When the Sheriff's deputies arrived they listened to her story, then took her home almost immediately. Knowing smiles and innuendo had been kept to a minimum since a boy was actually missing, but she could hear what they'd left unsaid. Lisa wanted to stay and help with the search, but they told her they didn't want to worry about her wandering off too, so they had a deputy drive her home.
They were all very nice and polite, and no one questioned her story that they had come up here to look at the stars even though there was really only one reason for high school kids to come up here this time of night. They'd been more skeptical when she told them about how they had watched a meteor crash into the woods not far from the car, and that Chad had gone to check it out. On the drive back, the deputy didn't say anything to suggest that they didn't believe her, only reassuring things about how they would find her boyfriend, but Lisa could feel him judging her on the whole ride home. He officer wanted to talk to her parents, and Lisa knew she would die if her mother found out what she'd been up to, so she had him take her to her Aunt's house. She worked overnights at the hospital, so there wouldn't be anyone there this time of night. After a few minutes of knocking and ringing the doorbell he left, and then she walked home alone.
When she got there, the porch light was on but everyone was in bed, so somehow she made it all the way to her room without anyone finding out what a slut she'd been. Despite almost losing her virginity, actually losing her boyfriend, and struggling with her very own sign from god, she had faced no consequences from her night's adventure. It didn't seem possible, she thought as she quickly stripped down for bed and drifted off to sleep with her mind racing, but in the morning, she woke up and the sky still hadn't fallen down on her. Lisa went down to the dining room like she always did, a little sleepier than usual, and after a quick breakfast, her mother had bundled her off to school, without a cross word. Even her sister hadn't pointed out how quiet she was on the bus. It was almost surreal. How could everyone act so normal when Chad was missing?
Lisa wanted to scream, but she just kept smiling placidly instead. It was hard to keep up the illusion of normalcy when she held so much turmoil inside, but she managed it somehow. It felt like this morning Lisa's mind was whirling and roiling just as much as it had been last night, but this time with more worry and none of the pleasure. She was so distracted by these thoughts when she'd finished getting her books from the locker that she almost didn't notice Chad down the hall when she closed it. For just a moment Lisa thought she'd gone crazy, but a couple long blinks later and he was still there looking glassy eyed and vaguely lost.
Lisa tried not to make a scene as she ran up and hugged him. She did that most mornings - so it shouldn't reveal that anything was amiss. Right?
"Chad, oh my god," Lisa said trying to keep the ragged edge of worry from her voice, "I missed you so much. What happened?"
"Lisa," He said, making it sound almost like a question while he returned the hug, "Nothing happened. I was just, you know, looking for that thing in the forest."
"What thing?" She said looking up at him, though he didn't meet her gaze, "Did you find it?"
"Yeah - it was just a rock in a crater. I mean it was a big one." Chad gave a small shrug as he started to sound a bit more like himself.
"So why didn't you take some pictures for Instagram or whatever and come right back like you said you would?" Lisa cringed inwardly about how clingy she was being, and in public too, but it was hard to control such things when you thought you might never see someone again.
"Pfft, promised" he blurted out mockingly before seeing the look it provoked and trying to tone it down. "Honestly, beautiful, I wanted to. I did, but there were some small fires, and they were spreading, so I had to stop them. So I did my part until those deputies showed up to help me out."
"You didn't want the whole forest to burn down, did you?"
Lisa wasn't sure what it was about his story, but as she slowly released the hug and pulled away from him, there was something off about the whole thing.
"Yeah, okay, but why didn't you call or text me last night when you got home," she said, not letting up, "you know, to let me know that you were okay. I was really worried."
"You know what," Chad said looking exasperated, "You worry too much, I got to get to class - we can talk later."
And just like that, he left Lisa standing in the rapidly thinning crowds of the hallway. That, at least, felt like the real Chad. He could be a jerk sometimes, Lisa thought, as she shrugged her bag over one shoulder, but at least that was who he was. The rest - the vacantness, his slowness to recognize her without his usual wolfish grin, she turned these things over in her mind as she headed listlessly to her next class.
She shared her next two classes, Chemistry and American Lit, with Margret, and in both the lesson plans took a back seat to the notes they exchanged near the back of the class. Lisa wanted to talk about Chad's weird disappearance and behavior, Margret only had ears for the gory details.
Did they finally do it? No. Was Lisa still a virgin? Yes. Was she sure? Yes. Margaret had lost her cherry just after her eighteenth birthday a few months back to Andrew, a Senior that had since moved. They were still pursuing some kind of long distance thing, but if asked Lisa would have been hard pressed to say which of the two of them not having sex Margaret was more fixated on.
