The bed creaks under my weight as tears fall to the pillow. I am trapped here. A school dorm room serves as a cell, a dresser and table lamp the only other pieces of furniture able to fit. Skirts and blouses litter the dust brown carpet. Light filters in through the soiled window, the paint peeling off the edges.
I’d give almost anything to be out there right now. Woods surround the whole school, but the Corsets have banned us from the outside world – banned us from anything that doesn’t fit their tight rules. The closest I can get to nature is the main courtyard, where there’s one tree and four patches of dying flowers. The sun never shines there. What brilliant architect designed a courtyard that doesn’t get any light?
I sit up and reach under the bed. Pulling out mom’s old suitcase, I open it and fling more pressed uniforms onto the floor. I pull out the false bottom and toss that as well, revealing my last pair of jeans. Pine sap and sweat wafts to my nose. I search each pocket.
First there’s my pocketknife, then Birch’s stick carving. I finger my brother’s handiwork. A couple of rocks come out next, several shades of white and red.
Finally, the silver ring, my mother’s last gift to me. I remember her, pale and thin, but always smiling.
Three hard strikes on the door.
“Miss O’Connor.”
The handle jiggles.
“Miss O’Conner, open up this instant!”
I look down at the items in my hand and remember: “Any items found that are not in compliance with the dress code, safety, or expected behavior of the students shall be removed from the owner and promptly discarded.”
I leap from the bed to the dresser. The lamp serves as my bat, and I swing at the window. Glass flies outward with a crash. I cover the remaining shards with a blanket and crawl out. Grey taught me how to climb when I was five, and it’s useful now, scaling down the building’s ivy trellises. Ms. Harrow’s frantic screams fade away as I reach the bottom. As soon as my feet hit I’m off running, bundle in hand. I rush past the tree line and into the forest.
Brambles grab at my skirt and branches at my face. Stray sticks and dead foliage crunch under my heavy shoes, and I stop for a moment to pull them off. Free of dead weight, I fly though the woods. I’ve never gone so fast. I stumble down a slope and through a clearing, wildflowers blooming on a stream’s bank. Jumping over the bubbling water, I cross into the next section of forest.
Here the light dims, the sun barely peaking through the thick boughs of pine. The scent is everywhere, and I start feeling sick. My foot catches in a root, twisting my foot. A scream escapes my throat.
I lay on the needles and cry, the world frozen around me. No laughing, no scolding, no anything. I want to stay here forever.
Voices snake though the trees. They’re far away now, but it won’t take them long to catch up. They can’t have my memories.
Up ahead I spot an old pine, it’s trunk as round as a tire. I grasp my bundle of denim and crawl forward. Once there, I start digging at the roots. Large chunks of dirt come away and after reaching a good depth, I stuff my jeans inside. Just before covering it, I take out the pocketknife and slice at the bark, carving a rough eagle shape before throwing it back in and burying my treasures.
Once I’ve finished patting down the last of it, Ms. Harrow bursts through the bushes behind me, gasping. Ms. Rose follows her. Their chests heave, dresses dirty, high heads bent over and beet red. Ms. Harrow’s gaze goes straight to my ankle.
“Miss O’Conner! Whatever have you done?!” She rushes over and grabs my left arm. Ms. Rose takes my right, and they haul me up.
Ms. Rose begins the lecture. “Young lady, you are in very big trouble.”
I take a deep breath and start hopping on my good foot, the two mistresses supporting me. Back to prison.