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I left
Sarah’s
parents’ house on
Berry Street and ran
toward Good Bar, wondering
how our friends in
Brooklyn could have no
idea where she was. What
puzzled me most was that
her parents insisted Sarah
hadn’t been home for
three nights. To avoid
worrying them, I lied,
saying I remembered her
mentioning she was going
to her boyfriend
Rick’s studio in the
Village. They believed it
and said they would wait
for Sarah to call, since
they know she hates being
bothered by phone calls.
In reality, I had already
been searching for Sarah
for five days. I had even
called Rick, who
didn’t have the
slightest idea where Sarah
was either.
Then, I
went to my last hope,
Sabrina, who works at Good
Bar, and one time, she
invited Sarah to a
birthday party at the
Royal Palms Shuffleboard
Club. I remember Sarah
saying she loved playing
shuffleboard floor. She
told me it was one of her
great nights. Maybe
Sabrina knows something
about Sarah.
I reached
Bedford Ave and walked
into Good Bar. Sabrina was
there, and as always, she
was all smiles with a
happy expression, like she
had never been up
shit's creek without a
paddle. Sabrina told me to
go to the City to search
for Rachel, a girl who had
fallen in love with Sarah.
Sabrina said that Sarah
had rejected Rachel
because of Rick, but that
she regretted it and
really needed to talk to
her. Rachel lives on
Carmine Street and
sometimes works at Great
Oaks Charter School as a
substitute teacher.
Then, I caught the train
at the Nassau Avenue
subway station and headed
to Manhattan. While on my
way, I opened Instagram to
check if Sarah had posted
something, but there was
nothing. Someone who
usually posted several
times a day now hadn't
put up a single thing in
five days. OMG! What could
have happened to her?
When I arrived at the
school, I ran into Rachel,
who was leaving with Roger
– a fellow
substitute teacher who was
completely obsessed with
the films of Norwegian
filmmaker Joachim Trier.
They invited me to join
them at Whole Foods. I
accepted, and we headed
there together.
The
conversation was difficult
because Rachel was still
hurt by Sarah’s
rejection. She spoke
bluntly about Sarah,
describing her as a lost
soul who hadn’t yet
found herself.
“Being Gen Z
doesn’t mean we
don’t think about
the future,” Rachel
muttered. “Our lives
don’t have to end up
like Rue Bennett’s,
and we don’t have to
live up to Cassie’s
standards from
Euphoria.”
I no
longer knew where to find
Sarah. I visited the other
places she frequented in
the City, speaking to
everyone who knew her, but
no one had a clue about
her whereabouts. At that
point, I was considering
calling hospitals,
morgues, and police
stations. Nothing but dark
thoughts filled my mind. I
was weak and let my own
negativity become my
tutor. I couldn't bear
Sarah's absence any
longer when, suddenly, I
heard Rick's voice
behind me, "Sarah?
Where were you?"
END
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