Chapter 11

“WHAT?” all three exclaimed at once.

“Yes. And she is from our class.” I replied.

“Who?” all three asked again in unison.

“Aria,” I replied and I could see all three go pale at the mention of the name all at once.

“When and how?” asked Nao.

“Today around 6.30 pm. She had gone out grocery shopping and she never returned. On top of that do you girls know what the scary part is?” I asked and they all looked at me with blank faces so I continued “The grocery store is hardly a minute or two walking distance from the park we were in at that time.” I could see the look of horror they all sported at that information.

“So it could have been us too,” stated Nao.

“I don't think so, it seems that this kidnapper is only targeting girls who are walking or are alone when he finds them and we were four. We could have easily made noise and grabbed the attention of anyone nearby that locality or else we could have beaten the shit out of that person,” said V

“True. But we can't say for sure that this kidnapper is solo. He might get help.” I said.

“Yeah. There is a possibility of that. So we need to be careful. Our parents were not worried for nothing.” said Nao.

“But did you all know she used to live with her grandparents?” asked Liz.

“No. Did she?” I enquired.

“Yeah! Her parents are working so they be out all the time, which didn't leave them with much time to dedicate to their daughter and their parents, that is her grandparents were getting old and lonely, so they decided she would stay here with her grandparents,” replied Liz.

“So what about her parents? Where are they?” asked Nao.

“They stay out of town. Visits her only sometimes. That is what I had heard. Don’t have much information on that.” said Liz sadly.

“I am feeling scared,” I said looking down at the cloth that had bunched up in my hand as a result of fidgeting with the end of my pajama top.

“Me too!” said Nao.

“You girls don't need to as long as Liz and I are here with you two to protect you girls. Isn't it Liz?” asked V while she locked mine and Nao’s head in each of her arms.

“Damn Right. We will beat the living daylight out of the kidnapper if he ever decides to as much as lay a finger on any of you,” replied Liz while she practically jumped on us for a hug.

“Are you girls still up?” yelled my mom from outside the door.

“We are just about to sleep. Good Night Aunt Selene.” V yelled back and I immediately got up to pull the mattress out. While V and I decided to sleep on the bed, Liz and Nao decided to sleep on the mattress below. When we were ready, I went ahead and turned off the light then made my way towards the bed. On my way to bed, I tripped over Liz’s feet and fell over her and Nao. Which devised us into screaming and then giggling loudly. Then I crawled my way up to the bed and then wished each other good night before my mom would decide to barge into the bedroom and yell again. I then slowly drifted off to sleep while thinking about Aria.

I woke up to the blazing sound of the alarm and found Nao was already sitting up and looking around with sleepy eyes and Liz was groaning and throwing pillows and blankets towards the direction of the alarm. I quickly turned the alarm off and turned to see V was still sound asleep. Nao went to the washroom in my room with all her toiletries and school uniform so I decided to go to the washroom in my parent’s room. So I took all the necessary stuff and my uniform which I forgot to iron yesterday and I know for sure V also forgot to iron her uniform. I opened her bag and found the uniform so I decided to iron both our uniforms. By this time Liz was trying to get up, so I asked “Did you iron your uniform.” and she nodded in response. So I rushed out to iron the clothes in hurry, by the time I came back Nao was out of the washroom and Liz was heading towards the washroom to get ready. I placed V’s uniform on the bed and saw that she was still sound asleep. I asked Nao if she could wake her up and she said yes, while I rushed to my parents' room to use the washroom there. By the time I was done and came back to my room. Liz was also getting done with her uniform and bags while V was still sitting on the bed with sleepy eyes and just watching us get ready.

“Are you not coming to school today?” I asked. She nodded and crawled out of bed to go to the washroom. Nao huffed and took her uniform and knocked on the door to give the uniform to her which she took. I quickly applied eyeliner and lipgloss and went to the living room with Nao who was ready now. “Where are Liz and V? Are they not up yet?” asked my mom. “They are up and getting ready,” I replied.

“OK. I made a simple breakfast today as I am in a hurry now. Sorry girls.” Mom said.

“No worries Aunt Selene. Your Pancakes are also yummy. I love your pancakes.” replied Nao with a bright smile while she was eyeing the pancakes. My mom smiled and brought the plates and pancakes to the dining table and we started eating pancakes. By the time we were nearly done eating breakfast, Liz came to the dining table and sat alongside me. She took her plate with pancakes and syrup and then we heard V charging into the living room and running towards us while her uniform shirt was still not tucked in and the bag was still open and half her books were sticking out. “It smells delicious,” said V.

“Well, it tastes delicious too,” I replied with a smirk. “Of course. Aunt Selene’s pancakes are yummy. By the way, where is Aunt Selene?" asked V. "She is getting her stuff probably. She said she will be leaving soon as she is busy.” I replied. “I see, Mom is the same way. Lawyers!” stated V. “Nurses are no better.” replied Nao. Liz was just silent so we immediately changed the topic. By the time I was done and headed to place the plates in the kitchen sink for washing I heard the doorbell ring. I went ahead to open the door and saw Aunt Eva standing on the door with four lunch boxes stacked in her arms.

“Good morning Aunt Eva! Please come in.” I greeted and asked her to come inside.

“Good Morning Ray! How are you?” asked aunt Eva.

“I am fine thank you for asking Auntie. How are you?” I asked

“I am fine too! How are my other girls?” she asked looking at the girls.

“We are fine Aunt Eva.” Nao and Liz replied while V gave her a thumbs up.

My mom came out from her room with her bag and an extra bag with Rhys’ cloths in one hand and a very sleepy Rhys who was being dragged by my mom with her other hand while he was furiously rubbing his eyes. “Thank you so much, Eva. Can you also drop him at school today? This was a very last-minute thing. I am sorry.” said my mom.

“Oh, don't be sorry. I will be more than happy to drop him off at school on my way to work,” replied Aunt Eva.

“Oh, you packed the lunch boxes too? I thought I would have to ask them to eat from the cafeteria.” said mom.

“I figured. So I made lunch for all of them. I made some for Rhys too. His favorite.” Aunt Eva said while she picked Rhys up in her arms. Rhys just gave a weak smile and put his head on his aunt’s shoulder and dozed off again.

“You better leave now if you don't want to be late Selene.” Aunt Eva stated. My mom gave the bag with Rhys cloths to Aunt Eva and took her Bag and keys and rushed out after saying “Yeah bye Eva. And girls don't be late. Take care Bye!”

“Bye!” We all answered back.

I heard mom get in the car and drive off. We took our bags and V tucked her shirt inside her skirt before Aunt Eva could say anything and then started to leave for school.

“Bye Girls. Have a nice day! And take care of yourself. Don’t be late to come back.” said Aunt Eva. “Yes, mom. Bye” said V.

“Bye Aunt Eva.” Nao, Liz, and I replied waving at Aunt Eva. Aunt Eva left the house with us to go to her house and we left for school. While passing V’s house I saw Wyatt opening the door for his mom and he saw us and waved at us. I had the fluttering feeling in my stomach and waved back with a bright smile. He then took Rhys in his arms from his mom. I did not realize all the girls were looking at me until V cleared her throat and started walking ahead. “You need to seriously move on,” said V and I could see Nao looking at me with a concerned face and Liz just smiling at me. I did not say anything and we walked towards the school.