Leaves of the Acacia tree rusted as the wind blew gently.The chill sent shivers down Patrick’s spine.”I shouldn’t even be here”,he thought to himself.But he wouldn’t back out now.He made a promise and he would never break it.Besides,backing out is for sissy pants and he certainly wasn’t one.He would just have to wait for a while.He dug inside his back-pack.He only packed a couple of t-shirts and five jeans so he could make his way out of the house without getting too much attention from his parents.Told them he’d be out for a jamming session with his band mates and his folks didn’t even bother asking why it had to be that late.His hands were starting to get clammy despite the cold weather.He stuffed
it inside the pocket of his jeans.An emotional turmoil started to stir inside him.He was all thrilled,anxious,and even scared.
Thrilled about what they were going to do.Anxious about his and Ella’s future and scared that Ella won’t show up.What if she didn’t want to do this anymore?She had every bit of a reason not to show up.What if her parents found out that she was pregnant and that they were about to elope?”Stop giving her the benefit of the doubt”he said to himself.”Fifteen minutes more and i’m outta here”he mu ttered.He tried to divert his attention by plucking out weeds from the park where they were supposed to meet.Hours passed and still Ella didn’t come”I’m outta here for real!”He cried out loud as if hoping that she would come out from somewhere and start apologizing.She never did.He stomped off the park like a kid and went back home.His folks were asleep so he didn’t have to worry about  the door creaking.He tried to call her but she could not be reached.The next day he went to class.Still no sign of Ella.He decided to go to her house which was just a couple of blocks away from their school.But neither her parents knew where she was.A day passed and her parents decided to report the incident to the police.The police questioned him knowing that he was her boyfriend.He told them he had no idea where she was and didn’t even dare to say anything about eloping.He would be suspect number one if he did.