Page 8 of Wild Like Us

2

SULLIVAN MEADOWS

I’m suffocatingbeneath their lack offuckingwords. It might only last a second, but my embarrassment clocks this moment atfuckingeternity.

I realize now that I didn’t friend-zone them.

They’ve friend-zonedme.

I’m the un-bangable one.

And even then, maybe we’re not as friendly as I thought. Friends should be able to respond to me!

“I, um…” I can’t recover.

Abruptly, I bolt to the right.

I run through the heavy bags. They smack my cheek as I push through.

“Sulli!” Akara shouts.

“Wait!” Banks calls. “Wait!”

I can feel them behind me, but I’m faster.

I’m always faster.

Shoving a few more, I come clear to a door marked3.There are three fucking doors. Of course there are. I choose the one in front of me, and I dart inside…

“No,” I mutter.

Mirrors.

Dozens upon dozens ofmirrors.

I’m surrounded by my horror-stricken, wide-eyed face. Everywhere, my reflection stares back at me, some misshapen and distorted by the curved and bent glass. My breathing is rapid, but not from exhaustion.

I sprint to the left, meet a wall, then to the right. Meet another dead-end.

Let me fucking out of here!

I rest my hands on my forehead.

Concentrate, Sulli.

I touch my lips. Thinking.

“Sulli!”

I hear them call my name, but they sound distant. They must’ve chosen a different door. After I collect my shit, I see a sign that says,no running.

Hilarious.

And then I spot another door, hidden behind a mirror that warps my face, so my panicked eyes look humongous.

Racing out of the door, I crawl through a yellow rotating barrel, then thrust open anexitdoor to the outside. Inhaling a lungful of crisp night air, I move forward. The carnival is still in full swing like I never left. I skip down metal stairs without slowing.

“Sulli!” Jane calls.