Broken Cages

Prologue

Beth:

I get bored easily. I mean, it’s pathetic- one minute I’m having the time of my life, and the next, I’m falling asleep. Literally. In spite of my flightiness, I would bet a million dollars- well, I don’t have a million, but most of what I do have, - that my life is utterly mind-numbing.

          Every day is exactly the same as the last- get up, go to school, come home, eat, sleep, rewind, play, rewind, play, again and again. It’s enough to drive anyone insane. I just can’t help but feel like something’s missing. Something, well, extraordinary, like there’s a whole world I’m a part of that I’ve never seen, like people lucky enough to be in books.

          Someday, though, I’m going to break out of this repetition, this cage. I’m gonna spread my wings and fly to a better place, a bigger existence to the one I’m living right now. Someday, my life will be whole.

          At least, that’s what I keep telling myself.

Tristan:

Oh my God. I can't take this! I just know it, what's missing? Something is wrong, no duh. Of course something's wrong. How could this life possibly be right? But what is it this time? What more could possibly go wrong?

Where's the big break? I’m already screwed beyond repair; what could honestly happen to fix this? One more tragedy and I'm going to lose... But maybe this won't be bad; maybe this time, something good will happen, for once. Maybe this time, things'll take a turn for the better.

         Really, what else could happen?

Caleb (Six months later):

         Oh, no. No no no no no. What am I going to do? What if these chicks find out? I've got to think of a way to cover this up. He brushes his fingers through his hair to reveal dark chestnut cat's ears hidden in deep brown locks. If only those Larklings hadn't shown up, I'd be fine! He pauses and slaps his tail back and forth. A second later, he stops, sits down hard, and puts his head in his hands.

          I know what I have to do.

          But it hurts like hell.