Come Alone p.4

      A few hours into the game, my phone buzzed. It was 11: 52 and Carly had sent me a text. ‘Time to go, bubs!’ it said. I got up from bed and turned off the entertainment machines and peeked out of my door. All the lights were off and everything was quiet.  Good.  I put on a thick hoodie, set the timer on my phone for the last few minutes till midnight and pocketed it. I opened my window and snuck out onto the roof, closed it, climbed onto a tree next to the house then landed safely onto the ground.

     I still had time to kill with the walk to the park, so I had time to think about what would happen tonight.  Carly and I have hung out on that hill to stargaze before dinner several times before. So coming at a time like this either meant Carly was going to show me a magic trick or we would probably just stargaze like losers who may or may not be attracted to each other.

     Even I’m not sure if I like her that way. She had told me several times that I’m the only one she trusts in this town. Really makes me wonder why I hold so much value to her to have earned her trust without even trying. 

     Turning round the corner, the grassy, wide open field of Le Ranger Park came into view. I stepped off the sidewalk and walked past the public baseball diamond. As I walked closer to the hill’s base, I saw a flash of yellow on the hilltop under the tree. I waved to the golden mop and it waved back. Yup, that’s her. 11:59 and just the jog up the hill was the last leg of the trip.

     “You’re on the dot, Nick! I’m impressed,” Carly called out.

    “I’ll be on the dot once I get to you in about twenty seconds! Look here, see,”  I pulled out my phone and looked at the timer. “Eighteen, seventee- ah shit! Ten, nine, eight,” I sprint up the hill, only halfway up to Carly’s spot under the apple tree.

      “Looks like you’re running late, Nicky!” said Carly, laughing at me.

     “No no, I ain’t making a liar outta me!” I shouted as I scrambled closer to the top. “Five, four, three, two…!” on two, I squatted down and took huge leap for the hilltop. “Oof! Ha ha, one! Beat the clock,” I said triumphantly, landing on my stomach as my phone’s timer buzzed and flashed zeroes.

     “Now, you’re on the dot,” Carly chuckles as she offers a hand to help me up.

     “Thanks, Carls. Oww,” I take Carly’s hand and pull myself up from the ground. I pated dirt off of my shirt and rub my sore belly. “So, what now? You gonna show me a new constellation on tonight’s stargazing session?”

     Carly gave a small chuckle. “Well, I don’t how to segue into the surprise after that noisy little stunt. I was hoping this meeting would be a little quieter. And by quieter meeting I mean quieter you,” she smirked as she flicked a finger on my forehead.

      “Ow, my forehead and my feelings, I guess,” I say as I rubbed away the stinging on my forehead. “Alright, so what now?”

      “Stargazing sounds good to me,” she said, sitting down on the hilltop’s edge, looking back expectantly at me with a smile.

      “Alrighty then,” I said as I sat down beside her. We gently flopped onto the grass and as stargazing requires, we aimed our lines of sight towards the night sky.