Complicated People, Complicated Love

Stuck

Lucas:

I sigh, lazily closing the front door, tossing my keys onto the foyer table. It's already past eight pm and I'm just getting home after a long day at the library. Everyone says libraries are supposed to be a good place to do homework because they're quiet. Well apparently they're too quiet because I fell asleep five minutes into my biology homework.

I get a soda from the fridge and gulp it down, ready to just chill on the couch. My parents are away on business. Again. So I have the whole place to myself. Sounds better than it is.

My phone buzzes and I groan as I pull it out of my pocket. It's Farkle. There's a picture attached. I have a feeling i know what it is. Yup. There's me, sitting up in a chair, my head rolled back to the ceiling, revealing my open mouth. Farkle is in the corner of the picture smiling with a thumbs up. I can make out the librarian not too far away, not looking happy. I laugh. So what if I didn't get any homework done? It's pretty funny.

Just as I put my phone in my pocket again it buzzes. I look at the ID picture attached. There's Maya, scowling at the camera, refusing to smile like I asked her to. The picture always gets me to smile. She's so stubborn. The message says "meet me at the subway stop by the highway, unless you're too chicken" I smile and shake my head. Can't have Maya thinking I'm a chicken, she'd spread it around school faster than wildfire. I chug my soda, and go. Without question. It's only eight after all.

. . .

"I was starting to think you weren't gonna show," Maya says as I stalk up to her, the sound of cars passing on the freeway pressing on my ear drums.

"I'm no chicken," I say with a cluck. She tries unsuccessfully to hide a laugh and I smile. Her blond hair is radiant in the dark night. Her face faintly yellow and red from the street lights and the passing cars. She's wearing all black and is standing next to a ladder that stretches up fifteen feet to a billboard.

"What're you doing?" I ask pointing to the ladder. I don't like where this is going.

"You mean what're we doing," she says tossing me something. I catch it reflexively and try to read what it says in the darkness. It's spray paint.

"I'm confused," I admit.

"See up there?" She points to the billboard, "That stupid ass sign is saying that Einstein Academy is being given a pool and another football field, adding to their baseball field, lacrosse field, and soccer field. Seems a little unfair with our school only having a dirt patch for PE."

"What will this do?" I ask tossing her the spray paint back. Someone has to try to steer her right.

"It will give us the satisfaction of knowing we made Einstein Academy look like idiots," Maya turns towards the ladder and takes a step onto it. She turns towards me. "You comin?" I know I should say no, but I reeeeeaaaly want to, and plus, I know I can't stop her. She's two rungs up on the ladder, looking at me with a taunting smile.

She seems more rebellious than usual today, if that's possible. So I follow her up the ladder.

There's a tree between this side of the billboard and the highway, making it hard to see the bottom parts of the signs they put up, which is good for us, it makes us almost invisible.

I take the final step onto the platform at the thin base of the billboard, it's sturdier than I thought it would be, thank god. Maya hands me the spray paint again and shakes one of her own. The lights on top of the sign make it easy to see the picture of five Einstein students smiling and hugging. The perfect targets.

. . .

After drawing the most mustaches I could, I called it quits. "You satisfied?" I ask, getting ready to go down the ladder. I stop dead looking down. Woah, that's a far way down. How had I not thought of this earlier? I feel panic growing in my chest. Fantastic.

"I am actually," Maya smiles at me. I try to smile back but I don't think my face is too convincing when my brain has started to go haywire. I try to move my feet away from the edge, but my left foot is shaking. I feel it hit something and then I hear rustling. Oh no.

The ladder is now standing five feet away resting on the tree, way out of arms reach.

"Dude!" Maya yells. She walks over to the edge and stares. And then looks at me with her mouth open, ready to yell. I crawl over to the billboard and press my back against it trying not to hyperventilate. Maya looks at me and then down and her face actually softens a bit, but that sympathy is quickly masked.

"We're stuck!" I yell. Trying to find anything to hold on to.

"Shhhh!" Maya scampers over to me, sliding to her knees. She looks around as if to see if anyone heard. Even though we're basically in the sky! "We aren't stuck, I have an idea," I sigh, clocking my eyes and nodding. My hands shaking as I try to find a grip. "Give me your pants."

I snap out of my haze for a second. "Huh!?" She rolls her eyes.

"Give me your pants. And a shoe," I shakily stand up, her arm extends slightly, as if to help, but she instantly pulls it back to her side, turning her face away. I'm too freaked out to question her, as long as this is gonna get us down I'll do anything. I slowly take off my pants as Maya keeps her eyes averted. And then there goes my shoe. Maya holds out her hand behind her back. I put my pants and shoe in her hand and sit back down, still panicking. I pull my knees up to my stomach.

Two minutes later, she's tied my shoe to the bottom of one of my pant legs and is holding the bottom of the other. "Watch this," she says, still not looking at me. She swings the pants back and forth, throwing it wide. My shoe wraps around the top rung of the ladder easily. I let out a hysterical relieved laugh, and Maya cheers once she pulls it back against the billboard.

"You first," she says putting out her arm and finally daring a look at my pants-less self. She snorts. "Are those cowboy boxers?" She won't stop laughing as I shakily get up. Surprisingly, her her laugh seems to be helping. "Now I have a whole new reason to call you cowboy!" I groan as I take a step towards her.

"Great," I say as she laughs. I climb down the steps as she holds the top, quickly followed by Maya. I'm on the ground in seconds and fall to the earth with my arms outstretched.

"Dork," Maya says and lightly kicks me in the side. "I won't tell anyone about how you acted like a six year old girl up there, but only because you helped me. Don't piss me off or I have something to get you back with now."

"Fair enough," I respond. Maya tosses me my pants, looking away again.

Still on unsteady legs, I rise just enough to quickly dress and then lay back down. Maya sighs but sits down next to me while I try to remind myself I'm safe.

     "You okay?" Maya asks. Her tone sounds sincere but when I turn my head to look at her she's staring at the trees behind me, a stern look on her face. Headlights passing illuminate her face, making it look softer for a second.

      I nod, forcing myself to stand and make my way towards the street, calling behind me, "Come on slacker, we have school tomorrow." She lets me get away with blaming her for us being out late even though it was clearly my almost panic attacks fault. That just proves my theory that Maya Hart has a heart.

      She grumbles as she makes her way to my side and I smile.