3 Dare Not To Be Late

[08:01 A.M.] They had arrived at the machine in short time for the distance, but Connie was already panicking. She checked her phone over and over, watching the minutes fly by as Sienna was getting distracted by all the snacks she could purchase.

"You said you were only getting a drink..." Connie groaned.

"Yes, but now I'm feeling a bit peckish. So many options-"

"Just pick one!"

"Look! They even have Wiggles!" Sienna was almost drooling at just the sight of her favourite candy.

"It's either you pick one now or I'm leaving!"

"Oh!? Is that the last pack of CinniBunz I'm seeing?" Sienna pointed out, purposefully, to give herself more time to make her final decision.

"Is it!? I wanna have it!" Connie quickly changed her attitude, pushed Sienna out of the way, instantly shoved some spare change into the machine and eagerly waited for her sweet delicacy.

Her deceitful friend, on the other hand, was sniggering to herself as she knew exactly what would happen.

Everyone knows that the last pack in the treacherous vending machine is cursed. There was no possible way of obtaining it. The mechanism would often get jammed, as it is an old make, but nobody will do anything about it.

Essentially, it was a trap and many fall for it on numerous occasions. Having your money stolen by a deadbeat box of scrap metal. The person who collects all this money must be rich by now, Sienna thought.

Both girls watched with anticipation. The machine responded with a little tune, slightly off key and at a slow tempo, after the money had been accepted. Then the audible clanks of the machine turning its cogs began when the packet rustled, moving about a millimetre forward.

And finally the dreaded silence as Connie waited for the machine to continue. Her blissful expression transformed into a sour grimace then shifted quickly into an outbreak of frustration.

It had just halted itself - refusing to persist.

"No..." Connie whined. "No, no, no, no, no, NO!" Pressing her face against the glass, tapping it to see if it would budge, she wailed at her own failure. That incessant tapping turned into an aggressive knocking as if she were telling it to wake up. "No! Not my CinniBunz! WHYYYYYYYYY!?"

Sienna chuckled to herself, whilst getting a pack of Wiggles without any problems and Connie crossed her arms in a strop. "Stupid vending machine."

"Ah, don't sweat it, Cons. There will be some more in there by tomorrow or we could go to the store after school-" As soon as Connie heard that one word leave Sienna's mouth, she was snapped back into reality.

A feeling of impending doom showered over her. She grabbed her phone from her pocket and checked the time. Her heart began to beat ten to the dozen times faster.

[08:20 A.M] Connie and Sienna dashed in the opposite direction, back towards college in a hurry.

"This is why we stick to the plan! No distractions! Everything was perfect! How did I manage to forget!?" Connie was struggling to keep up with Sienna's pace again.

"Hurry up, Cons, or we'll be late! You move like a snail!"

"I'm SORRY that I never INTENDED to be running a marathon today, so the thought of wearing breathable clothing just slipped my mind!" The sarcasm in her voice roared. "Plus! Who's fault is it that we're in this situation!"

"Duh. Yours. You're the slowpoke here. If you'd just run properly and not like you're some grandma then-"

"Hey! I'm... TRYING my best... 'kay!?" Connie panted, taking a quick break. She was crouched down, hands resting on her knees and breathing hard. "I don't think I can do this..."

"If that's your best then we need to work on your stamina..." Sienna was already more than a few steps ahead of her friend but she jogged back and patted Connie on the shoulder. "Cons, get up. We're literally right around the corner."

"We're really... not."

"Well if you think it is maybe you'll run a little quicker. You never know unless you try." Sienna smiled and held out her hand in front of Connie's face.

"I really don't like this running nonsense!" And so began the sprint to get to college on time.

***

[13:21 P.M] Two minutes late. That was the one thing still haunting Connie till this very moment. Two minutes late on the very first day of the second year of college. It was lunchtime and she was sat at her and her friends' personally claimed bench and table.

"Unbelievable." She huffed, troubled by the thought that her fresh start on this new year was now permanently ruined. "And even after all the planning to ensure things went well too..."

"I know right!? Connie's never been late! There must be something wrong with her today." Raphael said mockingly, with the slightest hint of concern.

"What was wrong was Sienna making me go to grab snacks and then I couldn't even get myself my CinniBunz!"

"Oh. That's why you're so upset. I don't get the obsession really." Amisha-Lee shrugged.

"They are just AMAZING! The adorable bunny shaped cinnamon bun filled with scrumptious icing. So sweet. So yummy. And it's not mine!" Connie had the pout of a child who had just realised they had lost their favourite teddy.

"They're also really bad for your health. All that sugar. It's terrible." Amisha continued.

"I totally agree there, Lee Lee." Sienna was chomping on her Wiggles, not realising everyone was giving her THE STARE.

"Says the only girl eating sweets right now." Amisha was always on top of what the group was eating, and like a disappointed mother, she shook her head.

"What!? But Zak is literally stuffing his face with those triple chocolate brownies every day!"

"Thing is Zak deserves them because he's an angel and he doesn't make people late." Amisha said, clearly reinforcing that she's picked her favourite child of the week - and, once again, it was Zakaria.

"Dark chocolate is actually very nutritious and has some pretty dope health benefits, such as the ability to improve blood flow and reduce blood pressure plus it's protective against heart disease. Despite the fact that it's still loaded with calories, which I work off at the gym, I eat it in moderation. Not everyday. Just every other day. Because it makes me happy." Zak explained, whilst munching on bite size brownies.

"Cinnamon has been known to have medicinal properties and can cut the risk of heart disease too. Can lower blood sugar levels as well. It's not as bad as Wiggles, which is a pure sugar overload. Though the icing filling is probably just as toxic." Zak waved his packet of brownies, gesturing Connie to take one if she would like. "Here, it should make you feel better. Works for me."

"Thanks." Connie gave a small smile and reached for one.

"No problem."

"Sheesh, Zak, do you have to be so smart and so intimidatingly cool all the time? You're stealing my spotlight." Raphael laughed.

"You were never in the spotlight, Raph." Amisha dismissed him.

"Ouch, Lee Lee."

"Personally, I believe Raphael is cool in his own way. He may not be the brightest of the bunch but he is sure is funny and a majestic swimmer. You should see him in the pool when-!" Zak's little story was put to a pause when Raphael nudged him in the stomach.

"W-we don't talk about that!"

"Talk about what?" Amisha questioned.

"How Raphael's training for his new job as a life guard and is an amazing swimmer but he's too shy to tell anyone himself." Sienna casually blurted out.

"How do you know!? Zak!? I told you not to tell anyone! How could you go against the bro code like that!?" Raphael was enveloped with confused anger.

"I did not say a word." Zak replied. "Well not to start with anyways..."

"I found out myself. We literally go to same leisure centre and you can't hide anything from me."

"That's my line!" Amisha shrieked. "When were you going to tell us this!?"

"Well... y'know... sometime, I guess."

"It's a pretty cool thing, I think there's nothing to be ashamed of." Connie said.

"Heh... it's not even that. People have been telling me I'm so good I should try competing." Raphael scratched his head, sheepishly.

"He's so good he should be in the Olympics!" Both Zak and Sienna declared at the exact same time.

"I'm not about that life, mate."

"If you two think he's that good, I MUST see this in action. How about we go to the beach tomorrow, assuming as we've already got plans tonight?"

"Do we have to...?" Raphael sank into the chair in embarrassment.

"This is your chance to get back into the spotlight." Amisha smirked.

"I'm up for it. We should have a race, Raph. You. Me. And the Sea." The look in Sienna's eyes was one of burning passion and raging determination.

"Cool. But, about tonight... has anyone heard from Hiro?" Zak asked.

Everyone glared at the empty space left at the edge of the bench.

"Oh...." Connie sighed.

It wasn't unusual for that seat to be left unattended. Hiromasa hadn't sat with them for the past month or so of the last academic year. Towards the end of the college term, he began to distance himself from his friends, but they just assumed he wanted time to himself as that's the kind of person he is. Very reserved and mostly quiet.

Just then Raphael pointed at a recognisable face in the crowd of students.

"Hey! Hiro!" He called and Hiro heard his name, looked in the direction of the sound then his face looked more gloomy than ever when he realised who said his name. Walking away without showing any care to approach his supposed friends, Zak felt the need to impose.

"Yo, Hiromasa." Zak only slightly raised his voice, but because it was so unnervingly deep it echoed like a surround sound system with the bass on full blast and Hiro jumped a little from the shock.

Everyone turned to look at Hiro and stared him down. He now felt obliged to go to them and hesitantly did so, all eyes still glued on him as they cleared his way.

"What do you want?" He grunted, his eyes peered over his shoulder to see all the faces focused on what was happening.

"You still down for our little outing tonight...?" Zak raised his eyebrow. "Or are you too busy for us?"

Hiromasa looked so agitated by his remark at the end and retorted. "Yeah. Something came up. Deal with it." He slid his hands into the pockets of his trousers and began to walk off. "And, Zak." He only turned his head a little so that Zak and his friends had a view of his side profile.

"Don't talk to me anymore unless it's important." Then with that, he disappeared into the mass of people...