And for a moment, as the seconds tick and the beams come nearer and nearer, I am frozen with terror, my throat closes off and my mind becomes blank. And then a hand coaxes down on mine. "We need to move. Hurry." And I am running but even then I am barely aware of it seeing it all, looking back to find the three uniformed officers armed with what looks like taser in a detached state, as if it's not me who is running, but somebody else, seeing it all clearly yet at the same like there's a smokescreen between me and the rest of us. All the sound fades for a second and then comes all out.
Novahk comes to a stand and I almost bump into him, the force careening us towards a brick wall. "What happened?" he asks me."Are you hurt?"
"No," I find my voice. "But what now?" We have a problem. A very ten foot drop problem. The wall is a gaping wide with inky blank night beyond it. The moon is gone and there's no option but to jump which is prosperous. Novahk looks down. There's a couple of craters and piles and piles of sand but there are quite down and if we are not careful we can get hurt. Real bad. Skull crushing bad.
The officers are almost upon us. If they find us I can only imagine what will happen to me, and to Novak. His dad will kill him. I wouldn't put anything past that man after everything I have learned about him.
"We have to jump," Novahk says calmly. "there's no other option except getting hit by tasers."
"But...." I don't get to finish my sentence because at that moment, Novahk pulls on m hand and take some along with him. We are flying in the arms of gravity. All the voice and everything whooshes out of me and my heart leaps to my throat, my stomach doing tumbles we land on a slippery slope which delivers us to ground but not before my knee hits the side of a wood stock. Bad.
"Ow," I say rubbing over it. It hurts like hell. Novahk looks at me in concern. "I am really sorry Kris but I had to do it." The officers haven't realize that we jumped out of the building because the beams and the angry voices come near the walls and disappear without once shining over us. We are safe for now.
"I know, Novahk," I say wincing, trying to stand up. He puts a hand on my waist and my hand over his shoulder, taking all my weight on his side. I rest on him for a second trying to get over the pain. It's going to leave a nasty bruise on my knee. "Can you walk?" he asks.
Maybe it's because of the fall and all the air knocked out of me. Because the anger I felt for Novahk coming here and realizing that in fact he's the vandal, seems to ebb away. I need to think this through not as an adult but somebody who understands him, without pushing him away. It is the only way I can get to the bottom of the whole matter.
I nod. "I can limp." Together we limp in the general direction of our bikes but instead end up near the docking lines where we hear more voices. "Quick duck," Novahk says and helps me sit down behind one of the crates.
There's a burst of static while one of the officers speaks into his walkie talkie. "Suspects have fled." The voice is close, too close. I squeeze Novahk's hand and lean on him. Any moment now, we can we discovered
I realize I am shaking. I am now rule breaker, I have always stayed on the good side of the law, except for that day at the l where I stood at it and now I have totally crossed over. The officer at Wilmington had left us with a warning, but now we were in a totally different ballpark. And yet when I should be worried about myself, I am worried about the boy hugging me close to his chest. He just showed me his worst secret today, the one he says would make me hate him. Would do I hate him? Because everytime I close my eyes, I see a little boy. A lot like Novahk and Adam shivering on his bed while two doors downs he heard his mother being abused by a monster unable to do anything about it.
And because there's justice I this world, the officer moves away and takes all the sound of men searching for us with him. We stay there for hours, shivering in the cold as waves of water rolled their freezing breath on us and finally when the cost is clear, we make arun for it. "I's too dangerous to go back for the bikes." Novahk says. "They won't find the anyways. It's over the compound. But in any case we can go back there now without being discovered. We stick close to the docks and follow the river back to the main town." That sounds like a good plan and as the pain has subsided I keep myself able to pace up with him.
"Kris I..." I hold up my hand up to stop him. "Look Novahk if you are apologizing, no need to. You asked me to come here, and I came with you. It's not your fault."
Novahk looks troubled. "But it would have been my fault if they arrested us. I never realized they would be on to us they probably have activated a silent alarm in the system. I should have knows." He rakes his hand through his head again. "after the third time, there's bound to be precautions. Specially since it's the matter of the police chief's reputation."
"This is your third time here?" he has been getting away with it all along? Even though it's still a crime, I find myself admiring that he able t pull of the vandals three time in this place.
"How many other places do you got to? Other buildings?"
He shrugs. "All those have something to do with my dad. That's why I have to go there. It's just not about me what I do, I do for my family."
"Can you tell me why you wrote that word back there? Braveheart?" I ask but he doesn't answer, instead picks up his speed. "It's four, let's go back home before somebody finds us missing."
"My dad's staying the night," I mutter "they won't listen to a thing." He gives me a puzzled look. "I thought your parents were divorced."
"They are." And it's too complicated to tell him about their little arrangement.
We are silent till our street comes into view. Novahk picks up the air-pumper from where we dumped it before cycling away and then twists the knob such that it makes a wailing sound. "When will we get our bricks back?" I ask.
Novahk's face is stoic. "I don't know. I'll try to get it tomorrow before going to school.
"Christmas holiday starts tomorrow," I remind him. And that also reminds me of my other duty. Tomorrow's going to be another step out of my comfort zone.
"But my parents don't know that," he gives me an impish grin. "don't worry. I'll get them."
"I hope they don't find it," I pray.
"They won't," he reassures me. And his confidence kind of rubs on it, along with is smile that is back. We come to a stand near my house where we kind of look around, how do you even do these things. If I was a badass ninja, this could be considered an awesome. But the whole thing is so complicated, Novahk his secret and all that he is doing which is on the other side of the law. If I were sane person, I'll probably have called the police on him.
But even if I wasn't like I was, the Krishna before everything would I hand him over to the cops? That is very difficult to explain. But now that the plane of polarization has inverted and so has the factors, now it's a different light I see him in, D-plane instead of the previous L. In which I want to kiss him and run away from him at the same time. If Dr Asenberg were he probably would have commented how this all was just the effect of teenager hormones. He always blamed the hormones. Always.
"Well then I guess it's a goodnight?"
"I guess." I pull him closer by the lapels of his jacket and kiss him. When we break away, he looks surprised by my action and if I am not mistaken a bit dazed. "What was that for?"
"That was for telling me everything about you. And that is also me telling you that whatever you do, rest assured I won't be judge you or run away from you. Or think you're a freak. Because I am all of those things."
Understanding descends on his dark eyes. "And here I was being a total jackass," he murmurs, caressing my cheek again and then tangling his fingers in my hair. If anybody were to happen to their windows right now, I wonder what a sight we would present to them. Enough town gossip for eternity.
"Yes you Novahk McAllister are a complete jackass. If you think being different is freaky, then join the club." He hugs me this time pulling my hair over his face and inhaling deeply, I can feel the rumble in my ribs too.
"You became my friend even after everything that happened. How are you different than that?" Pain clouds his eyes and he looks away.
"That's different. It's, it's......" Words fail him.
"Look Novahk I know it seems wrong and confusing. But deep down it feels so right. I think all you need is a little time to think about it. We'll talk tomorrow." I wave him goodbye and open the door to the garage door, with hurried steps. Because when he clouds confuse him, I don't want to push him away like I did to everyone, not long ago.
I want to be here with Novahk.
Mom drives me to the mall where I plan to meet Kristina. It's the only one in Northfield, atleast the one which has not been in converted to strip mall, yet. It has an arcade which is supposed o be our rendezvous point.
"Are you going to be at the mall too?" I ask mom as she unbuckles her seat when I am reaching for the door.
"Of course. You're still grounded." I roll my eyes. It's been over a week and she was more than happy to take me out of the house but not happy enough to leave me alone. But then again who could trust me. I had sneaked off at night too and I would continue to sneak off until I knew everything, or at least until they tell me everything. But if they can't feel guilty about lying to me then I guess shouldn't feel bad for them either.
"I'll be in the food court. And meet out you back at the entrance in here hours" I hop out of the car and hope she won't be there to spy on me or anything. That would be weird enough.
The food court is bustling with people and it takes me moments to locate Kristina which is not hard because even in the freezing temperature she is just wearing a leather printed skirt with loose knit top. And ofcourse she has Trisha Beckeley with her who is wearing a pink fluff with black tights . I had hoped to avoid that one. It's one thing going on the question one-on-one another thing having a spectator. I'll have to play my cards carefully.
"Hey Krishna. I am glad you made," she stands up to hug me but I move out of her away quickly. This is not definitely my thing. Maybe with Novahk but not with her, definitely not with them. I give her a tight smile and she gives me one in return.
"I ordered fro yo. I hope you don't mind."Trisha looks a bit surprised to see me there, but she quickly gets over it. But not before I catch the knowing glances exchanged between the two friends. And now to come think of it, I have always seen Trisha and Kristina attached at the hips, they are like gum and paper. And back when I used to keep on the tide of all gossips, it had come around, that they always dressed complimenting each other, went on the same type of diets, even dated in partners, so that they had the ability to double date. Jock.Jock. Bad boy. Bad boy. They are like a bad case of Barbie Twinsie mania.
"That's considerate of you," I say but I don't think she gets the underlying sarcasm in it.
"So what are we doing today?" Kristina asks stirring her spoon in the yoghurt cup once it arrives. I shrug. I haven't been to this mall in ages so it's not like I know what is where.
"Let's shop for cards first," Kristina claps her hand.
"I have to buy Brad something too. Let's hit the gift shops," she says this to Kristina but then her blue eyes slid to me, uneasy. What's it with Brad and Trisha? I dismiss the odd look and follow the Barbies to first to the Tiffany's where they both by a simple necklace each, engraved with two different snowflakes while I browse around the shop. A chain that dangles from one of the counters at the back, catches my eye. It's made of ruby, so brilliant I wonder momentarily how Emily would have liked it.
"That would have looked good on Emily," Kristina says standing close to me while Trisha is still looking over the other exhibits. I cut my eyes to her sad, bright eyes trying to judge what exactly does she mean by that, but Kristina does not meet my eyes. It also reminds me how close Emily and Kristina were just after Emily got into the team, in fact their friendship often spawned a seed of jealousy in me, something that now seems so silly. Emily would always be my best friend. If only I had been able to understand that before.
"How much did you guys party at Wilmington?" I ask Kristina who raises a brow but not in her usual haughtiness. She is just curious.
"As I told you before, we hit a few clubs sometimes after we won away game." I clench my fist even though I know my anger is misplaced at her.
"Were you good friends, Emily and you?" I ask. Kristina still does not look at me, but there's pain in her voice when she answers me, as if she is having a hard time remembering those moments. Before.
"I would like to think so."
"Were you always around her? Did you never leave her alone?" I demand and then when she stiffens at my tone, I take a different approach. "Was she always with you guys? Or did she sometimes wander off alone?"
"What are you trying to get at?" she asks her eyes narrowed. Okay now that she has figured it out, I may well playing a straight game.
"I am asking you if you know something about the video." I hold my breath. This is it. Her eyes are storm and tormented with guilt. "No but believe me I wish I could have done something about it. If only I knew."
I look carefully at Kristina's face that is placid once more, her disturbed mask has slipped away as if it never existed.
"So the video you saw at first. You didn't see it before? You didn't know how she ended up n it because don't tell me it's fake. I know for a fact it isn't. What I am trying to figure out is why would she do it."
Kristina shakes her head, "If you think I would have left her alone in an inebriated state then you're wrong. She was a...........friend to me. A good one." It does not look like she's lying, her face is earnest and she is looks at me when she speaks.
"Just like Trisha?"I don't need someone to blame but she is making it harder and harder or me not be angry. At her. At my parents. At everybody. I can't stop lashing at the people I like. Maybe if I can finally be able to tell the difference between what is the truth and what is the lie, if they can be two separate entities in m life, like the after and before then maybe I could be the old Krishna again. The stay-at-home, did her homework, kept her social norm at school and not be the sneaking –out-at-night girl. But the question is did I still want to be that girl still?
She shakes her head. "It was no like that." I cock my head to one side trying to understand what she means by that but Trisha who has finished paying comes and stands next to us, raising a brow at the apparent tension in the air. "Are we good to go?" she asks.
"Never better."