Meant to Be (The Saving Angels 1)

Finally, the last bell of the day rang; Sam and I exchanged a look of relief. The stares had sapped all the cheerfulness out of Sam’s normal demeanor.

“I feel like I’ve been in a fish bowl the whole day,” she said, sounding annoyed.

I agreed with her. I hoped that this new popularity would wear off soon. I didn’t know how many more days I could put up with all the attention and mocking glances.

Mark and Shawn were waiting for us on the front stairs. Their day hadn’t gone the way they had planned either. They had lost track of time at the Boardwalk.

“So, we didn’t get any research done,” Mark explained to us apologetically.

“How did you lose track of time at the Boardwalk?” I asked curious.

They looked sheepish. “Um, you lose track of time when you go into the arcade and blow through fifty bucks worth of change,” Shawn muttered.

“Oh, so you get to go play games all day while were in school?” Sam said in mock anger.

They stumbled over themselves to come up with excuses. “We would have left sooner, but Shawn kept challenging me to rematches of Galaga,” Mark said, trying to defend himself.

We burst out laughing. “I was just kidding,” Sam said. “We don’t expect you to be working all the time.”

“What a way to sell me out though,” Shawn said, throwing a fake punch at Mark.

So the day wasn’t a complete loss, we decided to scrap our plans of heading back to the Boardwalk and go to my house instead to surf the web.

My mom came out of her studio as we all stampeded into the house.

“Is it okay if we do some research up in my sitting room?” I asked.

“Sure, I’m finishing up my project. Why don’t you guy’s grab a snack and I’ll grab a couple buckets of chicken later for dinner. I’m assuming all of you want to eat dinner together?”

“That would be great,” we all seemed to say in unison.

“But I can go get it,” Mark volunteered.

“That’s okay. I have a couple of other errands to run anyway,” she said as she headed back to her studio.

Mark and I grabbed chips and salsa while Sam and Shawn grabbed sodas for everyone. I snagged a handful of wrapped chocolates out of the dish on the counter on our way out of the kitchen. Mark smiled when he saw me pocketing the candies.

I shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t get my candy fix at school anymore. I have to take the chocolate where I can get it,” I said.

We spent the afternoon searching the web. It was tedious work to go from one site to the next. Without knowing where the last two kids had been abandoned, it was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

The afternoon slipped away and soon my mom called up the stairs to tell us that she was on her way out. We continued to search for a while longer and I soon got sick of following endless rabbit trails that led to nothing. I switched off the computer feeling a little frustrated.

I stood up and turned on the stereo. I cranked the volume up when I heard the new Katy Perry song playing.

Mark pulled me to my feet and took me in his arms. You couldn’t call what we were doing dancing, but more like swaying to the music. Whatever it was, it was enough for me. I loved every moment that I was in his arms. I knew that it was important that we find the others, but at times I wished we could be like any other ordinary couple. I rested my head on his shoulder as we danced to the music.

I forgot and lost all meaning of time until my phone rang.

I looked at my watch as I searched for the phone. My mom had been gone a long time, where was she? I found the phone under the Lazy Boy. It stopped ringing by the time I reached it. I checked the caller ID and saw a number I didn’t recognize. I punched the number in and waited for someone to pick up on the other end.

“Memorial Hospital how can I direct your call?” A chipper voice asked.

I felt a sinking feeling “I’m not sure, I just missed a call from this number.”

“Do you know anyone who may be at the hospital?” the voice asked.

Had something happened to my mom? “Um, can you look up the name Cindy Miller?” I asked as my heart sank.