When To Put Trust On The Line

Part 7

After school, I rushed outside with my bag. I saw Kenny's friends at the bottom of the stairs. I hurried towards them. "Hey!" I said. "You guys know where the police station is?"

Jackson. "Agent Webb told us to stay away from there for a bit. Kenny probably ain't there no more either." I sighed.

Armon. "This is bullshit. Kenny ain't done nothin'."

Jackson. "Listen Susan, we're all goin' to see Kenny tomorrow at his place. You wanna come?"

"After school?"

"Yeah."

"Why not now?"

Zavier. "We needa give Kenny some time. This shit is real hard on him. I just know it."

I looked down. "Okay."

Jackson. "So you comin' tomorrow?"

I nodded and looked up. "Yeah." I touched his arm. "Thanks Jackson," I said softly. I waved. "Bye guys."

"Bye," they said back. I started to walk home, but ended up circling my neighbourhood. I had to clear my head at least a little before returning home to Adele. That girl was always full of surprises. I inhaled the cool breezy air, trying to calm my nerves. After walking for a while, my bag started to feel heavy on my shoulders, so I started for home. Once I made it through the front doors of my house, I looked around. It seemed it was empty. I went upstairs to my room, putting my bag on my bed and kicking off my shoes. I headed towards my closet, but the two doors suddenly burst open and I jumped back gasping. Adele walked out of the closet, wearing baggy sweatpants and a short camisole, showing off her belly button piercing. "Gosh. You have sucky clothes in there," she complained.

I clutched my heart, highly annoyed. "Gosh! Can you not pop up out of nowhere all the time?!" I pushed past Adele and headed towards my closet.

"Geez," she said behind me. "Someone's in a bad mood. Is lover boy causing more trouble?"

I closed my eyes, wanting to do anything but entertain this conversation. "No," I answered, my voice thick.

"Was only half kidding."

I turned around. Adele had walked over to my powder table and taken a brush. She started to pull the brush through her long wavy blonde hair, which was a bit messy. I looked at the floor. "You're getting hair on the floor," I said.

Adele laughed. "So? It'll get cleaned up." She shook her head. "Gosh. Are you always this uptight?"

I didn't answer. What could I say to that? I noticed for the first time that she had black shoes on under her long, rolled up baggy sweats. "You're going out?" I asked.

"Yeah. I should be. Been waiting for Jas to come get me."

Jas? The name sounded a little familiar. I couldn't remember why. "Where you guys going?"

"A pool party at her cousin's place. Been a while since I've been to one."

"You brought a bathing suit?"

"No. You only have one-piece suits so I borrowed mom's old bikini. It surprisingly looks really good." A teasing smile appeared on her face.

"Where is it?"

Adele rolled her eyes. "Under my clothes. Duh."

I bit my lip. "Where's Mom and Dad?"

She sighed. "I don't know why you're always asking me." She put my brush down and started to flip her hair around to fluff it out and make it look the way she wanted it in the mirror. "But I think one of them is working overtime while the other is out grocery shopping."