There is way too much on my mind. My friends always find a way to make me smile and forget about it. That is exactly where I decide to go. I walk outside and close the door behind me. Wow, it’s colder than I thought, but I’m too lazy to walk back inside to get a jacket. I’m not old enough to drive yet, so I start fast walking down the sidewalk. Good thing she doesn’t live that far away from me.
I finally reach her door and walk inside. She never locks the door and we are really close so she doesn’t care if I let myself in. I close the door gently behind me. I walk around her house, looking for her. I hear her voice coming from her room. Who is here? Who is she talking to? I walk up to her door, about to open it, when I hear my name. She said it so quietly that if my ear wasn’t pressed against the door, I wouldn’t have heard it. Is she talking about me? I press my ear to the door even closer, if that was even possible. I think she is talking on the phone. I get little pieces of what she is saying.
“Yeah. Okay. I’ll get her out of bed in the middle of the night. Yes, I know where her key is. I’ll be as quiet as I can so she can’t hear me. I’ll bring her to your place. Okay, sounds like a plan.” What is my best friend up to? I don’t know what to think about that conversation. I never heard her sound so serious in her life. I think about what I just heard again. So, she is planning to take me out of bed while I’m sleeping. There is only one thing that crosses my mind. Is she going to kidnap me? This whole time I thought we were friends. I don’t know when she is planning to do this, but I am not safe here.
I hear her put down the phone and I realize I am still in her house. I got to get out of here! I run quietly to the door and let myself out. The cool air hits my skin and I shiver. This is not a time to be thinking about how cold I am. I sprint down the sidewalk, and barge in my house. It’s almost dark and the person I thought was my friend is coming to my house soon. I don’t really have any time to call my parents. I run to my room and grab the biggest bag I could find in my closet. I don’t think too much about what I am packing. I grab clothing and money and everything I need to survive for a few days on my own. I carry my big bag down the stairs and grab my keys. I close the door behind me and carefully walk to my mom’s car. I don’t want anyone to know where I am so they don’t give my position away. I know I’ve already said I was too young to drive, but this is an emergency. I turn on the car and carefully back out of the driveway. I don’t know how I am going to explain to my mom why I took her car and drove to a hotel. I push that to the back of my mind and begin my journey to the nearest hotel, driving as carefully as I can so my mom doesn’t question me about having scratches on her car.
I finally find a hotel after 30 minutes. I park the car as best as I can and get out. This hotel isn’t very fancy at all, but it will do for a few days. I make my way to the entrance. I see an older woman at the front desk and walk up to talk to her. I ask if there are any empty rooms and she says yes. She says I can only stay for two days and I said that was fine. She hands me a key for that room and I thank her. I find my room quickly and settle in.
I am just about to doze off when I remember I should probably call my mom so she doesn’t worry too much. I grab the phone hesitantly and dial her number. Thank goodness she doesn’t pick up. I’m a little hesitant about telling the truth of where I am. Should I lie? I think yes. I hear the beep in the phone, meaning I should start talking now. I tell her I am sleeping over a friend’s house and hang up. I decide to leave out the part about the car, hoping she won’t notice that it isn’t there when she gets home, although I know she will. I start dozing off again until I hear my phone ring. I answer it, thinking it is my mom calling back, but I hear a different voice and I recognize that voice. It is the same voice that used to be my best friend, who is plotting to kidnap me tonight. I already said hello so it’s too late to disguise my voice.
“Where are you? I’ve been looking everywhere for you!” My friend exclaims.
“Oh you know, I had business to take care of,” I replied. I left out the part about moving to a hotel because I was scared of her.
The next part took me by surprise. “I was going to throw a surprise party for you last night, but you weren’t in your bed.”
I feel like the stupidest person on earth. I should have known better. Of course my best friend wouldn’t kidnap me. I told her I was coming home and I hung up. I packed all my belongings and exited the hotel. I gave the person at the desk the key to the hotel and left. I started up my mom’s car and began the journey home, preparing to be bombarded by questions from my mom.