by Rua Hasan
“Gem!” he shouted.
I sang loudly instead of answering him
“Gem!” he shouted again looking at the road.
“GRIPS ON YOUR WAIST, FRONT WAY—”
Tyler leaned in and turned it off. I left my mouth open as I stared at him.
“Hey! I was listening to that.”
“Yeah, well you were listening to it too loud.” he said as he rubbed his ears.
“So . . . ” I leaned in and turned it back on.
I started to sing again but was interrupted for the second time when Tyler turned it off.
“Jesus, woman! It’s not the music that is bad! It’s your voice!” he shouted as he rubbed his ears playfully. I crossed my arms under my chest as I glared at him.
“My voice isn’t that bad!”
“Oh, it is Gem!”
“Stop calling me Gem! And no, it’s not!”
“Actually it is, and I can call you Gem if I want to so deal with it―Gem.”
“It’s not bad at all! All my friends say that.” I whined as I leaned in and turned on the music again.
“I need a one dance! Got a Hennessy in m—”
“Stop singing!” Tyler shouted playfully as he turned the music off for the third time.
“You must have really bad friends if they lie to you.”
I rolled my eyes but decided to ignore him. I was hoping he wouldn’t see my hand reaching out for the radio, but it was as if he had eyes on the side of his head because he swatted my hand away and sent me a short glare.
“No music. If you sing one more time I’m going to jump out of this car.”
“Really?”
“Don’t get your hopes up. You’re stuck with me.”
“The horror.”
“But can I still turn the music on?” I asked, sending him a puppy face.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s my car.”
“Please!” I begged as I folded my hands together and sent him a fake smile.
“No!”
“Oh, come on! Don’t be such a grandpa! I promise I won’t sing!”
There was a moment of silence in which Tyler looked like he was thinking.
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
“Fine,” he said under his breath.
I smiled in achievement and turned the music back on. I started to move in my seat as if I was dancing and started to mouth out the words quietly. Yes, I would have sang if it meant he’d jump out of the car, but then it would leave me here all alone with no one to bug. I was starting to understand how Tyler felt like when he ticked me off and I have to admit it was fun.
I was trying to annoy Tyler throughout the entire ride. Maybe he’d know how it felt to be in my shoes and give up. I found out Tyler wasn’t such a big fan of Taylor Swift so I’d put on her songs on purpose and even though I wouldn’t be singing along, I could still see the look of torture written all over his face.
“Are you freakin kidding me?! I told you to take that U turn!” I said as I looked out the window for another way we could possibly go.
“No, you didn’t! I barely heard you! I asked you where to go and you said keep going straight.” he said which made me gasp.
“Are you calling me a liar?”
“No, but I ain’t calling you a truther!” he said as he turned the car around to drive to where we were supposed to go.
I punched him on the shoulder.
“That’s not even a word, stupid.”
“Yes, it is.”
“No, it’s not.”
“Yes, it―hey, is that it?” he asked as he pointed to a carnival not too far away from where we were. I observed it and checked the address Matt sent me just to make sure. Once confirmed it, Tyler started searching for a parking spot which was kind of difficult to do when it was almost full.
Finally, we got out of the car and I let a small smile take over my face when the warm air hit my skin. It was a sunny day and I was thankful I brought my sun glasses with me. I then called Matt and asked where to meet them. He told me that the girls were with him so all that was left to do was for us to meet with them instead. We decided to meet each other in front of the big ferris wheel. After paying, Tyler and I walked into the carnival and started to look around.
I was surprised with myself of how calm I was with Tyler. We were walking together and one of us would crack a joke or make fun of the other. All was well until we made it at a photo booth colored in red and pink and had balloon hearts on the side.
“Would you guys like to take a picture?” A girl asked.
I opened my mouth to say ‘no’ when Tyler spoke.
“Yeah, sure,” he said while looking at me with a teasing smile, making me glare at him.
“No way. I’m not going to take a picture with you.”
“Why not? Are you scared?” he said as he pinched my cheek playfully. I slapped his hand away and narrowed my eyes.
“Scared? Why would I be scared of you?” I asked making him shrug his shoulders.
“I don’t know. I was hoping you would tell me.”
“There is no way I’m going into a little space with you in it. Who knows what could happen?!”
“So, you are scared.”
“No, I’m not! I just don’t trust you that’s all.”
“You don’t?” he asked in a serious tone.
We were just teasing each but he suddenly became serious when I said that I didn’t trust him. I mean, if I didn’t trust him from the very beginning, then I would have never got in the same car with him or went to his house for a school project.
Ever since I came back here, he hadn’t tried to hurt me physically. I didn’t know if it was because he had matured or if he just changed. Maybe it was because he was a kid back then but that still didn’t give him the right to bully me, though it was all in the past. It was not the time to be looking over my shoulders.
What surprised me even more was when he held my hand. My eyes widened and looked down to see what he was doing but looked back up to face him when he spoke.
“Hey, you can trust me,” he said.
I was extremely surprised that I wasn’t able to speak. I was afraid if I did, then it would come out weaker than I expected so I just nodded my head and let him lead me to the booth. He pushed the curtains to the side and got in first with me behind him. Tyler then inserted a coin and sat down on the seat with our hands still holding for some reason. I wasn’t sure why I didn’t pull away, but it didn’t seem to bother me at all. I then sat next to him awkwardly and watched the screen as it counted down to one.
The first picture we took was just us smiling but, of course, the serious Tyler was gone, and he did the most immature thing I could ever think of. He put two of his fingers behind my head and made them like bunny ears when I wasn’t looking. The third picture took me punching Tyler on the shoulder as he laughed. The pictures were taking all our actions because the next one took a picture of Tyler pinching my cheek playfully as I glared at the camera. As the last picture was about to be taken, I told Tyler to get all serious because I wanted this to be a good one.
Tyler didn’t listen because just as the picture was about to be taken, Tyler leaned in and kissed my cheek making my eyes widen in surprise. Then snap! The picture was taken.
I felt my cheeks heat up as he started to laugh at the look of my face. I got up, still feeling Tyler’s kiss linger on my cheek for a while longer. I slapped his shoulder as I sent him a glare.
“Stop laughing. That’s not even funny,” I said as I leaned in to the machine to grab our pictures. I looked at them and felt my cheeks heat up even more at the last one.
“See! We didn’t even get a decent picture except the first one,” I said causing Tyler to stand up, look of my shoulder and mess up my hair playfully.
“Oh, come on Gem,” he said near my ear as he leaned in to snatch the
pictures from me.
“Not decent? Are you kidding me? They look amazing,” he said between breaths. His eyes landed on the last and turned to look at me. A smirk grew on his face.
“Especially the last one. Just look at your face,” he said sending me a wink. I rolled my eyes and snatched it away from him then looked at the picture again.
“My face doesn’t look that bad. It’s just I wasn’t expecting you to do that.” I defended myself.
“Yeah, yeah . . . whatever, but I’m keeping that,” he said making me lift an eyebrow.
I was about to object but then realized that I didn’t want that photo so I decided to just go along with it.
“You can keep it. I don’t want it anyways,” I said and got out of the booth.
Approaching the ferris wheel, I called Matt who said he was buying the group some drinks so we decided to wait on that spot for them. Tyler gave me the pictures we took and asked if I could keep them in my bag until we go home. Seeing that my bag was full, I picked the wallet out from my bag, placed it inside the pocket of my dress and shoved the pictures in the bag so it wouldn’t fly away.
I was about to ask Tyler to call Matt for taking so long but all of a sudden I was pulled away into the arms of an old lady. She was hugging me like crazy, her arms wrapped around my waist while she squealed in excitement. I was confused on what was happening while Tyler looked the same.
“Oh my gosh! Dear, I’ve missed you so much!” The woman squealed when she finally pulled away. She then placed her hand on my face and looked at me with wide eyes.
“Darling! You are even more beautiful than before!” she said before hugging me again.
“Oh, god! How’ve you been?! It’s been ages,” the woman continued as she pulled away.
“Uh―I think you g―”
“Have you gotten married yet?” she asked, ignoring Tyler who was right behind me.
“What?” I asked getting even more confused. This woman must have mistaken me for someone else.
“Ma’am, I think yo―”
“No? Why not! How’s your fiancé?” she asked.
“Fiancé?” Tyler asked in disbelief and sent me a surprised look. My eyes widened and shook my head furiously. I then leaned over to whisper in his ear, but he spoke first.
“Since when do you have a fiancé?” he asked.
I sent him an are-you-crazy look.
“I don’t have a fiancé!” I whispered back a bit too loud then looked at the woman in front of me.
“I’m sorry, ma’am, but I think you have the wrong person,” I said making her smile drop. She started to scratch her head and looked down in embarrassment. She then removed her glasses and rubbed them with the hem of her shirt and put them back on.
“I’m sorry, dear. This is so embarrassing. Please, forgive me,” she said. “I mistook you for someone else.”
I smiled at her and nodded my head.
“It’s okay, ma’am. Mistakes happen all the time,” I said as I patted her shoulder. She smiled at me then took a step back.
“Again, I’m so sorry,” she said.
“It’s okay,” I replied and waved goodbye.
“Have a nice day,” she said as she turned around.
“You, too,” I said as I watched her walk away. When she was gone, I glanced at Tyler who was looking at me.
“Well, that was something, right?” I said as I chuckled to myself making him narrow his eyes.
“You sure you don’t have a fiancé?” he asked.
I crossed my arms under my chest and punched his shoulder playfully as he started to laugh.
“Okay, okay geez. Don’t be so violent,” he said as he rubbed his shoulder.
Matt and the others were walking over to us with drinks in their hands. Matt gave me my drink while Troy gave Tyler his and walked away form the ferris wheel. We all agreed to return after lunch and just walk around and buy a couple of things from the sights.
The place looked beautiful. Kids were playing and running everywhere. Couples were walking as they held hands while some were making out. I smiled to myself. For once, I wasn’t being bothered by Tyler’s presence.
I suddenly felt thirsty but realized I had consumed my drink so I asked the rest to wait for me while I buy water. It was a really hot day, so I finished my drink in less than three minutes. As I walked over to a booth selling drinks and water, I noticed Tyler walking right behind me. I turned to look at him and lifted an eyebrow.
“What? I’m thirsty too,” he said while giving me a cheeky smile. I rolled my eyes and turned around. I then asked the person behind the booth for two bottles of water. I noticed Tyler taking out two dollars and it made nudge him on the shoulder.
“Don’t even think about it. I can pay for myself,” I said.
He was about to insist but I gave him a smile then reached over to my pocket to take out my wallet. I felt my heart drop when I felt nothing in my pocket. I could feel my face go pale as I searched frantically for my wallet. I turned around to look at the ground cursing in my head.
My wallet was gone! I knew it didn’t fall to the ground or else I would’ve felt it drop.
“Is there something wrong?”
“My wallet is gone.”
“What?”
“I mean, I can’t find it. It’s not in my pocket where I left it earlier,” I said as I felt my heartbeat quicken. I needed my wallet! It had all the money in it. Well, I didn’t put everything in it because that would be a stupid move. But I still needed them and every dollar would count.
“Okay, relax. Maybe you dropped it. Just retrace your steps and maybe you’ll find it.”
“No, no. If it dropped, I would have known!” I said as I wiped the sweat off my forehead.
“Then, how else could it have disappeared?”
“I don’t know, but it—It was stolen!”
I whispered to myself as I looked at the ground, just realizing what happened.
“What?” Tyler asked making me look up at him.
“It was stolen!”
“But how? And who? No one got near you to snatch it awa—”
“Unless . . . ”
“Unless it was stolen right between my hands.”
“That lady who hugged you . . . ”
“Stole it from me when I didn’t even notice.” I finished then ran my hand through my hair in frustration.
“That little thief!” I said under my breath.
Chapter 20
I stared at the cold moist wall as my butt felt numb from sitting down on the icy rock ground. I would get up countless times just to walk around the little space I’ve been given, and feel my butt again. I must have chosen the wrong day to wear a dress because it was freezing in here. I looked up at the ceiling and wondered why my life was so miserable. This day went completely downhill and I should have seen it coming, but this time it wasn’t because of a certain bully who would make sure to make every single second of my life a living hell.
I picked up the chalk from the ground and marked another tally. What on earth did I ever do to get into jail? I’m only eighteen, for Pete’s sake! What would my parents think if they were still alive? That their innocent little girl has been kicked into a small room with tally marks filling the place? I felt my stomach grumble as I made my sixtieth tally mark. Sixty days! That’s how long I’ve been here and every single day I’d feel myself getting worse. I haven’t eaten in ages and my friends didn’t come to visit me after what happened.
“I miss my home.”
I whined as I rested my head on the cold wall.
“Oh, relax! You’ve only been here for an hour,” Matt said, rolling his eyes from across the bars.
Okay, I might have exaggerated just a little bit.
“That’s sixty minutes! Every minute here feels like a whole darn day!” I said, as I put my hand on my stomach. “And I’m starving,” I said, as I fell to the ground.
I got up to pace around the small space. How long was Tyler g
oing to take? It felt like years in here, and I won’t be able to take it any longer. I just wanted to go home. Who knew this would ever going to happen to me? If you would have told me a couple of days ago that I will end up in jail, I would have laughed right in your face.
“Crystal! You’ve just had a chocolate bar for breakfast,” Matt said, as he crossed his arms under his chest.
“I know! I know! It’s just that I’m so bored and scared! What if they don’t let me go? What if I stay in jail for the rest of my life?” I asked dramatically.
“Why are you acting like you killed someone? It was just a little misunderstanding,” he said.
“And you’re not even in jail, you drama queen! You’re stuck in the security office at the back of the carnival.”
I ran my hand through my hair as a frustrated groan escaped my lips. I quickened my pace as I walked back and forth. I wanted to laugh at the situation but I realized this seemed like a great story to tell my kids in the future. Anyway, it seemed like this was the most exciting thing that has happened to me in my life.
“You’re supposed to be helping me through this and make me feel better, Matt! But instead, you’re acting like you were forced to babysit me,” I said, as I sent him a glare and watched his teasing smirk grow on his face.
“Actually, I was,” he said, while nodding his head.
“I could be hanging out with the hottest chicks right now, but you had to get your little ass into trouble and drag me into this,” he said, as he threw his hands in the air and spun around in the office chair he was sitting on. I then walked right up to him and punched his shoulders through the bars making him roll backwards.
“If these bars weren’t keeping me from tackling you to the ground, you’d be dead,” I said.
“I love you too, babe,” he said, as he got off the chair and pinched my cheek. I slapped it away and started to pace once again.
“Where are the others?” I asked.
“They’re taking too long! How could they leave me all alone here with you?” I asked in disbelief, as I wiped away a fake tear.
“God, you’re so dramatic!” I heard Matt mutter under his breath.
“And you know they went with Tyler to clear up the situation,” he said, as he sat back in the chair throwing a piece of gum in his mouth.