"Why do you look like that?" Kaia is immediately cynical. Sat in the passenger's seat, she takes her feet off the dashboard to look at me.
"Look like what?" I shove my hands deep into my pockets and attempt to wipe the smile off of my face. Standing up, Kaia leans over the open roof of the Ferrari, her eyes searching for a clue. Clutching the theme park tickets in my pocket, the smile inches back on my face.
"Like that!" Kaia explains, exasperated. "Like you're trying not to laugh!"
"Just... happy." I raise my hands in surrender.
"Cool, cool, cool. Good to hear." She folds her arms and looks at me with pursed lips.
"Are you okay?"
"Here I was worrying about getting arrested because you refused to throw away the painting and now it's in the backseat. Which would be totally fine except you broke the car that we were supposed to be escaping in and it's the Ferris Bueller car, no less. So, not only are we probably going to jail but you ruined the car from my favourite movie. And the real cherry on the cake is that you didn't even bring any doughnuts!"
Damn. I guess she really wanted those doughnuts. I realise I haven't eaten since a breakfast bar this morning and my stomach grumbles. Dumbstruck by her outburst, I gape at Kaia.
"You've seen Ferris Bueller?"
Before you yell at me, yeah, that is the reply I decided to go with. Kaia was throwing a lot of words at me and her mention of the best movie of all time was the bit I decided to focus on, mainly because the rest of the rant was targeted at me.
I can't believe it's her favourite movie. I've been trying to convince Mason it's better than The Breakfast Club for years but he's had none of it. I feel bad, my thoughts turning to Mason. I'll be missing Monday Movie Night with Mason 'n' Elijah tomorrow because of this whole fiasco. This would be the first time in 2 years that we'd miss our tradition of watching a horror movie, followed by some dumb Chick Flick. We were planning to watch Halloween and Princess Diaries 2 (no judgement please: it's a great movie).
"Yeah, I've seen Ferris Bueller." Is there anything this girl doesn't do right? Even her taste in movies is impeccable.
"So you know how the movie is called Ferris Bueller's Day Off? How about we take today off?"
Kaia groans in resignation. She glances at the smoking car and back at me.
"Do I have a choice?"
... ... ...
Update: I found the one thing that Kaia's not good at. Admittedly, I'm a tad concerned. I don't know whether it's the sweating or the fact that she's shaking like a leaf, but I'm getting the idea that she's scared.
"Maybe we shouldn't go?" I suggest, growingly alarmed by her increasing shortness of breath. We're getting close to the front of the queue and for the first time I'm feeling an emotion I can't quite get my finger on... regret?
"Why wouldn't we go? I'm fine," She replies. I would maybe believe her if her face wasn't a shade of green that reminds me of a swamp (sorry Kaia).
"No, erm, I'm actually scared." Honestly, I'm feeling pretty relaxed but I don't see her backing out otherwise. She faces straight ahead with no recognition on her face that she even heard me speak.
The queue shuffles forwards, the family in front of us stopping just short of the 'you must be this height to ride' sign. Kaia seems to shrink into herself as if she might be able to lose a couple of inches if she tries hard enough. The abnormally tall child just ahead is hopping from foot to foot in excitement.
YOU ARE READING
Elijah's Guide to Not Becoming a Criminal
Teen Fiction❝I'm Elijah. At 17, I became the world's most wanted criminal. And this is how you don't do the same. ❞ Elijah's week starts out like any other. He paints. He goes to school. He hangs out with his best friend, Mason. And repeat. But then Kaia Newt...
