perfidiousness | a short story

1 | Valerie Johnson

Left, right. Left, right. I kept on thinking in my head, praying to all heavens that I wouldn't trip on my untied shoelaces. I heard the sirens growing louder and louder by the second like an annoying mosquito buzzing by your air on a hot summer night.

Left, right. Left, right. Keep on going Val you're almost at the end. I glance over to my right just for a moment only to be surprised by the absence of my friend, Tyler. Almost stopping in my tracks I turn around to find him on the dirty and cold cobblestone alleyway ground.

"Come on! We have to go!" I yelled to remind him that the cops are meters away from us. After finally regaining balance he continued running to catch up with me who was already inside.I heard Tyler slam the chipped wooden door shut and turn all kinds of knobs and such to prevent being found. He then went over to the other side of the small kitchen/living room to shut the raggedy worn-out floral printed drapes, leaving us with the only light source being emitted from the flickering ceiling lamp and my cracked iPhone 6 which was at 3%. I slid down the wall behind me until my backside hit the cold floor. I was panting like crazy and I felt how my thighs were twitching due to the intensive workout I got from running so much. Never have I ever run that fast in my entire life.

"Well, what now?" Ty spoke in between deep breaths whilst finally plopping down on the beat-up yellow couch with obnoxiously colored motifs on. My grandma did not have taste when it came to interior design.

"I don't know Ty, maybe we should just lay low until the situation defuses" I suggested.

"They know who we are, Val. It's not like we don't have a criminal record" Ty reminded.

"Yeah, I know but it's not like we set that fire. We didn't!" I said. It's weird, you would think we set that stupid house on fire because, of course, the neglected high school drop-outs Valerie and Tyler caused every crime in this stupid isolated town.

"Good luck explaining that to the cops, we were there at the crime scene and you were holding a bottle of vodka which is 40% alcohol" Ty explained whilst glancing down at the bottle of Smirnoff I was holding in my left hand. Tyler made a gesture with his hands resembling an explosion suggesting that the police thinks I used the alcohol to light the house on fire. However, that wasn't true. We were gonna drink it, not use it as lighter fuel!

"Somebody set us up" I quietly stated. Glancing over at Tyler to see a "duh" expression across his dark-skinned face. Ty has always been attractive, ever since we were kids all the girls would swoon over him. I can't count on my two hands how many weddings I attended in kindergarten. Why he chose to stick with somebody like me I will never understand. After calming down we both decided to call it a night and head to sleep.

-

Breakfast consisted of hardened bread with a dash of whatever juice we managed to get into our fridge. I had a job cleaning the local mall but ever since Ty and I started getting ourselves in trouble, keeping a job hasn't been a piece of cake, to say the least. Grateful isn't the word I would use to describe what I was currently feeling. I guess I haven't been a good Christian lately. I haven't gone to church in 3 years. The last time I went was with my parents who I haven't seen since they kicked me out for being arrested. I didn't cry, I just accepted it. Acceptive. Acceptive was better. I was ready to accept whatever came my way because at least it was something and it was tolerable most of the time, plus, I wasn't alone. I was feeling acceptive. Ty on the other hand seems to be adequate with our living situation but I can tell that he wishes it was better. He used to go to great lengths to achieve what he wants, since it is harder for him, being a man of African descent, even though his family were American citizens dating a long time back. He has always been ambitious and I admire that.

"So, I'm thinking we try to find out who would frame us" I suggested with a mouthful of expired food.

"Ew Val, close your mouth" he commented while throwing a rag toward my face.

"I don't think Jacob Miller likes us" Ty added.

"Yeah but is he capable of something like that?" I questioned.

"Nah, he is too busy talking with gold diggers on Valorant" Ty joked, which made me slightly giggle. Jacob Miller. The aggravating, snobby, 5"4 blondie who had been in the same class as Ty and me since the 2nd grade when he moved here from Ohio. If it wasn't for the constant ADHD symptoms, or that stupid little grin he puts on his face whenever someone besides him gets put through misery, you would think he is just a normal 16-year-old like the rest of us. No, scratch that. 12-year-old is way more fitting, since he is shorter than my little sister.

Norah is my 14-year-old little sister. She is the reason me and Ty haven't starved to death yet. Since my parents kicked me out 3 years ago she has been visiting me once a week to supply us with food to get us through the week, I have no idea how our parents haven't noticed yet.

Whilst contemplating who could be the great traitor who sent the cops after us I punched in a number on my seriously injured phone. Plopping down on the raggedy couch I placed the screen against my right ear and winced as the glass shard lightly scratched me. I hear a soft hello enter my ear. The voice belonged to Norah as I asked her if she could bring us our weekly food supply since we just ran out. My stomach makes a low rumbling noise emphasizing how starved I was while speaking leaving Ty slightly laughing.

After throwing the flat and dusty red cotton pillow I rested my head on towards Tyler I sigh feeling bad that Norah still has to be the one to parent me despite the age difference but still feel a sense of relief and gratefulness knowing that at least me and Ty will live to see another week. Hopefully, these weeks won't go on way too long because I too want a different life. A better life. One where maybe I never dropped out of school and I get to wake up to the sweet melodic tune of my mother's voice calling for breakfast.