Over and Over, Over and Over

Mimiko ruffled her hair in frustration. "Then how do we find this kid?" Mimiko thought for a moment, then said, "If he left his cell phone behind, he might have been kidnapped, and there might not have been a struggle there because it was the easiest way to get out of the house to avoid military school. What do you guys think?"

It was starting to get late, and Atoli was starting to get hungry. She creeped down the stairs to get some leftovers out of the fridge to eat, and then went back to her room. Her homework was finished, so she sat at her window, staring out into the darkening evening. She wondered if she would see that guy at the bus stop again, or if that was just a chance meeting that would never happen again.

"But there's always the chance," Mimiko insisted. "I seriously doubt any teen would go anywhere without their cell phone." She was still confused by that.

When Kilik appeared at her window, Atoli jumped back. Her startled bird in its cage began to screech at the intruder. Atoli shushed the bird and threw the cover over the, hoping to calm the bird. It worked, somewhat. The bird was still grousing, but at least it wasn't screeching anymore.

"Who are you?" Atoli asked Kilik in a small whisper. "I saw you earlier at the bus stop. What are you doing here?"

Mimiko frowned at all the papers scattered on her desk and the things on her computer screen. "Nothing out of the ordinary for any teenager..." she muttered. "Does this kid have a web journal or a blog or a diary or something?"

Atoli smiled at Kilik and came closer. "Can I run away with you?" she asked sincerely. "My parents don't really care about me. I doubt they'd miss me." Somehow, she understood what he meant, even though he was having trouble putting it into words.

"Username, penname, something." Mimiko began searching through Kilik's phone for any type of name that would fit the bill. Eventually, she found something, and after searching it online, found a small blog. "Think this is his?" she asked, pointing. There wasn't a profile picture or anything that would say otherwise.

"But there might be clues about where he's going or where some of his favorite places are," Mimiko pointed out. "We need all the clues we can get, you know?"

Atoli nodded and grabbed her school bag. She dumped out her books and packed a change of clothes, a few toiletries, and her wallet along with some of her extra savings. She hefted her backpack onto her shoulds and then followed Kilik from the window.

Mimiko thought for a moment. "He's a martial artist, his parents said, so that weapon might be his. Um, it sounds like he's saying he'll do what he wants when he wants and if someone tries to stop him he'll kick their ass."

"I'll tell the patrolling officers," Mimiko said, picking up the phone and dialing. She repeated the information they'd found out and hoped that they could find something.

"I'm Atoli," she replied, looking around the darkness nervously. She'd never been out this late before, and with someone she hardly knew... It was a little scary.

"H-helicoptor?!" Mimiko had never ridden one of those, and she didn't think she wanted to start. Those things were noisy and choppy, and she had trouble with airplanes, let alone choppers. "C-can't we just search at ground level?"

"So do you have any idea where we're going?" Atoli asked quietly. She was nervous. Never before had she done anything against her parents wishes. Running away with a boy was a huge step for her.

Mimiko sighed, obviously outnumbered in this situation. Then the phone rang. She grabbed it. "Police. Mimiko speaking." She nodded a few times. "Thanks. We're on our way." She hung up. "It seems a security guard at the train station spotted someone with a long stick-type weapon. He was traveling with a girl."

"I've been there with some friends." Friends she hadn't spoken to since Middle School, when her parents forced her not to do anything the other girls thought 'cool,' like pierce her ears. "We'll be there by morning."

"This kid isn't a criminal!" Mimiko said. "Running away isn't exactly a crime, and for all we know this girl went with him willingly!" Kidnapping was a crime, but if the girl ran away with him, well, then it wasn't a crime for two runaways to help each other.