"Are you scared?"
"Of what?"
"I don't know, don't you ever get scared back here?"
"Of what?"
"Well, look around. It's all...isolated around here."
"What do you mean? We're on a dirt road. Obviously some people come back here."
"Exactly. Aren't you afraid you'll be kidnapped or something?"
"Not really. Maybe that'd spice things up, at least."
The two friends fell silent for a moment as they continued single file through the trail behind the houses.
"Shh! I think I heard something!"
The boy looked back for a moment to catch the girl with a mischievous grin.
"How far is it?" the girl asked.
"Five or ten minutes. There or thereabouts."
"Thereabouts?"
"Yeah, you've never heard that?"
"I have not," she said with one eyebrow raised. "Anyway, how often do you go this way?"
"All the time," the boy said over his shoulder. "I can't take my bike, but it's so much shorter it doesn't matter. Besides, once we get there everything is so bunched up you don't need a bike."
The trail ran through a valley bisecting two stretches of woods. A quarter-mile to the west, the woods opened into the edge of the boy's neighborhood. Equidistant to the east and up the big hill is their destination - the spirited paragon of suburban existence: The Wexford strip mall.
The girl looked across the clearing toward the hill.
"How did you find this way?" she asked.
"Curiosity, I guess," replied the boy. "I saw a little gap in the woods and wanted to see where it went. When I got down here I figured I'd gotten this far, I might as well keep going."
"Boys are so weird."
"Boys...what boys? You hanging out with other boys?" he teased.
"No, boys in general, you dork."
"Mmhm, a likely story."
The girl suppressed a smile and rolled her eyes. Then she felt the familiar sensation of a loose shoelace.
"Can we stop for a second? I need to tie my shoe."
"Yup," he said, turning around just in time to notice the way her ponytail bounced as she crouched.
The boy observed as she tended to the Chuck Taylor on her left foot. He wondered if she would be a bunny ears or a loop-and-swoop girl. She rose with a fresh smile and they continued hiking south.
"How much further is it?" the girl asked.
"See those power lines?" he pointed ahead. "That's about the halfway point. They cut through the woods on the other side, so we can follow them up to the main road."
"Cool."
The heat of the day had dissolved already, so summer air was almost crisp. A breeze could be seen hitting the tops of the trees, and the sky was pale from the haze.
"Nnnext," she blurted out.
"What?"
"Yes...you're next," she sang. "You'rrre so next."
"Isn't that Bugs Bunny?" he asked.
"Yeah, I don't know why I just did that," she said.
"Man, I used to watch Looney Tunes constantly when I was a kid. I've never met a girl who could quote Bugs Bunny."
"Well, now you have, sir."
"You're even cooler than I thought."
"Flattered," she quipped. "So, where are we going first when we get there?"
"I always head to the drug store first," he said. "Scope out the candy situation."
"In that case, I have an important question," she said. "A very important question."
The boy spun around and walked backward to keep pace.
"Hit me."
"Do you—"
"Lay it on me."
"Do y—"
"Come on, shoot. Ask me anything."
"WILL YOU PLEASE!"
"Ok, go ahead," he laughed. "I promise."
"Now it's too late," she teased.
The boy stopped and crossed his arms, his eyelids at half-mast. The girl lifted her chin as she stepped around him without breaking stride. He stood like a statue for effect. After she took a few more steps, he broke character and jogged to catch up, resuming his reverse walk.
"Twizzlers or Red Vines?" she asked.
The boy stopped again. Startled by the look in his eyes, the girl stopped, too. He slowly brought one hand up to cover his mouth like he'd witnessed a horrific act, followed by the other hand. He motioned with his whole body to his right, suggesting she look that way. She laughed at first, but he motioned again. She stopped laughing.
"What's wrong with you?" she asked. "What's happening?"
Nearly in tears, he motioned again to his right with three convulsing gestures.
"I don't understand," she says in desperation. "What is it?"
In an instant, the boy stood up straight, removed his hands from his face, and took two steps to his right.
"This is our turn," he said and kept walking toward the hill. "And the answer is Twizzlers," he shouted over his shoulder. "I've never tried Red Vines."