LAUREN LEE inhaled shortly as she solemnly eased into the corner with her acoustic guitar in the crowded, newly opened restaurant full of boys.
One-of-the-boys. Aside from “LOSER”, Lauren has humorously given her nickname, “One-of-the-boys”, not because she like boys but because of her only best friend who is a young man with a sweet, shy demeanor that comes to have his lacrosse team.
It was so late as she felt outwear waiting for three hours for her so-called “boy friends” to break off their tedious cackles about their last unforgettable and memorable adventure plan before heading back to Chicago.
“Loser, are we still good in there?” Gilbert hardly clapped her shoulder. Hard enough, Lauren’s sleepy head bubbled up.
Lauren and Gilbert have been best friends since senior years. She’s an introvert while Gilbert is her contrast, helping her to mingle and socialize.
“Aren’t your friends done discussing their boring plan? What is it about anyway?” Lauren then removed her eyeglass out of her eyes and her vision dimmed for two seconds.
One of the reasons Lauren doesn’t want to hang out with someone else’s was because of her eye condition. If not because of her graded glasses, she can see things clearly.
“As usual. Mind-numbing. Nevertheless, all I know was that we will be out before the night ends. Some horror enchanted werewolf house, I guess?” Gilbert shrugged off at Lauren’s shoulder.
Lauren rolled her eyes and eagerly tails off the shirtless hotties that just passed through in front of them. Gilbert teasingly made a shrill, coherent sound at the guys to check Lauren’s reaction.
“Are werewolves still exist?” She set her eyeglass on and kept staring at the shirtless hotties who were sitting a few tables from them.
“I guess there’s one to find out, right? And besides, come on, loser, we’ll get back in Chicago early in the morning.” Gilbert insisted.
It was at this moment all of Gilbert’s friends moved out of their seats as they loudly cheered and whooped. Then, Lauren and Gilbert turned their uninterested faces at them.
“We’re going in a few minutes.” Mark eagerly giggled and strode towards Lauren and Gilbert.
Mark and Gilbert were also close friends. Unbeknownst to Lauren’s knowledge, both of the boys secretly had feelings for her.
“You mean, tonight at the werewolf thing?” Gilbert has drawn several lines on his forehead.
“Can we just go back to the hotel? This is ridiculous.” Lauren breathed out helplessly, knowing she has left no choice when most of Gilbert’s friends have spoken.
“Of course, you can’t. Don’t tell me the tough woman of BISC has chickened out? And besides, we are a group. We’ll not let anyone hurt you.” Mark insisted, knowing his night would be useless without her.
Lauren had stealth a glimpse at Gilbert before saying, “They’re all your friends. Not mine.” She then lifted her acoustic guitar as she soothed her clothes.
Lauren was a part-time lead vocalist of her boy band, The Hopeless Romantic, in Chicago. She was a devoted student in the morning and a vocalist in the evening to sustain her school fees.
After her parents died in her junior years, the heartbreaking incident didn’t stop her from pursuing her dreams to become a successful singer and an officer of the law someday. Lauren, Gilbert, and Mark also took the same course.
“What are you guys waiting for?” Richard crossed his arms around his chest while staring at Lauren and Gilbert.
Richard was the one who pays every penny of their expenses on their one-week vacation, not just to meet his long-distance girlfriend, Alice, but to impress Lauren as well. Despite her unstylish and socially awkward personality, some of the lacrosse boys have their eyes on her.
“We’re coming.” Mark grinned.
Lauren and Gilbert helplessly breathed out, knowing they have left no choice.
When they reached outside, there were two black BMW and one luxurious red Ferruccio Lamborghini parked and waiting for them.
Most of them eagerly hopped into the cars, while Lauren and Gilbert are still apathetic about the idea.
After a few hours of traveling, they have reached the creepy old abandoned mansion in the middle of the dense forest.
“Do we really have to do this?” Lauren softly mumbled. “Maybe, we should go back. I can sing you all my original songs so you guys will not get bored.”
“Loser, we’ve heard and memorized every lyric of your songs.” Ghino burst out his laughter. Followed by most of the boys with them in the car.
“Okay, let’s go.” Lauren’s entire face flushed red as she immediately unlocked the door and hopped out of the car.
When Lauren saw the creepy old mansion beneath the full moon, she hurriedly hopped back into the car.
Nonetheless, Lauren ended up being the joke in the middle of the night. Then everyone hopped out of the cars and gathered around while planning what to do when they got inside the mansion.
“Hey, isn’t it wonderful if you could find the treasure? Your sleepless nights are over.” Gilbert softly mumbled while Lauren took a grip on his shoulder.
“What if someone was living here like rippers?” Lauren’s heart started pounding.
“Come on guys, focus,” Mark mumbled back.
As they go along, there was a soft continuous growl behind their back. Lauren and Gilbert, who were closer to the growls, glued their feet on the ground. When Gilbert turned around, he saw gleaming blue eyes.
The loud bark has made everyone alarm and bolted in different directions. As a result, all of them got divided from each other.
Since Lauren has fuzzy vision, she runs as far away as possible until bumping into a small, revolting, and chalky door. She frisked for the doorknob and immediately hides inside.
Lauren pulled off her eyeglasses and rapidly blinked. She then saw a tiny light, thinking it was Richard or Alice since they were the ones who brought the flashlights.
“Gibz, is that you?” Lauren worriedly breathed out.
By tailing off the light, she felt completely shocked after seeing several human skulls in the place. She wanted to scream, but the stinky odor of the room was unbearable if she breathed in.
Lauren needed to get back outside the mansion, but there were no more lights that led her the way, which resulted in him stumbling to the ground with the human bones.
Subsequently, the ground suddenly started shaking. Lauren even felt more panicked, thinking the entire building would collapse and that no one could find her afterward.
She then tried to stand up despite the cracking sound of the bones that pierced through her arms and legs. As the ground keeps shaking, she frisked against the wall to look for the passage she had just come in.
After finding the passage, she hurriedly rushed with her arms horizontally to avoid getting bumps.
In a few minutes, all of them, except Lauren, have successfully gone out of the crumbling mansion.
“Guys, have you seen Lauren?” Gilbert exhaled heavily, completely worried for Lauren.
“Dude, I thought you’re with Lauren?” Mark said back, regretting allowing Lauren to his arms, not his.
“She let go of her grip in my arms. Don’t know where she headed.” Gilbert hardly gritted his teeth and clenched his head.
In a few seconds, the entire mansion collapsed. Gilbert and Mark had lost their hopes for Lauren to get out alive until there were cracking sounds of the strings a few meters from they were standing.
Gilbert and Mark hurriedly grabbed the flashlight from Richard and Alice, respectively, and rushed towards Lauren.
Mark wanted to extend his help, but Gilbert arrived first with his more sincere expression, knowing he and Lauren were close friends.
“Lauren, I’m so sorry.” Gilbert stretched his arms and was about to help her up.
However, Lauren withheld anyone’s help. Instead, she stood up all by herself after picking up her broken guitar.
“Sorry? The plan almost got me killed.” Lauren voiced out his grievance before rushing back to the car.
She then hardly closed her eyes and hugged her broken acoustic guitar. When they got back to their hotel, everyone felt sorrowed for Lauren after seeing her running as fast as she could.
Gilbert, who felt completely worried, followed Lauren to their room. When he reached the room, he got shocked after seeing the doorknob got broken.
“Lauren, are you okay?” Gilbert worriedly knocked on the toilet.
“I’m fine,” Lauren said while switching on the faucet to clean her entire body full of dirt and stinks.
She barely moaned after removing the tiny pieces of bones that pierced through her arms and legs.
Gilbert felt relieved after hearing Lauren’s response. He then moved out of the toilet to pick up the doorknob and tries to attach it back to the door.
After removing the tiny pieces of broken bones, Lauren nuzzled her eyes and felt shocked when her eyeglass was not in her eyes anymore. Perhaps it dropped when she stumbled outside of the mansion.
Lauren headed out of the toilet, saying nothing at Gilbert when she jumped on the bed and covered her face with the blanket.
In a few minutes, Mark also arrived at the room and jumped on their bed while staring at Lauren from the other bed. Followed by Gilbert.
