1.16 Kidnapped

"Dina?" David asks softly, rousing me from sleep. I feel his hand gently touch my cheek and I lean into it. He caresses my nose and my lips, coaxing the drowsiness out of me."Hey. We're here."

"Aaagh!" I scramble out of my bed, almost falling painfully to the floor. Damn it. Of all the things that I can dream about, it had to be about David. I wipe the dirt from my eyes and stretched my sore muscles. I need to prepare for school. But before that, I need to do my early morning check of the mail, too. It's hard doing it everyday. I have to sneak past Arnold, who has a clear view of the door from the breakfast table. Thank God my Mom doesn't eat early in the morning, she has eyes as sharp as a hawk.

I manage to make it out of the door without Arnold noticing me. As usual, I had trouble opening the massive gate in front of our house, so it takes me a while to get to the mail. My hands shake as I open the metal box. No letters. I sigh in disappointment. None from Koko or Maisie. None from Uncle Fern, who goes by Joe Roberts now, my 17-year-old pen pal from California. At least that's what I told my Mom when she started prying on my letters before.

"See? She checks the mailbox. I didn't even know people still had a mailbox." I start at the sound of a voice behind me. My initial surprise turns to a scowl as I spot the people behind me.

"Dina, good morning!" Ari greets me brightly. She's dressed ridiculously in a yellow dress and a giant red ribbon on her head. The two guys behind her, Brad and Kier, are dressed in the same colors as her, with their yellow polo shirts and brown suspenders in red pants. Kier somehow makes it work, not that I'd expect otherwise. Brad, on the other hand, looks like a reformed goth kid who forgot to remove his eyeliner on his way to the other side.

"What the hell am I seeing?" I ask them in confusion. I expect this explosion of colors from Boi but never from this bunch.

"Something that's completely your fault." Brad sulks, shooting me a dark glare.

"Dave's punishing us for the whole handcuff thing." Ari clarifies, adjusting the ribbon on her head.

"If you ask me, he should be thanking us," Kier says, looking annoyed. He pulls at his suspenders. "This is way uncool."

"Shut up, Kier," Ari tells him as she makes her way over to me. She grasps my shoulders tightly, bringing her head closer to mine. "You're not still mad at me, are you?"

"I'm not mad, Ari." I give in, even though I am a bit disappointed at her for helping Brad and Kier mess with me. "Wh--what are you guys doing here? And why are you not in uniform?" I cough. Strands of her red hair get into my mouth and the perfume she's wearing is killing my nose. Ari finally releases me.

"It's Hector Park High's Foundation Week. But you would know that if you went to orientation." Brad replies, pointing a black-painted nail at me.

"There's going to be rollercoasters!" Ari announces in princess-like excitement.

"In school?" I ask, flabbergasted.

Ari cackles. "If you say so, silly," she tells me, linking my arm around hers. She steers me towards our house. "Now, why don't you get dressed? We need to be there by eight."

Panicked, I block Ari's way to the gate. "You can't get in."

"What? Why?" Ari asks, blinking.

"Um...my parents...they're not up yet." I fib. My Mom and Arnold still think David is my boyfriend because my stupid ass didn't tell them the truth yet.

"Oh, we know about the little lie you and David told your parents," Ari says, matter-of-fact.

I gawk at her. "Y-you guys know?"

"Of course." Brad snorts gleefully. "Can I just say? Good luck."

"True. It's going to be a disaster. Just you wait." Kier agrees. I look at Ari. Her gaze was bleak. Annoyed, I open my mouth to retort, but the gate behind me suddenly opens, revealing my mother.

"Oh, hello." my Mom greets in pleasant surprise. Since she's regarding our unexpected visitors with interest instead of her usual paranoia, I'm guessing she's in a good mood today.

"Good morning, Mrs. Moon," Ari says, wrapping her arm around my shoulders. "We're here to escort Dina to The Amusement Park. We leave in an hour and she's not dressed yet, though. Can we wait inside for her?"

***

I'm not all that excited about Hell Park High's Foundation Week, but I have no choice but to change into something decent. In the living room, Mom and Arnold are entertaining our early morning guests, which was a surreal sight for me. I never had to tell Mom I have people coming over. Maisie's been my only friend my entire life, and I haven't heard from her in days. So, my Mom never had to interact with other kids my age. Not that any of these guys are my friends. Maybe just Ari. I still don't trust the evil dynamic duo.

"HPH Foundation Week is the best!" I hear Arnold say as I go near them. "I remember back in our time, we used to prank the teachers. Some of them get so scared out of their wits they refuse to come to school for days."

"Teachers are no fun," Kier comments as he inspects a piece of macaroon. He seems to be internally debating if he should eat it or not. Beside him, Brad is busy texting on his phone (which I think is rude), while my Mom and Ari whisper and giggle at each other. I frown at them. Did they suddenly just become the best of friends in the short time I was gone?

I clear my throat, "I'm ready." I announce to the group.

"Oh hello, dear," Mom says, looking up at me. "That's great. Are you sure you have everything you need? You brought your Dramamine, right?."

I blink at her, "What? Why would I need that?"

"It's alright, Mrs. Moon. I got it covered." Ari says hurriedly, circling her hands on my wrists. "We'll make sure she gets back in one piece."

"Wait. Where are we going?" I whine. "Ow. That hurt." Ari is squeezing the life out of my arm. I repeat my question as I get dragged outside, towards a white Toyota waiting in front, but no one seems inclined to answer. Ari is focused on shoving me into the car while Brad and Kier are flat-out ignoring me as they argue about something.

"I'm just saying, she has a point. Her nose does seem big in those pictures." Brad says, trying not to laugh.

"But I have a dance competition coming up, so we need to start rehearsing. I just can't keep redoing the photoshoot." Kier argues. He gets inside the driver's seat, as Brad takes the passenger side.

That's it. This is borderline kidnapping, already. I pound the back of Kier's seat. "Hey! Can someone just please tell me where we're going?!" I yell.

The guys look at each other while Ari gapes at me. "Oh. OMG. So sorry. Did we forget to tell you?" Ari apologizes, genuinely confused. I huff in frustration.

"We told her," Brad answers, irked. "Come on. Pay attention, Dina. We're going to The Amusement Park, where the roller coasters are, remember?"

I put my head in my hands. I knew that, but they didn't tell me which amusement park we were going and there was that thing about bringing Dramamine. I just don't know how David deals with his friends on a daily basis. They're just a bunch of weirdos. Speaking of, I wonder where the bastard is. Wherever he is, he better have a good reason for not showing up and leaving me stuck with them.

"His Grandma's not feeling well so he's still at their house. He asked me and the guys to fetch you instead." Ari whispers at me and I gape at her. How the hell did she know that?

"Who?" I try to deny knowing who she's talking about, but Ari just smirks at me. I roll my eyes, turning my attention to the window as Kier starts to put the car in drive.

"You're so obvious," Ari tells me, giggling. "Don't worry, he'll be there."