Desperate Escape

Chapter Thirteen: Kid 'n Play

It's midnight and the party hasn't died down once. If anything, they cranked the stereo up to a thousand.

Tyler is dancing with one of his friends to this song called Ain't My Type of Hype, surrounded by a crowd of guys and girls bouncing to the beat while cheering them on.

I see feet shuffling and hands clapping before rushing into a series of sideways elbow thrusts. There's also this move they call the windshield wiper which is like the sprinkler but in a circular motion.

Tyler took off his jacket and tossed it to me a while ago, showing off his sweat-soaked t-shirt and thin frame.

My eyes are starting to burn from staring without blinking. I'm not blinking because I know I'll get more tired and possibly fall asleep.

I squeeze my eyelids shut and take deep breaths in—one, two, three—and out—one, two, three. With my eyes shut, I feel like I'm in a bathtub full of water. I'm lying on the tub's floor, staring at the ceiling light swaying against the tides.

Then I open them and I'm thrown back into a place that I don't want to be.

"Regina," I call for my sister, but she doesn't hear me. Tommy is dancing beside her and he has her full attention.

"Trey, hit the Kid 'n Play," Tyler spoke over the music.

When I look at Tyler, he and his friend are kicking shoes. They'll hop backward, hop forwards to kick shoes, hop backward again, then hook hands when they approach each other and lock shoes.

Now all eyes are on them, but I'm not cheering or smiling.

I look around the room, they're all bouncing to the rhythm including Regina and Tommy. He has his arm around her waist and his hat covering his cornrows.

There are people of all shades and sizes, but even though Regina is probably the youngest high schooler, she fits in better than most would expect. She looks her age at home—even with the toned legs and shoulder blades—but here, she's dressed and acting like her senior friends.

I can't see anyone remotely close to my age.

Khadijah glances at me with a grin that turns into a confused expression when she does a double-take. My shoulders are slumped forward and I'm practically melted into the soft cushions.

She follows my eyes to Regina, then we look at each other again. She must've taken that as me saying I want her attention, because she calls for her, "Regina?" Tommy is slowly spinning her in front of him and staring at her figure like she's a tiny ballerina doll. "Gina!"

They stop dancing to turn to her, and she even catches Raven's attention. Khadijah gestures toward me with her head until Regina looks at me.

Her shoulders and chest are rising and falling fast. Out of everyone, she and Tommy have been consistently moving quicker and harder than their friends.

She walks towards me with her Styrofoam cup in one hand and her hip in the other.

"Squeak, what's wrong?" I shrug, then drop my gaze to Tyler's jacket on my lap. She takes a deep breath and sits beside me. She's leaning forward with her elbows on her knees and staring me in the face. "You gonna be real with me or do I gotta figure this shit out myself? If it's the latter, I will get my ass back on the dance floor right now."

I look to my left without raising my head and notice her exposed stomach. Her skin is so sweaty that I think one of the reasons she doesn't want to recline is because she'll stain his mom's couch.

"I wanna go home." I look at her face right when she furrows her eyebrows. She glances left, right, then back to me and shakes her head like she's asking why, so I say, "I'm the only middle schooler here. This sucks; I wanna go home."