“Maybe not, but aren’t you fueled by the idea of getting out of here so you can lounge on the couch?”
“You have a point.” We come to a dead end, and she points to the right. “This way.”
“No. We’ve already been down there,” I tell her.
Asher glances to the right. “Really?”
I point to a lopsided cornstalk. “Yeah, that cornstalk is familiar.”
Sloane laughs. “You’re joking, right?”
“No?”
“Ellis, there are literally thousands of cornstalks out here.”
“Yeah, and I’ve been trying to memorize any weird ones so we know if we’re going in circles,” I explain.
Sloane throws her hands in the air. “But there’s probably more than one lopsided cornstalk!” She takes my hand and tries to pull me to the right. “Come on. We both already know you have no sense of direction.”
I tug my hand from her grip. “That’s true, but I’m sure of this. Let’s just go left.”
“That’s in the opposite direction that we need to go,though. That’ll just take us deeper into the maze.”
“Maybe, but sometimes you need to go deeper to take the right path out,” I argue.
She looks at Asher. “What do you think, Ash?”
His eyes flicker between the two of us as he rubs the back of his neck. “Uh… I’m not sure…. But sorry, Ellis, I think Sloane’s right on this.”
I scoff. “Okay, fine. You guys go that way, and I’ll go this way. We’ll make it a race to the end.”
Sloane shakes her head. “I’m not letting you walk around in a corn maze by yourself at dusk.”
“I have my phone flashlight if I need it,” I tell her. “But I won’t because you two will be the ones needing to use your map to get out of here once you realize you’re walking in circles.”
Sloane lifts her eyebrows and puts her hands on her hips. “Fine. We’ll race you. But only because I need to take you down a few pegs, Ms. Know-it-all.”
I smile. “Excellent. I’ll see you at the end—if you ever make it.”
She smirks. “See ya, cuz. Let’s go, Asher.”
They head right, and I turn left.
Then left again. Then right. Then left. And soon I’m pretty sure I’m the one walking in circles.
The sun is fading and above me, the sky is a mixture of deep oranges and dark clouds. I pass a few families wandering through, but for the most part, the maze is empty at this hour.
“Shoot,” I whisper to myself. I take my phone out. No reception. Holding it as high as I can, I walk around, hoping for some bars. But I get nothing.
I’m slipping my phone back into my pocket and turning the corner when I slam right into someone.
Cooper.
“Oh—um—hey—” I stammer.
He looks around. “Are you alone in here?”
“Yeah, I’m racing Sloane to the end.”
