“The dance!” I almost shouted.
Instinctively, his finger sprung to his lips to silence me.
“I’m so sorry! If only I wasn’t occupied these past few days, if only this was a different situation, if only---“
“Drei, relax. It’s just a dance. Your safety is more important,” he had his hands on my shoulders,
trying to calm me down. “And besides, there’l be other dances we could attend in the future.”
I tried my best to hide the smile that threatened to show. It was a bit flattering that he was
thinking that we’d stil be in touch in the future. That he was stil considering me as his date.
Wait, date?
“Which one’s better, Drei? Black or blue?” Carley was suddenly beside me, holding out two
cocktail dresses. I hesitated, not real y knowing which one to pick. In normal days, I’m not real y a good fashion consultant, especially now, that I’m bombarded with problems about my life.
Well, my very life is the problem.
I shrugged again. “They both look good on you Carley,” I opted for the safe answer.
“Real y? Then I should have them both, then.” She chirped happily as she left us to enter the
stall again.
I sighed. She doesn’t seem like the type that would be a part of a syndicate. She was so nice!
So beautiful. So perfect. How did she wind up with the syndicate in the first place?
“Are you okay, Drei?”
I was snatched from my thoughts. “Of course.” I lied.
He studied me for a moment. “You sure? You know I’m just here when you need to talk.”
It was my turn to study him. I looked straight into his eyes. And instead of knowing whether he
could be a safe for my innermost thoughts, I found myself wondering how it would feel like to
stare at his innocent eyes every day of my life.
I blinked, mentally slapping myself. “As I’ve said, I’m okay.” I turned to stare at the floor.
“Done!” Carley was with us again, holding out another pair of bags for Anthony to carry. My
eyes flew to his hands which looked full.
“Let me carry those, Carley,” I offered.
“You sure?” she stared at me.
“Ye---“
“No. Let me,” Anthony’s hand met mine as we both reached for the bag. He real y knows how to
ignite the spark, doesn’t he?
I let go, not arguing anymore. He noticed my dismissal, and smiled in triumph. Somehow, he’s
one of the reasons that I am somehow thankful that my life made a drastic turn since Dad died.
If we didn’t leave England, I wouldn’t have met him. But it seems that our situation right now is
just too complicated. The syndicate was making it all too complicated.
“Let’s?” I stared at Carley as she gestured that we go.
I nodded, trailing off behind her, Anthony by my side.
Her eyes were stil on the items displayed as we passed, but this time, she didn’t enter the stalls anymore. She would mutter a comment or two about the items, but not stopping to look at them.
We rounded a corner, and she still did the same. But this time, she kept fiddling with her phone
as if she was talking to someone she’d meet any minute now.
“Here!” she suddenly stopped at a novelty shop.
Anthony and I stared at her, waiting for her to explain why we were here.
“Zed’s coming,” she smiled sheepishly.
“Oh.” Anthony and I answered at the same time, making us sound dumb. Our heads turned to
face each other, smiling. Of all the syllables of acknowledgement in the world, we chose to utter
the exact same one.
After a few seconds, Zed showed up with someone. Someone that almost made my jaw drop.
Carl.
“Hey you two!” Carl beamed after Zed and Carley greeted each other with something I didn’t
quite catch. Carl’s mere presence was quite annoyingly distracting.
“Hey,” Anthony muttered. His tone was not annoyed, instead confused.
I forced a smile. But I think what came out was a grimace.
“Ready for the dance?” Carl asked Anthony. Then it hit me. Carl was in the basketball team too.
That meant that he would be going to the dance too.
Anthony hesitated. Just then, Zed spoke up. “Come on, Carl. Quit playing.” I think I saw the
faintest glare in his eyes before he smiled politely. Why did that seem wrong? Why would he
glare at Carl? How did they know each other anyway?
My hand gave an involuntary shiver as a wave of realization hit me. Of course they knew each
other! They were in the syndicate!
“Are you okay?” my head snapped up to Carl, who was eyeing me concernedly.
I nodded stiffly.
“Anthony, I think I need to grab something to eat. Would you come along?” I needed to talk to
him. Alone. Fast!
“Can you do that later, Drei?” Carley smiled.
I hesitated. No. I had to talk to Anthony. NOW!
“Uhh. I real y need to fil it up,” I smiled happily, tapping my tummy.
She and Zed exchanged looks.
“Just wait for a while, Drei,” Carl spoke up. He really was a big object of annoyance.
“For what?” I snapped, suddenly blurting out my feelings of irritation.
Then two muscled men came up, dressed in coats. If not for their long sleeves, I was sure I’d
see tattoos in their arms. They smiled at us politely, swiftly brushing past Zed and Carley, to our sides. I suddenly felt something hard pushed against my side.
“What---“
“You should be doing, is to behave well. Or else, gunshots would be engraved on your tiny
torso.” Carley smiled with that polite one that she always had. I turned to look at Anthony and
asked for help, but found that he was rooted to the spot too.
My mind raced. The best option I had right now was to…
“HELP---“
Just then something soft was on my face, covering my nose and mouth. The next thing I know,
everything around me went pitch black. Before I lost track, I heard Carley’s voice as if a mil ion
miles away: “oh my! Not again! Let’s get her to the hospital!”
~
My head was throbbing slightly. My body dangled. From something I could not make out. All I
knew was that my feet weren’t in the ground. My hand was limp, and I was moving. There
