After what felt like forever, Abby broke the tense silence with her usual greeting.
Kiara
It’s not morning, Abs.
Zoe
It’s almost three o’clock.
Maya
Why are you so friggin’ late?
Abby
I swear it’s not my fault.
Abby
Well, it’s not ALL my fault, anyway.
Maya
That’s not an answer.
Zoe
Wait, don’t say it. Let’s have Ki tell us. Five bucks says she gets it.
Abby
Ooh, Kiara’s Game! I’m in.
Maya
Christ, you guys are pathetic.
Kiara
Okay, this is an easy one.
Kiara
Your step mom was being a bitch and wouldn’t drive you here.
Kiara
So you had to wait for your dad to wake up after working the graveyard shift.
Kiara
When you got here, you stopped at Starbucks for a Skinny Mocha.
Kiara
And then you went shoe shopping without us.
Maya
She better not be right, Abby.
Abby
Uh…yahs, she’s right. She always is.
Abby
How the hell do you do that?!
Maya
No one cares how she does it.
Abby
I care, so spill… how did you know that, Ki?
Kiara
Anyone could’ve gotten this one. I mean, no offense, Abby…
Kiara
But you smell like a chimney and you have ashes on your left sleeve.
Kiara
And since your dad is one of like three people who still smokes cigarettes, you were probably in his car.
Abby
Okay fine. But how’d you know I had Starbucks?
Kiara
There’s a tiny spec of chocolate in the corner of your mouth.
Abby
That skinny Mocha is my Kryptonite.
Abby
Damn girl. What else?
Kiara
You’re wearing brand new Nikes, so it’s clear that…
Maya
You went shopping without us!
Kiara
Old shoes are in your backpack?
Maya
We’ve been waiting here two hours because you asked us to go shopping with you.
Abby
I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.
Zoe
Ignore her, Abs. She’s being a jerk today.
Abby
What? As opposed to every other day?
Zoe
Wait. How’d you know Abby’s stepmom was being a bitch, Ki?
Maya
Because Cecilia is always a bitch.
Maya
Can we please just go?
Kiara
Go where? We came here so Abby could buy shoes.
Kiara
We have nothing to do now.
Maya
Maybe you don’t. But I do.
Abby
Really? What are you gonna do?
Maya
I’m gonna follow them.
Maya
Look out the window—the old crones are walking into town.
Kiara
They almost stabbed you, Maya.
Abby
What?! Who almost stabbed her?
Zoe
Those creepy old ladies out there.
Maya
They’re Kiara’s friends.
Zoe
They’re not Ki’s friends.
Maya
They are and they almost stabbed me.
Abby
Why didn’t anyone go to the cops?
Maya
That’s a great question, Abs.
Zoe
Trust me, you had to be there to understand.
Maya
Well, I’m going to find out what they’re up to.
Kiara
Maya, please don’t. I had a bad feeling about them before.
Kiara
But now that I know for sure one of them is carrying a knife-
Maya
If you’re so scared, stay here. I’m following them.
Maya stormed off in the direction of the old crones.
Zoe
Come on, she’s already at the door. We can’t let her go alone.
Abby
I know. But this is so stupid, guys. I’m scared.
Kiara
I know, Abs, but Zo’s right—we can’t let Maya follow them on her own.
We ran after Maya—for a while.
We must have walked for six miles before we finally caught her.
Zoe
Maya, slow down! We’re right behind you.
Zoe
Look, they’re heading down River Street!
Abby
Score! Can we stop in your family’s shop, Maya? I’ve always wanted to see it.
Maya
Sure. But hurry—we’re losing them!
Abby
What if they see us following them?
Zoe
Trust me, Abby, if there’s one place in Savannah where you can hide in a crowd…
Maya
It’s on River Street.
Kiara
That’s good. Because I think we need to hide.
Kiara
Because someone’s following us.
Abby
OH EM GEE! Are we in danger?
Maya
Jesus, there’s no one following us.
Maya
Kiara just doesn’t want us seeing what her hags are up to.
Kiara
That’s not it, I swear.
Maya
Goddamn it, Kiara, I’m so sick of your freaky shit…
Zoe
Should we go after her?
Abby
At this point, why bother? Maya will be fine.
Abby
She comes down here all the time.
Kiara
What if the person following us is after her?
Abby
Why would someone be after Maya?
Kiara
I don’t know… I just have a bad feeling.
Kiara
I’ve had it ever since that shit happened with those witches.
Kiara
Something is off. I can…
Abby
Just say it, Ki. You can trust us.
The truth is, I didn’t know how to explain the stuff I was feeling at the time.
The few times I tried, I sounded like a lunatic.
So I stopped trying to explain myself.
Kiara
Forget it. I’m probably being paranoid.
Kiara
I’ll feel better if we find Maya.
Zoe
Ok, let’s go to her family’s shop. It’s only like three blocks away and she said we could go there anyway.
Kiara
Good call. Come on.
Abby
I just saw the ladies in black.
Abby
They were going the other way.
Kiara
Good. We’ll keep moving away from them.
Kiara
Keep an eye out for Maya. She’s gotta be nearby.
Kiara
And stay close so we don’t get separated.
But when I looked back, Zoe and Abby were gone.
