“Brave and fearless,” Noah said as we started walking out of the gym after my ordeal was over.
“What?” I asked.
“Your list. Brave and fearless. Sure, clumsy and bad at climbing, but fearless nonetheless.”
“You think?” I asked, trying to decide whether he was right.
“Definitely,” Maxine echoed. “I bet you’re always doing things like that in life. Trying new things, being fearless.”
“I like that,” I said with a smile.
We were just about to exit into the parking lot when Maxine poked me on the shoulder. “That’s him!” she said.
Noah and I both turned.
“Kyle. @TheKyleWhite101. The guy. The one who broke up with Frankie!”
At that, my eyes zoned in on him and, I must say, for a guy whose girlfriend, or ex-girlfriend, was missing, he looked entirely unperturbed as he drank a green smoothie and flexed his sun-kissed calf muscles in the gym mirror.
“What a douche,” Maxine murmured.
I had to concur. Only a total asshole breaks up with someone on social media and then flexes his calves like that.
“I have to get back inside, I have a training session now. But see you guys later.” And then Maxine did something unexpected. She pulled me into a hug, as if the two of us were actual friends, and I liked it more than I could say. She ran off and Noah and I walked into the parking lot.
“Brave and fearless,” I echoed as we ambled towards our car. “You know.” I stopped walking and swung around to face Noah, leaning my hand against a cement pillar. “Maxine was right, this getting to know myself is actually fun. I’m really starting to get a better picture of myself, and now that I think about it, I . . . WHAT THE HELL?” I pulled my hand off the pillar and flung my arm into the air. “Get it off me, get it off me! GEEET!” I yelled as a lizard ran up my arm towards my face. “NOAH! Noah, stop it! Stop it!” I swung my arm in the air in massive circles, jumping and running in an attempt to fling it off.
“It’s in my shirt! It’s in my . . . NOAH!” I shrieked, as I felt the toe-curling, nauseating sensation of the lizard running into my shirt sleeve and onto my chest. “Nooooo!” I ripped at my shirt, sticking my arms inside and trying to catch it. “Where is it? Where is it?” I jumped around in front of Noah, not caring that we were in a parking lot and some of the people from inside that had stopped to watch me on the rope contraption had stopped to watch me now. I looked down and saw the lizard dart out of my shirt and onto my leg.
“Keep still!” Noah reached for the lizard, which was running around my thigh in circles.
“It’s going to go into my paaaaannnntss,” I wailed. A wail that was so loud it echoed through the cement chamber of the underground parking lot we were in.
“Stand still. I’ve almost got it! I’ve got it!” Noah said, triumphantly holding the creature in the air.
“Oh. My. God!” I was panting from the sheer terror of it all, bent over at the waist, trying to catch my breath.
“Where did it come from?” Noah asked.
“From the pillar. It must have been on it when I put my hand there.”
Noah walked over to the pillar and put the lizard back down on it. “There you go,” he said.
I ran my hands over my lizard-free body, just to make sure there was nothing on it. I looked at the pillar and noticed that another lizard had joined it.
“There are two now.” I pointed. “Wait, three . . .” I watched as another lizard crawled down the pillar. It stopped and raised its head and, I swear, its eyes met mine. A lizard locked eyes with me! I took a step back.
“Noah, what’s going on?”
“What do you mean?”
“Are they staring at me?” I inched backwards as Noah turned to the pillar. “There are four now!” I pointed a shaking finger at them.
“They’re not staring at you,” he said.
“They are, and I don’t like this. I don’t like this at allllll . . . NO!” I turned and ran as two of the lizards leapt off the pillar and started running towards me across the floor. “They’re coming for me.” I ran across the parking lot, as fast as I could. “Press the button, press the button!” I yelled over my shoulder as I