Addie looks down at her watch to see the time jump from 11:59 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Lunch time arrives and the clouds begin to clear the sky. The remaining raindrops race each other to the bottom of the glass window as I trace the fastest one with my finger. I brush my forearm against my forehead, in an attempt to dry the sticky dewdrops off my skin. The scorching July sun seeps through the sheer white curtains and floods the living room, casting long slim shadows onto the strand woven bamboo floors. Sarah, Addie and I all wrap our arms around Mrs. Z, who puckers her lips together and give Addie and Sarah a grandmother-like kiss. Flip-flops on the pavement are the same as walking barefoot; I wiggle my toes ever so slightly as small blisters form at the soles of my feet. I squeeze my lips tightly and frown slightly as I embrace the fiery sensation of summer, while scissoring my legs down the sidewalk as quickly as possible. We walk a little faster towards our bikes, which lie on the bright green grass. I tug at my bike, swing my right leg over the rusty red metal and take a seat. Our feet push hard on the pedals as the wheels turn and bump forcefully over the chunky pebbles. We must have been biking for around five minutes when suddenly we hear metal clanking. My eyes widen at the scare and my clammy hands lose grip of the handles as the wheels screech a bit at the zigzag pattern my biking had turned into. I push my eyebrows down and bring my eyelids together to see Pierre a few feet ahead. His hands are gripping the top of the metal fence tightly as he attempts to pivot his body and throw his legs down towards the steaming gravel. He jumps eight feet down to the sidewalk and as he squats his landing, Pierre’s agitated eyes become threatening. My heart skips a beat. Pierre freezes for a moment until he resumes his running away from our old bikes and towards a secluded path hidden by rows of tall trees lining the pebble driveway that leads to the beach. Along with the crashing waves, Pierre’s rubber soles pound the pebbles. Soon enough his navy blue converse sneakers seem to disappear along with the rest of him. As our eyes jump around, my friends and I look up, sideways, and downwards. Anywhere but at each other. Our feet move in circles as quickly as possible. The pedals begin to spin tumultuously and the bike chains rattle with a squeaking noise. The only noise that is heard until the loud thunder of the garage door enclosing the bikes, which we jerk off our feet swiftly. Sarah kicks off her flip-flops and Addie washes her hands. I help the parents set up the table for lunch, carefully placing the knife on the right and the fork on the left of the intricately decorated white ceramic plate. As the parents talk avidly, the girls and I poke at the seafood and munch on the warm garlic bread in silence, as our eyes jump around. I excuse myself from the table timidly and am followed by Sarah and by Addie, who locks the bedroom door behind her. I carefully fold the freshly washed clothes that lie on my bed, while Sarah stretches the covers, and Addie plays the game “Flappy Bird” on her phone. Her fingers pounding the screen and her wrist twisting, Addie clears her throat.
“We can’t tell”, she mumbles as she stares into the bright screen of her iPad. Sarah’s eyes redden and she sniffles a bit before continuing: “What if he did something wrong? What
if he does something to us?”. Addie twirls her hair with her index finger and her thumb, while clenching her teeth together. “But what if he didn’t do anything wrong and he was just playing a game or maybe he was running because he was in a rush!”. I wrap my fingers one around the other and intertwine them tightly as they slip from each other. My head pounds frantically with confusion. Finally, I blurt out the words Sarah and Addie wanted to hear the least: “We have to tell our parents what happened”. Addie suddenly sits up on her bed, kicking her feet back and forth, as they dangle off the side. “Easy for you to say! You’ve only known him a few weeks! Sarah and I have known him our whole lives!”. I hold my head in between my knees and wrap my arms around myself. “I’m sorry but by telling our parents we might be helping Pierre from getting in trouble in the future! It’s what’s best for us and for him”. I forced out these words quietly with a warm look towards Sarah and Addie. I grab their hands and we walk towards the hallway. I give their hands a tight squeeze and pull them towards the sunroom where our parents have worrisome expressions on their faces.