Lina woke with a start. “What? What time is it?”
“Shh. My parents will be up in a half-hour. You gotta’ go.” Jackie half-whispered.
Lina blinked a few times, as if clearing her vision. Some quick recollections of their night went by: sneaking in from the back porch, some hugs and frozen cookie dough, and chit-chat about the new movies that were coming out. They had totally avoided conversation that had to do with Lina’s parents, she had realized as she was sipping peach tea right before falling asleep.
She looked around at Jackie’s room frantically, at the poster-covered wall, and tie-dye beanbag chair, then at the green army-patterned sleeping bag she was laying in.
And now she was here.
“Alright, just help me up.” Lina said groggily.
Jackie took her by the hands and hoisted her to her feet with a slight grunt.
Lina sighed. “Let’s go.”
Jackie opened her door and peered down the hallway before waving her hand as an “ok” signal.
They both knew the routine well: Jackie goes first while they tiptoe down the carpeted stairs (but be careful of the creaky landing,) and glide stealthily through the kitchen to the back door. The door was already unlocked from the inside, so all they had to do was open it and they were suddenly on the cedar finished porch. Be careful of the rocking chair on the left, and don’t step on the marigolds on your way out.

Once all that was well and done, Lina and Jackie walked through the lawn, listening to the swish-swish-swish of their bare feet on the grass. They were used to being barefoot, especially since the soft grass always promised cool morning dew. The air was chilly, and nipped at Lina’s ears and nose. It was slightly foggy, and the clouds were a fine, unnoticeable mist above them. Lina guessed it must be about 6:30 in the morning.

When they reached the sidewalk, a few lonely pieces of gravel stuck to their moistened feet, but they didn’t mind. Not a word was spoken. Their slow saunter down the street was accompanied by the short chirps and twitters from various morning birds. Somewhere in the trees nearby, a whip-poor-will’s famous “poor will, poor will,” could be heard above the rest.
Lina took a cool, deep breath of fresh air to clear her head, exhaling a small puff of condensation.
“You ok?” Jackie broke the cone of silence between them, glancing slightly at Lina.
“Yeah. Fine.”
They kept walking in absolute silence for a few more minutes, in pajamas and un-brushed hair. The black pavement was just one, long, barren stretch before them, until they turned the corner, walked a little ways, and stood in front of Lina’s house.
“Well, here we are.” Jackie announced.
She gave Lina a long hug and took her by the shoulders.
“See ya’ at school, ‘k?” She smirked slightly, but her eyes held the weight of concern.
Lina smiled. “Yeah. See ya’.”
They departed, and Lina walked up to her window slowly, rustling through the small bushes. It opened easily, with a bit of a squeak. The screen was already open, so Lina just slid in and slumped down to the hardwood floor. She hugged herself. It was so cold…… She shut the window gingerly.
“Honey? Is that you?”
Lina froze, her heart hammering.
“Y-yeah, mom?”
“Alright, just checking.”
A coffee cup clinked as it was taken out of the shelf. Lina’s chest loosened, and she breathed.

She had never thought of the consequences of getting caught. Well, she had, but not for very long. The first time she snuck out was so scary, so long….
Sneaking in and out of the house was a big task then. Lina had often pictured herself when her parents caught her, and it looked almost tragic. How would she explain…..?

Her alarm clock beeped loudly on its stand on her dresser, blinking 7:00. She reached out and shut it off. She brushed her hand through her hair, and headed to the bathroom for a quick shower.
And then it’s time for school.

***************


Jackie pinched Lina’s shoulder.
“Hey. Stop staring off into space.” She warned.
Lina blinked. “Oh. Yeah. Sorry.”
“Hey, are you alright? You seem kind of sad.” Kelly asked.
She smiled. “I’m fine.”
“Were you looking at Kevin?” Jackie raised her eyebrows.
“Kevin? Um……..” Lina hesitated, and then looked back at him.
His short, light brown hair accompanied his skin tone nicely. Even from a distance, she could see his cute green eyes and wide, friendly smile.
Of course she was looking at him.
“Oh, come on, she can look at whoever she wants.” said Kelly with a petite laugh.
Her brown hair hung at her shoulders, framing her heart shaped face. Her round cheeks made her smile look wide, and nose small. But Kelly’s eyes were always wide and brown, as if begging you to like her.

“Remind me why I sit at a lunch table full of girls…..” Leroy commented between bites of tofu hotdog. “All you talk about is boys, boys, boys…..”
“Oh, well excuse us. Would you rather talk about girls, and football, and monster trucks, and wrestling…?” Lina said, and chuckled.
He smirked, his skinny nose raising ever so slightly. “That’s so sexist of you.”
Jackie laughed. “No it’s not.” She bit into her pizza.
Leroy dropped the argument, shaking his head. His thin, black-framed glasses shone under the lights of the cafeteria for a second.
Lina took a swig of water, and stopped focusing on Kevin for a moment.
He would never really like me…… She thought.
Lina concentrated her thoughts instead on her parents. This morning they acted as if nothing had even happened. Totally ignoring each other, but still not fighting at least……
Lina felt like discussing this with Jackie, but it was an unwritten rule that they never spoke of it in school. It was just one of those things that never felt necessary to make public. Only Jackie really knew.

The news about Kevin, however, was known to almost all of Lina’s friends, mainly Leroy, Jackie, and Kelly.

Kelly, although a bit on the shy side, was always fun to talk to, especially about boys. But that was all they really talked about. That, and maybe grades. They had a lot of classes together, but weren’t as close as Lina and Leroy.

Leroy was a funny guy. He appreciated a good laugh, and was interested in history and politics. Normally this would be boring, but not with Leroy. He would always find a way to make things fun and at the same time educational. He was a vegetarian, which Lina thought interesting, considering she herself couldn’t go a week without meat.
Jackie and Leroy had been fairly good friends since they were little. All three of them banded together when they were younger, becoming their own little group of friends. And, as it turns out, Leroy also loved Rainbow Pops.

Lina was glad she had at least two or three close friends, although Jackie was the one who she felt she could really trust.