21 Things To Do While Stuck in a Walk-In Closet

(2) X Marks the Spot

Nathaniel Magno

CHAPTER 2 X Marks the Spot

Connor was never all that smart. I mean, he’s still my best friend and all, but he’s not very smart. First he told me: “Come to the party with us, bro! It’ll be dope; we’ll meet girls, we’ll get drunk, we’ll have a good time, and you’ll forget aaall about-… Wait, I’m sorry, what were you upset about again? Aw, who cares? We’ll get drunk.”

And not five minutes later, he’d asked: “Hey, so, will you, like, be the designated driver?”

Sometimes I wondered if he put Jack Daniels in his morning coffee or something.

Anyways…what was I saying? Oh, yeah: Connor’s not all that smart. And now I was trapped in the popular girl’s closet. I hadn’t seen this many shoes since I bought sneakers at Payless. Non-brand-name sneakers, of course. Guys who bought brand-name just seemed like they were trying to show off.

I watched as Allie tentatively picked a magazine out of one of the drawers the pink table held. She opened the publication and started to look through it with what was either suspicion…or just plain ol’ curiosity. I dunno. It was hard to tell with her. All I knew was that she had her brow furrowed, and it was kinda cute.

She was interesting. She was funny too. Although maybe she was like Connor, who didn’t always try to be funny, but I always found funny anyway. Nice eyes though, like a grayish green and piercing and kinda almost sexy… Like Angelina Jolie, except younger, and with thinner lips and…not Angelina Jolie.

Oh! Allie! Not Connor. Connor’s eyes were more like… Actually, I’d never really paid attention to Connor’s eyes. They were probably super dreamy though... Connor's goofball expression popped into my head. Eyes crossed, tongue lolling out, nose scrunched up. Oh yeah, super dreamy.

I chuckled at my own oddball thoughts, causing Allie to look up from the magazine and glance at me in faint confusion. I smiled at her. She paused, and then went back to the magazine, tilting her head. Yup, she was an interesting one alright.

I picked up my crumpled can of Pepsi and walked over to the laundry chute, which I was going to use as a trash chute until we got out of here. I dropped my can down the chute and turned around to watch Allie again. She had a yellow stain on her white button-up that looked kinda recent.

“Your shirt looks wet.” I commented, resting my head against the wall, trying to make conversation.

“It is,” Allie stated briefly, flipping the page.

“Doesn’t it bother you?” I asked her. It’d probably bother me, if I was wearing it.

“I’m trying not to think about it.” Allie told me, her eyes not veering away from the page.

“Uh-huh,” I slid my hands into my pockets.

Her answers were short, and it was never her that started a conversation between us. She pulled off this “strong and silent” type of act, but I knew from her outburst earlier that that was just, like, her default mode, or something. If you’re allowed to say a person has a “default mode,” that is. I figured she just needed a bit of a push, and then she would feel more at ease to talk to me.

But for now, she remained a little tense.

Keep trying to talk to her, Nate. She’ll loosen up eventually. “I like your braid.” I told her. It was lame, I know, but it was the first thing that came to my head.

Allie paused for a second, although her eyes never left the magazine. It was hard to read her expression, so I kept going:

“It’s very ‘Girl on Fire’.” I said, again, just trying to start a simple conversation with this girl.