Who Needs Traitors when You've Got Maps?

I am directionally challenged. I don't remember routes well, and I get lost quite easily. Wyatt Zimmerman, my best friend, refuses to believe me and insists on helping me fix this problem. He even gets Queenie Jackson, my foster sister, and Yvonne Lambert, my childhood sweetheart, on board to put me through "special training". They get off the subway before I do whenever we travel, leaving me alone at the station. They quietly leave through another entrance whenever we go shopping, leaving me wandering alone like a fool as I search for them. They always say it's to train my sense of direction. I step away to use the restroom during lunch today, and by the time I return, the three of them are gone again—even the table is completely cleared. I am about to make a call when I realize I have given my phone to Wyatt to hold on to. I walk to the front desk to ask about them, and the receptionist hands me a note from Wyatt. It merely states, "We've taken you along this route twice already, Scott, so I'm sure you remember it by now. You can do it! We'll be waiting for you at home!" I suddenly realize how pointless this whole training is. There's honestly nothing wrong with having no sense of direction. I can find my way without anyone's help as long as I have my navigation app on my phone. Chapter 1 Scott's POV It was already evening by the time I returned home. I noticed that all three of them—Wyatt Zimmerman, Queenie Jackson, and Yvonne Lambert—were sitting in the living room, each holding a bag of popcorn as they watched a movie. Wyatt looked over when I came back, then shot the two people beside him a smug look. "I told you Scott would make it home before 7:00 pm! You two lost, so I get to decide what you're doing for the next month! You're almost done with your papers anyway, so missing a few extra days of school isn't going to hurt." Queenie scoffed. "Did you team up with Wyatt to mess with us, Scott? You took four hours to get home from the shopping mall last time! How did you make it back in less than two hours today?" Queenie was the foster sister I had taken in when I was young. Her parents divorced when she was in second grade, and neither of them wanted custody of her. I had always wanted a younger sister, so once I had confirmed several times that her mother really didn't want her, I brought Queenie home. Dad didn't go along with it and tried hard to talk me out of it. "Queenie is a living person, not some stray kitten or puppy. You can't just pick her up and bring her home, Scott." Queenie promised Dad back then, saying she would definitely become my well-behaved younger sister. Dad took pity on Queenie because she couldn't even get a decent hot meal, so he reluctantly agreed to take her in. Yet, despite that promise, Queenie became Wyatt's well-behaved younger sister instead. "You'd better come clean with us, Scott. Did Wyatt secretly leave some kind of marker for you?" Yvonne asked. She was my upstairs neighbor and childhood friend. Our families had this running joke about an arranged marriage between us back when we were children—and Yvonne actually took it seriously. She knew I had no sense of direction, so she would always wait for me after school and walk home with me. Before Wyatt came into our lives, Yvonne and I had spent ten years walking home together, hand in hand, from first grade through my sophomore year of high school. She had even said, "You'll always find your way home as long as I'm by your side, Scott." Yet, later on, Yvonne became the one who left me behind time and time again. Wyatt placed my phone on the coffee table and said, "I knew you two would try to make excuses, so I went ahead and grabbed Scott's phone ahead of time. You're going to accept the results now, right?" Queenie's smile faltered. "Why wouldn't you discuss something this big with us in advance?" Yvonne's expression hardened as well. "What if something had actually happened to Scott? How would we get hold of him if you took his phone?" Wyatt was totally bewildered. "What's going on with you two? Didn't we agree to run this special training for Scott together? How could you stab me in the back now?" Queenie hesitated for a second before adding, "Scott got home safely in the end, so we'll let it slide this time. You shouldn't mess around and take his phone behind his back again, Wyatt." Yvonne was silent for a moment before coming over and taking my hand. She checked me over to make sure I was fine, then sighed in relief. "Wyatt meant well, so don't hold it against him, Scott. Queenie left a bag of popcorn for you. I'll grab it for you, Scott." I grabbed my phone and turned toward the bedroom. "I don't want it. I'm tired, so I'll just go back to my room and lie down." Wyatt froze in place, turned back to Queenie, and asked, "Is Scott upset with me?" He looked slightly embarrassed as he got up and headed for the door. "I should head home now. Scott probably doesn't want to see me right now…" Yvonne followed Wyatt out. "It's pretty late, so I'll walk with you." "I can take you home too," Queenie said as she quickly followed them, changing her shoes as they got ready to leave. Yvonne reached out and nudged her back inside. "Oh, come on. Wyatt and I are going the same way, so I'll just walk back with him. You live here, so don't bother going out of your way, Queenie." Queenie glared at her. "Oh, give me a break! You live upstairs, Yvonne! How exactly is that 'on the way'?" I found the whole situation utterly ludicrous. Yvonne and Queenie, both of my childhood friends, were practically fighting over who got to walk Wyatt back. They didn't even bother to ask how I actually made it home by myself without a phone, given my terrible sense of direction. Chapter 2 Scott's POV In the end, both Queenie and Yvonne walked Wyatt back. I opened the class group chat as soon as I returned to my room and submitted my exchange student application to my academic advisor. Dad returned home at 8:00 pm and started making dinner for us. Queenie came to my room to call me for dinner. She couldn't help but sigh when I ignored her. "You're still mad at Wyatt, aren't you? You know his personality, Scott. He may be loud and obnoxious sometimes, but he genuinely cares about you." Wyatt transferred into our class during the first semester of sophomore year after his parents relocated for work. He made a strong impression on his first weekly test, taking my spot and putting himself, Yvonne, and Queenie in the top three. At that time, a classmate I couldn't stand came over after looking at the test results and dropped a snide comment right in my ear. "You're constantly so full of yourself just because you have two beautiful women by your side. You really blew it this time, didn't you? You won't even be able to hold onto third place in ranking anymore." Wyatt happened to walk by and overheard his remarks. He immediately started a brawl with the classmate, and in the end, both of their parents were summoned to the school. I was drawn to Wyatt's take-no-crap attitude, and before long, we became best friends. Thus, from then on, our group grew from three to four. We even ended up at the same university after high school. It went on like that until I suddenly realized I was being slowly pushed out of their circle. Queenie reached over and yanked the blanket off my head. "Get up and eat dinner first, Scott." I was genuinely hungry. I figured I shouldn't skip a meal just because I was upset, so I got up, washed my hands, and went to eat. During dinner, Queenie casually mentioned, "A huge amusement park just opened in the city with a massive Ferris wheel. Wyatt invited all of us to go check it out tomorrow." I was just about to refuse, but Dad suddenly spoke up. "I actually heard about that from a colleague of mine. You should go with them, Scott—and also keep Queenie company. She used to stare at the Ferris wheels on TV when she was little and always wanted to ride one. "It's just a shame that there weren't any in our city back then. I've always been tied up with work, so I couldn't take you kids on trips outside the city much." I couldn't bring myself to refuse anymore since Dad had already said so. Our group chat was already blowing up by the time I finished dinner. Wyatt was stressing over what outfit to wear the next day, trying on a bunch of clothes and spamming the group chat with photos. Queenie and Yvonne couldn't agree on anything, sending over a hundred messages arguing about it. Wyatt angrily dropped a voice message into the group chat. "Why are you two choosing for me? I sent those photos so that Scott could pick one for me. He's my best friend, so he knows what suits me best!" He tentatively added, "You're not mad at me anymore, right, Scott? I swear I won't do that anymore." Yvonne quickly answered on my behalf. "You don't have to worry about it. Scott isn't that petty. You actually helped him fix his awful sense of direction, so he should be thanking you instead—not getting angry. Isn't that right, Scott?" Wyatt took her word for it and kept messaging me, urging me to choose the best outfit that suited him. Yvonne tagged me in the group chat. "Doesn't this casual outfit look better on Wyatt, Scott? I mean, even the sales associate at the store complimented his good looks when he tried it on that day." Queenie looked at the messages and sat down next to me, rolling her eyes. "That sales associate was literally just being polite, but Yvonne is clueless enough to believe it. "You see, the black suit I picked looks much better! Hasn't she ever heard of how good a guy looks in a formal suit? Wyatt really loved it when he tried it on that day, too. You're like my brother, Scott, so you have to take my side on this!" I shifted the conversation and suddenly asked her, "You guys bought both of these outfits in-store? When did you buy them? How come I had no idea about this?" Queenie was replying to Wyatt's message, so she didn't even bother to look up. "We bought it at the store on the third floor of the shopping mall. You were there with us that day, weren't you? How did you forget about it already?" Chapter 3 Scott's POV I froze for a moment, then chuckled bitterly at myself. That day at the shopping mall, I had only gone to pick up my drink, and by the time I came back, they were nowhere to be found. It turned out that while I was running around looking for them, they were busy helping Wyatt try on clothes. It was no wonder none of my calls or messages got a response that day. Queenie finally recalled what had happened. She stopped looking at her phone screen, a slightly embarrassed expression washing over her face. "I-I got it mixed up. You weren't there that day. I was going to call you, but that store only sold suits. You always said suits are too stiff and refuse to wear them." I remained silent, my eyes fixed on her. Queenie reached out to pat my head, only for me to dodge her. "Do you feel left out? I'll take you on a solo shopping trip to pick out a few new outfits next time, then. How does that sound, Scott?" I was taking too long to respond, so Wyatt initiated a video call in the group chat. I ignored it while Queenie picked up and passed her phone to me. "Why aren't you picking one, Scott? Is it really that hard to decide?" Wyatt asked. Queenie spoke softly beside me. "You should pick one, Scott. Otherwise, Wyatt is going to think you still haven't forgiven him and won't get a good night's sleep." I scoffed and deliberately went against her. "They both look good, so just pick whichever one you like." Upon hearing that, Wyatt called me out for giving such a half-hearted answer. The following day, when we all met up at the amusement park entrance, Wyatt showed up in the casual outfit. He had gone with Yvonne's choice. I caught a glimpse of disappointment on Queenie's face. Wyatt sent those two off to queue up, then pulled me toward the stand to buy some drinks. "I knew you weren't actually mad at me! I mean, we're best friends, after all!" I smiled faintly, choosing to remain silent. It was opening day, so a ton of people showed up specifically for the massive Ferris wheel. It was very crowded. Just when we finally made it to the front of the line, Yvonne and Queenie suddenly got into a fight over who got to sit with Wyatt. Yvonne said, "You're Scott's foster sister, so obviously you should ride with him, Queenie." Queenie stubbornly shot back, "Wyatt went with your outfit choice, so it's only fair that he rides with me!" Those in line behind us were getting impatient, some complaining and others shouting at us to move along. "Are you guys getting on or what? Why don't you step aside and figure it out before getting back in line?" "What the hell is wrong with you guys? Why don't all three of you just sit together? Why are you even arguing over this?" Yvonne and Queenie snapped back at the same time. "Who the hell would want to ride with her?" They had said that, but in the end, the three of them still chose to ride in the same cabin. They said it was more spacious if one person rode in a single cabin, so Queenie and Yvonne both tacitly gave me the chance to ride alone. Wyatt leaned against the glass partition and looked at me enviously. "I'm so jealous you get to have the cabin to yourself, while I'm stuck sharing this one with these two." I could hear the woman standing behind me complain quietly to her boyfriend. "Is that really jealousy? He's obviously just showing off. How disgusting! I'd beat you up if you ever said something like that!" I instinctively turned around and looked at her. She looked slightly embarrassed as she explained, "I was joking around, so please don't take it personally." I didn't hold it against her. After all, everything she said was spot on. Chapter 4 Scott's POV In the end, even the ticket attendant couldn't stand watching it anymore and chimed in to back me up. "It's really no big deal! I'll call my son over right now to take a spin with you—I'll have him ride with you twice!" He actually pulled out his phone right after saying that and was about to make the call. I just smiled and waved my hand. "It's alright! I actually enjoy my own company more!" I stepped off the Ferris wheel, only to find that the three of them had vanished again. I didn't freak out and hunt around for them like I used to. Instead, I just took out my phone, brought up a ride-hailing app, and headed home. Dad happened to have the day off, so he was slightly surprised when he saw me return home alone. "Why are you back so early? Have you eaten? Where's Queenie?" I said nothing and sat down beside him. "I want to spend a semester abroad as an exchange student, Dad. Is that alright with you?" "Of course! It's great to get out there and see the world while you're still young! I also feel reassured knowing that you'll be going with Queenie!" I shook my head and said, "Queenie won't be coming along with me. We're old enough to make our own choices now, so I can't just force her to go down a path she doesn't want for herself." Dad lost his initial confidence, saying hesitantly, "You've never been far away on your own before. How can you suddenly go abroad by yourself?" I quickly reassured him, "I won't be alone since other students from my university are going too. I've already found a travel buddy as well." Dad finally gave in, though he still looked hesitant. It was almost evening by the time Queenie returned home. "We just stepped away to buy some drinks, Scott. Why did you come back alone?" I was filling out my exchange student application and didn't even bother looking back at her. "It's too hot out there, so I didn't want to stand around waiting." I noticed that the group chat had more than 100 messages by the time I finished submitting everything. They were in the middle of discussing what to pack, which sunscreen to buy, transportation, and the local places and food they wanted to try. I froze for a good while before sending a message in the group chat. "Where are you guys planning to go?" Queenie yelled out a curse from the other room before barging into my bedroom. "We booked tickets for a trip this afternoon. You weren't with us, so we completely forgot to include you! I'll see if I can get you on the waitlist for a ticket right now!" Just then, Wyatt sent over a voice message. "Did you actually forget? We bought the very last three tickets this afternoon! You two are the ones to blame for this. You two wouldn't stop talking in my ear all afternoon, and I ended up forgetting such an important thing!" Seeing that the three of them were about to start fighting again, I quickly sent a message in the group chat. "You guys don't need to get me a ticket. It's so hot out that I'd rather stay home." Queenie quietly breathed a sigh of relief next to me and closed the ticket site. "It really is ridiculously hot this summer. It's alright, Scott. I'll take lots of photos for you while we're there. If I spot any cool souvenirs, I'll be sure to bring them home for you!" … I happened to book my flight out of the country on the day they set off on their trip. Queenie was still nagging me about one thing after another before leaving for their trip. "You should go easy on the cold watermelon. Dad isn't around, so don't buy a whole one. Oh, and make sure you lock the door when you're home alone, Scott." Yvonne came downstairs just then and scoffed. "You can stay here and keep fussing over Scott. I'll go meet up with Wyatt first." Queenie gritted her teeth and followed right behind her. It was only after their car drove out of sight that I leisurely wheeled my suitcase out of the bedroom and headed downstairs. Finally, I didn't have to sit on the sidelines of their group dynamic this time around.