Lily Rotter
My name is Esme Kunta, and I always knew there was something special about me. I always had a rather keen sense in telling when people were lying, or maybe it was my crazy accurate intuition. Otherwise, I had always been a normal girl. Long wavy jet black hair and eyes as blue as the ocean, I live in an apartment on the south side of town. It has the huge windows I could spend hours looking out of, the view is the gorgeous city of New Haute full of beaches and huge houses. My favorite part of the city has always been the boardwalk, definitely not only because that’s where I first met Wilder. He is the most handsome, perfect guy in town. He has these eyes as green as emeralds, but he’s also nice, kind, helpful, tall but also my best friend’s cousin. But that’s besides the point, let’s get back to me!
I’m smart to say the least, I was supposed to skip 3 years in my k-8 school, but instead my parents took me on this wonderful vacation as they describe it but I can’t remember anything about it. I’m 17, I have a blue Nissan Altima, I’m a junior in high school, and I have a best friend Nola Montgomery. I swear I’ve known her forever. Nola and I have gone through everything together, all of our high school firsts like first kiss, first boyfriend and sadly first breakup.
It was a Thursday night when my whole world fell apart, but before we can get to all of that, I have to tell you about that week. Monday was great. I drove with Nola during lunch and we got food, and Tuesday was about the same. But Wednesday is when it all went down, It was 2:45 and me and Nola had our last hour together, and we were talking about this party we heard about.
“Someone said Wilder was gonna be there.” Nola says with a mischievous tone to her voice as she grins at me.
“So, I guess we’re going to this party on Thursday,” I reply to her taunt.
After that I drove Nola home after school because I had a bunch of school work to do. I started with some old missing ELA work that was due like two weeks ago. I finished writing the essay and started working on filling in some random slides for my AP Engineering class. But they were so boring I fell asleep with my computer open, and my music still playing. I woke up Thursday morning in such a rush I didn’t have a chance to check my phone. I ran into school at 7:27 and ran for my first hour.
I could finally check my phone at lunchtime and it wasn’t until I was sitting in my car in the school parking lot with Nola that I saw the messages Wilder sent me, it read:
“Are you coming to Winstons party tonight?”
When I tell you I actually squealed, giggled, and kicked my feet I’m not lying.
“OH MY GOD! Esme what is it?” Shouted Nola around a mouthful of ham sandwich with her ever present sarcastic cadence.
“Wilder asked me if I’m going to the party tonight, which means HE CARES ABOUT ME!” I practically screamed back to her. “What do I say back to him without sounding weird,” My voice pitches up, “I don’t want him to think I’m one of his fangirls,” I ask Nola.
She makes a contemplative hum, “You could just tell him you’re going and that you’ll see him there, because we both know damn well he’s gonna be there,” She flashes me a grin, “It’s not a New Haute party without Wilder Montgomery.” I can always count on Nola to be my wing-woman. I hastily type out my reply and toss a half-hearted thanks in her direction as she continues eating her sandwich.
Before the end of lunch Nola and I agree that after school I’ll bring her home, then around 6:30 we’ll meet back up at my house so we can get ready for the party together. After that, we’ll take my car and head to the party.
After three and a half hours passing by at a snail’s pace, 6:30 finally rolls around, and as soon as the minute hand shifts I hear a familiar doorbell. Nola and her perfect punctuality.
“Nola’s here!” I yell to my parents as I run down the stairs and open the door to greet her. However, once I do, a familiar pair of emerald green eyes meet mine.
“Oh, hey, Wilder.” I somehow managed to mumble out through my flustered and confused mouth. Nola shoves her way up the porch and takes Wilder’s place in front of me, the sight I was expecting to see behind the door.
“Hi Esme, I thought that if I was getting a ride from you, and Wilder needed one too that you could just take the both of us. That should be fine, right?” Her teasing smirk from earlier makes its way back onto her face.
“Oh, yeah, of course it’s fine, the more the merrier I guess,” I cringe as I talk. Traitor.
I step aside so the pair on my porch can make their way inside, close the front door, and lead us up to my room. I watch as Nola goes to her normal spot laying across my queen sized bed, which, thank god I made sure to actually make before she came over. I sit down at my desk and turn on my speaker, connect my phone and start playing some music as I get ready. I catch Wilder staring at me a couple times, but I guess he has nothing better to do.
“Nola, can you actually start getting ready instead of scrolling through TikTok, please,” I beg
“Yeah, I guess, if you really want,” she replies with a little sass in her voice.
Once we’re all ready, I tell my mom where I’m going and what time I’m gonna be home before the 3 of us piled into my car. Me driving of course, Nola called shotgun the second I shut the front door, which means Wilder got stuck in the back all alone.
We got to the party and it was kinda lame as usual, but eventually Wilder and I ended up sitting just the two of us alone around a fire in the backyard of whoever’s house we were at. My mind was racing at the possibilities that could happen. But sooner than I could imagine Wilder started talking to me.
“Esme, can I tell you something,” he says with a new demeanor in his voice I haven’t heard before.
“Of course, Wilder you can talk to me about anything,” I reply.
“Esme, there’s something that people haven’t been telling you.” That peaks my interest.
“Esme, your not normal. There’s always been something different about you. You´ve always stuck out, been different. Like when you vanished off the face of the earth for 3 years?” he says slowly.
“You mean when I went on vacation?” I reply confused.
“That wasn’t a vacation Esme, I know you don’t remember but you got very very sick at the end of that school year. You left school for weeks at a time because you were at the hospital. Then you were just gone,” he says and my stomach drops.
“I don’t understand, what are you saying, Wilder.”
“Esme, you disappeared for 3 years and then one day you were just back at school like nothing happened. That’s not normal. When you came back you were different and I couldn’t figure out why until one day when I was at Nola´s house when I overheard your mom and her mom talking about you. Your mom said that you were really sick and they thought you weren’t going to make it. Until one day when they got a letter in the mail from some government organization. The letter said that if your parents brought you to this random airport in the middle of nowhere that they would make you all better. Your parents really didn’t trust them but she had no other choice and she sent you off. She said that she got letters in the mail monthly talking about what they were doing to you and what they were putting in and taking out of you. Then she said that you were 85% robot or AI and 15% human when they got you back, that you were the first out of many and they were trying to replace human parts to save kids. Esme? Are you ok?” He spilled out, he had been keeping this to himself for awhile I guess.
“Do you seriously think I’m ok Wilder, You’re telling me this bizarre story and what, I’m just supposed to believe you? Do you know how crazy this sounds.” I spit out.
“Esme, I´ve known you for how long now? Do you seriously think I would lie to you about this,” Wilder says with a new sense of sincerity in his eyes.
I stumble away from the fire crying and decide yes, this is a great time to leave and go home. I storm into my house and I sit down on the couch and start crying, when my parents ask what’s wrong I make them tell me everything.