"They just froze in fear. And that's when I told Roger and Dalton we should not give up and keep running," I say to a group of freshmen who are hanging by every word I'm saying to them.
I get so immersed in my story that I don't see Roger approaching us. He grabs me by my hand and takes me away from my newfound fans.
Once we are away from everyone's eyes he says, "Why am I hearing that you were the one who kept me and Dalton from getting caught until the end?" I shrug. I may or may not have altered some events in the narration to make me look good, but the ending is always the same: I win!
Roger says, "You were going to give up the second you saw my dad and the Beta. It was Dalton who helped you up."
"So what?" I say. "Irrespective of the details, I am the winner and you're the loser."
"Loser, huh?" he says and keeps stepping towards me till my back is against the wall. "You sure about that?" he asks with a smirk.
What I'm about to do next is totally his fault. He provoked me. I leave the wall, take a step forward and kiss him.
Then I quickly leave a very surprised Roger still standing there. It was too tempting not to do for me.
I pry open the rusty hood of the car. It looks much better inside. I take out my phone and start taking photos. My dad is currently restoring an old car of my grandfather's. He's always on the lookout for new parts. I don't know much about cars but whenever I hear about or come across old unused cars, I take photos of them and show to my dad. If the parts look like they are still in good condition, when he has the time he'll inspect the car himself and salvage them.
I learned about this car from a classmate. The car is inside an abandoned garage across an old motel near the border of the packland.
Feeling I've taken enough photos I pocket my phone and leave the garage. As soon as I do, I see Dalton. He sees me, too. "Jean," he says, surprised. "What are you doing here?"
"There's an old car inside this garage. Came to take a look at it for dad. What are you doing here?"
"Nothing. I just had some work nearby."
"Are you going back home? Did you bring your car?"
"Yeah. I'll drop you home."
I smile. I didn't even ask him for a lift. He knew the only reason I would care if he was heading back home or not is because I wanted a lift. While we walk towards his car my shoelaces come undone around the corner. I squat down on my knee to tie it. That's when I hear a female voice. "Dalton, you forgot your wallet."
I get up and look back. The woman notices me and looks shocked. She gets nervous. Dalton says to her, "Oh, yeah, thanks," he says getting his wallet from her. Then he turns to me. "Jean, this is–"
"I know who this is," I say to him.
She's the mate of a senior researcher, James, working for my dad. I've met him multiple times and seen her one time during a company dinner. She awkwardly smiles at me and says, "I've to go back," and leaves quickly.
I turn to Dalton with my mouth open. It doesn't take long for me to put the two and two together. Dalton, that woman, a motel nearby, his wallet.
"You're sleeping with a mated woman?!" I say.
"It's not like that. You got it wr–"
"Don't patronize me," I say quickly.
"Okay, fine," he says. "Matilda and I have been seeing each other for a while. Now that you know can we leave?" I shake my head and go to his car.
