“Goodnight, Mum, Dad,” I say as usual before going to bed.
It’s Friday thirty-first, Halloween and today it’s Jane’s party, the party my parents didn’t allow me to go. That doesn’t mean I’m not going, because I’ve decided to be Tris tonight and break some rules. I read on the Guardians of Time trilogy that if you want to escape you ought to act normal, never say you want to go to bed early because you’re not feeling well or anything like that because it might cause your parents to check on you later. I don’t know if my parents actually check on me when sleeping because both of them sleep like the dead, but you never know. So I act as any other Friday, going to bed a bit later because there’re no classes tomorrow and I make sure to keep the casual conversation at the table. I don’t have to care about kids asking for candy because my parents don’t give any of that as they don’t consider this appropriate. Kids also know that my parents are not the sort to give them candy and even if they had something to give, it would probably be some handouts for them to solve. They don’t even bother anymore.
Once I’m on my bed I wait. I know my parents will take another thirty minutes to go to bed as well and fall asleep, so in the meantime I hide under my covers and read a book—although that doesn’t work that well. My parents don’t have a reason to suspect that I’ll escape tonight because I’ve never even tried to go to a party before and they know I’m obedient. And after tonight they won’t have reason to suspect because I’ll never do it again. If they don’t catch me tonight, then everything will be fine in the future.
Sam and I planned it all carefully. She and Zeke will come to pick me on his sister’s car. She knows we are going to the party, she even knows that I’m escaping and funnily enough, she decided to fully cooperate with us. I have to text them the moment I think my parents are sleeping and they’ll drive by. I’ll sneak out my window and meet them outside my neighbour’s house, just to be sure my Parents don’t see a car in front of their house if they wake up. No one will tell them if they see anything because no one talks to my parents in the neighbourhood. After that, Zeke will drive us to Jane’s house, we’ll stay for a while and finally they’ll come to drop me safe and sound and hopefully, with my parents still sleeping.
It’s not that intrinsic of a plan because we are just going to a party and it’s not even that far, but I’m still shaking in my bed. I feel so exhilarated and like I can do anything. I feel my heart beating strongly, pumping blood to every limb because I’m ready to run. I never imagined that going against the rules would be so exhilarating, that it would make me feel so alive. I think I have adrenaline running through my veins instead of blood—yes, I'm very aware that's not possible, it's just a figure of speech—and staying still is agonising. I want to jump, run, scream, anything! I just need to be in the move because all this energy inside of me is killing me.
This is what dauntless must seek, what makes them so crazy in the eyes of the other factions. They are always running and feeling all this adrenaline and you can't look calm and collected when your body is acting like this. I think I can understand Tris now, a bit better at least. I can relate to her regarding this, even if I’m still waiting for my parents to be sound asleep.
After a while I open my door and peek outside, paying attention to any kind of sound that could indicate my parents are still awake, but the house is dead silent and I nod with a big smile.
It’s time.
I grab my mobile and text Sam telling her that I’m ready, it’s time for her to pick me up. Then I go back to my room and change clothes. As all my outfits are very basic it wasn’t a problem to find my costume. I just need black trousers and a black tee. Sam will lend me the boots and Zeke has a knife that I could add as accessory.
Yes, I did ask why Zeke has a knife and the reason is very logical and sentimental. His father loved fishing so he had one to open up the fish once caught. That’s the knife Zeke is lending me, the one he keeps as token. At first I told him it wasn’t necessary but he insisted.
Sam has the temporal tattoos that will be the final touch of my costume and she’ll put those on me, I just have to make sure I’m all dressed in black. When my mobile goes off with a reply I’m practically bouncing on me feet and I’m grabbing my black jacket as I read the text.
They are outside.
I’ve never sneaked out or even tried. I only opened my window to let the air come in, never to go out and I’m not your athletic type of girl, not because I don’t like sports, in fact I do, it’s just that I don’t have practice and I don’t really know what to do or where to put my foot. Sports, although very good, are very time consuming so they weren’t a requirement for my future preparation. However, I do jog because a regular physical activity is necessary for my health and better oxygenation of my brain, which means better results in the academic field.
Somehow I manage it outside without killing myself or making a loud sound that could alert my parents that her teenage daughter is escaping home even when they didn’t allow her to go to that party. My room is on the first floor and my window faces the street so the most difficult part is to get to the ground floor without falling and breaking a bone. I think of all the books I’ve read and what the characters do to escape so I first look where I’m standing: the window frame. There’re like three metres to the ground and no ladder in sight, but there’s a pipe next to my window and maybe that can give me support. In addition, below my window there’s the living room window so I can also put my feet there and then jump.
I decide to go for that so I hold tightly to the my window frame and hang, holding all my weight until my feet touch the other window frame and once I feel stable enough I look down. Okay, I can jump now, the distance is manageable. So I let go of my window frame and jump until my feet land on the ground. It hurts a bit but nothing I can’t bear. Then I look up to my window and I smile content for what I did. Just a small thing, but so big for me.
Then I turn on my heels and go to my neighbour’s house, where Sam and Zeke should be waiting for me. I see an old car that I’ve never seen around, so it has to be my friends. I approach them hoping it is indeed them and not some burglars that will take me hostage and then ask for ransom to my parents. But before I make it to the car Sam sees me and gets out, a big smile on her lips.
“You made it!” she cheers and I smile happily at her. I stop when we are face to face and she gives me a tight hug.
We pull back and I take an appreciative look at her. She looks great in the Loki costume, when he’s a woman, of course. It was hard to find the outfit and then modify it to fit the comic character, but Sam’s mum is very talented.
“You look great!” I tell her and she turns in three sixty for me to appreciate even better. “Great indeed.”
“Thank you. Mum also says thank you, she did most of it,” she laughs and then open the back door for me. “Come in, come in!”
I do as she says and get in the backseat, then look ahead and notice Zeke behind the wheel and my smile is even wider when I see him in costume. Whilst Sam and I were looking for her costume and making sure I would have everything for mine, Zeke never wanted to tell us what he was going to be. Every time we asked he shrugged and said he would see later, that it didn’t matter. I believe he actually decided today because going as a pirate is nothing that complicated or elaborated, yet he still looks great. He’s even wearing a wig with dreadlocks and dark makeup that I assume Beth helped him with. He smiles brightly at me and I notice that tug in my guts that later becomes in a tingly sensation; my heart also races at the sight.
“I’m glad you made it,” he tells me with that big smile. “Don’t worry, you’ll be back before your parents can notice your absence,” promises Zeke and I smile gratefully.
In that moment Sam gets in but instead of using the passenger seat she gets in the back with me. “So I can help you with the tattoos,” she explains and Zeke nods, knowing it’s time for us to leave for the party.
Zeke is a very good driver so we don’t have problems and Sam knows what she’s doing, plus, it’s only three tattoos and we just need a bit of water she brought in a bottle. By the time we make it to Jane’s house I have the birds on my collarbone and the dauntless and abnegation symbols on my arms.
We get off the car, Loki, Tris and a pirate together, and by the time we walk in, the music is blasting and it’s packed, people dancing, drinking, laughing, fighting and snogging everywhere. It looks pretty much like every party I’ve seen in movies, this is just louder and smells like a crowd.
The house is big and it has a backyard with a pool that is filled with Halloween decoration. Ghosts, eyes, skulls, spiders and other creepy stuff. There are even more people outside and everyone is in a costume.
“How does it look?” Sam asks me as we head to the bar that Jane has provided. I won’t ask for alcohol, neither will Sam and Zeke. In the case of Zeke it’s because he’s driving, Sam and I because we don’t want to.
“Loud,” I have to shout for her to hear me and she laughs as she nods.
At first we just stand there, watching and feeling a bit awkward, especially because almost everyone stops to look at Zeke surprised. I haven’t seen Butch but I’m sure he would receive the same glances if he showed up. I know for a fact Zeke has never gone to a party of this sort, so this is also his first time here, like me. Sam is the only one who’s come before.
“Oh, that’s Dana!” Sam exclaims waving her hand to a girl dressed as a zombie. I have to squint my eyes to recognise the girls we saved from Butch’s bullying. We hang out with her sometimes. She’s really nice and sweet but she’s in year 12 so it’s not like we can share a class or even study together. We finish this year and she’ll have to stay another one. “I’ll go talk to her,” says the girl dressed as Loki before smiling at Zeke and I. I notice she winks at him as if they shared a secret and when I look at him I notice he’s blushing.
Sam is gone and it’s only Zeke and I now, each one holding a cup and not knowing what to do next. He drinks all what he has left in his cup before putting it aside and addressing me. “Wanna dance?” he asks and I feel embarrassed that I came to a party and I never thought of the possibility of dancing.
I laugh at myself, who came here almost like for an observation experiment. I just came here to see how the others act, I never intended to take part of the party.
“Sure,” I reply putting my cup aside and just focusing on Zeke’s warm smile.
The next thing I know is that his hand is on my back, guiding me through some people to a place where we can dance. Until I met Sam and Zeke I wasn’t really into music and now with their influence I know plenty of bands, but none of them are that known or that pop as to be played during a party. I just know it’s an upbeat and catchy song that almost everyone else seems to know. But oh well, you don’t need to know a song to dance to it, right?
Here’s another fact about myself: I’ve never danced, which makes loads of sense because I wasn’t a social being before so it’s really awkward and I don’t know what to do. I look around and try to copy the other people, but it still feels really weird. Then I feel Zeke’s hands on my waist and I don’t care anymore what the others are doing around me, or if there’re people around at all. I can only see him smiling at me, his hand keeping me near as he helps me move to the rhythm of the music, at our own awkward tempo. He’s not good dancer either. I don’t know what to do with my hands so I end up putting them loosely around his neck and his smile is even wider, his hands hot on my waist.
As we look at each other I notice my heart beating even stronger, I can’t bother with what’s happening around, I can only see him and I have all these sort of weird things happening inside, things I’ve never felt before. And then he pulls me even closer, our bodies touching each other and my breath gets caught in throat.
Blimey, what’s the meaning of all this I’m experiencing?
-:-:-
GO ZELLIE FOREVER! <3
Bel, xx