2.4 | Knight In Distress ✓

08 | damsel in impasse

0 8

d a m s e l   i n   i m p a s s e

Ean's words had thrown me completely off-balance. This - this was new. I'd been warned about the previous initiation and had had ample time to prepare Miles for it. But this time, no prior warning had been given.

And this time, it was a hazing round, not a simple pledging.

The next thing I knew, I was grabbing the cell from Ean and pressing it against my ear. My heart raced with trepidation, but the underlying current of desperation and fear I was feeling was blanketed by a thick layer of annoyance.

"You could've told me earlier," I snapped at Marcel, who was on the other end of the line, "Why didn't you call me?"

"Well, I tried. I couldn't get through your cell, and I was trying for the past ten minutes."

Reaching into the pocket of my shots, I dug out my cell and glanced at it. The screen was blank, and no matter how many times I pushed the on-button, it didn't flicker to life. No battery.

Should've known.

With a sigh, I stuffed my cell back into my pocket. My annoyance was now directed more at myself than at her. It was my fault, really. If I wanted the latest updates about the Hell Weeks, I should've had my cell charged and with me at all times.

Grabbing Ean's arm, I pulled him towards the direction of the main exit. Marcel was still on the other end of the line, and I said, "sorry, cell died. So what's happening?"

"I'm not sure at all. Liam didn't tell me much. All I know is that it's a classic middle school situation, and they have exactly one hour to get out of it. You better hurry, Darce, you don't have much time left."

An hour. We were now down by fifteen, heading back to the beach was going to take another twenty-five to thirty minutes only if the bus arrived punctually. It was like racing against time, and Marcel was right, there wasn't much time left.

"You should've called me earlier!"

"Liam didn't tell me until about ten minutes ago!" she snapped, sounding rather frustrated with the situation herself.

There wasn't going to be any use arguing, and I knew it. Marcel was incredibly snappy when she wanted to be and so was I when something aggravated me, so I simply thanked her and ended the call.

Ean's eyes were wide with curiosity as he stared at me, but I shook my head, urging him to continue walking. "Tell you along the way."

And I did. I found myself hyperactive on the bus ride back to the beach; I could hardly keep still, and my explanations to Ean were often interspersed with uneasy shifting and impatient foot-tapping. The bus ride seemed to take forever.

Eventually, we did get to the beach. Instead of heading for the shack, we headed straight past it, to the public bathrooms as Marcel had indicated earlier. There was the usual line leading into the female bathroom, but the male lavatory was strangely deserted.

I faltered in my steps, unsure of what to do next. Were the frat boys going to be inside the bathroom? And if so, what then? It wasn't like I could charge right in there and demand they let Miles go.

Ean nudged me. "You think he's in there?" he asked, jerking his head in the direction of the toilets.

Taking a deep breath, I tried to calm my racing heart. I - we - needed to keep a levelled head in this situation. "Could you check?"