Who pranked me?

 “Why did you bring me here Anna cried out? 

“I told you; I don’t want to come here”

“Am sorry Aliya; I just wanted to help you get over this”

 “I know what you have been through this past years and this is the only way I know to make you remember what happened that night at the party your ”

“I can’t take this anymore Anna; you should have told me we were coming here as tears rolled down her eyes.” 

She ran out of the house to catch up with the taxi but he was long gone. Aliya kept running after the taxi until he got out of her sight. I didn’t mean to hurt her all I was trying to do was to save her from her past. Aliya on the other hand doesn’t want to remember her past.

I tried to catch up with her but she ran to fast that I had to stop for some few minutes to catch my breath. She wasn’t actually running away from me but it was the pain of the past which hunted her after seeing her high school sweetheart.

Not everyone is happy to see their high school crush especially when they leave a big scar in your heart. You can’t forget them even though you try; after so many years I still think about what might have happened to Aliya at the party.

Everything started two years ago when Victor invited her to a party few months before prom night. Aliya has always looked forward to this month. Every guy will definitely want to go out with such a beauty.

Aliya was the most beautiful girl in our school. I guess when beauty comes with intelligence everybody wants you to date you or be your friend. She hardly makes friends because she was an introvert but when it comes to her studies she is the best you can find. 

I remembered when we went for an interschool competition; she stood in front of about 2000 parents to share her views on “building a great future.” I never thought she will be able to express herself in front of so many people. It was the best speech ever which has helped me become the best version of myself. Aliya was awarded a scholarship throughout her college year in the University of her Choice after winning the competition

 All the parents who attended the competition were proud of such a wonderful girl with a great knowledge on how to be a successful young girl. Some even wished she was their daughter especially when she talked about parents choosing their work over their children. They were only concerned with giving us a better life. She was actually right because I was one of those children who had no one to advice me unless Aliya. Mom was always busy at the hospital while dad was fighting for our country on the sea. They don’t even have time to listen to my dreams and also help me achieve them. Sometimes am confused but Aliya gave me the best advice so far. We were pretty close and I love when I spend time with her.

Aliya was given three days off from school to rest after having two weeks of sleepless night to prepare for her the competition. She loved school so much that she rejected the offer by resuming school the next morning. 

The next morning our school bus picked Aliya in front of her house. She was always looking like a princess; her beauty blew everyone away. When she got into the bus she walked down to the back to sit with me but someone else was already sitting there. It was because I thought she wasn’t going to come to school. I told her to sit beside Victor who was her long time crush. She gave me that look of not wanting to sit with him. I whispered in her ears that this is your best chance to talk to him. She walked up to him by asking if she could sit beside him and he said yes. 

Victor was the coolest guy in school. He got the swag, the looks and the smile to make any girl fall in love. Whenever Aliya saw him in class she becomes uncomfortable and tries to control herself but its hard to stop yourself from loving someone. Sometimes we get the opportunity to be in the group for an assignment but Aliya was still scared to talk to him.

Aliya sat beside him then Victor asked if she was the girl who won for herself the scholarship and she said yes looking out of the window because she was scared to look into his eyes. He congratulated her and wished her success in her studies before she could say anything the bus stopped and it was time for us to get down of the bus. We all took our bags as we hurried down to get out of the bus. Aliya was sad because she didn’t get much time to have a nice chat with Victor.

We walked quietly to the class and Aliya refused to tell me what they talked about. I was so curious but I decided to stay quiet too. I know she would definitely tell me about it. We got to the class and walked down to the back to keep our bags in the locker. Aliya was about to open her locker when she foun a note which fall to the ground. She picked it up an opened it; it was not a note but an invitation letter to a party which will hold in two days. She was super excited because the party will hold at Victor’s house. She will get the chance to spend time with him.

After our class was over, Aliya asked me if I could come over to her house to help her pick a dress that she will wear for the party. I told her I will definitely help out. She always appears as a princess no matter what she was wearing. 

Every lady would love to look very beautiful on her first date. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy to make a decision because she is very picky. So we got to the house, took a shower and her mom has prepared a nice meal for us. Aliya’s Mom owns a restaurant down town which is named after Aliya. She always created time to watch over her daughter that is why they get along so well. Sometimes she helped Aliya to prepare for her competitions or even her assignments. They were so close that Aliya never kept any secret from her Mom. 

After eating, Aliya told her Mom about the party. Her Mom was happy that her daughter wanted to hang out with other kids her age so she agreed on letting her go out to have some fun. She took us to the mall to buy a few dresses for the party. Aliya loved pink and I loved blue; I was so lucky to because I got a dress to wear to the party. She was so loveable i wished she was my Mum.

Aliya and I took our time to prepare for the party that the next day I had to spend the night at her place. We even talked about possible questions Victor might ask her though I joked about it but Aliya took it serious. We read some stories; eat some popcorn alongside the fruit juice I prepared.  

Aliya’s room was all pink. It decorated with the pictures of all the Disney princesses. When you look outside the window; it seems like you can touch the stars. They were so beautiful luckily that night we saw a shooting star and we closed our eyes to make a wish. She refused to tell me what she wished for even if I told her mine. I wished that my parents had time to be with me. 

Aliya alarm rang to loud that I fell off the bed in shock. It ruined by sweet sleep which I haven’t had in a long time because of the frequent night reading. Aliya also jumped down the bed thinking it was an earth quake. I laughed so hard that Aliya’s mum ran to the room to know what was happening. After hearing what has happened she laughed and later told us to get ready for school.

On our way to the school, Aliya bumped into Victor; she didn’t know what to say instead she was staring at him; lost in thought. He greeted her first then Victor asked her if she saw the invitation he kept in her locker. He said, he was shy to hand it over. She told him she was also shy to call him for he wrote his number on the card with a note saying call if you get this. I told them we were going to be late for our morning class so we talked as we walked to school. we decided not to wait for the school bus. it was an opportunity for my friend to talk to him for he always around his friends in school. it was difficult to talk to him. 

They exchanged phone numbers and we parted ways when we got to the class. We didn’t want our classmates to see us together. I told him we will definitely hang out at the party. Aliya keep staring at him until I held her hand and dragged her to class. We didn’t have much to do in class because it was Friday. Our teacher gave us some assignments to be submitted the next week.

After the school bell rang, we hurried home to do our assignment for it was the only condition her mom gave us before going to the party. Aliya told my parents about it and they allowed me to go since I was going with Aliya. She warned us to stay safe and watched what we drank and ate. 

Afterwards she took us to the saloon to make our hair in order to look more beautiful. The stylist did a great job by curling our hair which made us look like a Princess. When we got home; we took a shower then Mom helped us in choosing a dress from the ones she bought for us. We quickly dressed up because we were already running late. The party was to start at 6:00pm and it was 5:30 already. Mom called her diver to drop us off at the party.

Finally we got to the party, guess what? We were the only ones all dressed up; everyone kept staring at us. Linda even whispered to my ear, ‘this is a simple party to help us know each other better before we part ways.’ I didn’t say anything because I knew she was looking for trouble and I wasn’t ready for that yet. I guess she was jealous because we stole her spotlight the moment we stepped in. we were Victor’s surprise guest after all.

 Aliya was so shy that she kept her face down, she was scared to look into their eyes so I helped her looked for Victor maybe she could feel comfortable around him. I looked everywhere but we couldn’t find him so I decided to get us some drinks. I told her to sit in the parlor for the party was held at Victor’s place. When I got back I couldn’t find her. I asked around but no one saw her until the driver came to pick us.

He was also shocked on hearing the news, so we called the cops after searching everywhere. When they arrived, the party came to an end immediately they heard the siren. They all ran so they won’t get arrested because of the strong drinks found.

The cops arrived but the house was already empty. We explained what happened and the last time I saw her. They searched everywhere in the house but we couldn’t find her and Victor was nowhere to be found. We asked neighbors but they said they knew no one with that name

Two hours later, I told the cops that when we arrived at party; I saw a small garage right in the back. They told me to take them there. When we got to the garage, we called out her name but no one answered. They opened the door and when I looked into the garage I saw Aliya on the ground. I ran towards her calling her name but one of the cops stopped me. I told them to let me go that was how I lost the real Aliya. I kept crying until someone shouted she’s still breathing at that time paramedics were on their way.

As they got there, they took here on the stretcher and I ran towards that direction. I called her name but she was unconscious then they took her to the ambulance. The driver told me to come with him; on our way to the hospital he called Aliya’s mom that there was an emergency at the hospital. She said, ‘she was at the hospital.’ He never told her what had happened to her daughter.

Fortunately, it was the same hospital she was working. We saw her at the entrance of the hospital as we drove in. immediately her mom saw it was her daughter that being carried on the stretcher. She fainted due to the shock; her driver carried her into the hospital and the nurses on duty took care of her. Aliya on the other hand was rushed to the emergency room. I was so restless; all I could do was to pray for her.

After thirty minutes, the Doctor asked of the family of the patient who was rushed in a while ago. We immediately ran to him then he said there is no cause for alarm. She is fine now but still unconscious. I felt a little relieved. He said, ‘we should give her time to recover.’ I asked when she will regain consciousness but he broke my heart by telling me very soon. It could be weeks, months or years; I can’t give you an actually date. He told us to allow her rest for today that we can see her the next day.

Hours later, Aliya’s came to emergency room to check up on her daughter. She kept blaming herself for allowing Aliya go for the party even if it was against her will. Some of the nurses took her to her office to rest. I couldn’t go home because it was late for my parents were also worried about me. I told them am safe that I would come home the next day.

The next morning, the driver woke me that Aliya was awake. I quickly ran to see her that I gave her big hug but her reaction gave me concern. Aliyas Mom was right there; she said Aliya can’t remember who she is. I was so shocked and couldn’t believe what was happening. I began to cry, why will I let this happen to you? Aliya also started crying until the doctor gave her injection which made her fall asleep.

Aliya was discharged but she was going to the hospital for three months. We even tried to help her remember but she couldn’t. Her mom even got a therapist to help her but it was the same which made her attempt suicide. I came right in time to save her. This is how I lost my friend. Her life hasn’t been the same since then. 

After two years, the police caught Victor after investigation in the next town. He confessed that it was just a prank but when she fainted we all ran thinking she was dead. He said, ‘it was a thing he and his friends did in every party’. We always play a prank called ‘drop dead.’ He would invite someone then when they get to the party. He wil telll them that he was in trouble so when you get there: you will find his corpse thinking he was dead but in Aliya’s case she passed out seeing my fake corpse. Just a single prank took away my friend’s memory so I decided to bring her here to know the truth.  

I finally catch up with her and I told her everything but she fainted due to the shock. When she woke up she remembered everything but she was still in shock. She got better few days and she refused to press charges. I guess it was because she still loved him even it almost caused her everything.

Victor was released after two days. He went to visit Aliya with his parents and he apologized for what he did to her. Aliyas mom didn’t want to forgive him but Aliya wanted to start a new life by forgetting what had happened. She gave their friendship a second chance.  

I was happy that things have gotten back to normal after some months. It is true that you need to settle your past so your present won’t be affected. Aliya’s case was a lesson to other students who play pranks because she made sure she told her story on every social media platform.