Red Hot Night (Trick or Treat Collaboration)

She shakes her head vigorously and pulls out her lipstick from her makeup case on her bed. “Nope. It’s in the suburbs. We can have a great time with a lot less people to try and ruin it.”

Yep. I’m still not interested. “You can borrow my car. I don’t want to go.”

She spins around, leaning back on her dresser. “I don’t want your car. I have my own. In fact, I’m the one driving. I just don’t want to go alone.” She acts like she doesn’t have a ton of friends. Then again, she probably is fighting with half of them over something dumb. Damn it. Here comes the guilt trip. “What if something happens to me because I went alone?”

“Why not bring one of your many boyfriends?”

She shakes her head and rolls her eyes like I’m being foolish. “Because I’m going to see one of them, and he’s the hottest of them all.”

I check the time on my phone and realize I have to head out to class. “Can’t he just take you there?” I scoot off my bed and head into the closet to pull out my sweater.

“Um…no. He has to work.”

“Wait, does he work at the bar?” I ask, slipping my arms through the hoodie.

“Yes, but not really. His grandfather had a heart attack and he’s lending a hand. Please, please, please.”

I zip it up and then stare at her. She steeples her fingers, pressing them to her lips while her eyes plead. “Fine. Fine. I’ll go, but if you don’t mind, I have a class to get ready for.”

“Yay!” she squeals, hugging me until we fall down onto her bed. I push her off of me and stand up. “Sorry. I got too excited. I’m going to go get you a costume.” Shit. I forgot about that part. A Halloween party means costumes.

“What time do we have to leave by?” I ask.

“About six. I don’t want to catch traffic, but I don’t want to be there early and have to wait around all night until he’s done working.”

“Okay.” I continue getting ready for Bio, which starts in thirty minutes. It’s down the street, but I like to be early. I scoop up my textbook and shove it into my messenger bag and wave her off. Before the door closes, I grab it and tell her, “I don’t have a costume.”

“Don’t worry. I’ve got you there. I have the afternoon off. Time for me to spend my dad’s money.” She’s a trust-fund baby and relishes it. I smile and head to class, hoping she doesn’t pick out a terrible one.

I walk to class, considering everything she said about living. Even before the bank robbery, I hadn’t lived a life outside of my books. It’s not completely a bad thing, but my life was almost cut short.

The memory of those few minutes pops into my head. It happens every day and probably never go away.

I’m going through my list of duties as I start my shift at 1st National Bank when I hear someone demand the money. I look up, startled by a gun pointed directly in my face.

“Give me the fucking money, bitch,” he snarls. My hands shake as I try to open the drawer. The robber slams his fist on the counter. “Now.” I stare into his eyes and sense the evil behind them. The pale blues are vile, lifeless, cloudy with something, but one thing’s for certain—he’s dangerous.

My shaky hands surrender the money to him, but even with the money, he isn’t satisfied.

Before I can take cover, I hear the loud pop and then all else goes silent. My mind is hazy and my ears are ringing.

“Lena. Lena! Call for an ambulance,” someone spoke. They sound frantic, but it’s so low I doubt anyone can hear her.

“Hold on, please, Lena. The ambulance is coming. Hang in there.”

Suddenly, I feel the pain in my head. It’s sharp, burning.

***

“Earth to Lena. Hello, Earth to Lena.” Hearing my name shakes me out of the memory. I look over to see my classmate Merrick waving his hand in front of my face. He’s a freshman like me at the University of Illinois at Chicago and we always run into each other before class.

“Oh, hi. Sorry. How are you today?” I ask as we enter the science building. The halls are decorated for Halloween with the school skeletons dressed up in costumes and set up by each classroom. The one by ours

“Good. You look nice.” Our class is right by the main entrance, so we reach the classroom quickly and I don’t have to make a lot of small talk. It’s set up like auditorium seating, and I sit about two rows up, so I don’t look too eager while still being able to hear the instructor.

I look down at my navy blue zipped-up hoodie and my jeans. There’s nothing special about my outfit and it gives me a hint that he’s not interested in being friend zoned. I cock my brow up at him because I think he’s crazy, but whatever. “Thanks.” I take my seat, and he sits at the one behind me.