On Saturday afternoon, they chose a park on the outskirts of Morristown.
It wasn't famous or particularly large. It had wooden tables beneath a few trees, a short trail, and a small lake whose surface barely moved. Madison had suggested it because "you could talk without shouting and without someone trying to sell you something every two minutes." Chloe had confirmed that it had decent restrooms. Brittany had only asked that it not be next to a noisy road.
They arrived in two groups. Vivian and Brittany came first. Madison and Chloe arrived a few minutes later. Ana and Madeleine got off the bus carrying light backpacks, looking like people who had finally come somewhere without having to solve a problem.
"This place actually feels like a break," Ana said, looking at the water.
"As long as Brittany doesn't come up with a race to the other side, it'll last," Madeleine replied.
"I'm in a good mood today," Brittany announced. "I just want to sit down and eat."
Chloe held up a paper bag.
"I brought chips and soda. If anyone was expecting a feast, they picked the wrong friends."
"As long as there's no test, I'm good," Vivian said.
They settled at a table near the lake. Sunlight filtered through the leaves. There weren't many people around: an older man reading in the distance, a couple out for a walk, and a child with a broken kite. Nothing to disturb the peace.
Madison handed out napkins as if she were running a minor operation.
"Rule number one for today: nobody talks about homework."
"Rule number two," Chloe added, "nobody talks about stupid boys for more than five minutes."
Brittany raised an eyebrow.
"That severely limits my repertoire."
"That's why it's a rule," Madison said.
Ana chuckled softly and opened her soda.
"In Newton, this would feel almost illegal. Way too much free time all at once."
"Get used to it," Brittany replied. "Sometimes, it's allowed."
They talked about silly things. A teacher who used examples involving his cat. A store that had changed its name twice in one month. Whether the lake had fish in it or just floating leaves. Madeleine told them that her little sister collected rocks "with weird shapes." Chloe said that sounded better than collecting used movie tickets, which was what her cousin did.
Vivian listened more than she spoke. She smiled when appropriate. The air smelled of freshly cut grass and something sweet coming from the bag of chips.
At one point, she looked up without thinking.
High above, between the branches and the clear sky, a red balloon floated.
Small. Still. Far too still for the breeze that barely stirred the leaves.
Vivian felt a brief jolt in her chest.
It wasn't a lost party balloon. It was too perfectly aligned with them. As if it hadn't arrived by accident.
She tightened her fingers around her cup.
She said nothing.
Brittany was laughing at something Chloe had just made up. Madison was handing Ana a napkin. Madeleine was looking at the water. No one else seemed to have noticed it.
Vivian lowered her gaze to the table.
"Everything okay?" Brittany asked, glancing at her.
"Yeah. Just the sun."
It wasn't entirely a lie. It wasn't the truth, either. She tucked the balloon into the back of her mind and forced another smile when Ana raised her soda in an absurd toast "to doing absolutely nothing useful."
The afternoon remained pleasantly uneventful.
Madison admitted that she sometimes envied people who could disappear for an entire weekend without anyone calling them. Chloe said her father called anyway, "just to make sure she was still alive." Brittany suggested turning off their phones for ten minutes. Nobody actually did it, but the threat was enough to make them laugh again.
Ana stretched out on the bench.
"We could come back here. Without a plan. Without telling half the world."
"Without giving Brittany three hours' notice," Madeleine corrected.
"That too," Brittany agreed.
Vivian nodded. The balloon was still up there, or so she thought. She no longer looked directly at it. She only checked from the corner of her eye every now and then, making sure it hadn't come down.
There was still no letter. No message yet. Just that silent presence.
For the first time in weeks, she could almost convince herself that the day would end just as peacefully as it had begun.
The sound came first as a distant engine.
Then another. And another.
They weren't ordinary cars. The noise was rougher, heavier, like something entering a place without asking permission. Several motorcycles came down the dirt road that circled the park and stopped near the makeshift parking area, a few yards from their table.
Six or seven men.
Worn leather jackets. Boots. One still had his helmet in his hand. Another spat on the ground before looking around. They didn't seem lost. They seemed to be sizing up the place.
The conversation at the table quieted without anyone having to say a word.
Chloe was the first to fully notice them.
"Great time to have left the megaphone at home," she muttered.
"Don't stare at them too much," Madison said in a low but firm voice. "Let's just keep doing what we were doing."
Brittany had already turned her body slightly, just enough to keep them at the edge of her vision. Ana set her soda down on the table. Madeleine said nothing; she simply grew more still.
Vivian felt her stomach tighten.
The red balloon remained in the sky.
The bikers switched off their engines one by one. The silence that followed was worse than the noise. A couple of them laughed at some private joke. Another pointed toward the lake. Then, almost simultaneously, the group's attention settled on the table where the six girls sat.
It wasn't a coincidence.
It was an assessment.
Six girls. Alone. In a quiet park, far from the center of town.
The tallest man, with a short beard and a dark jacket bearing a half-torn patch, watched them without bothering to hide it. Beside him, a younger guy ran his tongue over his lip and said something they couldn't quite hear. Another crossed his arms, like someone calculating distances.
Madison maintained her composure. Chloe lowered her voice slightly but didn't get up. Brittany wasn't smiling. Ana's jaw was clenched. Madeleine stared at the table rather than at them.
Without meaning to, Vivian searched the branches for the red balloon again.
It was still there.
As if it were waiting.
In the parking area, the bearded man tilted his head toward his companions and spoke quietly enough that the girls couldn't make out the words… but not quietly enough to conceal his intentions.
The bikers still hadn't approached.
They were only watching.
Sizing them up.
And for the first time all afternoon, the place no longer felt peaceful.