys?" I eyed him curiously, confident I knew the answer already.

            "I don't know; they left a note."  He pointed to a piece of paper and shrugged. 

Just like my brothers, I thought, no concern for anything at all. I scurried over to the paper and snatched it up.

            "Don't think we won't find you.  We obviously did.  Think smarter; time is running out.  Stop running, Ryan.  It's only a waste of your time. –E. & E."  I read the note aloud, processing it as it left my mouth.  Ryan and Austin were watching me while Aaron read over my shoulder.  "Let's leave." I started packing things up, but then I stopped.  "Wait." My directions halted everyone's actions and they turned to look at me confused.  "Give me your phones." Ryan took his phone out of his bag and tossed it to me.  I opened his applications and realized his GPS was back on.  "Crap, Ryan.  They turned the GPS tracking back on.  That's what they did."  I turned it off and grabbed Austin and Aaron's phones, doing the same, and double checking mine to be certain.  "Alright, as long as they didn't slash our tires we're going to a different camping spot.  If we go home, we will lead them to Mrs. Hamilton, and we can't have that.  Aaron and Ryan, pack up the tent.  Austin, I'll help you check all over the vehicle for tracking devices." As soon as we got to the truck I spotted one.  I yanked it from the truck and threw it in the water.

            "Well, that was easy." Austin stood up and dusted his hands off.

            "We're not done yet; there might be two or three more.  That one was obvious, so we'd give up and not look for anymore."  We searched and prodded, finding several around the engine, in each of the tires, in the dash, and the gas cap.  After rechecking, we sat and laughed.

            "Wow, those guys are pretty insistent." I exhaled, grateful to be free of the tracking devices.

            "We're done," Austin walked around the back of the SUV and tossed the tent and duffel bags into the back.  "Ready, set, let's roll..."

            "Ready, set, let's ride!" Aaron and I chimed in as we climbed in the truck.  Ryan just sat back and amusedly watched us before getting in beside us.  When I pulled up at our new site, it was near more people.  I parked the truck behind some thick trees so you would have to search to find it before me drug our tent back out.  Putting it together was much better, however.  Being the organized person Aaron was, he had packed and folded everything neatly and was able to erect the contraption in minutes without any help.  I nibbled on a marshmallow and sat on the ground watching him.

            "Done!" Aaron proudly stood by the tent admiring his handiwork.

            "I'm going in; don't come  in until I tell you!" I hurried into the cute little tent and changed out of my soggy clothes into new, fresh smelling exercise shorts and a shirt.  I then announced that they could come in and they piled into the small sack with sleeping bags, pillows, duffel bags, and food.  Aaron had dragged an electrical cord from the nearest electric plug-in into the tent so we could charge our phones and such.  Austin and Aaron were on the one side of the tent and were soon sleeping soundly in seconds.  This left Ryan and I awkwardly sitting up, somewhat chit chatting.

"Do you feel uncomfortable sleeping next to me?" I asked tentatively and volunteered to sleep in the truck if he did.

            "No." He shook his head and looked away.  Before I could even try to say something thoughtful, he whispered, "Thanks for today.  You stuck up for me so many times and saved my butt other times."  He looked me straight in my eyes and I breathed a sigh of relief.  "You helped me even though I was the new kid; you didn't run away when people were trying to get me." He rolled out his sleeping bag next to mine, trying to be respectful even though the tent was puny to begin with.  "Normally that gets a person killed...but I appreciate it from you guys." He gestured toward my brothers.  I saw Austin's eyes flicker, and immediately I knew he was awake.

            "Austin," I whispered and he opened his eyes, smiled, and rolled over.  I turned my attention back to Ryan.  "What did they tell you earlier in that classroom?"

            "They told me some stuff about my dad." He looked at me and continued talking, scooting closer to me and lowering his voice.  "They exactly recounted what my dad did to Emilio and what Emilio was going to do to me." He lowered his gaze and shuddered.

            "It'll be okay, we'll figure this out together." I tried to muster up my best reassuring voice, but my tone wavered as I spoke.

            "It's not okay, but I'll live with that.  Anything with you is a good thing." He looked at me with sincerity pouring from his eyes; then yawned.  "I'm tired." He propped his head on one of my soccer sweatshirts and laid facing me with his eyes closed.  "Goodnight, Andi," he mumbled.  Minutes later I heard light snores and steady breathing escaping his lips.  No matter how deeply every boy in the tent was sleeping, I couldn't.  I was on my back facing upward between a sleeping Ryan and a snoring Austin, contemplating the day I had just lived and the day I was going to face tomorrow.  I winced every time I heard a twig snap and every voice in the darkness as night took over the world and me.  I struggled to stay awake, to stay on guard, but it became harder with each passing moment.  I fixed my gaze on the roof of the tent and whispered out loud.

"Ryan, I'd do anything for you, even if I risked my life.  Austin and Aaron know it, and now I do, too.  But I hope you realize how much I care for you; how much I like you.  I'm scared for you, but you seem so cool and calm about it." I rolled over and faced Austin, away from Ryan.  "I think I love you," I muttered, as I closed my eyes.  Sleep hadn't won me over yet.  Seconds after I said the last epiphany I felt Ryan's hand creep over my side and find my fingers, anchoring our hands together.  I was too groggy to think about anything.  I smiled contently and fell asleep to the night noises engulfing our little world.

     The next morning I woke up to the sound of a silent conversation and my brothers snickering.  Don't ask me how I am able to hear a silent conversation; it isn't audible.  Then I realized what they were talking about when I felt Ryan's hand wrapped in mine.  I felt like a genius and mentally facepalmed myself. 

    "What are you looking at?" I opened my eyes and glared at them.  Aaron reached for Austin's hand and they intertwined their fingers.

    "Oh Austin," Aaron talked in a girly voice and batted his eyelashes. "Have I told you how much I love you?"

    "Oh Aaron," Austin took the same manner, saying, "but you haven't yet."  I threw one shoe at Aaron and the other at Austin and planted my hands on my hips. 

    "We are going on a run, now, and you will die," I growled and glared burning holes in their heads as they shifted their gaze away.  I shook Ryan, trying to wake him gently, but quickly.  I hoped he hadn't remembered anything from last night as I squished and unsquished his cheeks together between the palms of my hands, trying to revive the groggy boy.  "Come on, Ryan," I whispered. He opened his eyes and squinted at me.  I took this as a divine opportunity to squirt him in the face with my Gatorade water bottle, which did the trick.  Within seconds he was up and ready for a run like the rest of us.  "All right boys," I said snarkily, particularly addressing by brothers, "today we do hills." I pointed to the hills of steepness surrounding the campground and they groaned when I cruelly grinned.  "It's time to shape up some thigh and calf." I seriously thought that they wanted to die. "Sprint every other, jog in between.  Races.  First person to do ten intervals wins the rest of my marshmallows."  Every face lit up at the offer.  "Go!" I yelled at the top of my lungs and took off.  It's unfortunate that they were all many inches taller than me, but I still held an advantage.  I easily won.  They had stopped trying once I made it clear that I was going to win; I lavished breakfast with the marshmallows.

    "Uh, Andi? We're kinda late for school," Austin looked at me and raised his eyebrows.

    "I know." He looked even more puzzled which I found even funnier. "We are not going to school.  I registered us in Edina." 

    "What!" All three of their faces turned into scowls.

    "But it's Every Day I Need Attention," Aaron whined and I laughed at the acronym. 

    "But what about your classes at the University?" Austin was actually concerned, which surprised me.

    "I withdrew." I shrugged and tried to play it off, but they grew suspicious. 

    "But they meant everything to you and-" Aaron tried to reason with me, but I just stomped my foot.

    "No!" I turned to everyone around me.  "I still have my volunteer program at the hospital, but I can't be found, and I need to stay around you guys!"

    "But you hate high school," Austin pointed out the most obvious fact of my life.

    "So what? I'll have soccer and I'll have all of you."

    "And where are we going to live? What if they find Mrs. Hamilton?" Too bad this one didn't stump me, I already had the whole thing figured out.

    "I got our social worker to give our guardianship to Tony.  Even though he's in college, I guess as long as we have a roof over our heads and food to eat, it's legal.  I rented us a small apartment.  It has one bedroom, one bathroom, and I expect all of you to get jobs." I stared at the shocked faces.  "From here on out we are going undercover.  There's no going back now, unless you want Ryan killed."

    "Do we get to change our names?" Aaron looked too excited.  Sorry to rain on his parade, but I said no.

    "But they'll find us." Austin looked at me as if I was an antelope trying to convince angry lions to quit a prowl.

    "Okay. They might know our names, but they don't know our last names and they can't just know what school we are going to transfer to.  We'll just stay cautious, okay?"  Oh high school, our reunion is going to be a blast. "Five minutes.  Be ready in five minutes.  We have a new school to start."  I sighed.  I hated first impressions, and better yet, I hated being new.  I jumped in the lake and quickly lathered shampoo everywhere, before wading out and trying to dry off.  I shook my hair free of water droplets and changed into a loose tank and skinny jeans. 

    "You didn't have to do this all for me," Ryan said, appearing right beside me.

    "Yes I did.  You mean a lot to me, and if I didn't try to help you, I'd be foolish."  I smiled into his concerned eyes and wrapped my arms around his torso.  "We can do this together," I mumbled into his chest.

    "All right," he lifted my chin to meet his eyes.  "So why don't we?" I watched him reach for my hand and squeeze our fingers together.  "Let's be a thing, okay?" My heart skipped a beat.  "I don't want guys swooning over that long hair and those sick ninja skills of yours."  I sarcastically scowled and stepped back.

    "And I don't want any Edina girls all over this." I poked him and we both laughed.  "Deal?" I stuck my hand out and waited for him to shake it.

    "Deal." He grabbed my hand and pumped it up and down.  This was how my fake dating relationship began. 

    "Guys come on!" Austin's annoyed groan snapped me out of my trance. 

    "Ugh, school." I threw my arms in the air and stomped to the truck.  When we pulled up at the school, I sighed.  I had hoped that I never had to take high school classes again, but my hope dwindled as soon as I stepped through the door.

    "Hey," Ryan said, catching up to me and throwing his arm around my shoulder, "we're going to do this, right?" I grimaced and agreed in my head.  We walked to the counseling office to get our schedules.  When the secretary asked where we came from, I thought quickly.

    "Uh, we just moved here." It was a truth; the apartment I had just rented was a mile north.  "And he was homeschooled." I nudged Ryan and he mustered a grin.

    "Oh, well dears.  You just have a nice day! Derek here will show you to your first period.  And it seems to me that all of your classes are the same!" Yes, before you ask, I rigged our schedules.  I'm a genius, don't worry, I already know.  Derek, the freckled, short, stuttery, and nasally dwarf that lead us to our first class was a serious lawn gnome.  I could have sworn his ears were pointed as well.  We followed our guide to first period Chemistry and I looked around at all the faces.  Yes, Edina: the cake-eaters of Minnesota.  The girls looked like plastic snobs with bleached hair and spray tans who didn't bother to eat at all.  The guys were all between gangster, preppy, and hipster, flashing Nike Elite socks and snap-back style hats, sporting spiked hair and skinny jeans.  I gagged.  Walking into the first classroom, my brothers, Ryan, and I walked past the desks of students into the last, empty row.

    "Today we will review the process of Heat of Vaporization.  First, let's review the principles of molarity, as molarity equals the moles of a substance divided by the liters of solution it's dissolved in." The teacher rambled on through the whole hour, but all I could do was contemplate our future.  Emilio and Ernesto were obviously tracking us.  They wanted Ryan for some inexplicable reason.  Whoever supported Ryan, however, would be pursued as well.  I wracked my brain, thinking of ways to avoid the men but still visit the hospital.

    "You guys could be volunteers at the hospital." My voice filled the room, stopping the teacher mid-sentence.  I blushed, realizing that I had just interrupted the class.

    "Was there something you wanted to say, Miss...?" I looked at him and smiled.

    "Andi, sir." I looked around the classroom and stood up, walking to the front. "In fact, I did have something to say." I looked at the teacher and he raised his eyebrow at me, yet I continued talking. "The hospitals need more volunteers.  Recent studies performed by Harvard graduates show that friendly faces and youthful volunteers make patients happier, boosting their immune systems, and increasing their ability to metabolize constants such as the ones we are calculating.  In turn, I'd like to introduce you to the opportunity of volunteering at local hospitals.  As a benefit, volunteering looks very presentable on college applications and resumes." I smiled and nodded at the class, rolling my eyes when I spotted Austin and Aaron's faces turning bright red, trying to contain their laughter.

    "Thank you, Andi."  The teacher turned to the rest of the class and started some lecture on the health of older people while I took my seat.  Did I mention I was given the gift of improvisation? Well, it seems to help in sticky situations. 

    "Nice save," Ryan whispered, scooting his desk over to be closer to mine.  I grinned and chuckled.

    "I know.  You should be used to this by now." I turned my attention back to the teacher, just in time to hear the bell ring.  I jumped up and grabbed Ryan's hand.  "Have you seen anything about any soccer teams?"

    "You're in luck." He stuck his tongue out at me and made a face.  "There's no girls' team." My heart jumped for joy, knowing it'd be against the law to ban me from the boys' team. 

    "Yes!" I cheered, careless of the several looks I earned as we searched for our Calculus class.  "I get to play with you!" I poked him again and giggled.  "Aaron, how's their team look?"

    "Shabby." Aaron sidled up to my right side and purposely bumped me. 

    "Perfect." I internally celebrated once more.

    "Uh, Andi? What'd you tell Coach when we moved?"  Austin's voice filled with worry.

    "Guys, I told him the truth and he understood.  He knows there are issues, and he gets it." They stopped to stare at me with their mouths hanging wide open.

    "Yep." I kept walking, finding the correct room soon on my left.  "Oh math, I have missed you. Not," I mumbled under my breath and walked into the room.

    "Hello class, I'll be your substitute today," a strangely familiar weasely voice said from the front of the room.  I panicked and ducked under my desk; the boys did the same once they realized who it was.  "You could call me Mr. E. or Mr. Ramirez."

How did they find us? My mind screamed at me.  There is no possible way!  I glanced at the boys, all staring at me unsure what to do. Captain, you can do it, my mind nudged me to complete the impossible.  I came up with the best idea I could.

    "On three we sprint out of the classroom and make a run for it." They all nodded aggressively, knowing it was the only way we'd get out safe.  "One, two, three." I jumped up and sprinted out the door, only to collide with the Chemistry teacher.

    "Well, well, well, what do we have here?" He looked at me and evilly smirked, sending shivers down my back.  "We have three foster kids, who could easily belong in juvie and one son of a drug dealer who could rot in a jail cell and be held for ransom." I stood completely motionless as he wrenched my wrists behind my back and dug his nails into my skin.

    "What do you want?" I growled, trying to hide my pain; he sneered.

    "Thanks to Mr. Ramirez and your foolish act in class today, I have what I need." He started yanking me toward a nearby exit and the boys followed close behind like lovesick puppies.

Go, I mouthed, afraid to say anything.  As I let the Chemistry teacher yank me away, I watched my brothers scurry down the hallway and out of my sight.  I took this as a divine opportunity to escape, yanking my hands from out of his grasp and slamming my foot against his knees, snapping them in the wrong direction.  He fell to the floor and I clamped my hand over his mouth.

    "You may think we are idiots, but we're not.  I made a stupid move and I regret it." I took a smart-alecky tone and smirked.  "Just so you know," his eyes opened in terror, "the pain is catching up to your brain and soon enough your brain will let out too much adrenaline and you'll pass out.  In five, four, three..." and his eyes fluttered shut, his body turning limp.  "One." I released my hand and let his head fall to the floor. I ran in the direction my brothers had disappeared.  That wasn't the end of my problems, however.  I heard Emilio's silky voice coming from a storage closet.  I crept closer, peeking through a crack in the door, only to see my brothers and Ryan taped together, seriously mummified in traditional duct tape. 

    "And all for a ransom," was all that I heard coming out of Emilio's mouth before I tore open the door and punched his face with all the energy and hatred I had in my body, leaving blood gushing out of his now misshapen nose.  He roared, literally, and his fist collided with my cheekbone when I tried to turn away.  Without the impact phasing me, I ninja-style kicked his knee, crushed his foot beneath my boot, and set another wild punch flying toward his bewildered face.  He started falling and grabbed a fistful of my hair, causing me to yelp.  I spun around and kicked him one last time straight across his jaw, yanking my hair from his clenched hand as he laid on the ground unconscious.  Two guys down, how many more to go?  I fished Aaron's pocket knife out from the chain on his neck and used it to cut a vertical line straight down to efficiently unwrap the guys. 

    "Crap, Ryan. Your dad." I opened the door at the sudden realization and sprinted to the car, ignoring the faces, calls, questions, and gossip flying around the hallway.  So much for the 'normal' part of living, I thought as we jumped in the truck and the engine roared to life. Normal just isn't me.  I drove as fast as the speed limit allowed on our way to the University's hospital, stopping the vehicle in a "No Parking" lane, and leaping onto the dear, sweet land.  With the boys following close behind me, I took the stairs two at a time until we arrived on Mr. Findell's floor.  I stepped into a storage room and tossed on a lab coat.  "Here," I said, shoving some spare scrubs at Aaron and Ryan.  I handed another physician's coat to Austin and took stethoscopes from the shelf, wrapping them around each person's neck.  "Now we're ready."

Chapter Seven

    We cautiously stepped out of the storage room.

    "Isn't something about impersonating a doctor illegal?" Ryan whispered in my ear, causing my bones to tingle.

    "Who said we're impersonating doctors?" I looked at him, his face turned hysterical colors of confusion.  "We just look like them.  'Trick or Treat' I guess." We speed-walked like the Olympians (sad story, I know) to his hospital room. 

    "He's safe," I exhaled and collapsed into a chair.

    "Dad? Can you hear me?" I watched Ryan wave his hand in front of his dad's unresponsive eyes.  "Dad, we're in a lot of trouble; Emilio's after us."  I just sat and observed Ryan's one sided conversation with his dad, appalled by the fluidity of the words coming out of his mouth without anything awkward happening.

    "Ryan, look!" I pointed to the heart rate monitor, and everyone gasped.  Ryan's dad's heart beat had begun to speed up.  "I think he can hear us," I hesitated, aware that stuff like this only happens in movies- or so it seemed.

    "Woah, sick man," Austin said from his station at the door, watching for the possible intruders.

    "We have to get him out of this room," I announced and everyone's expressions were as blank as empty pieces of paper.  "Emilio and Ernesto will be here in minutes.  And there's no telling what they'll do."  I tried to reason with myself, but my stubborn soul wouldn't budge.  "Well, I guess some of what we're doing is illegal after all.  Remind me again why we can't go to law enforcement?" Ryan's eyes filled with hatred and complexity that I had never seen before.

    "Because Ernesto has them wrapped around his dear little fingers thanks to the profits of illegal drug smuggling.  He's the head chief of Minneapolis' Police Department.  The law can't touch them," he growled through gritted teeth.  I saw his body turn rigid and his face turn white.  "We need to get my dad out of here now."

    "Uh, Ryan, I think it's a little too late for that," I turned to the door, noticing the two men who had just barged in.  Two men that I recognized: the great Emilio and Ernesto Ramirez. Emilio's face was all beat up from my valiant attempt to stop him from harassing my brothers. While Ernesto had cornered Austin against the wall, nearly choking the life out of my poor brother, Emilio stalked his way towards Ryan.  I growled. "What do you guys want from us?" The desperation in my voice was accompanied by the hostility I felt boiling beneath my skin.

    "Well, we could settle this easily or not; it's up to you guys, I guess." He simply closed the door, shrugged, and casually leaned against the wall.

    "What's the easy way?" I snapped, eying the distance between the panic button on the hospital remote and the place I stood standing.

    "Fifty million dollars and," a toothy grin spread across his disgusting face and stared me down, "her, I guess."  He looked at Ryan saying, "Because it seems to me that you're useless and this one here has some feist in her."  It was then Ryan's turn to become possessive.

    "What?!" His voice cracked in a semi-manly shriek.  "You can't go around demanding millions of dollars and people," he hissed dramatically and a nasty frown centered in the middle of his forehead.

    "Yes, son, yes I can." Emilio strolled over to Ryan and placed his hand on Ryan's shoulder.  In a low, cold tone he simply stated, "Your father stole my wife; I can steal yours."  I gawked.  "In fact, I'll make the deal better.  I'll just cut the ransom if she obliges to marry me."  His wheedling voice disgusted me as I sat resisting the urge to smack his sorry head against the window.

    "She's a girl, and you're a man." Ryan continued the sass while Ernesto sat looking utterly stunned.  "She's seventeen.  It's unlawful."

    "Who are you to care about the law, Ryan?" Emilio began circling Ryan like a hawk waiting to attack and devour its prey. "The boy who stole, sold drugs, smuggled, lied, cheated, and ultimately fought the law his whole life for his father?" Ryan cringed and I saw his barriers disintegrate.  "You are nobody, Ryan, and she is somebody." He began to walk to where I stood frozen on the side of Mr. Findell.

    "No!" Ryan shook himself from his trance and sent a fist flying into the surprised face of Emilio, knocking him to the ground.  Immediately Austin and Aaron teamed up to pounce Ernesto, shoving him into the adjoining bathroom and locking him in the room by shoving a gray metal chair underneath the doorknob.  Some say this stuff is just for movies, but really, it's all helpful in dire circumstances.  Ryan was sitting on top of Emilio, continuously sending punches into the worn, beaten face.  I watched for a bit, certain that he was getting what he deserved, until I dragged Ryan off of the unconscious body.  Then I heard the heart monitor flat line.  I hit the panic button over and over again while Austin yanked open the door. 

    "What's the-" when the cheery young nurse realized what was happening she immediately called for backup.  As they began using the paddles to revive Ryan's father, an odd spooky chill raced through my body.  Everything began to happen in slow motion. "You can't be in here right now." The words flowed easily off her lips as she pushed us into a small waiting room.

    "No, no, this can't happen."  The words were noiseless as I watched the doctors slam the electric current into his chest and his body bounce from the impact.  "No!" I shouted.  I felt arms wrap around me and lift me out of the room.  I flailed and kicked, but nothing helped.  Fixing my eyes on Ryan's dad and the unconscious Emilio with tears streaming down my face, I screamed for one man while my blood curdled for the other.  I realized what was happening. Emilio had wanted this all along. 

    "Emilio, you're an idiot!" I howled at the top of my lungs even though I knew he would never hear me.  "You'll pay for this! You'll suffer no matter what!" I collapsed into the arms holding me and everything grew blurry and dark.

    I woke up on a cold, hard mattress.  I guess it wasn't even a mattress; it was a dumpy piece of cloth with rags stuffed inside of it.  I sat up, realizing the pounding headache clouding my vision.  I rubbed my eyes and squinted.  I saw bars: there were bars locking me into a cell.  Great. I'm a prisoner.  I looked down at my clothes, realizing I was dressed in a crude orange jumpsuit.  "Aaron, Austin, Ryan," I tried to yell, but my throat was dry and husky.  The noise came out like a whisper, but I could hear Austin's breathing from a nearby location.  "Austin," I said, my voice being more clear.  I heard him move, and soon saw his face appear at the bars across my cell. "Austin!" I exclaimed, hopping up and making my way to try to get as near as possible to him, only to trip. I examined the cuff that had been placed around my ankle, locking me to the bed.  "Darn," I said out loud and rubbed the chafing skin around the metal.

    "Andi, are you okay?" His thick voice sounded on the verge of tears.  I mustered a smile from who knows where and rolled my eyes.

    "I'm fine, Austin.  Obviously because I definitely know how we got here and why we are being held in prison, in prison clothes!" The sarcasm took a biting edge to my voice, but I had no reason to hide my hurt and confusion anyway.

    "Chill, Andi.  We got put in here like an hour ago.  They're reviewing hospital and school footage right now from the fights that had gone down.  Oh, and Emilio is suspended from police duties until it's certain that he did nothing wrong.  The FBI is involved now, so he can be suspended." I sighed.  At least the repulsive creature would have his privileges revoked. 

    "How's Ryan's dad?" I panicked crawling as close to Austin as I could.

    "He's alive and actually talking; the cardiac arrest jogged his brain I guess.  They don't know if he'll remember anything, but they'll know in good time."

    "What? How much time has actually passed?"

    "Oh, we were in the waiting room and he was getting fixed up and you were passed out and then they realized we locked a guy in the bathroom and another was unconscious by the wall with bruises and stuff so they got suspicious and now we're in here so we don't hurt anyone, I guess..." His thought trailed off and I sat, stunned.

    "Oh." I thought for a minute, "I guess I don't want to hurt anyone either." He chuckled.  "I think I'm still a little loopy," I observed.

    "By the way, thanks for asking. I'm fine too." I turned to see Ryan in the cell beside me, sitting up, and looking at me playfully. 

    "Same," Aaron chimed in, leaning amusedly on his bars. "So anyone wanna crack out of jail with me?"

    "No," the remaining three of us shouted simultaneously and we all laughed.

    "Once we're indicted as criminals, then we can break out," I giggled and continued laughing. 

    "Are you serious?" Ryan looked at me and frowned, laughter dancing in his eyes.

    "Yep."  But here's the thing: I was totally serious.  We sat as close as the restraints by our cells could let us.  They all squished against the cell corners to be close and talk while I was kept in the middle of the room, chained to the far corner of the cot.  "Why am I the only one chained up?"  They all looked at me when I asked the question and burst out laughing.

    "Because it seems... to be that you're the most... likely candidate to get out I guess," Aaron said between hiccups. 

    "Not funny. What's the real reason?" The look on each guy's face told me Aaron was speaking the truth.  I sat with my knees tucked under my chin and my arms, leaving me with a cozy headrest.  "How is this even possible?" I grumbled into my elbows, dozing off to sleep to the friendly banter my brothers and Ryan interchanged. 

Chapter Eight

    I woke up to the sound of a smooth voice.  Groggily shaking my head, I stood and looked around.  My eyes finally landed on a tall man with broad shoulders and brown hair.  Ryan's dad.  "Mr. Findell!" I tried to look as presentable as possible, but obviously orange jumpsuits aren't the most attractive type of clothing.

    "Ah, Ms. Andersen," he said, turning away from a downtrodden Ryan.  "You're awfully sweet, aren't you?" I simply smiled, trying to keep his attention away from the iron clamp holding me in the cell. 

    "Hello, sir," I said kindly.

    "Ryan must mean a lot to you, doesn't he?" His voice was so kind and I nodded.  "But he doesn't care about you," he added, his voice growing cold.  I was shocked.   

    "Dad, stop!" Ryan's knuckles turned white, standing with his face pressed against and his hands grasping the bars.  "He's lying, Andi, don't listen to him!"

    "Oh, Andi," Mr. Findell continued, oblivious of his son.  "Don't you see? As a foster child, you'll never get out of jail.  There's no one to pay your bail."  His wheedling voice made me dizzy.  I balled my fists up.

    "I thought I could trust you." The icy words left my mouth and he only laughed.

    "Trust me? Ryan only trusts me when I'm in a coma.  And for your information, sweetheart, you're making an unbelievable mistake.  Because, sweetheart, Ryan's a low-down scumbag, and if you believe in him, you are too."

    "You're wrong!" My shout echoed through the jail cells, causing Austin to flinch and Aaron to jump.  Ryan's eyes widened, shaking his head at me as if to keep me from saying anything else.  "In fact," I said, continuing, "Ryan's unique.  He's thoughtful, brave, and kind.  Though you obviously don't care about him," I scoffed, " he loves you.  Love isn't something you say, it's something you do."  My unwavering, hard gaze bore into Mr. Findell.

    "Fine," he sneered.  "I could have bailed you all out." His face was boiling with rage.  "I have millions of dollars that could have saved you from this," he hissed, throwing his arms about in a maniacal fashion.  "I'm leaving."  He pivoted on his heel and stormed out.

    "We didn't need your money anyway," I called jokingly behind him.  He spun around and sent a death glare my way.

    "You worthless piece of scum," he smiled bitterly.  "And you, Ryan, you're just like your mother."  With one final smirk he slammed the heavy iron gate behind him; the harsh clanging noises caused me to flinch.  I glanced over at Ryan.  He was speechless and pale, motionless and cold.

    "Ryan, look at me," he turned slowly, his face still expressionless.  "Ryan," I said again, trying to make eye contact with his unbreakable daze.  "You know what he says is trash right? You know you're more than whatever words would ever escape his mouth?" What a cruel twist of reality, and I had thought Mr. Findell and I would be good acquaintances.  He forced his eyes to meet mine.

    "No! No, I'm not Andi.  You don't understand what I've done!" His voice cracked and I saw tears dripping down his face.  "No."  His voice only held pure anguish, stalking over to his cot and lying down.  "Never." His broken sobs shook his body, seemingly shaking the whole jail. I stood in shock, hating the silence and his expressions.

    "It's not like that," I faintly said.  "Because, no matter what, there's a reason to still believe in things you can't quite put your finger on."  I know he heard me, but I wasn't acknowledged. I turned away, dragging my feet on the ground.

    "They'll find me," I heard his pleading voice.  "Emilio will never give up this fight; he will find me and do whatever he will do.  He'll find the rest of you too.  And frankly, my dad just doesn't care like I thought he would."  I grinned, though he didn't see it.

    "Then, Ry-Guy, I guess we're breaking out."

"What?!" Austin and Aaron just sat up and looked at me while Ryan simply grinned like a mental case.  I was determined, and this was going to happen. The guard, most likely a rookie, was on the other side of the gate, sound-proofed with plexiglass, playing cards at his desk.  We were in four cells, separated by a hall down the middle.  I could pick the lock if I had a bobby pin.  Due to certain extremes I take to hide bobby pins, I found several.  At least sixteen were in my hair: if someone had tried to pick them out they had been very unobservant.  I had three elsewhere, in my emergency spots, and I sighed, thankful for my creativity in finding perfect spaces.  I evilly grinned.  Straightening a couple out so they formed a nice, thin, metal stick, I started working on my ankle shackle.  I sat cross-legged on the cold ground and picked and prodded and twisted the pins until I heard a satisfying scraping sound, then the metal meeting the floor as it fell off my ankle. 

"There!" I said triumphantly and started on my door.  Free to walk; free to move.  I glanced again at the guard, only to see he was intent on his game.  Keeping one eye on the guy that could ruin my chances of escape and one eye on the lock I was trying to discretely pick, it opened after I had half-heartedly jammed more than half of my pins into the lock and started losing hope.  "Yes!" I celebrated hysterically, remembering I had three more to go.  By now, the twins were standing at the gates. 

    "Let me try!" Austin was all too excited to try getting his lock done by himself, so I handed him some pins through the bars and started Ryan's.  It was so much easier to see what I was doing from the outside of the cell.  In half the time it originally took me to do my own, and with less pins, I easily got Ryan out and moved on to Aaron.

    "Why am I always last?" He groaned, "Get your priorities straight, sis," he laughed.  His lock opened, too, and I began Austin's.

    "Why can't you guys do this with both of you working together?" Ryan and Austin just looked at me funny.  "I know, I know, I'm just the best at being a criminal."  When Austin was out, I decided on a plan.  "So, I haven't really thought the rest of this out, but, we're just going to sprint for it.  Try not to get tased or shot or anything."

    "That will never work," Ryan smirked at me.  I glared at him, and he raised his finger and pointed to the top of the wall above the entrance gate.  There was a grate, but it was so narrow I didn't think the boys could possibly fit.  "I learned from the best, so it's time to try."

    "We're going to get caught though," I protested, smacking him lightly on his arm.  "Well, we can't really get out that door without making a ton of noise," I processed out loud. "I guess this is our best chance." Ryan hoisted me up until I was standing on his shoulders loosening the screws of the grate. Scratch that; I basically pried them out of their small little sockets.  I was breathing heavily and sweat was now visible.  I had no idea how a stack of orange jumpsuits was completely unnoticeable to the jailer.  I took the grate off and slid it into the hole it revealed and scooted myself in feet first, leaning out and grabbing Ryan's hands.  The twins then used Ryan and I as a ladder, scurrying up our bodies into the air ducts. They took hold of my feet, anchoring me inside the duct as Ryan used me to pull himself up.  He climbed over me noiselessly.  I turned, sliding the grate cover back out from underneath me and tried to get it back on to the wall to hide our way of escape by bending a bobby pin, inserting it through the cracks and twisting the screws just enough for it to stay on.  Then, struggling, we tried to travel as noiselessly as we could through the tunnels into the nearest exit.  We finally found an exit that Ryan kicked out to open right into a parking lot full of squad cars.  "What's with us and emergency vehicles?" I muttered, scratching my head.

    "I have an idea," Ryan said, with a mischievous glint in his eyes.  Whatever it was, I hoped it'd be smart, for his father's empty threats taunted my prodding mind.  Ryan ran to a police car and fumbled for the correct keys as the twins and I tumbled into the back.  He threw the car in reverse and just about busted out of the garage Need For Speed style and everything.  We whooshed past buildings I've known for ages and places that contained many memories.  Of all the times I thought I'd get to spend in the back of a squad car, it never would have crossed my mind that I would have attempted a jail break.  I sighed.

    "All Police Officers, we have an issue."  The staticy voice filling the car from the radio earned looks of horror from all of us.  Ryan's knuckles turned white on the steering wheel and his face paled intensely.  "Four teenagers are missing from the Bloomington temporary prison and their holding officer is being held for questioning.  Please scout surrounding areas for these children, over."  We got over our shock and began snickering. 

    "Uh, guys?" We were on a long stretch of highway.  We all intently stared at the back of Ryan's head.  His eyes shifted toward the rear view mirror.  "I think they found us." Sure enough, we all whipped our heads around to see the flashing lights in the distance.  I mumbled regrets under my breath.

    "Put the car on cruise control," I tried to say as calmly as I could handle.

    "What?"

    "I said put the car on cruise control," I screamed, semi-flailing my arms about the car.  He did as I was told without me having to scream in his ear once more.  "They're about a mile behind us.  They won't see us, but they'll think we're in here.  We're going to have to jump."  I opened the door, watching the pavement endlessly flash by.  "When you hit the grass, roll and stay down!" I took a deep breath, trying to ward away any nervous jitters.  With a sudden burst of adrenaline I leapt from the car, rolling into the dear, sweet, but rather wet grass.  I gasped for air, realizing what we had just done.  "Great, now we're really the delinquents everyone expects us to be," I muttered as I army-crawled my way to Aaron, who was lying about fifteen feet ahead of me. Keeping my body low to the ground of the ditch, I satisfyingly heard the sirens rush past my head, spreading relief all through my body.  "How could they be so stupid as to not see four orange jumpsuits flying from a speeding car?" Aaron simply shook his head at my question. We lifted our heads to see Austin and Ryan inching their way towards us.  "You're safe!" Tears began to brim my eyes.

    "Andi, don't cry. I'll cry too." Austin was pouting and Aaron followed close behind.  Ryan just laid there on his stomach looking at us like we had completely lost it. 

    "Let's go quickly," I said, sitting up and looking around. "Before they realize we aren't where we are supposed to be and find us in this trash," I added, picking at the orange sack that held my body.  We slithered our way to a nearby Wal-Mart, trying to avoid all suspicion.  However, when you're dressed in  bright orange, it's nearly impossible.  We snuck around the back to the employee door where the workers came to smoke.  As soon as the door opened, we snuck inside, hoping to find clothes.  We were in a warehouse, with the entrance to the store across the giant garage.  "Hide and stay here; I'll be back," I puffed out my chest and tried my best to imitate Arnold Schwarzenegger.  I found the employee locker room and borrowed some khakis and a smock, trading it for the prison garb.  I neatened my hair and scurried into the bright, cheaply lit store.  Rushing immediately to the limited selection clothing departments, I grabbed simple t-shirts, athletic shorts, and basic sneakers for the guys while I chose some exercise shorts, flipflops, and a Wild jersey for myself.  I tried my best to casually walk back to where we came from, nabbing some sunglasses on the way, but knowing the police were looking for us caused me to become pretty jittery.  I shuffled along, barging back into the storage garage, finding the boys huddled behind thousands of rolls of toilet paper.  Throwing the clothes at the guys, I turned around simply saying, "Change."  I could hear them trying to tear their jumpsuits off as I slipped into the jersey and shorts, wiggling my feet into the shoes.  I turned around.  "Now we go find Tony."

Chapter Nine

"Aaron, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Austin turned and stared at Aaron expectedly.

    "We're twins, but I still can't read your mind," Aaron replied, rolling his eyes.  I stifled a laugh, catching a playful smirk on Ryan's face.

    "Please enlighten us, Austin.  We have no idea what that brain of yours is thinking." He groaned.

    "We're going to hitch-hike for once. Yes!" He sprang onto his feet and fist pumped the air.  "See that truck there?" He pointed all too excitedly, "It's going back to California.  And guess what? Tony lives there!" He smiled as if he was the most popular celebrity around town.  "And it's carting grapes!" Austin laughed and Aaron gasped.

    "Grapes!" Aaron's face developed into an incredulous expression.  "Andi," he started turning towards me, "please can we go?" I sighed and threw my hands in the air.  At least we wouldn't likely get caught in the back of a Wal-Mart truck eating grapes with local police on the prowl for us.

    "Fine," I groaned, motioning them to collect their orange suits and throw them in the trash, "whatever."  Austin and Aaron high-fived each other and Ryan beamed at me. 

    "We kind of need to hurry; the guy said he was going to use the restroom and leave."  With that comment, we bolted to the back of the truck and made ourselves hidden behind the crates in the back.  Not even five minutes later I heard a jolly loud voice, followed by the back door slamming shut, leaving the trailer in total darkness.  It was like we were being driven by a hillbilly Santa Claus with the Mack truck in exchange for a sleigh.  The engine started and the truck began to slowly move forward.  I sunk to the floor, pulled my knees toward my body, leaned on something soft, and let sleep take me away.

    I woke to the sound of the truck abruptly stopping and light snoring coming from just above my head.  I knew the driver must have taken a bathroom break or stopped for gas, for I figured it would take us two and a half days to get to California.  "Hey," I whispered, nudging whoever had fallen asleep on me, "wake up."  The person only responded by snuggling closer to me, much to my annoyance.  "Ryan," I realized, "wake up man, you're going to squeeze me to death."  I tried to pry his arms out from around me, which ended in an epic fail.  I grew exasperated and used my last attempt.  "If you don't remove your arms from me, my bladder's going to burst."  The comment caused him to jolt awake as if he learned I sprouted a third arm.  I laughed and snuck to the edge of the trailer, lifted it up, and hopped out.  It was night.  We were stopped at a cheap looking motel in the middle of nowhere.  There was a convenience store across the street with a clear sign proclaiming free Wi-Fi and bathrooms.  Hearing the sweet toll of the bell that announced my presence, I skipped swiping the food I thought necessary, even though I knew my aura of a good person had long since disappeared.  I sighed.  I was a proclaimed criminal: I've broken out of jail, stolen a police car, stolen clothes from Wal-Mart, and hitched a free ride via a company truck.  So maybe foster kids are just trouble after all; our influence on Ryan certainly didn't help anything either.  Oh, and we've eaten way too many grapes.  As my thoughts came to a halt as soon as I stopped at the truck, I just shook my head and sadly let my shoulders droop.  I thought of my parents and how they were probably looking down on my decisions from heaven and disowning me at the very second.  Stumbling into the trailer, I softly closed the door behind me, finding my way to my specially made Ryan pillow.  I huddled close to him, trying to avoid the cold metal floor and fell asleep as he absent-mindedly twirled his fingers around strands of my hair.

    Two days later we were finally in California.  Austin, Aaron, Ryan, and I were playing mouth catching games with the grapes and what little light came through the air ventilation systems.  When the truck suddenly stopped and voices were heard directing the truck into a warehouse, we all scurried into our hiding spots like scared little mice.  As soon as they lifted the door, grabbed crates, and I heard their conversation fade into the distance, I grabbed the two nearest hands to me and we bolted from the truck into the nearby gas station.

    "May I use your phone please?" I asked as sweetly as I could, leaning over the counter and trying to look friendly.

    "Uh, sure," the guy stuttered, handing a mobile phone over to me.  I knew Tony's phone number by heart.  I mean what heartless sister wouldn't?  I counted the monotonous rings, silently praying he'd answer a call from a strange person's number.

    "Hello?" I heard his 'I just woke up' voice from the earpiece.

    "Tony, it's me!" I heard him sit up and I could see him trying to shake the sleep from his eyes.

    "And Aaron!"

    "And Austin!" The twins both piped into my phone call, trying to press their ears close to hear what Tony had to say.  Tony only chuckled.

    "Hey, guys.  But Andi, why are you calling me?"  I grimaced; this was not going to be easy.

    "We need your help.  We're in California and we kind of need to be picked up," I muttered into the phone.

    "What?" I thought my ears were going to explode while the twins had flinched too.  Even the worker heard the exclamation and looked awkwardly away. 

    "Where are we?" I hissed.

    "Santa Clarita."  He honestly looked scared.

    "The gas station guy says we're in Santa Clarita.  We're at a BP on Pine Street.  Oh, and the guy I told you about is with us too." I heard a heavy sigh on the other end of the phone.

    "I'll be there to get you in about thirty-five minutes; Google estimated that's how long it'd take to get there.  And I have to get out of these apartments, too."  I heard him struggling with some clothes.

    "Okay, bye," I said, hanging up the call. What do you do with no money at a gas station?  I gave the phone back to the freckled boy behind the counter.  "Could we have some food? You can scan it and stuff and my brother will pay for it when he get's here." The boy just nodded and watched us raid the junk food aisles.  Real food never felt so great in my stomach.  The cashier just watched in awe as I downed a few bags of fruit snacks and marshmallows, nodding my head or shaking it when someone would ask me a question.  We sat at a small table eating our junk and watching the news.

    "Now it's time for our eight o'clock news," the preppy newscaster announced, "on today's show we have a story from Minnesota, where four teenagers managed to escape from jail without their jailers noticing them and police ever finding them.  Are teens really smarter than they come across?" The anchorman arched his eyebrow and stared directly into the camera as pictures of us covered the television screen.  There I was at the soccer game with the twins and Ryan, decked out in school spirit colors and our soccer jerseys wearing goofy grins.  Wow, we were really famous enough to be on TV.  I glanced over at the cashier, only to see he was gawking at us, shifting his gaze from us back to the pictures.  I laughed. 

    "Do you really think these guys could manage to bust out of jail and land in California?" I asked, hoping to come off as being sarcastic and hilarious, only to see his expression soften.

    "No, they really aren't that smart," he commented, observing Austin and Aaron having a popcorn toss contest. 

    "Exactly," I smirked and continued conversing with Ryan.  "That was close," I muttered under my breath. "The last thing we need is Californian police after us too," I said as Ryan nodded his head in agreement.

    "I'm here!" Tony waltzed into the store and held open his arms.  I shrieked and jumped up, almost knocking him down with the momentum I carried going into the hug.  I felt his arms wrap around me and him grin over me. 

    "You got a new arm!" I squealed like a little kid on Christmas morning.  His arm wasn't just a hunk of plastic now; he could bend it at the elbow.  He winked.

    "That's what I get for volunteering to do things for the UCLA engineering club," he stuck out his tongue and I stepped away, letting Austin and Aaron tackle him in their own hug. 

    "Ahem." I cleared my throat, "And this, my dear brother, is Ryan."  Ryan stepped forward and extended his hand politely, but Tony just hugged him.

    "Nice to meet you, bro, let's get going before the police catch you guys."  We all froze.  "Can't you take a joke-" his laughter faded.  "Oh no," he gasped, his face turning white.  "Oh no, oh no."  He took a step back and steadied himself against the door.  "You're the..." Before he could say another word, I dug a twenty from his wallet and gave it to the cashier, dragging my brothers out the door as Ryan mosied behind.

    We were sitting in his car, finally, before I was able to properly calm him down.  "So let me get this straight," he said, scratching the back of his neck and wincing. "You guys broke out of jail because they were being run by some evil genius drug lord who is not being prosecuted at all, who made threats toward children, and almost killed a guy in a coma?"  I solemnly nodded, the rest of the boys doing the same.  "This is what you decide to do when I move off to college?" He seemed upset now.  "Why couldn't we have done this when I still lived with you guys?" He seemed to regain his composure and began driving.

    "Where are we going?" 

    "My apartment, where else?" I just sat there feeling content, watching the fabled scenery of California pass me by, leaning against the soft, familiar seat, and basking in the presence of my brother.  Upon arriving to his door, I never thought the Californian Police would be waiting for us, nor did I believe they'd whisk us away again.

    I woke up in a mirrored room.  It was kind of like the Maze of Mirrors at the Mall of America, yet far brighter and less fun.  My head had been resting on the table in front of me and my hands were handcuffed to the hard metal chair I was sitting on. I sat up and looked around. Ryan, Tony, Austin, and Aaron were just talking to each other around the room.  I seemed to be the only one actually handcuffed to a chair. I cleared my throat. "Will someone explain why my wrists are attached to this chair?" They all looked at me, surprised I was awake.

    "I thought they said she'd be out for three hours, minimum," Tony looked at me strangely.

    "No, I'm awake. Sorry, drugs don't really affect me," I tried to hop my chair around to face them.

    "I thought so too; it's only been fifteen minutes since she was injected," Austin added, squinting at me.

    "They saw the footomington and thought you'd be the most trouble," Ryan spoke up from across the room.  I groaned. 

    "How am I supposed to talk," I joked. "I talk with my hands."  At the same minute my joke ended, an officer stepped into the room. 

    "All right," he sighed and ran a hand through his hair.  He was a strong middle aged man built tall and broad.  "Your story lines up as truthful.  Upon further investigation, we got details.  Yes, the Minnesota Police Department is corrupt and it's being fixed as presses are being charged." He stopped for a second and slightly smiled, then walked up to me.  "And you, young lady, are a very interesting person."  I was surprised I didn't have to serve time in jail.  I mean we broke out; what kind of prank was this?  "You should work with our country's espionage teams."  I choked on my own spit; this guy was actually serious.

    "What?" I sputtered, my face flushed red.  "Would you guys actually put this on my record so I'm not the 'troubled foster kid' anymore?" He sincerely nodded.

    "It's being done as we speak."  He unlocked one of my hands.  "Now show me how you break out of these things so easy."  He didn't have to ask twice.  I reached my unleashed hand to the center of the back of my head, sliding my lonesome emergency bobby pin out of my hair.

    "We searched your head for every last one of those," he commented, slightly baffled.  Just for show, I took a few more out of my other hiding places.  I pulled some from my sock, my pockets, the inside of my shorts, and the under part of my jersey's sleeve.  I straightened one of the pins out and chewed the grip off, sliding it into the keyhole and twisting it until I heard the satisfying popping noise.  I shook the cuffs to the ground and stood, stretching.

He shook his head at me again; I laughed.

    "Ryan, your father was just arrested."  Ryan's face fell, but I saw the relief wash across his face.  "Emilio and Ernesto Ramirez will no longer hassle you guys, and the police department back at your home is being reorganized." I smiled. All of the guys huddled around me and we melted into a giant group hug, including the officer, which was kind of awkward. When we broke apart, he unlocked the door and we headed towards the exit.  "Guys."  The officer's voice turned us around, stopping us in our tracks.  "The president would like to speak with you soon."  We all just grinned at each other, fist bumping obnoxiously in the middle of the office. "You stood up for what was right and you didn't back down.  You proved to the world that teenagers aren't really in life just for themselves.  And you all showed us that you could handle adverse situations with mature reactions.  Congratulations." I felt as if I had just won a video game championship or something.  My soul was flying and the happiness within me felt as if it was going to burst out.  For once in my life I felt I was something useful: hero to the great world.

Chapter Ten

    Senior year is a great year for the best and the worst things to happen.  Ryan, Austin, Aaron, and I were decked out in our green and silver jerseys and face paint, standing with our soccer team in the middle of the gym awaiting our trophy's dedication.  Of course, under my brief absence, the team grew together more and won districts.  When we came back from California and inserted ourselves back into our rightful places at Lincoln High, we brought enough stamina and excitement to win sections, regionals, and lastly state.  It was a struggle, but now we were surrounded by seas of students screaming our names.

    "Captain of the soccer team, please take the trophy," the Dean of Students announced into the microphone. I stepped forward, hugging the monstrous trophy to my chest, and walked to the principal.

    "Speech, speech, speech," the crowd chanted as I handed the trophy over and shook his hand.  The president of Student Council casually walked forward and handed me a microphone.  I cleared my throat and confidently smiled.

    "Hey there, Lincoln High!" My voice rang through the assembly and I was met with various cheers and shouts mostly coming from the Senior section.  "I want to thank all of you for your support at the State game we played last week!"

The room was silent until someone called, "You're welcome," causing the gym to erupt in snickers.

"I also want to say a little something extra," I continued, pausing for effect.  "Many of you guys know me, not from this team, but from the news.  I want to discourage any of you from making poor decisions and getting arrested."  I could just sense the major eyerolls taking place in the room.  "I also want to say this: stick up for what's right! Go with your gut and never back down.  Learn from others and don't be afraid of guidance.  Even the worst of us are able to overcome anything!" I handed the microphone back and fist pumped the air, followed by a standing ovation of teenagers cheering my name.  I spun around and raced back to the team, tackling Austin and Aaron into a hug.  They just stood there, like dazed teenage boys until I forcibly wrapped their arms around them and squeezed.  Ryan soon joined and beckoned the rest of the team to follow suit.  The hug ended as a giant dogpile; the twins and I took the bottom and I felt as if I was holding the world on my stomach.  I grinned, realizing the span of crazy events that had taken place over the last two months.  I just laid there as the guys joked and laughed, figuring now was a better time than ever to soak up the love. 

    From everything that happened, I came to a conclusion: I have a passion for helping lost causes.  I figure, career wise, that going into social work or physical therapy might be a better fit than my original dream of becoming an orthopedic surgeon.  Either way, espionage is still left in the back of my mind as a fallback just in case life turns rocky.  Ryan ended up studying to be a mathematics major with me at UCLA; we eventually finished our silly questions game and moved on with our relationship. Austin and Aaron remained with the dear Mrs. Hamilton to finish their own senior year at Lincoln.  Everyday I wake up, and despite my mood, I decide to find at least one way to make someone else's day better.  You don't need to make a difference by becoming a good ex-criminal; you change the world through one act of kindness at a time.  Try it sometime;it's contagious.