darkness falls: youth in bondage I was walking home from the Lion Court, a club based on the "vampire bars" in the Vampire Chronicles, in case you couldn't guess. I went there nearly every night now to escape my parents. And the other reason I went seemed insane...there was the crazy hope that maybe I would find the real thing someday. The others at clubs like this thought that playing with capes and black hair dye was fun, but they wouldn't want to be vampires. In my mind, though, the playacting was definitely not "even better than the real thing." There was nothing left in mortal life for me. Oh, don't think I was suicidal. My will to live will always be far too strong for that to ever happen. But mortal life was a monotonous drone that I was sick of; what fun is life if you can't really live it? I was seventeen years old and still trapped with my family, a prisoner in their home. There was no way I could get a job that would pay well enough to pay for an apartment; I had escaped kiddie jail, also known as "school", in eighth grade, and my family couldn't afford to send me to college even if they wanted to. And they didn't: they wanted me to stay home until they found a "proper husband" for me. Jeez, ever heard of "feminism?" Eek. Of course, if they found out that maybe I didn't want to marry a man they would have hit the roof. I didn't plan on ever getting married to anyone of either gender, anyway. But because I was legally theirs, I had no say, even though I had never seen them as my parents. I was almost certain that I wasn't really theirs, just some brat they picked up from the doorstep to lug around. I certainly didn't look like anyone in my family. My mother, my father, my little brother, all had dull brown hair and watery blue-gray eyes and were tall and chubby and ruddy, sharply contrasting my coloration and body type. I was (and still am) of fairly average height, slender and pale. I was probably adopted, but at this rate finding my real parents was unlikely at best. Deep in thought, I turned at a corner toward my house, staring up at the night sky, a rippling swirl of purple and black and brown, like a ripe boysenberry. The night was warm and mild, and I could see the tiny, glowing specks of fireflies flitting through the darkness. I smiled, remembering the days when I was a little girl, catching fireflies and keeping them in a jar to light my room. I was suddenly aware of footsteps behind me as I walked down Connecticut Avenue. The steps mirrored my own, and when I turned to see who is following me, I saw a man duck behind a tree. I knew what was about to happen, of course. I had seen that man before, a scruffy slimeball-type who hit on virtually every girl who was over 13 years old. He had always scared me. I ran. I could hear footsteps running in time with mine. I could feel fingers reaching out to grab the back of my t-shirt, catching at my hair. ::Talik, run. Get something! Stop him!:: My mind was screaming at me. I fumbled with my purse, trying to find anything to ward him off. ::The keys:: I grabbed my keyring, slashing fiercely, unseeing. I must have got him, though, as he released me for a second, and I ran all the way to my front door, slamming it behind me. My parents were waiting for me. "I...he...I'm home." "We noticed." "Nevermind me, I was attacked and would've been raped, no biggie. I think I'll go to bed." "Not so fast, young lady," my father said. I hated it when he called me that. "We know what you've been doing." "Oh? Well, I don't know what I could've been doing, so clue me in, please." "You watch your mouth. One of your little friends from your old school, Mindy Peterson, called us. It seems she saw you with her brother." "'With'? What, I was standing next to him? I was doing the Hokey-Pokey with him?" "You know what I mean. You have some explaining to do." "What is there to explain? I have an idea of what she said, and I would like to point out that Mindy is a pathological liar and would tell lies about her mother to her grandmother." They just scowled at me. We scowled at each other. Finally, my mother spoke. "We do not need to be told of the lustfulness in your heart. You are a sinner, like any human being. We have tried to teach you that the only way to salvation is the Bible, but you haven't listened with an open heart. We are sending you to St. Mary's boarding school tomorrow. Maybe that will help you on the path to righteousness." If you couldn't guess, I was more than a little shocked and pissed off. "Fuck salvation! I'd rather go to Hell after I die than live in it now! I'm not going to reform school, and that's that. Goodnight." I stomped up the stairs to my room, hearing my father shouting at me below. I locked my bedroom door, leaning against it. I couldn't believe this. Boarding school. They had really lost it now. I had always had a problem with their religious craziness, of course. The fact that they were so disappointed that I didn't think exactly like they did and didn't need a god bothered me. Of course, Christianity in general does that to me, since it has always demanded that not only do you have to believe in a god, but you have to believe in their god or you will be sent to hell. Excuse me, but you'd think if God is such a great and powerful guy, he could stand not having everyone in the world kneeling at his feet. And if he gave the earth to man (of course, man) "no strings attached", why do we have to worship at his feet and do everything he says, anyway? Ah, forgive me, I'm rambling. Anyway, as I leaned against the door, in shock from their decision, I swore that I would not be on the bus to boarding school tomorrow morning. I had a plan... ************************************** Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL at http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour
