Akeria's Freewriting

He kicked a pebble out of the way. "I can't believe they would just abandon us here like that..." He grumbled. I knew that grumble all too well. I shook my hair, kicking all of the dirt out of the bottom of it.

"Don't freak, Chad. It's our own fault--" I started to say.

"Our fault?" Chad interrupted. "Please, explain how this is our fault, while those two have just up and left with our car, money, and everything we need to get back to town. What the heck!"

"Well, if we hadn't come up with the idea, maybe it wouldn't have happened like this..." I told him. He helped me stand up.

"Don't talk like that Lacey." He kissed me gently. "I don't want you thinkin' that way. It's not our fault. It's theirs. We're going to have to walk back home though, unfortunately."

I let the matter go as he brushed the dirt off my back and led me through the trees back toward the general direction of Chicago. He took my hand gradually, becoming more and more in the lead as we went.

I knew I was right. We were wrong. If Chad haden't suggested that we play that darned truth or dare game out here, then we wouldn't be in this situation. We had driven with Mandy and her boyfriend Nate out these fifteen miles into the woods just to play truth or dare. Of course, Nate dared Mandy to take the truck, and they did. Now they were speeding back toward Chicago, and we were still stuck in the woods.

It wasn't a total loss, I had some really good "quality" time with Chad before he realized what had happened. He told me that they were going to come back, and like a fool, I believed him. What would my father say? I knew it wouldn't be good.

We hiked out of the woods forever, until we came across a dirt road that led back toward the main one. A cop car drove by.

"Need some help there?" He asked, rolling down the window. My eyes widened and I stood behind Chad. I didn't want them to see who I was.

"Actually, if you could give us a ride back to London Street, that would be great." The cop unlocked the backseat and Chad opened the door, motioning for me to get in. I gave him a deathstare as he got in next to me. I loved Chad, but he really didn't think about anything.

I had good reason to be afraid of cops. My dad was a criminal, and I knew it. Good 'ol Chad was leading the cops right to our house. Fantastic.

The cops dropped us off at the corner of London street. Chad thanked them as we started down there.

"What the heck is your problem!" I screamed as soon as they rounded the corner.

"My problem? Listen to who's screaming." He took his hand and wrapped it around my waist, pulling me closer and kissing me. I pushed him away. "What?" He asked.

"Are you kidding? You almost led the police right to my door! You know about my father! What would have happened if they found him? I would have been put into another foster home."

"Lacey, you're eighteen. You can live on your own. Or move in with me." He smiled deeply, the sunset lit up his smile.

"Yeah, I'll be sure to do that." I told him sarcastically. "Let's just get back to Mandy's house so we can yell at her and get your truck back."

"Fine." He agreed, taking my hand.

The fox stepped out of its den cautiously, sniffing the air around it for a hint that someone was nearby; gunpowder, the stench of a human. He flexed his right front paw and tested the ground, deciding that the snow was safe to walk on.

He sprinted to the other side of the meadow like lightning, orange tail billowing in the breeze behind him. Pausing, he sat, completely straight, like one might find a statue. His ears twitched at each sound; a cricket chirping in the background, the crunch of leaves of some clumsy animal, and the louder crunch about a dozen paces to the north.

A shot was heard. Birds sprinted out of the trees, flapping their wings as fast as they could go. The hunter moved around clumsily, snapping tree branches and tripping over rocks. The fox leapt off the rock and looped around the hunter to the west, avoiding a gunshot by inches.

The hunter had him now. The fox could feel that he was being chased. His instincts told him to keep running. He pushed his paws harder. The hunter was now running too, wasting bullets by shooting at trees, causing more animals to come out of their hiding places.

"I've got you now li'l foxy!" The hunter bellowed in a deep accent. He raised his rifle again, preparing to aim at the fox.

The fox sprinted away as fast as it could. His lungs were burning, air deprived. The snow was cold on the bottom of his paws. He circled around the hunter, keeping low in the rasberry bushes to avoid being seen. He dodged every branch on his way around, trying to get behind the hunter without being noticed.

He succeeded.

"Where are you li'l foxy?" The hunter asked stupidly. "Come out and play." The fox didn't hear him, or understand him. He rushed forwards, now behind the hunter, and dove into the safety of his den.

The hunters footsteps came closer. The fox did not realize that snow left tracks. He saw the barrel of the gun come down into the den. He dove into the tunnel, farther, and farther, until he was all the way up against the back wall.

He began to dig, furiously, not caring about how much noise he was making. The only thing that mattered was safety.

A shot made the entire den shake. The hunter had missed and hit the wall of the den. The fox kept digging forward, and then started to dig up, to create a new hole.

He broke through the top of the earth and sprinted out of his new doorway, away from his den and the hunter, toward the safety of a set of caves on the southern end of the meadow.

The hunter didn't see the fox go.

The cauldron bubbled over the edge and smoked violantly. It began to shake, vibrating over the fire.

Raven came running from the other room, extuinguishing the flame and taking a small vial full of the yellow potion.

"What do you think, Es?" She called to her twin sister. Esmerelda came out from behind the door, keeping quiet.

"Did you remember to add the newt? It looks really pale..." She poked her finger into the potion, taking it out to look at the way her finger was slowly turning green.

"I thought I added the newt... Where's Muna, she'll know." Raven stepped away from the cauldron and stalked down the hall in search of the cat. "There you are, Muna." She said. "Do you remember if I put a newt in the potion?"

The cat raised her mahogany eyes, searching her mind for a memory of Raven making the potion.

"Yes, you did." He said simply. He licked his paw and curled up into a ball. Raven's face contorted into a frown. "But, you forgot the powdered bat."

Raven groaned and walked back down the hall. Her sister was entirely green. Raven screamed.

"What did you do!?" Esmerelda yelled.

"I forgot the powdered bat..." Raven said. "It's okay, I can fix it. I know the antedote.

"You better!" Esmerelda screamed, lighting the fire under the caldron.

Esmerelda watched as Raven poured a gallon of water into the clean caldron, and then added powdered bat as well as other ingredients, ending with a splash of vinegar.

"This will work, I'm sure of it." Raven said pulling out a vial.

"You test it." Esmerelda said.

"Me? I'm not the one who looks like a frog!"

"You're the one who turned me into a frog!" She said.

Raven rolled her eyes and poured the new potion on Esmerelda's head. She watched her skin lose pigment very slowly, and then become a fire red.

"Uh-oh." Raven said. Esmerelda caught sight of her skin in the mirror.

"I'M RED!" She screamed.

"MUNA!" Raven yelled. The cat stalked down the hallway, sittind down on a pillar to see what was wrong.

"Esmerelda, you're red." He said simply. She groaned in response.

"What did I do wrong this time?" Raven asked innocently.

"Did you add vinegar?" The cat said. Raven nodded. "What kind?"

"Balsamic. I figured because we were out of red wine vinegar, it would work just the same." Raven said.

"Ah, that's where you went wrong. You see, the red wine vinegar actually cancels out the natural red pigment of the potion, making it clear." He turned to Esmerelda. "You need to drink three vials of red wine vinegar to turn your skin back to normal. Good luck, ladies." Muna jumped off the pillar and trotted down the hall.

Dear Diary,

It's not like they describe it in the movies. Not at all. To be honest, they don't use that enormous beam thing that they always show you. That doesn't even exist. They told me so. They thought we had one, which is why we put them in our movies. I'm not exactly sure how they're so up on our popculture, but they certainly were.

And it hurts! They have an enormous metal grappling hook, and it comes down and inserts itself into your belly-button, then opens the hook so it can't come out as easily as it went in. Then they lift you up.

Once inside, you're blinded by the darkness. They can see in the dark. It's not all bright like it is in the movies. Not at all. It's completely black, and you can feel hands running all over you, taking out that monster cord from your belly button, feeling all ten of your toes, the way your hair connects to your head, how your fingernails are shaped. All stuff that humans already know. And I would have told them, had they asked.

But they don't say anything. At least not that you can understand. They don't speak all funny either. They actually speak so low, that humans can't hear them. Like elephants. But that's not the strange part.

The strange part is that they don't have antennas, or big black eyes, or green skin. No. They're completely normal looking. They're just a bit bigger than us, size-wise. They're huge. Very tall. And their hair. That's a bit different. It grows in different colors, but none that I recognize, except for a really muddy looking gray. I can't describe it... It's like charcoal, but brown... I know, weird.

But that's still not the strangest thing. The strangest thing is that they don't eat! At all. They only drink. And halfway through, my stomach began to crave something. Meat. Anything. Luckily they seemed to know the anatomy of a human being pretty well, though I doubted they could understand me, they did bring me a plate of food, which I was careful not to devour in less than two bites.

All in all, alien abduction was fairly fun. They let me go three days later. I have no reason to tell anyone. They won't believe me, they won't do anything. It'll just cause unnecessary suspicion. But I know what happened, and that's all that matters.

The tree grunted and shifted around a little bit in his place. The mulch was too dry for his liking, he liked it when there was a lot of rain that soaked the ground. He especially did not enjoy snow.

"Quit your noises!" Frahr said. He was about four paces down the creek, but he was very obnoxious. He didn't like noise.

"The mulch is uncomfortable." Drangir explained. He shifted again.

"Then go find a different spot to sleep for the night, you're noises are maddening!" He settled further into the mulch where he was, falling into a deep sleep and snoring.

Drangir grunted, standing up and stepping across the creek and past Frahr to where his friend, Jarshma was staying.

"Hello, Drangir." The female tree said without opening her eyes. He tickled Drangir's nose with a white flower.

"Hello." He replied, digging a small hole to reside in for the night.

"Don't make it too deep." The wise tree warned. "You will have trouble covering it up in the morning. It's going to rain tonight. The mulch will turn mostly to mud, and you will have a very deep hole to conceal before humans come wandering in."

Drangir sighed, a gust of wind that bent the grass backwards, swaying. He dug a smaller hole and then settled his roots in it, happy that the ground would be wet when he awoke.

***alexarayy108 has entered ZNC Chat***
alexarayy108: Anybody here?
alexarayy108: Guess not...
***frannybaybe has entered ZNC Chat***
alexarayy108: Franny! Oh, thank God!
frannybaybee: What's up, A-Ray?
alexarayy108: It's Cora, she's cheating on Vince.
frannybaybee: Are you sure? That really dosn't sound like Cora...
alexarayy108: I'm positive, Franny! I saw her kissing Jorge by the stage...
frannybaybee: Oh.
frannybaybee: Well, yeah. That kinda proves it.
alexarayy108: What do we do?
frannybaybee: We? Psh, I don't know! Did you talk to Cora yet?
alexarayy108: Are you crazy?! I don't want her to get mad at me!
frannybaybee: No, I just meant that she might have some kind of explination.
alexarayy108: Yeah, I guess.
***coraboramachine has entered ZNC Chat***
coraboramachine: Hey, guys!
frannybaybee: Hey, C. What's up?
coraboramachine: Nothing much, what about you, A-Ray?
alexarayy108: I saw you cheating on Vince, Cora.
coraboramachine: What?
***alexarayy108 has left ZNC Chat***
coraboramachine: What the heck! I never cheated on Vince! I would never do that!
frannybaybee: I know you wouldn't. But A-Ray said she saw you kissing Jorge.
coraboramachine: WHAT?! He's playing opposite me in the play! We were running lines!
frannybaybee: You may want to tell her that before she tells Vince.
coraboramachine: Crap.
coraboramachine: Get her back here, she's not answering my text messages.
frannybaybee: Aright.
***frannybaybee has gone away***

Francesca stood up from her computer and walked into the kitchen, digging through her backpack for her cell phone to text Alexa-Ray. She entered the message quickly, and sent it off, returning to the computer before Cora got mad. Hot chocolate in hand, she braced herself for the upcoming battle of truth.

***frannybaybee has returned from away***
coraboramachine: What did she say?
frannybaybee: She didn't answer my message yet.
coraboramachine: Well, what did you send her?
frannybaybee: "Hey, A-Ray. Can you come back to the chat? Cora just wants to talk. She's not mad, I promise."
coraboramachine: Good. I hope she comes back. I really would never cheat on Vince.
frannybaybee: I know, C. I just think that she's kind of jealous. A-Ray doesn't have a boyfriend...
coraboramachine: Neither do you.
frannybaybee: Thanks for reminding me.
coraboramachine: I'm sorry. Still sore over your break-up with Nick?
frannybaybee: Yeah, kinda. It was only a few weeks ago... I kind of miss him.
coraboramachine: Yeah, I get it.
frannybaybee: I'll be right back. I'm hungry.
***frannybaybee has gone away***

Franny ran a hand through her tangled blonde hair, standing up from her chair to go get some food. She looked in the cabinet, trying to search for some cookies, chocolate, sugary cereal, anything that would keep her mind off of Nick. She missed him like crazy, not like she would ever let him know that.

Her phone buzzed within her pocket. She answered the text message from A-Ray quickly, grabbing a juice box and a package of mini-muffans quickly and shoving them into her mouth one by one as she typed A-Ray's response to Cora.

***frannybaybee has returned from away***
frannybaybee: Back.
coraboramachine: Did she answer?
frannybaybee: Actually, yes.
coraboramachine: What did she say?
frannybaybee: "Not right now, I have to go to ballet. Tell Cora that I'll call her later so we can talk about this.
coraboramachine: Okay, it's a start.
frannybaybee: Agreed. I'm going to get going on some homework. I'll see you tomorrow in Chem, kay?
coraboramachine: Cool beans, see you then.
***frannybaybee has left ZNC Chat***

She turned off her computer, resisting the temptation to log on to facebook and check up on Nick's profile. He was dating some girl. Some taller, prettier blonde. That was what bothered her the most. She was a blonde too, and looked a lot like she did. "Jerk." She mumbled under her breath, heading back into the kitchen for another package of min-muffins.

The door squeaked as she opened the pantry, a reminder that what she was doing was not only insane, but also highly unhealthy. She had been eating non-stop for two weeks now, and had gained twelve pounds as a result. She was spiriling out of control, having never been rejected before. And she didn't like it. Her mother had tried taking her to a therapist when she gained the first five, but all that did was make it worse. More tramatic. Franny hated talking to people she didn't know. She didn't give her heart out very easily, and certainly didn't appreciate it when it was broken. Though this was the first time, she thought, it was definitely the worst that it could ever be. She could sit on the couch, watching the television for hours on end, unaware of time. The only thing that kept her sane was homework.

It wasn't just her breakup with Nick that was causing her these problems. Franny's brother had died just a month before, two weeks after her Dad left them, leaving with some girl from Canada to go live his life with his other family in Newfoundland, Canada. Her mother was rarely home, working double shifts as a doctor. She was a spinal sergen at Yale Hospital in Connecticut.

Franny believed it was her fault, that her mother was working double shifts. She thought that her mother didn't love her anymore. Only loved her brother, and missed Chris so much, that she couldn't actually look at Franny without crying. Franny took to staying in her room, behind closed doors to eliminate the confrontation. Not that it mattered anyway. When she was sleeping, her mother was awake, and when Franny was at school, her mother was taking her five minutes of relaxation before heading off to the hospital exactly an hour before Franny was due home. Franny almost wanted to skip school, just to face her mom.

The only attention that she had gotten in the past two weeks was when her mother tried to bring her to a therapist. Franny had yelled at her so much, hurt her feelings so badly. She didn't mean too, she just didn't want help. She just wanted to be alone.

"Come on, Kara, we're going to be late!"

Kara-Lynn turned away from the mirror in her locker. "Are you afraid of being late, Bianca?" She pursed her lips and flipped her hair, turning back to the mirror, to apply more red lipstick. "Because if you are, I don't think that you'll be able to do this."

"I don't like it when Mr. Burns yells at me... He's kinda scary, Kara."

"Whatever. Come on." Kara slammed her locker closed and started walking the opposite way of their next class, toward the bathroom. "You're not going to chicken out on me, are you, Bianca?"

"No, Kara. I won't."

"Good." Kara said, leading the way into the bathroom. Gretchen and Xada were already there, talking. Xada was tall, with long legs and dark skin, having just moved from South Africa last year. She still had her accent, and it was sometimes hard to understand her, but Kara was patient with her, one of the few people she was patient with. Gretchen was shorter but not by much. Running had given her a stunning body, and her dark green eyes and brown hair only added to her beauty. Kara walked closer, her long blonde hair falling to her hips in curls.

"Did you bring the stuff?" Gretchen asked? Kara nodded, handing something to each of the girls. Bianca stood back, straight black bangs falling into her eyes. She was smaller than these girls, and though she was pretty and thin, she was soft and delicate.

"What's she doing here?" Xada asked, pointing to Bianca. Bianca sank further against the mirror behind her. Xada walked closer, a models's strut, like she was a human peacock. "You don't belong here. You'll never actually do it." Xada said, her face inches from where Bianca's was. Bianca swallowed hard. An enormous ball was forming in the middle of her throat.

"Calm down, Xada." Kara-Lynn said. She went into one of the stalls to change. Xada and Gretchen hopped up on the sinks to watch. They talked loudly.

"Do you think she'll do it?" Gretchen asked in her thick southern accent.

"No way. She'll totally chicken out." Xada answered, her long black hair shimmering. "I bet she won't even change into the dress."

"You're probably right."

Kara-Lynn exited the stall seconds later, having traded her super tiny shorts and plaid shirt, tied in the front to expose her stomach, for a fitting red dress that made her look much older than she was. It was strapless, and hugged her all the way to just above her knees.

"Love this dress on you." Gretchen said. "My turn." She grabbed her clothes from her bag and went into the stall, coming out a second later wearing an almost-identical dress in black. This one had straps, and went a little longer than the one that Kara was wearing. Xada went into the stall next, returning in a stunning electric blue dress, similar to the ones the girls were wearing. Hers was even shorter, making her long legs look even longer than they were. Kara-Lynn took something out of her backpack, handing it to Bianca.

Bianca stared at the package for a really long time, before going into the stall and changing. She emerged a minute later, wearing a green dress, like the ones the girls were wearing. Hers was perfect on her, and brought out her green eyes, under her asain face.

"Perfect. Now we just need to do our hair." Kara-Lynn walked over to Bianca and put her hand on her shoulder. You can do this, look at you! We just need to fix your hair and give you a little bit of make-up.

Bianca sat on the sink as Kara-Lynn put her black hair into curlers, gave her bangs a little more life, put some eyeshadow that made her green eyes pop, and some lipstick that made her look pale. All four of them together looked gorgeous. Bianca felt more confidant about what she was going to do now. The face in the mirror told her that she could do whatever she wanted, but did she dare do this?

"Let's go, girls." Gretchen said, slipping on her matching heels. Bianca followed the three of them out of the bathroom, wearing her own green heels. They walked around the hallways, finally finding the four boys standing near the teachers room, wearing tuxes. Brian, Craig, and Jordan. Those were their boyfriends. Jordan went and grabed Xada's arm, kissed her, and put his arms around her. Bianca stood there awkwardly, unsure of what to do. She didn't like strangers.

Holding Brian's hand, Gretchen pointed to the fourth boy. Bianca didn't know him. He was tall, asian like she was, and really, really hot. His skin was perfect, and his hair was cut short, but not too short.

"Chris Young," Gretchen said, "This is Bianca Williams. Your date for tonight." Bianca cringed inside. She should have expected Kara-Lynn to find her a date.

"Hi, there." Chris said, smiling. He put an arm around Bianca's waist, nudging her forward to follow the other three girls. "Did you get roped into this too?" He asked, dropping behind the other three a little bit. Bianca nodded stiffly, very uncomfortable in this environment. "You know, we're all taking seperate cars there, makes it look more real. We don't have to go if you don't want to. We can go somewhere else."

"Where?" Bianca asked.

"The mall? We can get some normal clothes there." Chris laughed.

Bianca walked with him, they were getting closer to the truck. She breathed in deeply, and then out twice as deep. "Okay, let's go to the mall."

Chris smiled brightly, helping Bianca into his truck and then going around to drive. He followed the other three cars from a slight distance, and then when they turned to get on the highway, he turned the opposite way to go to the mall. Bianca released her breath, not noticing that she had even been holding it.

One hour. I've got one hour. One hour to write this stupid essay... Which I know nothing about. Why don't I study? Why don't I ever study? Not just sometimes, everytime. This is why I'm in resource. I never study. I should, but I don't. I've got one hour to write this stupid essay... What was the topic again? Something about England? France? Africa? Oh I give up. I'll never write this stupid essay on Napoleon. Napoleon! The essay is on Napoleon! Where's he from? South America, right? Maybe? No? Okay, focus. I've got one hour to write this stupid essay on Napoleon from France. That's right, he's from France! Awesome? But... what did he do? Why am I even writing this stupid essay? I don't care about Napoleon! He killed off the dinosoars or something... I don't know! This is why I'm in resource. I never study, and I don't know anything about this. I should study. I should, but I don't. Why do I do this to myself? Who am I kidding? I'll never be able to finish this stupid essay on Napoleon from France. Never. Why do I even bother? I belong in resource. I can't finish this stupid essay in just an hour. An hour isn't long enough to finish an essay. Not long enough at all. I've got fifty minutes to write this thing? Are you kidding? Ten minutes have gone by, and still I sit here, staring at this stupid piece of paper, trying to write an essay on Napoleon. I'll never be able to write this essay. It's not physically possible. Sure, she's almost halfway down the first page, and he--hey! She's halfay down the first page? How long is her essay going to be? She's writing it? How can she remember all of the details? How can she possibly remember that Napoleon led France in the 1800's? How can she sit there, writing about this essay. What was the question again? I belong in resource. I can't even remember the question to this stupid essay that I'm supposed to write. I belong in resource because I don't study, because I don't know anything about this, and because I can't remember anything. Nothing makes sense. I have to write this essay. I can't just sit here and stare at this piece of paper. That's not going to get me anywhere. This stupid essay has to get written. I can't write this essay. I can't do it. I can't sit here and write an essay for fifty minutes. It's not nearly enough time. Not nearly enough time to write an essay. This is why I'm in resource. I never give myself enough time to finish my essay. Not nearly enough time to write an essay. Forty minutes? That's what I have left? I have to write this stupid essay. I can do it. I have enough time. France? Napoleon? What else? Something about Egypt. And Russia. Something happened in Russia during the French Revolution. The French Revolution! That's supposed to be in this essay. I can do this. I can write this essay. But I can't in only forty minutes. That's not enough time. Not nearly enough time I barely have time to think in forty minutes! This is why I'm in resource. It takes me too long to think. I belong in resource because I don't study, because I don't know anything about this, because I can't remember anything, because I never give myself time to finish my essay, and because it takes me too long to think. Resource is right for me. But maybe I can get out. If only I could finish my essay. Finish, start. Same thing. I can do this, I can finish my essay. I just need to get started. I have thirty minutes? Thirty minutes to finish my essay? I can't do this. I can't finish my essay in thirty minutes. I can't start my essay in thirty minutes. No way. Not possible. Nothing is possible for me. This is why I'm in resource. Nothing is possible for me. I belong in resource because I don't study, because I don't know anything about this, because I can't remember anything, because I never give myself time to finish my essay, because it takes me too long to think, and because nothing it possible for me. No way can I do this. I have to do this. I have to start and finish my essay in thirty minutes. Have to. Have to. I can do this. I have twenty minutes? How am I supposed to finish my essay in twenty minutes? How am I supposed to start my essay in twenty minutes. I can't do this. I can't sit here and talk about Napoleon in France in the 1800's when he invaded Egypt to gain control of the canal that controlled most of England's trade, and he invaded Russia for more European land. I can't mention how he united the Germanic states to form what is now Germany. None of this is important to me. This is why I'm in resource. Because none of this is important. I belong in resource because I don't study, because I don't know anything about this, because I can't remember anything, because I never give myself time to finish my essay, because it takes me too long to think, because nothing is possible, and because none of this is important to me. I don't care how amazing Napoleon was. But I have to write my essay. Writing my essay will get me out of resource. I have to start my essay. I have ten minutes? Ten minutes is nothing! The girl next to me is on her fifth page of writing? How can she possibly write so much about how the French economy was failing and the system of Monarchy never really worked for the people of France, past, present, or future. I don't know what I'm supposed to talk about with the civil war between the French and the three estates, and how each estate recieved only one vote, and the first estate had most of the land, didn't pay taxes and always voted in favor of themselves because they were the wealthiest. I don't know how to mention that the second estate always voted with the first estate because they wanted to remain where they were, not paying taxes and having a good amount of land. I don't know how it's relevent that the third estate payed all the taxes even though they were the poorest estate and had all the peasants. I don't know. This is why I'm in resource. I don't know anything about anything about anything. I belong in resource because I don't study, because I don't know anything about this, because I can't remember anything, because I never give myself time to finish my essay, because it takes me too long to think, because nothing is posisble, because none of this is important and because I don't know anything about anything about anything. I have no more time? Zero minutes? But... I didn't write my essay. This is why I belong in resource.

“Coming, Cora?” Arlene rested her head on the locker next to Cora’s. Cora’s gaze was distracted, but Arlene didn’t mind. She focused her eyes to see what Cora was watching. “Patrick’s so hot.” She said. Cora seemed to wake up, hurriedly forcing books into her backpack, and slamming her locker closed.
“Let’s go.” She said finally. She picked her backpack further onto her shoulders and then started walking down the hall with Arlene.
“Cara?” Someone behind her asked. Cora turned around. “You dropped this.” It was Patrick. Tall, dark skin, deep voice like velvet. It made you want to curl up and take a nap. She almost fainted.
“It’s Cora.” She corrected silently, taking the hairbrush that had fallen out of her backpack and heading away from Patrick without a thank you or a hello.
Stupid! She told herself. Stupid, stupid, stupid! What the heck? Why can’t I talk to him like I talk to everyone else? He’s sooooooooooooo hot! She shook away her thoughts and kept walking with Arlene to her next class, hopeful that Patrick would skip class like he did nearly every day. She couldn’t focus when he was in class, and Mrs. Benson seemed to notice that.
“What was your answer, Miss Clarke?” She’d ask. Cora would shake her head as she came back into focus on the square root of five hundred. She wouldn’t answer. I don’t see why she feels the need to pick on me on days that he’s there. It’s not like I participate more when he isn’t. She growled to herself, grinding her teeth. Math is dumb. She concluded.
Arlene and Cora stepped into the classroom. Cora looked around for Franny and A-Ray, her two best friends in the whole world. Which was stupid. Franny was in the hospital, and A-Ray was probably cutting class. I wonder if A-Ray and Patrick ever cut class together. Cora vowed to kill A-Ray should she find out that they were together. Not that A-Ray would ever dream of going out with Patrick. He wasn’t her type.
He entered the room right as Cora was about to put her books on her desk. Instead she dropped them on Mrs. Benson’s foot.
“Already hurting people, Miss Clarke?” She asked.
“No, I’m sorry, Mrs. Benson. I… just dropped my book.” Cora stared at the ground. Debating whether or not she should even bother to pick them up. She bent down and picked them up, smacking her head on the corner of her desk. She cursed loudly.
“One more word out of you and it’s a detention, Miss Clarke!” Mrs. Benson turned around, flipping her dyed blonde hair to face the chalk board. Cora sighed and sat down in her seat. She hated math. She let her mind wander away from the boring world of fractions and exponents, into the marvelous land of Patrick Joseph. Half of her wondered what it would be like to date him, to kiss him, to hold him, to—
“What was the answer, Cora?” Mrs. Benson said. Cora looked up at her, big blue eyes flaming with hatred. “Do you know it, or don’t you?”
Cora didn’t answer. She remained still. Any movement could be marked as a threat. She felt like an animal, the kind you see fighting on Animal Planet. Mrs. Benson was the tiger, she was the unfortunate antelope. But she held her ground, not saying anything, not even blinking.
“Miss Clarke, the answer please?” Mrs. Benson’s eyes narrowed.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Benson, but you said if I spoke you would give me a detention, I’m confused about which order I’m supposed to follow, unless the detention is going to make its way to me anyway.” Cora heard several gasps. The antelope had stood up and bit the tiger, and, even though it was an herbivore, it liked the taste of blood on its tongue.
“You’re right about one thing, Miss Clarke. This detention is going to give itself to you right now.” She picked up the orange slip of paper, filled it out and handed it to Cora. Cora stared at the paper, eyes widened, hatred flaring as she stood up and spoke.
“I’m not going to detention.” She crumpled the paper up and threw it into the garbage across the room. “I don’t deserve a detention. I was following your orders. I’m just fifteen, we all are. We’re here to learn math, not to become a victim of a dictatorship.” She sat back down. Mrs. Benson’s nose flared with anger and hatred. A student had never dared to try and defy her before. It made her feel weak and powerless. She brought out the pad of paper for in school suspension, wrote down Cora’s name, and left the room to submit it to the office.
Cora sighed as Mrs. Benson left. At least the suspension would be a day that she wouldn’t have math. Bittersweet, she packed up her books and waited for Mrs. Benson to return and scurry her to in school suspension. Patrick walked over to her desk.
“You were kinda brave, Clarke.” He said. Cora rolled her eyes.
“I’m sick of her crap. I didn’t even do anything. Crumpling up a detention slip? I didn’t do anything to deserve a detention, or an ISS. I’m going to fight this one, because I know I’m right, and there’s nothing that she can do, to make me stay in that stupid little room for seven hours.” Patrick smiled, and picked Cora’s chin up.
“You’re pretty brave girl, Cora.” He leaned down to kiss her. She responded. Mrs. Benson entered the room, the vein in her forehead was pulsing with anger as she saw Patrick with his hands on Cora.
“Go to in school suspension.” Mrs. Benson said.
“No.” Cora answered, “But I am leaving. Coming, Patrick?”
“Absolutely.” Patrick packed up his things and left the room holding Cora’s hand. As soon as they were off the floor they ran for the gyms. Cora leaned with her back against the back wall of the large gym. Patrick put one hand on the wall, the other caressing her skin. He kissed her gently, and for a moment, Cora felt brave.

Understandable. I didn’t even remember the last thing that I had seen. It was so long ago. They were going to eat me. I was going to die, and to be honest, I was kind of okay with that. Who needed to live? Life was pain. Get up in the morning, eat something, school, work, go home. It was all one endless cycle that could only be stopped by the ending of a life. The ending of my life. I hated to live. But still, a part of me wanted to live. To survive and get away from this horrible place. I didn’t want to die anymore. I wanted to see my parents, my sister, my dog. I loved my dog. He was really cute. But most of all, I wanted to see the sun again before I died. I wanted to see what it looked like, after all of these years. Would I remember it? Would it remember me? Would my parents remember me? I doubted they would recognize me… I doubted I looked the same. Ten years in a prison cell with no windows would do that to you. I figured that I had gone blind in processing, but I doubted that I even cared. I didn’t really care. I didn’t care at all. They had taken me at the age of five. I didn’t know how long they had me, but they had me for a while. Long enough for me to become a woman. I didn’t speak anymore. I didn’t need to. They said everything for me. “Alice is hungry. Alice would like some water.” All I had to do was nod, and I didn’t even do that too often now. What did they want from me? I had no clue. But I hadn’t moved in days. I stretched my fingers, allowing the blood to soak back into them. I bent my knees, my elbows, moved my neck, opened and closed my jaw, remind myself how each individual muscle of my being worked. I stretched my shoulders, and then used them to push myself up onto my knees, and then my feet. I stretched again and tried to notice something about my surroundings. It was all black. I felt the sarcasm on my tongue. That was new. I hadn’t felt that in a while. I felt around for the wall where they usually entered. I couldn’t see a door. I felt around for a crack, and finally found one. I dug my fingers into it, felt the rocks give away. There was light. I could see it. I could see. I pulled more of the rocks out of the way, letting more of the light hit my skin. It was filthy. I didn’t recognize myself. I pulled more and more away. Why had I never seen this light before? I crawled out of the cell. My dress tore on a nail on the side of the tunnel. I stood up, and noticed that it was blue. I walked away from the cell, noticing hundreds more lining the walls. Were there more people in here? I walked over to one opposite mine and pulled the rocks away. “Hello?” I asked. There was nothing. “Hello?” I asked again. “Hello?” came a response. I pulled more rocks away, letting the light hit the face of a boy, around my age, or what I guessed my age to be. He crawled out to meet me. “Are you… one of them?” He asked me. I shook my head and pointed to my cell. “I lived in there.” I told him. “Where are we?” He asked me. I shook my head again. He grabbed my hand and we walked down the hallway, afraid of where we were going. There was a large steel door at the end of the hallway. He pulled me closer to it and opened it. Sunlight glorified where I stood. I was overjoyed at the feeling of sun on my skin. I just wanted to stand here, but the boy made me move. “They’re coming!” He said. How did he know? I ran with him, down the street. It looked different. There were more buildings, stretching out higher and higher. I didn’t recognize this place. I wasn’t even sure that it was Earth. We kept running, ducking into an alleyway and behind what we later found out was a dumpster. They didn’t follow us down the alleyway. We were free. “What’s your name?” I asked him. “William.” He answered. “What’s yours?” He asked. “Alice.” I told him. William and I spent the next two years trying to find out what had happened. He had gotten a job in a bank, and I worked in a restaurant. I didn’t mind. I liked being able to use my hands, and I was afraid that if I stayed still too long, I would end up back in that cell. William and I have broken into the place with the cells four times. We’ve rescued twelve children all together. But it seems like they keep bringing in more. The children live with us, on the corner of Madison Avenue and Broadway in New York City. I’m still looking for my parents. They have yet to turn up, or call. No phone book can tell me of my mother, sister or brother. I doubt that my dog is still alive, though I do miss him greatly. William and I plan to break into that place again tomorrow. I’ll rescue more kids, he’ll go and find out more about it. They don’t chase us anymore. They just let us go. But they bring in more kids every time. Some of the kids live with William and I, because they have no other place to go. The older ones, around our age, choose to get apartments close by. We all stick together. We’re the only friends we have. William and I seem to be getting more romantic lately. But we’ll never have children. They might get trapped as we were.

May 4, 1842
Now I write by candlelight. If I get caught, Mary will scold. She will tell me how the curtain can catch the flame and cause the whole house to go aflame. But I am careful. Mary will not catch me, and my candle is far from where my curtain resides.
Still, I wonder about my predicament. Mother’s death came as a shock to all of us, especially me. I was there; I should have felt the change in her atmosphere. The doctors don’t know what caused the death. I don’t think they have a clue, though they say they’re getting closer to solving the mystery. She is being buried tomorrow morning in the center of London. It was father’s idea, and I don’t approve. London is far too public. I don’t want my mother buried there.
But my predicament resides in my heart, as well as in my head. James has asked for my hand in marriage yesterday. I don’t know what to say. He knelt to the ground and said “Elizabeth Kingsley, will you be my wife?” in front of a whole party. I told him that I needed time to think, and I would give him an answer the next time I saw him. Unfortunately, that time would be tomorrow at the funeral. I really hope that he doesn’t expect me to answer his question in front of people mourning my mother’s death. I have to say that it would be wrong. James’ family isn’t poor, not at all. Father would have never given his consent for the proposal had it not been for the Bennett’s wealthy background. Sure, they were not kin to the King and Queen, but they were wealthy, and James Bennett was the son of the lord, James Bennett Senior.
I don’t know if I will marry him. I’ve tried to consult Mary, because she knows what it’s like to be married, but every situation is different. She has tried to tell me that being married is the best; that I’ll be able to buy more clothes, have children, and go to fabulous parties and all that goes along with being the wife of a lord. But I don’t know if I want that. I may just want to be myself for a bit longer, to be Elizabeth Kingsley until I have to become Elizabeth Bennett. I’m not sure that one person can exist inside the other.
Father is no help either. I’ve yet to discuss my predicament with him, because I know that his choice would be for me to marry James. Still, I want that feeling. I want to be in love when I get married, and, even though I don’t know what love feels like, I do know that I am not in love with James. James is great, he’s amusing, and he’s quirky, but I just don’t know if he’s the guy for me. I’m not sure that I’m ready to submit myself to a husband that I don’t love. It just doesn’t seem right for me.
Someone is coming down the hall.
I’ve checked, it was just Jane, our housekeeper. She’s a sweet lady. Maybe I should consult her about the proposal, though I don’t think that she’s been married, or even proposed to. Jane is the kind of woman who will work until she is dead, and I have to say, I kind of respect her for that. I’m sure that she thinks about what would have happened if she had gotten married, and sometimes I wonder if she regrets not getting married. Of course, there’s nothing she can do about it. It isn’t her fault she was born into peasantry.
I think the person that I most need to talk to is my mother. She would know exactly what to say, what advice to give. She would know whether I should marry James or not. She would tell me to weigh my options. Do I love James? Do I love someone else besides James? Would I be happy with James? I know the kinds of questions she would ask. I just don’t know how to ask myself these same questions.
Perhaps the person that I should consult is James. Maybe we should talk about whether or not we want to be married, or whether it’s just convenient. I know it’s convenient for him; he gets to marry a girl who is about sixteen, who will have a long life, who has money behind her, and will hopefully produce beautiful children for him. It’s convenient for me; I get to marry a very kind, humorous man who would take care of me and treat me right. He would never do anything to hurt me, or anything that I wouldn’t approve of. He does love me, and maybe I do love him. I’m so unsure right now. I do wish that I could speak to him, right this second. It would make life so much easier. I don’t know if I can go to sleep tonight, knowing that I have to answer him in the morning, as well as be attentive at mother’s funeral. It seems like a lot for a girl of sixteen.
But this is the life I was born into. London has never looked more beautiful than it does tonight, even with enormous decisions and weight hanging on my shoulders. I feel almost at ease, even knowing that I have a huge decision to make, one that could alter the way my life works. Do I want to be married at sixteen? Do I want to be married at all? I do need my mother. I do need James. Good Lord, I think I’ve realized it. I think I do love James. He’s the right man for me, and he most definitely loves me, otherwise he would not have been so keen to let me take my time with my decision. Mature, amusing, good looking, and otherwise supplied with money, he seems to be the choice for me.