Midnight Mysteries

During the summer of 1987 the week started off like any other week when I was making my rounds through the neighborhood. Every morning I delivered people’s newspapers before the crack of dawn. Yes I was the paperboy who would bike through the neighborhood tossing newspapers on peoples lawns. Even accidentally missed the sidewalk and broke a window once, but that is a story for another time. Then, one morning, out of no where everything changed.

That Monday was typical for me as I made my way through the neighborhood. I thought of how tired I was of my job and secretly wished for better. I had been delivering newspapers and helping my aunt with her flower nursery ever since I was 12 and by the age of 18 I was sick of it. Yet everyday I just prayed and hoped for something bigger and better to come along. I meditated on it quite frequently before bed and when I woke up and I was certainly surprised the day when fate had its way with me.

The week had gone by slowly as usual and I couldn’t wait for the two day weekend. It had been a long hot week and The fourth of July was approaching and I was going to make the best of it. My parents were going to be out of town and I was going to host a big party without their permission. I invited nearly half the people in my school and looked forward to at least half of them showing up.

Everything was going accordingly that Saturday as my friends and I awaited the first guests. Suddenly more people than I expected started showing up but luckily I was well prepared. The drinks and the snacks were out, the DJ was playing, and the games and pool were waiting. Being it that me and my friends had all contributed to the cost of the party we all stood at the front door ushering everyone inside that had paid their donation.

After many people went in for the party I let my friends stand at the door and went to start giving out drinks while others helped themselves. It was going to be a good night and a mess in the morning. I was surprised at how many people showed up and crossed my fingers nothing went wrong. Although I suspected that possibly a few drunk fights could potentially take place but for the majority I was confident that the crowd would just be wild, but not so wild the cops would show up. That was all I needed for it to be worth it.

Eventually I grabbed myself a drink and sat down on the front porch to make a phone call and relax after telling people over the megaphone the three simple rules. Having had gotten nothing but the dial tone when I tried calling my girlfriend I got up and to my surprise something hovered in front if the front door and delivered a big brown box. It startled me as I had never seen a drone up close in person before. I glanced around me but I was the only person that wasn't already in the backyard or inside.

I unwrapped the box slowly and as I was about to open it the the chime of the grandfather clock by me on the porch went off and I jumped. Tiredly I had rubbed my eyes and set it down so I could give my girlfriend a call again. Why couldn't it wait? I couldn't think of a reason, and I had no idea where it had even come from. Anticipation consumed me as I sat there listening to the phone ring, but still there was no answer.

Finally I finished opening it and was disappointed when there was nothing but another small box within. A part of me was the answer to my prayers or that it would be a million dollars, but it kept me guessing. When I carefully opened the other box a couple of people from the party came out of the front door and I stuck the small box in my pocket. "Yo! What's with the box bro?"

"Nothing it's just trash." I lied, "It was from stuff I ordered for the party. You guys want it?" They shook their head and scoffed walking off the porch to light up a joint in the front yard. "Hey, could you guys smoke that in the back?" They ignored me and I felt defenseless against my own rules, but it didn't matter. Of all of the noise and commotion going on inside the house the last thing I needed was a bunch of punks smoking on the front lawn.

"Hey! Smoke that in the back." I got up and followed them and told them off. As much as I didn't want to be that person I also didn't want any of my neighbors to have a reason to give the cops why a party on the holiday was a problem. I guess I was being a little paranoid, but they got up only to smoke it in the house. At that point I gave up entirely so that I could sneak off to my room so I could see what was in the box.

When I walked back in the house my friends crowded me with cheers and drinks. The volume of the music and the people was overwhelming but I still wanted to shoot off some fireworks in the back with my friends. I ran upstairs and hid the box underneath my pillow in hopes that I wouldn't forget about it when I was no longer drunk. Before locking the door behind me I grabbed a bunch of the fireworks that I had and excitedly ran downstairs.

When I found them in the back they were waiting with their fireworks and deep down inside I knew that it was a bad idea, but being the degenerates that we were we did it anyways. Eventually after we were done the cops showed up, but we lied and pointed them towards the opposite direction down the street. They didn't appear to really believe us and told me I would have to shut the party down and they would have a word with my parents.

My encounter with the cops put a knot in my stomach but I was just lucky they didn't ask if they could go inside the house. After the police officer left I reluctantly sent everyone home except for a handful of my close friends. We hung out for a little bit longer and than I decided that I was going to open the mysterious package that had been dropped off at the front door with them. If there was anyone that I would tell about it, it was them.

"I have something I want to show you!" I told them while we were all sulking bored on the couch. "I'll be right back.." When I got up quickly they all looked at me curiously and suspiciously like I had done something I shouldn't have. Although it wasn't beyond me aside from throwing the party and blowing off fireworks I hadn't done anything wrong. For once. No one said anything as I walked up the stairs.

When I brought the box downstairs and sat down on the ground they all huddled around me. "I don't know what it is, but a drone dropped it off on the front porch when I was outside earlier. It was in a big huge box, and I hid it," I started opening it as I told them the story and they stared at me in disbelief.

"No you didn't, you're lying!" My friend said as he grabbed the box out from my hands. Laughing I took it back from him and finished ripping it open. Inside of it there was a key and a note that was folded up underneath it. I grabbed the key and read the note aloud:

"Take this to the blockbuster down the street from your house Sunday afternoon. In the parking lot you will find a yellow Pontiac Firebird. In the glove box you will find a gun and a mask. Put the mask on and wait outside of the Gran Dorado..."

I stopped reading the note and looked at my friends who stared at me practically bug eyed. Thump. Thump. Thump. I could feel my heart racing as the sweat on my forehead. For some reason I had suddenly wished that I hadn't read it aloud and that I hadn't told them about it at all, but I kept reading,

"There will be a man in a yellow suit and you'll drive up to him and pick him up. Say nothing and ask no questions. The reward is a secret. Tell no one around you about this and keep it private. Or else."

Everyone started cracking up laughing at told me they weren't falling for it. They thought that I was joking for some reason as if I had found a key and wrapped it in a box and wrote a note for the sake of pretending. I decided that I was going to do as the note asked me for squits and snickers.

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