Nightmare in Niceville

by Amberle Cianne

  “Hi! I’m Emily. You’re new. I can tell by how your face looks all scared.”

  She gave me this funny look, then she ducked her head down like she was ashamed.

  I scrunched up my face and smiled. “What’s your name?”

  “Lily.” She kept her eyes on the floor.

  “Well, Lily, I like you. You’re different, like me!” She lifted her head, and her eyes were bright and happy. She almost had a full smile on her face.

  “Thanks for yelling at that boy,” she said.

  “No problem. That’s what friends do. Let’s go play!” I said and waited for her response.

  “Okay,” she replied.

  We ran off together and have been inseparable since.

  I grabbed a purse out of my closet and stuck everything I would possibly need, then flicked my light off before frolicking down the stairs.

  “Bye, Mom! Bye, Tyler!” I was almost to the door.

  “Bye, sweetie, have fun!” Mom called. Dad was working late tonight.

  “Wait a minute, Em,” Tyler’s voice echoed. “I just wanted a hug . . . What are you wearing?!” he asked, his face scrunched.

  “Shhh!” I snapped. He frowned at me with his plump lips and baby blue eyes. There was a little V shape between his bushy, blond eyebrows. Why were older brothers so overprotective?

  “At least put on a shirt with sleeves,” he said.

  “Ugh, come on, Tyler. It’s not that bad! I’m wearing flats!” That earned me a scowl. “I’m gonna be late!” I squeezed him to me, and he held onto my shoulders for a moment.

  “All right, just be careful okay?”

  “Okay okay, love ya!”

  “Love you more.”

  7

  Lily

  We pulled into the driveway, and I zoomed into the house and up the stairs. Emily would be here soon. I flew into my room and crashed into the dresser. I searched and found the shirt I was looking for. I ripped off my work clothes and pulled the bright-green shirt over my head. It had spaghetti straps, and it matched my eyes perfectly. I grabbed my denim shorts and threw them on. I ran into the bathroom and quickly brushed my hair.

  I sat on my bed, pulled on socks, then shoved my white Puma tennis shoes on my feet. I put on a pair of emerald-stud earrings to match my shirt. I threw a twenty-dollar bill, lip gloss, and mascara in my purse. I looked in the mirror one last time and ran my fingers through my hair. I sprayed some sweet-smelling perfume on my shirt and wrists.

  I gasped. I’d forgotten to pack a bag! I ran to my closet and grabbed the pink, green, and blue-striped bag that I used for sleepovers. I snatched random things I thought I would need, like my pajamas, another shirt, my camera, a pair of jeans, and the movie case with me and Em’s favorite movies. I zipped the bag up, grabbed my purse, and headed down the stairs. A horn honked outside. I snagged my jacket off the stair banister and found Mom and Ash in the living room.

  “Bye, Mom! Bye, Ash! Love you! See you both tomorrow!” I said, giving them both a hug and a kiss.

  “Bye, sweetheart. Have fun!” Mom said.

  “Bye-bye, Lily. Love you too!” Ashley said, and I carried her to the door with me.

  I set Ash down and gave her another kiss. “See you tomorrow, kiddo.” I closed the door gently. I loved Ashley more than anything in this world.

  “Hey, Em,” I said as I got into the car.

  “Hey! That shirt looks great on you. And I love those shorts!” Emily said.

  “Thanks,” I said looking over at her to see what she was wearing. I gasped. “You, my dear, are too hot for your own good,” I said jokingly. We laughed.

  “That’s kind of what I was going for,” she said with a smirk. She was wearing a red, strapless shirt that showed the bottom of her stomach, a denim mini-skirt, and red Coach shoes.

  “That’s all for Jacob, isn’t it?” I accused playfully.

  “Nooo,” she said innocently, holding out the “O” sound.

  “Right, okay,” I said sarcastically.

  “And all that isn’t for Scott, right?” she joked back.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said. I felt my cheeks blush.

  It was 8:45 when we got to the Twin Cities Cinema movie theater. We parked in the middle of the lot and bought our tickets outside, then walked into the theater to wait for everyone else. The smell of popcorn hit us in the face. Of course, Max was already there, always on time.

  “Hey!” Max called. He was sitting on a bench next to the bathrooms.

  “Hey, Max,” Emily said, quietly giggling. I nudged her with my elbow as we walked over to the bench. Max stood up and shook our hands, holding onto mine a little longer than necessary. I mean, who shook hands in high school? At the movies . . . it was way too formal.

  “Hey, Max,” I said a little less enthusiastically.

  Max was wearing khaki shorts and a white-and-light-blue-striped polo. His skin looked paler than usual. His light-brown hair was completely gelled down like it was attached to his head. His brown eyes were very thoughtful. He looked too eager. And that scared me a little bit.

  Just then Luke and Angela walked in the theater. As always, Angela was tucked under Luke’s arm, and she had on a light-blue shirt and light-washed jeans. Her brown hair was pulled up into a ponytail, and she wasn’t wearing her glasses.

  “Hey, guys,” Angela said. Her blue-gray eyes flickered from us to the ground.

  “Where are your glasses?” Emily asked in a polite tone.

  “She got contacts yesterday,” Luke said.

  “Oh, that’s great,” Emily said.

  “Yeah, you look awesome,” I complimented.

  “Yes, she does,” Luke said as he smiled at Angela.

  “Lily’s right,” Max said quickly.

  “Thank you . . . all of you,” she said excitedly, but quietly.

  Sarah was the next one to arrive, and Emily busted out laughing because she had finally noticed the odd behaviors at lunch the other day, such as Sarah touching my arms and playing with my hair. I slapped Emily’s arm gently.

  “Hey, Lily,” Sarah called and waved. Her eyes were big and she was smiling.

  “Hey, Sarah,” we all said. Her shoulder-length, black hair was straight and the blond highlights were gleaming. Pink eye shadow hovered above her dark brown eyes, which looked surprisingly good on her. A few freckles dotted her nose and cheeks. She wore a hot-pink, short-sleeved shirt with denim capris and pink and white tennis shoes. Silver bangles jingled on both wrists, and a little diamond stud twinkled in her nose. Sarah hugged me, then everyone else, and turned back to me, touching my arm.

  “So Lily, do you remember what I said in the cafeteria?” she asked.

  I shrugged out from under her hand as politely as I could. “Yep, I do,” I replied, looking at Emily for help.

  “Well, I meant it, and . . . ?” she started.

  “Lily, let’s go sit on the bench. I’m tired of standing,” Emily said, rescuing me.

  “Okay, me too! Sorry, Sarah.” I hurried over to Emily, and made her sit next to me while I sat on the very edge of the bench. Maybe it was rude, but I wasn’t into Sarah the same way she was into me.

  “Thank you,” I mumbled quickly to Emily.

  “Uh-huh,” she mumbled back.

  Rachel walked in, chatting away on her cell.

  “Hey,” we said.

  “Hey everyone!” Rachel replied and snapped the phone shut. Rachel had bleach-blond hair, but her dark-brown roots were starting to come out. She had pretty hazel eyes, and a heart-shaped face with tiny lips that looked like a little pink circle on her face. It was like she was always waiting for a kiss without having to pucker.

  I had never gotten too close to Rachel. In fact, I rarely spoke to her at all. She was snobby and rude, and I didn’t like those kinds of attitudes one bit.

  The last people to arrive were Jacob and Scott. When I saw Scott, my heart fluttered and Emily nudged me at the sight of Jacob. We giggled. Jacob had sho
rt, brown hair, sort of like a military cut, and light-brown eyes. He was very muscular and tan. I’d heard from many girls that Jacob was a jerk. He wasn’t quiet, but he was reserved. Especially recently. He was more talkative last year, but this year he looked angry all the time. I felt bad for him sometimes because even though he kept to himself, rumors still spread. The most recent rumor was that his parents had gone through a bad divorce. I wasn’t sure if he was a good choice for Emily. I’d heard he got into a fight about a month ago, and he’d won by a long shot.

  Scott was very sweet and polite. His light-brown hair looked so soft, I wanted to run my fingers through it. His icy-blue eyes were warm, despite their cool color. His jaw was defined and his lips looked soft and supple. I wondered what it would be like to kiss them. Scott had a sweet face. He was very muscular too. I remember him telling me in middle school that he wanted to join the military. He would make a good soldier if that was still what he wanted to do. I think he could be good at anything, really.

  “Hey, Jacob!” Emily said, hopping up off the bench and waving.

  “Hey, Emily,” he said, nodding once. As they hugged, one of his hands remained in his pocket. I couldn’t help but frown and scoff. Typical man trying to keep a woman from knowing his feelings when he was being so obvious that he cared for her. Sarah started to inch closer to me, but I stood up and started pacing.

  “Hey, Scott,” I said waving and trying to copy Emily’s flirty voice, but with no success.

  “Hey, Lily. What’s up?” Scott replied.

  My heart skipped a beat when he said my name. “Oh, nothing really. What about you?” I replied.

  “Just the same old, same old,” he said with a laugh. I laughed too, running my hands through my hair. Man, I felt so stupid around him. I was just thankful I didn’t trip on the way over to him.

  “How have you been?” I asked rubbing my arms . . . it was a little chilly, or I was just freaking out. God, I could be so awkward sometimes! It was pretty frustrating.

  “Lily, where did you say you work now?” Sarah asked me.

  “Oh, I work—”

  “Hey, Scott!” Max said, interrupting me.

  “Hey, Max,” Scott replied in a tired tone. I could tell he was getting a little frustrated too. Ugh! I’m not the only girl here! And there are plenty of attractive single guys, Sarah! Yeesh! I thought to myself. Why was everyone interrupting every time Scott and I started talking?

  “Luke, do you want snacks?” Angela said, looking up at him lovingly.

  “All right,” Luke said, staring at her like she was something he’d never seen before. It was strange, but cute.

  “That sounds like a good idea,” I said, then looked at Scott.

  “Sounds great! Come on, Lily!” Sarah said, grabbing my wrist and pulling me toward the snack counter.

  “Wait for me!” Max said in a hurt voice.

  All four of us stood in line behind Luke and Angela. Emily and Jacob followed, Jacob’s arm around her waist. Rachel was alone, and she looked ticked off. She walked past all of us to the front of the line, smiling at Scott and glaring at me.

  Scott kept his eyes on me, and I couldn’t take my eyes off of him, not that I wanted to. I blushed after a moment and had to look away.

  Rachel bought a drink and yelled, “Come on everybody! I want to get good seats!”

  “There’s nobody here to take them!” Max said, and everyone laughed. He glanced around, looking proud of himself. Now he was going to try to be funny all night. Great. I looked around and noticed that there were only two other people here besides our large group, which was surprising since it was a Saturday night.

  “Where is everybody?” Scott asked to no one in particular.

  “Everybody’s at that thing at the mall,” Angela said.

  “Oh yeah, I forgot about the concert,” Luke specified.

  We took turns buying our snacks. Scott and I reached the front, and a girl I didn’t recognize asked what we wanted.

  “Um, just a Coke for me please.”

  “I’ll have the same,” Scott said.

  “Coming right up,” she said pleasantly.

  “Hello, Lily, Scott,” another employee called.

  “Hey, Mark,” Scott replied. I waved. I’d only seen Mark around school a few times. The girl reappeared with our Cokes.

  “Are you new around here?” I asked her.

  She smiled. “Yes, it’s funny, but every single person I meet asks me that.”

  “Get used to it. Welcome to Niceville,” I said with a sarcastic smile.

  “Yeah, you’re gonna love it.” Scott joked. The girl laughed.

  I started to pull out money from my back pocket, but Scott stopped me.

  “I’ll get this for you.” He smiled and I almost forgot to protest.

  “Scott, no! That’s not fair, I’ll pay for myself.”

  “Nope, not this time.” He grinned as he handed the girl his money. I stared at the money, willing it to fly back into Scott’s wallet with my mind. It didn’t work. Why was he paying for me? He was acting like this was a date, which it wasn’t. This was definitely a group thing! Was he just being nice to me? Did he like me? My stomach fluttered with butterflies.

  I finally managed to speak. “Fine, but next time I get to pay.”

  “Next time?”

  “Um, yeah . . . I mean . . . if you want . . .” I stuttered like an idiot.

  He chuckled quietly. “That would be nice.”

  “And thanks,” I said politely.

  “No problem at all.”

  “Here you go,” the girl said as she handed us our Cokes.

  “Thank you,” we said in unison.

  We made our way to the theater.

  “That girl looked like you,” Scott said.

  “Really?” I thought about her face and realized that we did look similar. She had green eyes and long, brown hair, but her hair was wavy and pretty and looked soft.

  “Huh, I guess our hair and eyes are similar,” I said.

  “No, not just you hair and eyes, your faces look alike.”

  “I don’t understand.” I felt my face scrunch up.

  “Your eyes aren’t just the same color, they are almond-shaped. And your faces are both long and smooth. You both have those small, button noses. Your lips are full, but not too big for your face. She even talked like you a little bit.”

  I stared up at him with wide eyes. How did he notice so much about me? Was that normal or something? He must have noticed my expression because he blushed and looked away.

  “It’s just simple observations.” He shrugged. I was too stunned to say anything.

  The previews had already started, so it was dark, but we could see that we were the only ones in the theater.

  “We’re the only ones!” someone yelled.

  “Let’s sit in the back!” I heard people say, but I couldn’t tell who. I felt a hand grab mine, and I gasped. I turned around, expecting to see Sarah or Max, but it was Scott. My heart pounded in my chest, and butterflies exploded in my stomach.

  He leaned and whispered, “I want to sit next to you. Is that okay?”

  “That’s perfect,” I whispered, smiling. His fingers intertwined with mine, and I squeezed his hand gently. Wow, Scott wants to sit with me! Wait ‘til Em hears! I thought.

  Angela led Luke to the middle of the second-to-last row. They sat down, and I followed with Scott right behind me. Max ending up sitting behind me to the left. Sarah sat behind me to the right. Of course. Then Rachel took the seat on the other side of Scott. He shifted a little and positioned his body closer to me, which made me surprisingly happy. He smiled at me and winked. I laughed quietly and looked at my lap. His hand still held mine. Jacob and Emily took their seats last. In the back row away from everyone else.

  “Aw, I wanted you to sit here, Lily,” Sarah said.

  I turned around. “Oh sorry,” I said, smiling apologetically. Though, I definitely wasn’t sorry. I was perfectly content to s
it with Scott.

  The movie started and everyone got quiet. Throughout the movie, there were whispers and giggles. The movie also did its job in making people scream, jump, flinch, and curl into each other. I didn’t care; I could only pay attention to every little movement of Scott’s hand around mine.

  Suddenly, I felt a hand run through my hair. I jumped and turned around. Sarah waved at me and leaned back into her seat. I stared at her for a moment, then looked over to see what Emily was doing. I immediately wished I hadn’t, and turned back around quickly. Jacob was practically on top of her, and they were kissing very intensely.

  “That was weird,” Scott whispered in my ear.

  “Yeah, really weird,” I whispered back. I turned my head toward him and my breath caught. His face was closer then I’d thought. His defined jaw and cheekbones shined in the strange shadows caused by the screen. He was gorgeous. I felt my face get hot, and I quickly looked back at the screen. He kissed my hand, then set it back down again. My breath picked up, and I squeezed his hand. I thought I heard him laugh quietly. He gently rubbed my hand with his thumb. The armrest wasn’t down, so I scooted closer to him. Slowly, he wrapped his arm around me. I thought I heard Rachel huff, but I didn’t care. All I cared about in that moment was Scott.

  “Ahhhhh!” Someone’s scream behind us made me jump out of my own skin. Scott and I spun around to see a bucket of popcorn overturned on Sarah’s head and popcorn piled in her lap. Everyone was laughing and pointing. Even Scott and I joined in. Sarah yanked the bucket off her head and chucked it at one of the guys, then began to pick the remaining popcorn out of her hair. Another yelp was heard, and it seemed like everyone was throwing popcorn at each other and laughing. People were jumping over seats and running through the aisles. Little screams were heard here and there, but mostly laughter. Thankfully, they soon ran out of popcorn and everyone settled back into their seats. I brushed popcorn out of my lap.