Don't Drop Your Mask

For the next week, I waited anxiously for someone to try to rape, rob, or just generally touch me. Anxiously waiting.

This is the first time I’ve had any excitement in my life, okay? Well, the first time in a while.

You know those commercials for shark week? I don’t watch that channel, we have it on at work, okay? Well, the point is, you know how the people run towards the danger? That’s what I feel like I’ve been doing. Thrill seeking or something.

But the thing is, before I couldn’t keep myself out of trouble. I was always getting through by just a hair. But now, no matter what I do, no one bothers me. Maybe I’ve lost my sex appeal, or rob appeal, or something.

Baltimore, you suck.

I was sitting on my couch playing with a Tic Tac container when I decided to get up and go for a walk, or something.

Yeah, it was late, but it seems that lately, I couldn’t find trouble. I grabbed a jacket, slipped on some Vans I’d had since I was 13, and headed out.

I was chain popping Tic Tacs as I stared at my passing reflection in shop windows. I was looking to the right at my reflection and popping my Tic Tacs, and I stumbled a little.

“Dammit,” I said to myself. “That was my last Tic Tac.”

“You shouldn’t be wandering around this time of night, you know.”

I stopped moving, then slowly turned around. “Well, well. Haven’t seen you in a while,” I said rather coldly.

He smiled. “I missed you, too, babe.”

I glared at him. “So what crime is afoot tonight?” In my head, I pictured him striking a superhero pose and then shooting off into the sky. I laughed in my head.

“A guy was trying to rape a girl,” he went on with a list, but my mind wandered off. Did he kiss her, too? Does he see her everyday?

Whoa, what if in real life, he has a girlfriend.

“That sounds dandy. That you’re helping out, I mean.”

“Thanks,” he said.

There was a long silence while we just walked in no particular direction. I’ll be honest, I was lost. Just totally lost.

“Where are you going?” he asked, rushing after me.

“I don’t know. I’ll get home eventually.”

He laughed and quickened his pace to match mine. I looked over at him. How dare he follow me like this when he probably has a girlfriend, or another version of me on the other side of town, or something. I stopped. He stopped next to me and flashed a bright smile. I glared at him.

“You wanna know why I really came out here tonight?” I asked, feeling bold.

“Why?”

I lost my boldness, so continued walking. “Uh, nevermind. You don’t want to know.”

He laughed. “Lost your courage?” I big my lip. “Humor me.”

“Well, I’ve been really bored lately, like in the past week. So I came out here to find trouble.”

“Well that’s stupid.”

I turned and glared at him. “How did you find me, anyways? I’ve never ever seen you before in the entire time I’ve lived here, and now, just randomly, you show up and I see you every night I leave my house?”

“Well—“

“I mean, seriously, did this whole superhero wannabe thing just start or are you waiting around here on purpose?”

“Layla, you need to chill out,” he said after a minute. He didn’t say it angry. He didn’t sound cold. He just said it. With that dumb smile. I stopped, taken aback. I’m always the calm one. I’m always the cool one. I’m the one at peace with everything. Everyone else needs to chill out.

I glared and was about to say something back when we heard a faint scream in the distance. “Well, love, duty calls,” he said, kissing me on the cheek and running off, leaving me dazed.

“But, I don’t know how to get home…”