I can’t believe I’m doing this, I mutter to myself as I follow Thad down the dark suburban street. He’s peeking in car windows, seeing if an absent-minded owner left something enticing on the front seat. Mom warned me about this guy and I should have listened. Not that I would ever give her the satisfaction of knowing she was right.
“Whoa!” There it is, an iPad, sitting in plain sight on the front seat of an unlocked Ferrari. It’s funny how living in an elite, gated community can lull people into a false sense of security. They never stopped to wonder if the people they should worry about are locked inside with them. “Let’s take the car over to Dylan’s and show ’em. His parents are out of town for like, the whole weekend.”
“I gotta go. Mom’s waiting. She freaked last time I was late, sooooo…”
“Whatever.” He turns his back and hops into the Ferrari, getting it started within seconds. He attempts to speed away from the curb, but the back tire wobbles, spinning away from the car and rolling down the asphalt, into someone’s yard, then down the hill into the river that runs behind all of the houses on this street. The doors lock. Thad frantically tries to open them, but it’s too late. It is a trap. I duck into the woods across the street, a shortcut to my house. Through the trees I see the flashing red and blue lights, hear the whir of the sirens. I run faster, to the haven of my mother’s home, feeling grateful.
Jennifer Terry 