Logan stepped out of the lockers rooms, freshly showered and dressed in clean clothes. The cheerful chatter behind him disappeared when he closed the door. His feet led him down the familiar hallways and towards the exit.
His shoulders slouched.
Since Jae had been missing in action, the coach decided to appoint Max as their temporary captain for their club activities. The dude still had his rainbow hair and looked more like a goofball than usual but when it came to basketball… he meant business. His tone of voice would be light but the implication behind them would send shivers down everyone’s spine.
That was how their usual warmup had been kicked up a notch.
Max reasoned with them that they needed to work harder so that Jae would be impressed and treat them to some pizza afterwards. The tension eased. It motivated everyone easily—except for Logan. He kept his lips closed and bit back a retort.
He’d just wait patiently for Jae to make Max pay for the food instead.
His mind wandered to other matters as he walked towards his car. He hadn’t heard from Alex or Jae since this morning. When practice ended, he immediately checked on his phone. His messages and calls went through but neither of them got back to him. He started to worry that something went wrong.
Just how long would they stay at Freccia Prep? How long was the travel time? Where were they now? What was happening? Images of gangsters and deliquents flashed in his thoughts. The scenes he saw in anime and manga replayed but with his friends as the victims.
The lack of details opened infinite possibilities for his imagination.
“Hey, Logan” Lauren greeted him, matching his pace. Her cheer practice ended the same time his basketball one did, “Are you still thinking about Jae and Alex?”
She watched him with worried eyes. During lunch, Logan hardly ate his food if not for Colin reminding him to eat. He kept gazing at where Alex and Jae usually sat. Then, he’d look at his phone. Although Alex gave Lauren the real plan of what they were doing, she used the one they told Logan to explain what happened to Jae and Max.
She remembered to switch Jae’s and Alex’s roles, of course.
“I still have no news from them,” Logan grumbled with a sigh. His car emerged in his line of sight. Colin stood beside it, leaning against his own convertible. He smiled and waved as they two approached.
“Why not try to contact Emily?” Lauren suggested, “I think she’s much more attached to her phone than the other two.”
Logan stumbled a step.
Taking out his phone, he unlocked it relentlessly. His fingers immediately opened his contacts. He scrolled through them, eyes focused on the names that passed by. He frowned once he reached the letter, E. Then, he started to scroll again and reached the end of the list.
His head snapped up and he looked at Lauren, “I don’t think I have her number.”
The cheerleader patted his shoulder and grabbed her phone, saying, “I’ll call her.”
The number rang two times before Emily’s voice picked up.
“Lauren! I missed you already! What are you calling for? Want to know if we were a success? Cause we are!” She giggled. Lauren could almost imagine the wide smile on her face, the bounce in her feet as she told the story.
Before Emily could say more, the cheerleader cut in, “Logan is a bit worried about you guys. He wants to talk.”
Lauren didn’t give Emily the chance to reject. She handed the phone to Logan. He snatched it off her hands quickly and spoke in a rush.
Lauren stepped away to give them some privacy—as well as keep Colin from overhearing. She stood on her toes and gave him a peck on the cheek, “Did you wait long?”
“Not really” Colin shrugged, smiling down at her. Then, he nudged his head towards his best friend, “What’s going on with Logan?”
He glanced at Logan who didn’t even bother to comb his hair—a few droplets dripped down the tips. He didn’t think it would go this bad. Well, he didn’t have a clue at how bad the stalkers could be. He hoped that it was only exaggerated. Part of him thought that Logan was just agitated because he missed out on the fun.
“Well, Alex and Jae aren’t responding to him so I called Emily” Lauren explained. She leaned back on the car, standing beside Colin, “He’s such a puppy.”
“And you’re not worried?”
“Not really” Lauren gave him a grin, “If I had something to worry about, I believe Emily would tell me.”
Emily had contacted her earlier about the current situation. Apparently, Alex barely gave her the rundown. Then, they talked about the plan that the cousins came up with—but in much better detail. Emily spent a good part complaining how she wouldn’t even be around to see it. She also added a bit of opinion that she should do it instead of Alex.
With those in mind, Lauren had little to worry about since Alex was a calm person and wasn’t easily irritated. If it had been Emily, Skye would easily find it suspicious and aggressive.
Lauren kept that last bit to herself during the conversation.
“Hello, Emily? Is Jae and Alex with you?” Logan glared at the ground. His heart began to hammer in his chest. From nerves? Or from anxiety? He wasn’t sure. Time seemed to crawl as he waited to hear an answer. He could hear his ears pop.
“They just left” Emily coughed, “They’re on their way back now.”
The weight on Logan’s shoulders lifted up. His stress levels drop a little. At least, he heard an update. If they were on their way back, the worst must have ended. It seemed like Jae was fit to drive back. That meant nothing too serious happened.
“That’s good…” Logan mumbled. Then, he cleared his throat, “How are you though? Were the stalkers giving you a really hard time?”
Emily winced in her seat. She sat on the backseat of her family’s van. She rolled up the divider between her and the front when she saw Lauren’s name on her phone screen. She couldn’t risk letting anyone eavesdrop on the conversation. She was surprised that Logan turned out to be the one to call.
Those two really needed to keep him up to date.
That way she wouldn’t have to suffer through this.
“Yeah, things ended pretty smoothly” Emily stated, “I doubt they would try anything for a long time.”
“Everyone is safe? No one got hurt?”
“Nope, we’re fine. Thanks for the concern” she answered with a smile. She peeked out the window, “Things kind of happened fast so that’s probably why they weren’t able to tell you about it. You could try calling Alex again. I’ll help you spam her if she doesn’t reply.”
Emily shook her head at the scenaries the car sped through. Her cousin really needed to learn the importance of responding to messages. It was a good thing Logan had the patience for it. He must have been troubled all day.
Logan chuckled, “Thanks, Em.”
“No problem!”
The call ended and Logan shifted his feet towards the couple. He wore a shy smile on his lips, noticing their eyes on him. He gave the phone back to Lauren. He thanked her for it and greeted Colin with their hands clasping together. Their shoulders bumped for a second.
“You okay now?” Colin asked him, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Yeah…” Logan mumbled. He gulped down the lump in his throat, “Emily said that things went fine. Alex and Jae are on their way back.”
“Can you drive yourself back?”
He rolled his eyes, “I’m not impaired!”
“But you are distracted,” Lauren pointed out. She scowled in concern, “Maybe it’s better if you didn’t drive.”
“Guys!” Logan emphasized, lifting his hands and waving them around, “I’m fine. I bet driving would even do me some good.”
“What’s up, peeps?!”
Logan hung his head when he heard Max’s voice behind him. An arm wrapped around his shoulders. He shrugged it off with a glare. His gaze met a pair of smiling violet eyes. Seeing it made Logan’s expression change into a deadpan one.
Why did this idiot act like he is unaware to the current situation?
“Wow, what’s got your pants in a twist?” Max questioned. Raising his hands in surrender, he stepped back, “Still worried about Jae and Alex? I’m sure they’ll be fine. Alex has the brains and Jae has the brawn. Perfect combo for whatever they’d face.”
“I think that I’m going to go ahead…” Logan said. He nodded at his three companions and walked over to his car. His head stayed low even when he sat inside. He gave one final wave as he backed out of his spot.
The group watched him drive away from the parking lot. Other varsities came out from their practice. They chatted and cheered among themselves, oblivious to what just happened. Their energy soared compared to the trio. It seemed that Logan’s gloomy cloud still hovered above their heads.
Max’s attention darted between the other two, “What did I say?”
“Nothing” Lauren responded, shaking her head, “Logan’s just not in the mood for anything. He’ll be normal again once they get back.”
“I can’t believe they left without us” Max grumbled. He tucked his hands into his jean pockets and kicked the curb, “I mean things would have gone much better and much faster if all of us went there.”
“You just want the excuse to skip classes” Colin pointed out. He spun on his heel and walked around his car, aiming for the driver’s side.
“Of course not,” Max snorted. He brushed off his friend’s words with the wave of his hand, “I also want a road trip. Summer is too far away.”
“Have a road trip by going home” Lauren snorted. She turned her back on him and strolled over the passenger’s seat.
The couple hopped inside Colin’s car while Max scratched the back of his head.
What was wrong with everyone today? He thought. It seemed like everyone had a lid on their positive energy pot.
