Hey Monday

a b d u c t i n g

-ellen-

I stepped into my light blue dress and smiled at the mirror. One of the items on my bucket list was "have a fancy dinner" and that's what we were about to do. 

Noah had found this sophisticated place in one of Iowa's cities called "Chez Belle", which apparently translated into "among the beautiful"- according to Logan, anyway. 

I had gotten giddy with the excitement of dressing up and putting on a pretty face, and I found myself wishing that I had a best friend to share it with. I mean, Noah wasn't exactly happy that he had to change out of his sweats, and it took a lot of pleading before Logan put on a pair of skinny khaki pants. The both of them insisted on wearing sneakers, so I gave up and decided to go in sneakers too.

I slipped my favorite gold ring onto my pinkie. I had been wearing it more frequently, for a reason unknown to me. 

"Let's go, boys. We're walking," I said with a grin as I joined them in the living room.

"What?" Logan sprang up from his seat. "That's crazy, Ellen. It's like, seven and pitch dark outside." 

"So?" I questioned. "It's only a couple blocks away, I think. Man up, you two." 

Noah groaned and put his phone into his pocket. He was wearing a plaid button-up and some skinny jeans, and he didn't look that bad. Neither did Logan, who was in a sweater and some khakis. 

"You look like a snobby rich boy," I said with a chuckle in his ear. "It works on you." 

Logan rolled his eyes and ruffled up my hair a bit. 

"Aw, come on!" I shrieked, frantically trying to fix it. "This took me ages!" 

"Man up, Ellen," Logan called over his shoulder as he headed out the door. I rolled my eyes in response and followed him into the chilly night. 

The wind was harsh and sharp, nipping at my nose and piercing my skin like daggers. Within three steps, I was shivering. 

"This was maybe a bad idea," I murmured as we walked down the sidewalk. We seemed to be in the heart of the city- there were tall buildings and traffic surrounding us on all sides. Every now and then, you'd catch snippets of a conversation, which was sometimes interesting. 

"Are we almost there?" I whined. 

Noah raised his eyebrows. "Who needs to 'man up' now, hmm?" 

"Well, you guys both have sleeves!" I cried. "I'm sleeveless! And I don't have pants, either!" 

The boys laughed and kept walking, ignoring my obvious turmoil. "You guys are terrible!" I yelled. "Awful demons, go back to the firey depths of hell from which you spawned!" 

"Ellen, shut up," Noah said with a freaked-out glance around us. "People are starting to stare." 

"People are starting to stare," I mocked in a high-pitched voice. 

Maybe I wouldn't have been so rude to them if I knew what would happen in the following hours. 

• • •

We entered the restaurant and a lady with thick lipstick and a pearl necklace swooped down on us. "Bonjour!" she crowed. We gave meek waves and she led us to a booth near the back. 

The restaurant certainly was classy. I heard smooth piano music from a far corner, and I could smell food. More specifically, delicious, divine, scrumptious food. The entire place was dimly lit, which sort of made me uncomfortable for a reason I couldn't place. Under every other noise, you could hear the low hum of people chattering amongst themselves.